Ferrari F430 Spider F1

The Ferrari F430 takes its place, generation wise, in the middle of two other great Ferraris; the now modern classic 360 lies before it and the futuristic 458 after it.  With an all new V8 engine, aggressive yet elegant styling, the F430 really does look timeless.  To the untrained eye, a soul who has never laid their eyes on a Ferrari before, it could quite possibly be a new Ferrari.  Except it isn’t, it is now a used bargain and here at Trade Classics we think a modern classic in the making.

Ferrari’s heritage and racing development coupled with Pininfarina design is now available to you for less than you may envisage.

A Ferrari F430 Spider was built with solely one intent in mind, to excite anybody within the vicinity of it.  Regardless of whether you are a ten year old school kid sat at a bus stop watching and hearing it pass, or you are indeed the driver.

And that is why this particular F430 Spider F1 listed here with us at Trade Classics is a very special car – it has lived its life as it was born to do so; exciting those around it.

Built in 2007, it was draped in Nero Daytona metallic black paint with exquisite tan leather, then filled with many added extras.  Challenge rims and rear grill to look even more aggressive.  All round parking sensors, Bluetooth and iPod connection, along with heated seats for comfort and convenience.

For a car that offers excitement, speed and agility by nature, this really is a complete package without compromise.  Add to this a cracking after market upgrade audio system to the tune of just shy of 3000 GBP, carbon ceramic brakes, a mesmerising exhaust note, top down motoring, F1 style gear changes and neat touches such as Nero stitching, it really is a pleasure for the senses.  Who would want to spend too much time away from a car like this?

Well, this particular example has certainly not been left standing alone, and thus has an extremely meaningful mileage of just shy of 64,000 miles under its belt.  With 94% of its total use being with one owner from new, attended to by the same garage, and the remaining 6% with a caring enthusiast owner.

A sensible reserve price has been set, of course we can’t tell you what it actually is, however, we are prepared to say it is one of the lowest price, if not the lowest in the U.K.

It is true. 64,000 miles could be deemed ‘high’ for a ten year old Ferrari, but this car has covered 60,000 miles from new in 2007, always serviced and attended to when needed by the same main dealer and in the care of the first owner up to January 2017.

That is 125 miles per week on average.  Which is a very healthy number and enough to charge the battery correctly, warm up the exhaust system fully and stop the brakes from sticking.  Remember, it is only by driving a car to attain a meaningful mileage under its belt from new that issues can reveal themselves, be diagnosed and fixed.  The living proof of this are the comprehensive service records that accompany this car.  Very reassuring past life in my eyes. It has history, therefore a credible reputation.

There is nothing more heart breaking and inconvenient when faults and failures lurk in the background through the car being stored to ‘preserve’ it.  Imagine the scenario, bags packed, hotel booked, the weather is spot on, the perfect passenger sits waiting and you jump in an F430 that has been stored for a few months.  Yes it is perfectly clean, yes it has been trickled charged but then ten minutes into the journey an ugly warning light reveals itself.  Time for disruption.

Had you been driving it for the last few days, or simply regularly, perhaps you would have come across, diagnosed and cured the issue at a more convenient time.  Or perhaps it may never have failed thanks to regular use.

This particular F430 is in regular use.  In fact, it may even be roaming the streets of West London as I write this, exciting all those around it.  In January 2017, this F430 started the second chapter of its life with Palitha at 60’000 miles or so, and to date has continued a healthy weekly average of 100 miles per week, currently nestling at just shy of 64,000 miles.

When Palitha told us he is moving onto pastures new, and thus it was time for the mighty F430 to do the same, the Trade Classics team went to meet with Palitha and have a closer look at the modern-classic-to-be Ferrari.  Highlights of which can be seen in the following video:

Wheels – The upgraded Challenge style rims look awesome and are exempt from any kerbing, and may benefit from a freshen up of the centre caps. Notable is the misshaped offside front alloy wheel – it has a flat spot/shallow buckle as can be seen in the photographs.

Body – Visually striking from all angles, the panel gaps are even, with a small pin dent the size of a penny on drivers door.  Another penny sized pin dent on the nearside rear quarter – a savvy PDR specialist may be able to remove / improve these, and lastly a noticeable shallow crease / small dent of approx 6 inches in diameter on near side rear lower quarter panel – this is likely to require a body shop but PDR folk have pleasant surprises in store sometimes. Some very small bubbles in paint below the window trim edges and wing mirror mount.  Photos detailing these imperfections are included in the gallery, and for a complete video walk around of the car please see below.

Paint – Please see the pictures for paint depth analysis over the body.  Palitha informs us that he had the bumper and bonnet professionally resprayed to remove stone chips.  We couldn’t see any paint colour of texture difference with the naked eye.  There are age related marks but none of which that stand out terribly (these may be seen close up in the photographs).

Trim and Glass – Nearside corner edge of folding roof trim protruding ever so slightly, rear diffuser wears a small chip, but the glass all looks tip top.  Usual wear on the front windscreen with no large chips.

Steering Wheel – Good condition and shows no signs of excessive wear.  A glorious Ferrari upgrade in the form of a yellow rev counter sits proudly behind it, very nice view indeed.

