Discussion
It is not normal, I've been looking for a Maranello (either 550 or 575) for about 4 years. It just hasn't happened so far for a number of reasons.
There are currently very few for sale, some of those for sale have been for some time and right now asking prices are somewhat inflated.
Condition and service history is everything on one of these cars. Ferrari's are very mileage sensitive but now you're at 20+ years old, worry less about miles and find one that's been used and very well maintained.
Get yourself onto FChat, there are a lot of owners and it's a huge resource for information.
There are very few differences between the first and last years of the 550, unlike the 575 which went through a number of minor and not so minor changes through it's 4-5 year lifespan.
One of the best videos produced on this car is on the Harry's Garage YouTube channel, no doubt you've watched it already. Plus JayEmm recently bought one and he gives a no nonsence review of his ownership.
They are wonderful cars, I've never driven anything like it (I have only driven 575's though - three F1's and one manual). I will own one, hopefully sooner rather than later.
There are currently very few for sale, some of those for sale have been for some time and right now asking prices are somewhat inflated.
Condition and service history is everything on one of these cars. Ferrari's are very mileage sensitive but now you're at 20+ years old, worry less about miles and find one that's been used and very well maintained.
Get yourself onto FChat, there are a lot of owners and it's a huge resource for information.
There are very few differences between the first and last years of the 550, unlike the 575 which went through a number of minor and not so minor changes through it's 4-5 year lifespan.
One of the best videos produced on this car is on the Harry's Garage YouTube channel, no doubt you've watched it already. Plus JayEmm recently bought one and he gives a no nonsence review of his ownership.
They are wonderful cars, I've never driven anything like it (I have only driven 575's though - three F1's and one manual). I will own one, hopefully sooner rather than later.
Edited by 21ATS on Thursday 1st April 21:53
be very careful right now
prices inflated and fabricated as suggested earlier .... in part because of covid boredom and lack of supply
Slades in particular have a number of examples, and they seem to be attempting to create their own pricing/market
all smoke and mirrors IMO and cars have not charged hands for those sorts of levels for a long time
just have a look at past collecting cars auctions to know what people are truly paying for them in the last 18 months or so
a 6 month in house warranty and protection from consumer rights shouldn't really cost a £40,000 premium !
prices inflated and fabricated as suggested earlier .... in part because of covid boredom and lack of supply
Slades in particular have a number of examples, and they seem to be attempting to create their own pricing/market
all smoke and mirrors IMO and cars have not charged hands for those sorts of levels for a long time
just have a look at past collecting cars auctions to know what people are truly paying for them in the last 18 months or so
a 6 month in house warranty and protection from consumer rights shouldn't really cost a £40,000 premium !
Slades have 6 on offer presently, 3 x 550's and 3 x 575's.
All will likely be sale or return, and not one of them is remotely sensibly priced, hence they've not sold.
The Yellow "Rod Stewart" car has been for sale so long I've lost track of it. They all just move from dealer to dealer every so often.
All will likely be sale or return, and not one of them is remotely sensibly priced, hence they've not sold.
The Yellow "Rod Stewart" car has been for sale so long I've lost track of it. They all just move from dealer to dealer every so often.
The thought process is; I want to scratch the Ferrari itch, I want a manual V12 over the mid engine cars, I am not keen on the 456/612, and a 550 hits the budget perfectly.
Then I am pretty sure the interior will be crema or beige, I know TDF looks good on a 550 but I already have 2 blue cars.
As others have said there are some salty prices being asked for SOR cars. I see retail cars at £90 - 100k which to me look like they should be £75k, but as always the market will decide.
I once spent 2 years looking for an early 911, it paid off and I bought a fabulous car. This quest could easily take longer as there are fewer cars to choose from.
Thanks for all of your advice.
Then I am pretty sure the interior will be crema or beige, I know TDF looks good on a 550 but I already have 2 blue cars.
As others have said there are some salty prices being asked for SOR cars. I see retail cars at £90 - 100k which to me look like they should be £75k, but as always the market will decide.
I once spent 2 years looking for an early 911, it paid off and I bought a fabulous car. This quest could easily take longer as there are fewer cars to choose from.
