Good Time to Buy a F430 Spider?

[mik194]

Hi Everyone,
I had a 355 Spider some 20 years ago, long story short, timing was bad, bought & sold at the wrong time & whish I still had it now!
I've owned all sorts of other cars but nothing has ever put a smile on my face quite like that screaming V8.
I am in the fortunate position of having around 100K that I can spend on an occasional/weekend car. I have read other threads on F430 vs 458, etc. and to be honest if I had another 80K and not worried about potential depreciation I would probably go for a 458. I am after something I can keep for 5+ years have an occasional blast and hopefully not loose too much money. I am after a black/cream 2008/2009 spider, good spec & FFSH, low mileage & owners. If anyone knows of one please let me know.
I've seen from various posts and the monthly figures some have the opinion that the second hand price craziness has come to an end and prices have plateaued or even declined. especially as we should be in full summer 'buy a toy' season by now.
What is really going on? Are dealers struggling? Are the second hand prices about to drop or is it just a Brexit / Election blip? What does everyone think?

I have seen a couple of cars that both tick 9/10 boxes and both the dealers appear to be very keen to do a deal, should I go for it or wait for that perfect car at a better (lower) price?

[dvb247]

time to buy is the end of summer, that said the F430 is currently undervalued, you only have to look at the 360 and 355 spider prices, then look way north, nearly double your money and then you'll hit the 458 spider, an F430 spider would not look out of place at the £120k plus mark and that's where I think they will be very soon, I have many similar conversations with many Ferrari owners and they see the 458 and 430 commanding good money for years to come, for many reasons, to many to list really.
I've been courting the idea of selling mine but like other 430 owners I really like the car, it looks even better with age, they are the last model naturally aspirated V8 that you can actually use and enjoy the power without smashing the speed limits, to get in a 458 I'd need a big money, so much that I think I'd actually prefer another Ferrari and have two!!, a 599 maybe?, which again is a solid low financial risk car for the foreseeable future.
Just buy one, enjoy it and you are likely to look back in 5 years to find you have been paid to drive a Ferrari, crazy as that sounds, most 430 owners, myself included are living proof. running cost are peanuts, I've had amazing support from Ferrari Owner Club members on balls joints, track rods, manifolds etc. and main dealer servicing again, cheap money, even insurance is cheap.

I await the steady stream of doom peddlers that hawked around when I bought in 3 years ago, glad I ignored them

[RamboLambo]

At todays crazy prices ? Nope not unless you steal it and I mean STEAL it.
With summer coming to an end in 6 weeks if the urge is that bad at least wait until winter when the dealers will be even more keen to offload pre crash

£120k for a F430 would be insane money. Sold my 2009 top spec low mile car back in 2012 for £85k - that was the time to buy not now at the peak

[KenC]

RamboLambo said:

At todays crazy prices ? Nope not unless you steal it and I mean STEAL it.
With summer coming to an end in 6 weeks if the urge is that bad at least wait until winter when the dealers will be even more keen to offload pre crash

£120k for a F430 would be insane money. Sold my 2009 top spec low mile car back in 2012 for £85k - that was the time to buy not now at the peak

Given your aparent detailed knowledge of markets why did you sell when it was the time to buy ?

[911Thrasher]

Ahahahaha! Love the above and well said/put

[dvb247]

RamboLambo is a known F430 troll, bit of bitterness maybe from his 430 sale timing lol, would ignore, F430's are cheap against all it's V8 model variants, Ferrari will always command a premium regardless of whether you like it or not, I would like nothing more than to see F430 and 458 models half in value, but they won't unless Donald Trump hits the Nuk button on North Korea :O

[RamboLambo]

KenC said:

Given your aparent detailed knowledge of markets why did you sell when it was the time to buy ?

Just like Jeremy Clarkson said I buy all the right cars just at the wrong time. My advice is BUY the car I SELL, its a guaranteed classic.

Was happy with the F430 and price I received at the time and have no beef with any of my past cars, far from it.
Would I pay £85k for a F430 spider in todays market - categorically NO. Been there done that and don't value you it at that price let alone £120k. The car hasn't changed since I sold it but the markets perception may have

[Craigwww]

Buy a F430, they are brilliant cars. I can't believe now that I picked up my black manual F430 5 years ago for 65k!

They are a proper analogue drivers car, beautiful soundtrack, balanced handling and are stunning to look at. I miss mine.

Ignore RL, he is not emotionally invested in cars and only sees numbers and if it's not a boring Mclaren, he will talk it down.

[RamboLambo]

Craigwww said:

Buy a F430, they are brilliant cars. I can't believe now that I picked up my black manual F430 5 years ago for 65k!

They are a proper analogue drivers car, beautiful soundtrack, balanced handling and are stunning to look at. I miss mine.

Ignore RL, he is not emotionally invested in cars and only sees numbers and if it's not a boring Mclaren, he will talk it down.