Driver’s Seat – The drivers side seat bolster is showing wear in line with 60k miles and a car that is low to get in and out of.

Seats and Carpet – Both in good order with only two points to note: the handbrake gaiter is split and the near side headlining is starting to come away as it meets the edge of the convertible roof panel.

Engine – The V8 chain driven Ferrari heart started perfectly from cold / hot and sounded glorious, with no tell tale signs of any impending issues.

The Drive – Due to London traffic the F430 was driven up to 50mph where possible, but looked to drive fine in traffic, on the move, stopping and starting – it behaved well for the short but city intense route.

Gearbox and Clutch – the F1 style gearbox looked to work as it should, no strange noises or hesitations – the last clutch measurement noted in the history is from May 2015 at 48,839 miles with recorded wear at the time of 58%. The car did not exhibit any issues clutch wise during our time with it.

Excitement is certainly present with this car. Fabulous exhaust note, healthy engine sound and immense road presence, with good behaviour to match.  No warning lights, we heard no clonking from suspension (despite a recent advisory that soon the car may need some ball joints) with very minimal if any play in the steering.

This driver’s car wears its heart on its sleeve.  It wears its 64k mile history with pride and with great weight of paperwork to match.  From the original bill of sale to recent services, the vast majority all with a reputable establishment.  It has a cool air about it, probably because when a desirable model of car becomes older, and it not the newest-latest-in-the-magazine-features-first-drives, it naturally transitions to a state of establishment and reputation.  And a car with meaningful mileage has just that, reputation.  It has earned it.

This is not a concourse, wrapped in cotton wool, stored in a giant bubble show car.  This car is brave, it lives in the real world, on the road where it can be enjoyed as it was designed to do so.  It is not afraid to undertake journeys that a Honda Civic would be at home doing.  It has been used, maintained, so it can be used more, and then maintained, and used some more.  And so on.

If that sounds like we are in a fantasy world and out of touch, just hear us out for a few moments longer.  There is planned, predictable maintenance, and there is the type of maintenance that comes out of the blue.  Without a magic wand we cannot comment on that, for any car, not even our own mechanical pets.  So here is a quick run down as a final word, if you do consider this marvellous motor as your drivers car of choice:

• Budget for a new F1 pump and clutch. If you are reading this with the intent of buying an F430, no doubt you will know it is something that comes up in ownership.  Then feel good knowing that once you have it done, it is done and you can monitor it, and your driving style may dictate that it is ‘done’ for many years.
• Put aside some money to repair or replace the rim with a slight indent.
• Put aside for a new set of tyres, it will need it in the near future.
• Find a leather specialist to conolise / repair the drivers bolster and clean the remaining interior to match, and
• Repair/replace the handbrake gaiter and while they are at it, they may as well re-stick the roof lining.
• When the ball joints start to make noise, replace them at a later date.

Our understanding is that this particular engine runs with timing chains, therefore there is no rubber toothed belt to replace.  However, it would be worth investigating to know more about any preventative necessary servicing they require.

Once you get used to the car and know it, perhaps a trip to a trusted bodyshop for some PDR and repair to make it dent free.  Driving it in the meantime?  Perhaps you won’t feel so precious about it and enjoy it all the more and leave it as it is until it needs something…we would.

You now have our thoughts from spending the morning with the F430 in question and its caring, petrol head enthusiast owner Palitha.

So for those of you seeking a Ferrari to make the word excitement a permanent fixture in your life and its surroundings, you might just be the perfect candidate for the now open position of ‘The Driver’…for the third chapter of this F430’s life.

With a sensible reserve for sale don’t underestimate how achievable this is.

1. A HPi check has been actioned against the vehicle and there is no previous recorded history of any accidents or ever been stolen. However, there is currently outstanding finance against the vehicle that Palitha is in the process of settling and will clear in full before accepting any monies from the winning buyer.  For more information on this process then please see our Terms and Conditions.

2. The vehicle currently has a private number plate that Palitha wishes to keep and is therefore not included in the sale. Once the sale is agreed then Palitha will action the online process to put the number on retention.  This is an immediate process, however, new plates have to be made that may take a couple of days.  Please liaise directly with Palitha if you have any questions on this process.  Here’s a link to the online process with more information.

Cold Start
A video showing a cold start with laser temperature gauge.

Test Drive
Meet Palitha, the seller, on a short drive around West London.

Bodywork Review
A walk around video showing all areas of the bodywork.  Please remember this is a comprehensive video pointing out all issues no matter how small to give you complete confidence.  The car is over 10 years old and considered in good condition.

MIKE ATWAL
This auction listing was written by Mike Atwal from information gained from Palitha (owner and seller of the vehicle) and Adam Purrier (owner of Trade Classics) when he visited the vehicle on the 4th Sep 2017.  Mike works for Trade Classics as a vehicle appraiser and journalist and has many years’ experience in the classic car sector – for over 8 years he was the General Manager of the Classic Car Club in London.

If you have any specific questions about the vehicle then please use the comments section below.  Palitha will receive a notification and will reply as soon as he can.