That 458 at "My Next Car"

[supermono]

Seems to have been there for months and months. Any opinions on the car here spec wise? Obviously LHD not to all tastes but the savings puts that into my buy zone. Right colour for me (first Ferrari red )

I'd really appreciate any opinions or history knowledge of this car, and actually any more general buying tips if you have any.

Cheers

[anonymous-user]

Do you have a link to the car?

[supermono]

Wasn't sure of the rules -- but I'll try

http://www.my-next-car.co.uk/used-FERRARI-458-Sand...

[AndStilliRise]

Wow, nice motor.

[mwstewart]

They were selling a Cat D F430 a while back that had some really bad bodywork, so based on that I would proceed with caution.

[MingtheMerciless]

I think the colour combo inside may not be to everyone's taste which may inhibit resale enthusiasm, as will LHD. Also, the spec is not as described. It doesn't seem to have a carbon driving zone/led's or a carbon centre bridge and the racing seats are not fully electric (or obviously Daytona) which causes me to wonder about the familiarity with the model of the seller. I would regard the led's as a very desirable option I have to say. Mileage is quite high also, not a huge problem, but if you add all those things together it may be an issue for resale. That being said, it is advertised at what seems a reasonable price in today's market (and I'm sure there is some slack) and if you want a 458 for a few years after which things will have evened out, this may be one of the cheapest ways to get one - if the s/h stacks up and you get it inspected at an F dealership. LHD means it has some kind of non UK history so you'd need to investigate that with even more rigour. Service deal will have expired now also so you are on your own.

The 458 is an awesome car and fundamentally it is the same car whether it is a 2010 LHD or a 2015 RHD with all the spec ticked off on your personal bucket list. But be careful not to be overwhelmed with enthusiasm for the basic product such that you gloss over disadvantages. Good luck!

[anonymous-user]

Had it's first MOT in Feb this year with advisory "head lamps fitted with tempory beam deflectors" so must have just come in - had 23,822 miles on it then so hasn't moved much since then. Interesting in that it has had just one owner - not a bad sign but why bring a car to the UK to sell when you'd get more Euros for it back in Europe. Mind you, it came over before Brexit and the devaluation of the pound. I reckon you could bargain hard for it - they are probably saddled with it since Brexit and quite eager to sell. As Ming says though the spec description doesn't match the pictures, but if it checks out at a proper PPI and you're happy withe the spec then it looks to be a low cost route into 458 ownership.

[cgt2]

The exchange rate has moved and a lot of LHD's are stuck here now owing more than the general market. The silver high miler at £109,900 used to belong to a guy in Belgium and was for sale for most of the summer of 2015 at equal to £90k without any bites. I nearly bought it at £85k which the vendor was willing to take but the mileage and red carpets put me off. It came to the UK and was initially sold by a small local garage selling hatchbacks at £100k.

You can now again buy lower km cars from Europe(there is even a Ferrari approved one for sale in Germany) at around £110k equivalent (EUR 130k -ish)

[supermono]

I read the MOT history and the weird beam deflector thing -- surely these lights are electronically changeable? and I'd really not noticed the spec which worries me since clearly I'm not very well informed yet as to recognising stuff I want / is present.

Good feedback thanks, I'll take a drive out there over Christmas for a good look.

Beyond telephoning Johnny Foreigner Ferrari to confirm services, what other OUK research is it possible to do? Also, taking it to UK dealer for an inspection will they just look at the car or have access to some central Ferrari database to gather some facts?

[supermono]

Just noticed their place is next to Copart. Coincidence I hope

[MingtheMerciless]

supermono said:

Beyond telephoning Johnny Foreigner Ferrari to confirm services, what other OUK research is it possible to do? Also, taking it to UK dealer for an inspection will they just look at the car or have access to some central Ferrari database to gather some facts?

You can pay for an inspection and they will do a 200 point check and check it against their database. The thing that caused me to get into a fight with a certain $hit UK garage over my deposit on a 458 was that the check revealed that some work had been done outside the Ferenghi network because a part had been ordered for it and there was no record in the F network of it being fitted and therefore it was ineligible for a (bought) warranty. However, they wouldn't tell me what the part was, because that was information proprietary to the registered owner, so it could have been a light bulb or the entire front end. I think the cost of the inspection is £250 or £300. I don't know what will be withheld in information terms but if you are there you can have a chat about the unwritten stuff.