Thanks for all of your advice.
21ATS said:
Join the queue 
Manual transmission swaps for 575's are now a real thing. Realistically I'm leaning in that direction now.
Probably picking up a 575 F1 and living with it for a while knowing I can swap it to a manual should I really not like living with the F1 box.
Interesting that when I bought my manual 575 a decade ago all the Ferrari guys told me I was buying the wrong gearbox and that's why it was £10k cheaper than the equivalent F1!Manual transmission swaps for 575's are now a real thing. Realistically I'm leaning in that direction now.
Probably picking up a 575 F1 and living with it for a while knowing I can swap it to a manual should I really not like living with the F1 box.
cgt2 said:
Interesting that when I bought my manual 575 a decade ago all the Ferrari guys told me I was buying the wrong gearbox and that's why it was £10k cheaper than the equivalent F1!
Having driven both, it's not the driving bit that bothers me (i.e. when you're making progress). There's actually a reasonably good argument for the F1 over the manual in that specific area.It's the parking, junctions, traffic, manouvering, beeping in reverse etc that I struggled with. I'd need to live with one for a while to figure out if it bothered me long term or if it was something I'd just get comfortable with.
I'm actually ok with that now there's a realistic option of swapping it to a manual if I find I really struggle with the F1 system.
Unlike the OP, this isn't an itch I'm scratching, this is life keeper for me.
Now the price point between a manual and F1 575 is so vast, buying a manual is not realistic for me. £188K for the silverstone car this weekend, which is just daft IMO. I guess it's why the 550 asking prices have all firmed up. However, like all things , they can ask what they like, it doesn't mean anyone is actually buying at those numbers.
Edited by 21ATS on Friday 2nd April 21:40
21ATS said:
Having driven both, it's not the driving bit that bothers me (i.e. when you're making progress). There's actually a reasonably good argument for the F1 over the manual in that specific area.
It's the parking, junctions, traffic, manouvering, beeping in reverse etc that I struggled with. I'd need to live with one for a while to figure out if it bothered me long term or if it was something I'd just get comfortable with.
I'm actually ok with that now there's a realistic option of swapping it to a manual if I find I really struggle with the F1 system.
Unlike the OP, this isn't an itch I'm scratching, this is life keeper for me.
Having owned both I would say the 550 ticked more boxes for me personally. I preferred the more retro cabin, Jaeger dials rather than generic Fiat/Alfa ones, no beeps when indicating. To drive I honestly could not tell the difference, at the age these cars are now maintenance and setup would outweigh any nominal horsepower advantage.It's the parking, junctions, traffic, manouvering, beeping in reverse etc that I struggled with. I'd need to live with one for a while to figure out if it bothered me long term or if it was something I'd just get comfortable with.
I'm actually ok with that now there's a realistic option of swapping it to a manual if I find I really struggle with the F1 system.
Unlike the OP, this isn't an itch I'm scratching, this is life keeper for me.
cgt2 said:
Having owned both I would say the 550 ticked more boxes for me personally. I preferred the more retro cabin, Jaeger dials rather than generic Fiat/Alfa ones, no beeps when indicating. To drive I honestly could not tell the difference, at the age these cars are now maintenance and setup would outweigh any nominal horsepower advantage.
I actually prefer the classic design of the 550. Quite honestly I'd be happy with either.In the back of mind is the fact that a manual is also likely to be more easy to maintain long term than an ageing F1 system.
jackal said:
be very careful right now
prices inflated and fabricated as suggested earlier .... in part because of covid boredom and lack of supply
Slades in particular have a number of examples, and they seem to be attempting to create their own pricing/market
all smoke and mirrors IMO and cars have not charged hands for those sorts of levels for a long time
just have a look at past collecting cars auctions to know what people are truly paying for them in the last 18 months or so
a 6 month in house warranty and protection from consumer rights shouldn't really cost a £40,000 premium !
