Ferrari 550 1998, good buy (if you have the bottle) or not?

[dvb247]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FERRARI-550-MARANELLO-NO...

With prices increasing this may be worth a punt if you fancy a project?

Has full service history, new clutch, wheels and brakes, engine fine

IMHO it needs major service, all error code from crash resolving, front end and rear quarter redoing bodywork before full paint job, interior later seats need colonising, total for this work is really hard to estimate?

[rubystone]

Everything fits so badly though. What's with the bonnet? Poor photography or is it really that fked at the front? The whole thing needs taking apart. before long you'd be £30k into it. Which is, no doubt, why the current owner is bailing now...there's also a Cat D 612 that seems more 'honest'

[LY99]

rubystone said:

Everything fits so badly though. What's with the bonnet? Poor photography or is it really that fked at the front? The whole thing needs taking apart. before long you'd be £30k into it. Which is, no doubt, why the current owner is bailing now...there's also a Cat D 612 that seems more 'honest'

The bonnet looks like very poorly applied protective film. The bumpers don't even remotely fit!

[Bluebottle911]

Looks / sounds very dodgy to me. I suspect someone has bought a "bargain" which he he has discovered is not and is now trying to "pass the parcel". Cat D is one thing, but Cat C could spell a whole heap of trouble and it will always be difficult to re-sell and / or require a hefty discount to shift it. May be difficult to insure, too. All things considered, I would steer well clear and leave it for Eurospares to buy for parts at c. £15K.

[p3rcyp]

To me it looks as though the bumpers are not genuine and don't fit the car correctly. They also look to have been resprayed a different colour. There is definite bubbling of rust there are the fact the bonnet doesn't fit and the car being a Cat C, I would say there are definitely some horror stories as you look deeper in to the structure of the car. This is one that should not have been put back on the road unless you want a really long and costly project.

[dvb247]

You're all confirming my thoughts, it is CAT C and yes it does look like a total botch job with copy parts and panels, I had a figure of £20k to repair but who knows, nice colour combo!!

[SignalGruen]

rubystone said:

there's also a Cat D 612 that seems more 'honest'

That does look very tempting, especially since it's a manual.

[dvb247]

I'm not going to bid but I'm really interested to see what price it reaches!!

[Birkin1932]

SignalGruen said:

That does look very tempting, especially since it's a manual.

all 550's were manual

[rubystone]

Birkin1932 said:

all 550's were manual

He meant the 612... 😃

[rubystone]

Birkin1932 said:

all 550's were manual

He meant the 612... 😃

[andymc]

car needs finishing off, never a truer word spoken

[rubystone]

andymc said:

car needs finishing off, never a truer word spoken

mind you...listing has been ended early....

[jayemm89]

Am I the only one who gets the distinct impression the seller bought this thinking he'd got a bargain and has found out underneath there is a frightening bill?

It takes a lot to make a 550 Cat C, surely? Even with Ferrari body panel prices

[harrykul]

Here's a little video of it on Youtube- doesn't make me feel any better about it having viewed it...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zi1uUIkp-zM

[jayemm89]

Should the exhausts be that far off-centred in the gaps in the rear panel?

Was thinking the car had a front-end shunt at some point, but not so sure now?

[jayemm89]

Ran an HPI check on the car, if anyone is curious PM me. Car was written off in 2012 under a different reg.

[rubystone]

jayemm89 said:

Ran an HPI check on the car, if anyone is curious PM me. Car was written off in 2012 under a different reg.

Does the latest advert not state that? The previous one did...no doubt that with this car you'll be sorting out a lot of problems for a long time. It'd have to be under £20k for most sensible people to want to experience that pain

[Davo456gt]

rubystone said:

mind you...listing has been ended early....

try this instead... same car ?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FERRARI-550-MARANELLO/20...

[jayemm89]

rubystone said:

Does the latest advert not state that? The previous one did...no doubt that with this car you'll be sorting out a lot of problems for a long time. It'd have to be under £20k for most sensible people to want to experience that pain

Yes the advert does state that but for £9.99 I was curious to see if there was anything else lurking. Also wondered just how long ago the accident was.

I had a few conversations with the seller which don't inspire confidence, mostly the fact he won't allow a proper third-party inspection of the car until AFTER negotiating a price and having the money. Seems to me the wrong way round to have things.