quote:

Originally posted by nhtagmember:
I would never, ever, ever buy a used Ferrari off of eBay or Craigslist

if you're thinking about buying one, there are lots of great places that are reputable dealers

Just one caution about the above.

While there are many reputable dealers, and I did already mention to buy the best car you can (deferred maintenance can be costly), I would say that some FChat members picked up a GREAT car on ebay or craigslist.

You just have to know what you are looking for.

Here's a clue.... sign up for FChat, then search the VIN / Serial number on FChat to see if you have any hits.

That is VERY revealing.

As an example, there is one 348 that has been for sale on the Denver CL for a LONG time. It was a former member's car. It got rear-ended. Close to totaled (totaled for the member, new / current owner picked it up from the insurance company and fixed it).

Rear-ending on a 348/355 is not so good, as the engine and transaxle are one unit. The report from the original owner was that the "wheels were pushed forward" which clearly means something happened to the engine/transmission assembly.

For classics (pre-1970s), there's a section that contains history on many cars. There are even "arguments" on how original is a car. For example. The car was wrecked, sold in parts, rebuilt with a different Ferrari engine and different Ferrari transmission. I think the story goes that another chassis has the original engine and transmission and applied to get the original chassis number. Now there are 2 cars with the same number...

So, just be careful, but sometimes you can find a good deal on CL.

That said, a reputable dealer is best, but you're going to pay more.

James in Denver