As best I can tell, Collecting Cars have sold 5 RHD 550s. Including their 6% premium the prices were approximately 63k, 64k, 80k, 82k and 84k. The mileages were 55k,58k,46k,30k and 27k. prices inflated and fabricated as suggested earlier .... in part because of covid boredom and lack of supply
Slades in particular have a number of examples, and they seem to be attempting to create their own pricing/market
all smoke and mirrors IMO and cars have not charged hands for those sorts of levels for a long time
just have a look at past collecting cars auctions to know what people are truly paying for them in the last 18 months or so
a 6 month in house warranty and protection from consumer rights shouldn't really cost a £40,000 premium !
I see three cars in the PH classifieds at dealers (not Slades) who are asking 90-95k for 35k-27k mile cars. Basically a 10k mark up on the Collecting Car "private sale" prices for comparable cars. I don't find that particularly out of whack. Pity the previous owner of my current 550 (mileage in the teens) who paid, if I remember correctly from the file, at least 160k in the heady days of 2015 or so....
These are the numbers I have for the 550 results on Collecting cars.
Unhelpfully, sometimes the 6% is included in this number and sometimes it isn't. But these are the records I kept for prices and dates.
31/03/20 - 54,570 miles - £59,500 (£63,000 incl fees)
07/08/20 - 27,347 miles - £79,500 - not sure if this one is inclusive or not
24/09/20 - 58,300 miles - £60,000 - not sure if this one is inclusive or not - the Ex Hammond car.
16/10/20 - 46,048 miles - £76,000 - not sure if this one is inclusive or not
10/02/21 - 29,407 miles - £77,501 - not sure if this one is inclusive or not
Unhelpfully, sometimes the 6% is included in this number and sometimes it isn't. But these are the records I kept for prices and dates.
31/03/20 - 54,570 miles - £59,500 (£63,000 incl fees)
07/08/20 - 27,347 miles - £79,500 - not sure if this one is inclusive or not
24/09/20 - 58,300 miles - £60,000 - not sure if this one is inclusive or not - the Ex Hammond car.
16/10/20 - 46,048 miles - £76,000 - not sure if this one is inclusive or not
10/02/21 - 29,407 miles - £77,501 - not sure if this one is inclusive or not
21ATS said:
These are the numbers I have for the 550 results on Collecting cars.
Unhelpfully, sometimes the 6% is included in this number and sometimes it isn't. But these are the records I kept for prices and dates.
31/03/20 - 54,570 miles - £59,500 (£63,000 incl fees)
07/08/20 - 27,347 miles - £79,500 - not sure if this one is inclusive or not
24/09/20 - 58,300 miles - £60,000 - not sure if this one is inclusive or not - the Ex Hammond car.
16/10/20 - 46,048 miles - £76,000 - not sure if this one is inclusive or not
10/02/21 - 29,407 miles - £77,501 - not sure if this one is inclusive or not
https://collectingcars.com/?refinementList%5Bstage...Unhelpfully, sometimes the 6% is included in this number and sometimes it isn't. But these are the records I kept for prices and dates.
31/03/20 - 54,570 miles - £59,500 (£63,000 incl fees)
07/08/20 - 27,347 miles - £79,500 - not sure if this one is inclusive or not
24/09/20 - 58,300 miles - £60,000 - not sure if this one is inclusive or not - the Ex Hammond car.
16/10/20 - 46,048 miles - £76,000 - not sure if this one is inclusive or not
10/02/21 - 29,407 miles - £77,501 - not sure if this one is inclusive or not
Edited by footsoldier on Saturday 3rd April 13:54
3gadgriff said:
These 3 words above...spot on! They might drop a bit in price, but they might not. If you buy one, you won’t care either way. My four-and-a-bit years of 550 ownership (I used it as my DD and covered 28000 miles) was the best motoring experience of my life. Better than my 599. Better than any of my various 911s. The 550 is sublime, it was reliable, and let’s be honest they look absolutely gorgeous. I must have had a recent bang on the head when I sold mine. It’s the only plausible explanation I have for such madness!
Buy one OP!
footsoldier said:
https://collectingcars.com/?refinementList%5Bstage...
Notice how some say "winning bid" and others "sale price". Edited by footsoldier on Saturday 3rd April 13:54
Some they show the fees included, some they don't, there seems to be some latitude with the 6% fee.
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