Potential 458 purchase

[LindsayMac]

Been a couple of years since I sold my 991 GT3 and I'm looking for new excitement.
New to Ferrari but always liked the 458, now with the opportunity to buy a friends 2010, so some questions if you all don't mind.
Red with black interior, less than 6k on clock, full FSH. No warranty.

2010 - Low millage which is ideal as I am a driver and see the car as a long term friend.
Not sure yet of the spec, has yellow callipers and shields. Still to see the spec list.

Concerns - Gearbox given its a 2010 model. To warranty and keep in main dealer service or go good independent and self warranty. Ran 3 GT3s both road and track, always warranty but no major issues with any of them.

Not interested in future value posts as I expect slow depreciation given I will drive 3-5k miles per year.
Spec wise what is a must have just in case future throws a wobbly and I have to cash out, you never know, I work in Oil Industry.....
I plan to have car inspected by independent specialist in Edinburgh but other than shock leaks, oll leaks anything else I should be on the look out for.

Apologies in advance for my ignorance of the brand, I never really thought I would be buying the Marque.

[Ferruccio]

I’d never buy a car off a friend.
How does it pan out if the gearbox or engine go after a month.........??

[Taffy66]

I bought my 458 last Xmas and enjoy it every time i get to drive it..Will definitely go down in history as one of Ferrari's finest ever creations..Mine has all the Carbon interior bits inc CF racing seat which were 'must haves' for me personally..Other people dislike the Racing seats and much prefer the electric and heated comfort version..each to its own.!.Personally i think the Forged alloys are better looking than the standard ones but this is subjective..
Early pre 2012 model years 458's had some DCT issues which should all have been resolved my now..Make sure the roof lining is Alcantara or leather as the standard lining looks cheap IMO.Front lift is not a must have on the 458 as i never find mine has scraping issues but depends where you drive..

[ferdi p]

Bought & sold amongst friends many times & never had an issue.

The inspection is a wise move.

My only 'must have' with 458's would be racing seats!

[LindsayMac]

Ferruccio said:

I’d never buy a car off a friend.
How does it pan out if the gearbox or engine go after a month.........??

No different to when you buy the car of another human........put you hand in your pocket. At least I know there is nothing known wrong with the car. At least I know I'm not going to be scammed in any way. Its my responsibility once I decide its for me, I'm not a snowflake.

[DT398]

There’s a thread on here that describes some of the differences between earlier and later cars and I believe there were some changes for 2012 models but they seem to be marginal.

Dampers, as you mentioned, seem to be the main recurring theme and I don’t believe they are even covered by the official Ferrari warranty, so there’s a bit of risk there but not the end of the world.

The user interface for nav, radio, trip etc are frankly chaotic compared with a German car but still somehow endearing and they aren’t as sharp to drive as a modern Porsche GT but are 100% much more of an event overall and I agree with Taffy that they are one of Ferrari’s finest. Carbon racing seats are also a must have imho.

Just buy it. Life’s too short!

[willy wombat]

I agree with most of what has been written and I had to change both front dampers at 6000 miles (covered by Ferrari as car was only about 3 years old). To me the race seats are not a “must have”. I much prefer the electric Daytona seats.

[LindsayMac]

Yes warranty on an older car even with less than 6k on the clock I don't expect dampeners to be covered, but they are not massively expensive. I will post up when I see the car, hopefully later next week what the spec is but to be honest, I'll buy it on condition which from others I'm told is minted. Car is hardly driven so that will change if I get it.

I don't want this to turn into a value thread but if there is info out there indicating a £ range feel free to PM me.
Also if there is any knowledge of others for sale other than the ones on PH and AT let me know via PM.

Thanks for all your comments so far, I think I would prefer the racing seats as I have always had buckets in the GT3s but less likely to track this car as I run a Radical SR3RS. Might see a wee Spa trip once in a blue moon.....

[willy wombat]

The only seats I don’t like are the standard seats.

[jtremlett]

The most important option is Shields. Sports seats are definitely a positive but, as can be seen from the posts above, not everybody wants them. Nothing else is very important although with all else being equal (which it rarely is) more options are always better for selling later. Colour isn't mentioned in the original post but, of course, that's important.

