Used Ferraris: a buyer’s guide

You could own a used ‘prancing horse’ thoroughbred for £45,000

Not all that long ago you could buy a perfectly useable Ferrari for under £10,000. Yes, it would have been quite a gamble, but who gave a damn about common sense when the opportunity to have one of these beauties on your drive presented itself?

Nowadays, the price of Ferrari ownership is more than four times that amount, and the potential ownership risks are no less scary either.

Still fancy mortgaging your soul for that bargain Ferrari? Of course you do. Here’s our list of what’s hot and what might be a bit too hot.

Dino 246GT

Technically, Dinos aren’t Ferraris as such. Most folk acknowledge them as Ferraris, however. Far from the quickest ‘everyday’ Ferrari ever – in fact, it’s probably the slowest of the non-vintage era – but the handling, styling and motorsports-honed V6 engine make up for everything. If you’re not sure, check out Tony Curtis’s one in The Persuaders on retro TV. Mad price rises have levelled off a bit recently but you’re still looking at £300,000 for a good one.

Ferrari Berlinetta Boxer

Not one of the sharpest handling Ferraris, but the Boxer – a reference to its ‘flat’ engine format – was fantastic to look at. So was the 12-cylinder engine, as epic now as it was in its day. The early six-exhaust 4.4-litre 365GTBB was spectacular, but the subsequent carburetted 512BB was a better drive, and more visceral than the later fuel-injected 512BBi. The well-deserved renaissance now being enjoyed by the BB has cranked its price up to £250,000.

Ferrari 308 GT4

It looks like Bertone did the bodywork of this one in an off moment, and that’s reflected in the bargain basement £45k entry price, but the 308 GT4 was important as it was the first in a still-continuing line of mid-engined Ferrari V8s. The 3-litre engine had four cams and four carbs and drove better than it looked. The first 308s wore Dino badges.

Ferrari 308GTB

Though it was rather more elegant than the preceding GT4, Pininfarina’s effort didn't move the driving experience on significantly. A contemporary Porsche 911 was as quick and less twitchy at high speed. Standard steel 308GTBs are decent, but the injected 308GTBi is a tad feeble. You’re better off in a 32-valve QV or, best of all, a 328GTB. £70,000 gets you a 308GTB, but if you can find one of the rare lightweight plastic-bodied ‘vetroresina’ cars you’ll need more than twice that.

Ferrari 348tb

Joining the GT4 in the affordability league, the £45k-and-up 348tb has been blighted by its reputation for poor gearshifting and on-the-limit nerviness. Still, it looks lovely and the engine is a peach. For gentler driving it’s not a bad shout.

Ferrari F355

Based on the 348, but you’d never know it from the vast improvement. Early specimens with no airbag on the steering wheel are the best drivers. The 355 was the recipient of Ferrari’s first paddle-shift transmission. Things have moved on a lot since then: this gearbox shows its age in its slowness and clunkiness, so best to give it a miss. Price wise the 355 has been a really fast mover of late so buy very carefully: don’t expect anything special for under £80k.

Ferrari 456GT

Some say this is the loveliest four-seat Ferrari ever. It’s certainly handsome on the inside too thanks to the first-time absence of Fiat parts. The handling is great, as is the engine, the auto gearbox less so. Running costs can be crippling. If you set aside a sensible contingency fund for essential maintenance, things won’t seem so ruinous. Your reward will be a superb grand tourer at prices from £65,000.

Ferrari 360 Modena

A fascinating option, the 360 was faster than the 355 it replaced and is currently quite a bit cheaper on the used market. It’s not as elegant as the 355, and the breakaway will be more sudden when pressing on, but 360 pressing-on speeds will be somewhat higher than 355 ones. Not much attention is being paid to this model, so it could be a smart move at £60k. You’ll need a lot more for the pared-down and super-rare Challenge Stradale, of course. That train left the station a while ago.

Ferrari 599GTB

Lauded as ‘the new Daytona’ when new, the 599 has since been rather overshadowed by the current F12, but in isolation it still stands tall as a majestic Ferrari road car that will scare you with its speed and make you smile with its handling. Against the famed GTO version, for which you might pay anything around £450,000, the regular GTB represents good value at around £120,000.

Ferrari F40

Many believe this to be the ultimate road-legal Ferrari. Stripped right back to the essentials, it is a raw and yet wonderfully satisfying machine, the last built under Enzo Ferrari’s reign. More than 1100 were built by the time production stopped. This was a much smaller number than that stated on the original plan, depressing values for a while, but the F40 bargain days are long gone. You’ll need at least £700,000 for one now.

Ferrari 458

Ferrari’s final non-turbo V8 must surely have a bright investment future. You can cane it around a track and listen to the 9000rpm engine on full song or you can just park it up in your underground garage and lap up the exquisite styling and detailing. The Speciale model is quicker, more seminal and more expensive at £240k, but the normal 458 is a lot easier to live with as an everyday car – not to mention a lot cheaper at £140,000.

Tony Middlehurst is a writer for AutoCar.