If they won't facilitate bringing it to a dealer for an inspection after you agree a price, I'd walk, or else get it inspected by someone competent and offer a good bit less and take your chances. I spent a good bit of time looking at LHD cars in communist Europe and I had 3 or four deals killed by the prospect of an inspection, before getting a deal being killed by an inspection on a RHD car in the UK before saying, fu[kit, I am not going to bother trying to save money, I'm going to buy a good car with the spec I want and get it properly inspected, from a respectable dealer who understands why this is necessary so be careful, even in Ferenghi land there are IED's out there.

[R8Steve]

On a side note, what a terrible name for a dealership.

[jtremlett]

supermono said:

I read the MOT history and the weird beam deflector thing -- surely these lights are electronically changeable?

Check on that with a Ferrari dealer as there seem to be differing answers depending upon who you speak to.

supermono said:

Beyond telephoning Johnny Foreigner Ferrari to confirm services, what other OUK research is it possible to do? Also, taking it to UK dealer for an inspection will they just look at the car or have access to some central Ferrari database to gather some facts?

UK dealers should be able to look up the details of all work done on the car by any main dealer worldwide in their system so you're best off starting with your favourite/local main dealer. You will need the chassis number from the vendor, obviously, to do that.

Just checking my records and I see that it is a Euro car but all I have on it is that it was for sale in Dubai in late 2013.

Jonathan

Edited by jtremlett on Tuesday 20th December 14:31

[Behemoth]

MingtheMerciless said:

I spent a good bit of time looking at LHD cars in communist Europe

You were buying Trabants from there in the 80s? How about Fascist Germany, any KdF-Wagens from there? And maybe a few Hispano-Suizas from Imperialist Austria-Hungary?

[MingtheMerciless]

I met, in what I refer to as Communist Europe:

- A dealer selling the only clocked 458 I have come across (an odometer mysteriously replaced with an extra 37k klms wiped off, revealed on an oh yeah we forgot basis as a dealer inspection was arranged)

- a dealer in East Germany who looked like a Serbian mafioso who went to Miami immediately after agreeing a deal on a car and couldn't be contacted

- a car that mysteriously was sold as and when a truck was on the way to pick it up for an inspection

among others.

I don't think I would ever buy a car in the communist mainland other than from an F dealer again.

[supermono]

Thanks for info.

I'm not super confident the seller knows his stuff having spoken to him, and actually having dealt with main dealers for the past 12 years of Porsche and Mercs I'm left feeling a bit unclean talking to someone who normally sells hatchbacks about a 100k+ car.

It might well be worth hanging on and waiting for a proper UK RHD car from a main dealer. I guess cars out of the network are cheap for a reason.

Maybe there's a car broker somewhere who knows people looking to buy GT2s and sell 458s

[R8Steve]

supermono said:

Thanks for info.

I'm not super confident the seller knows his stuff having spoken to him, and actually having dealt with main dealers for the past 12 years of Porsche and Mercs I'm left feeling a bit unclean talking to someone who normally sells hatchbacks about a 100k+ car.

It might well be worth hanging on and waiting for a proper UK RHD car from a main dealer. I guess cars out of the network are cheap for a reason.

Maybe there's a car broker somewhere who knows people looking to buy GT2s and sell 458s

Send me a PM once you're close to a deal and let me know what they've offered you trade. I'm looking for a nice GT2 at the moment and would offer you above what they were offering you if i like the car. If you're not interested in doing so i completely understand though.

[MingtheMerciless]

supermono said:

It might well be worth hanging on and waiting for a proper UK RHD car from a main dealer. I guess cars out of the network are cheap for a reason.

That would be my instinct now, having gone the other way, and wasted 6 months.

[supermono]

R8Steve said:

Send me a PM once you're close to a deal and let me know what they've offered you trade. I'm looking for a nice GT2 at the moment and would offer you above what they were offering you if i like the car. If you're not interested in doing so i completely understand though.

Absolutely fine. I'm always puzzled given the enormous spread dealers are creaming off 100k+ cars why so few people strike private deals. Especially with forums like this where cars and characters are often well known over time in the "community". OPC Bristol were looking for a minimum of 20k spread for my car last week less than 500 miles after the last open chequebook service at OPC Cambridge. Presumably to cover the zero work they identified

[93DW]

I live in the area and one of my customers was interested in looking at it after he missed the 458 I had in stock. Dealer wasnt very clear on where it came from or any of the history (gave me and my customer a different story about where it came from.) Not saying its a bad car but I would certainly exercise more caution than usual. Its been on Auto Trader since August '16 so id imagine they'd listen to offers.