[LindsayMac]

Rosso Corsa is the colour. Not y favourite red but still very sharp

[PrancingHorses]

When dampers go they need to be replaced in pairs £4500 for each axel.

[LindsayMac]

PrancingHorses said:

When dampers go they need to be replaced in pairs £4500 for each axel.

Can't say I would like it but I am prepared. I'm sure they can be rebuilt by a specialist, sure I read somewhere. At least with Ferrari you can get parts and manuals etc with McLaren's you struggle with a paint code. Only thing is their warranty is fairly bullet proof.

[Taffy66]

LindsayMac said:

Can't say I would like it but I am prepared. I'm sure they can be rebuilt by a specialist, sure I read somewhere. At least with Ferrari you can get parts and manuals etc with McLaren's you struggle with a paint code. Only thing is their warranty is fairly bullet proof.

There's an UK based company(the name escapes me)which can repair the leaking dampers to as new condition..Its a simple matter of replacing the seals within the strut to keep the oil from escaping.

[isaldiri]

LindsayMac said:

PrancingHorses said:

When dampers go they need to be replaced in pairs £4500 for each axel.

Can't say I would like it but I am prepared. I'm sure they can be rebuilt by a specialist, sure I read somewhere. At least with Ferrari you can get parts and manuals etc with McLaren's you struggle with a paint code. Only thing is their warranty is fairly bullet proof.

The dampers in the 458 (and pretty much every Ferrari since) are some form of the GM magride dampers as used in the Corvette, R8 and quite a few other cars. Would be pretty confident someone would be able to refurb them by now.

[achaddy]

It was Bell Classics that could refurbish them. Was about aprox £500 per damper. Much cheaper than a complete replacement.

One thing I think is a must option on top of what has already been mentioned is the Carbon Fiber Driving Zone and LED Steering wheel.

[Durzel]

Mostly already been said. Dampers are the weak point, everything else is - to my knowledge - pretty solid.

Ferrari warranty covers the major stuff but specifically excludes oil leaks, thus dampers aren't covered. Sadly I know from bitter experience having had to replace all 4. Ferrari UK not interested in my "any leakage = damper failure" argument.

The one bit of advice I would give is for after you've bought it. Make sure you leave it on the battery conditioner. I left mine off for a while (a week, maybe more?) and the next time I started it the dash was like Christmas lights with all kinds of horrifying messages. Rang dealer and they said "oh they do that, just turn it off and back on again". Certainly lives up to its Italian car reputation

[Order66]

Durzel said:

The one bit of advice I would give is for after you've bought it. Make sure you leave it on the battery conditioner. I left mine off for a while (a week, maybe more?) and the next time I started it the dash was like Christmas lights with all kinds of horrifying messages. Rang dealer and they said "oh they do that, just turn it off and back on again". Certainly lives up to its Italian car reputation

Yeah, first time you see the "Electrical Failure - take to dealer" message you'll need new underwear. I find it happens after a long lay-up, perhaps 3 to 4 months (even with conditioner attached) - the dash lights are accompanied by an occasional slight window-drop and failure to turn over on your first stab of the button. However simply switch off, back on and it always fires up fine next time. Someone once told me that when you first turn the key to position 2, give it 10secs before trying to start it up - gives the electronics time to wake up properly and it then fires up properly straight away - not had the "take to dealer" message since doing this.

[PrancingHorses]

I sold mine this summer as had no where to park it due to a big home extension. Glad I did as value's seem to be taking a right hit at the moment. Plenty of nice car's in the Ferrari network now at £130-150k mark - even Spiders are now £150kish. Some 488 Spiders hung around at £200k+ for quite some time and have also now dropped £15-20k - it's surely a buyers market so take your time.

I'm waiting for my extension to finish and hopefully can get a 720s this time at £120k

[f1ten]

Agree with the turn off the battery kill switch to rectify problems! This has worked on my 430 before.


Do it as frankly I cannot say ferrari ownership is remotely equalled by gt3 ownership (unless you do nothing but track days in it).