I might buy a manual F430 at £65k even if it does feel stepping back into yesteryear. The supercar game has moved on so far recently and the F430 is 13 years old now. Sadly not a classic and never will be due to its mass production
430 Scuderia is the one to have though - awesome car and the superfast II gearbox is the best I ever driven

[Craigwww]

RamboLambo said:

I might buy a manual F430 at £65k even if it does feel stepping back into yesteryear. The supercar game has moved on so far recently and the F430 is 13 years old now. Sadly not a classic and never will be due to its mass production
430 Scuderia is the one to have though - awesome car and the superfast II gearbox is the best I ever driven

You really don't have to remind everyone that 'the supercar game has moved on', everyone knows that. However, people buy within their budget and what they desire. Not everyone's budget can stretch to buying the most recent tech and even if it does, alot of people are quite happy with yesterday's heroes... a case in point; don't you own a F355?

If you're such an expert on values (like you like to think you are) surely you could have predicted the F430 value spike and bought a few as an investment... I guess not.

I know you can't help but once again mention you owned a Scud and bleat on about it's gearbox but it's irrelevant, as well you know, the OP won't get one with his budget.

Edited by Craigwww on Tuesday 18th July 11:40

[Frrair]

Walkersport have a nice one.

[bordseye]

Craigwww said:

Buy a F430, they are brilliant cars. I can't believe now that I picked up my black manual F430 5 years ago for 65k!
.

In a way, that says it all. Do you think that a car once worth 65 is now worth 120 and likely to go further? Or is this a bubble?.
Was talking to an FOC member last weekend and he told me of buying his 328 at 20k just a few years ago. Now 80K - again bubble territory.
Trouble is, I can tell you with absolute confidence that this along with all the other classic car prices is a bubble but what I cant tell you is when it will burst.

[PGN6]

There may have been some unrealistic pricing in a rising market to the extent of c10% but people who are expecting to pick up a 25k 348, a 40k 355 etc are kidding themselves. The reality these days is you can spec a Ford Focus between those 2, spend 50k on an M2 or 100k on a Range Rover. The car market is vastly different to the last time prices crashed and these cars still represent a relative bargain, particularly when compared to the entry level pricing that these brands demand these days

[Mike Brown]

PGN6 said:

There may have been some unrealistic pricing in a rising market to the extent of c10% but people who are expecting to pick up a 25k 348, a 40k 355 etc are kidding themselves. The reality these days is you can spec a Ford Focus between those 2, spend 50k on an M2 or 100k on a Range Rover. The car market is vastly different to the last time prices crashed and these cars still represent a relative bargain, particularly when compared to the entry level pricing that these brands demand these days

Totally agree, this says it all

[sparta6]

PGN6 said:

There may have been some unrealistic pricing in a rising market to the extent of c10% but people who are expecting to pick up a 25k 348, a 40k 355 etc are kidding themselves. The reality these days is you can spec a Ford Focus between those 2, spend 50k on an M2 or 100k on a Range Rover. The car market is vastly different to the last time prices crashed and these cars still represent a relative bargain, particularly when compared to the entry level pricing that these brands demand these days

This is correct. Ferraris remain relatively cheap, unless it has a 250 prefix

[anonymous-user]

By my reckoning the average price for an F430 has increased from around £80k to £90 over the last 3 years - around 12.5%. Older V8 models (360, F355, etc) perhaps a little more, newer models (458) are still depreciating. This is pretty normal appreciation for this sort of asset - limited supply, premium brand, global appeal. Like it or not, it's Ferrari that is mentioned first when Joe Public refers to the top of the pile, and this, coupled to an expanding market in both geography and numbers, is driving the increase in values. The very top of the market (250's etc) is quite possibly overheated but unless the buyers dry up I don't see any reason for this trend to reverse. It may slow but as mentioned before - the days of a cheap Ferrari are over. If you find the right car buy now, or wait until the winter if you are prepared to hold out for the seasonal dip.

[mik194]

Thank you all for your comments, most of them were very helpful.

I have just put a deposit down on a 2008 Black/Cream F430 Spider with Carbon Ceramic Brakes, 3 owners and 13K on the clock. Hopefully cost of ownership wont be too bad IF I can resist the temptation to drive it constantly! My wife is looking forward to all the weekends away!

I did ask for various info before buying such as distance travelled in each gear, etc. to verify the mileage as best you can.
I have some screen shots of the Ferrari diagnostics tool (I think its called the SD3?)

distance travelled when added is 20,000 KM which I think is about right. Clutch wear is showing as 1.6% (clutch overheat is 3178 seconds) so guess it has a new clutch.

On Page 1/5 It shows values for % Abrasion Front Axles (32%) and % Abrasion Rear Axles (16%), any idea what that is?

Below that it has DISCS WEAR: REAR DISCS WEAR METER: (16%) and DISCS WEAR: CALCULATION FACTOR (256)

I guess 16% DISC wear on CCM rotors isn't too bad? should there also be a value for the FRONT WEAR?

It will have a main dealer full checkover and service before delivery but I am not actually buying it from a main dealer.

Any other advice or things to check greatly appreciated???

[HIS LM]

Is that the Motorhouse car ? looks lovely, hope you got a good deal and will bring you much joy

Are the wheels standard or upgrade ?

[mik194]

Thank you, yes it is the Motorhouse car, it does take a nice photo. not as much of a deal as I would have liked but I was very particular about what I wanted, probably should have waited but life is too short!

[mik194]

I believe the wheels are the upgraded "Challenge" wheels.