We started looking for the cheapest Ferraris and Porsches and ended up viewing these two
Have you always wanted a Ferrari or Porsche but never had the money? Richard Bremner has the answers
Devaluation: She can be both a friend and an enemy. It reduces the value of your mobile assets, but it can also put once-unattainable dreams within reach.
The idea of cheap Ferraris and Porsches is almost as old as the brands themselves, but as cliched as the “Ferrari for the price of a Ford” story is, the enthusiasm for the possibility never wanes, so we have no excuses to test again the waters.
You still have to spend the price of a very good set of new rims – a top-of-the-line Ford Kuga, for example – to buy a Ferrari with such a caliber that its presence in your garage won’t quickly fade. With a Porsche, however, the story is a little different.
Priced at the price of a Ford Fiesta – and a less shiny one at that – they’ve been around since the debut of the not-quite-Porsche 924 almost 50 years ago.
In fact, you can still buy a tired 924 for a few thousand, but a more worthwhile and viable proposition is a Boxster, which is available in abundance from around £4,000. That’s almost ten times less than a decent entry-level Ferrari. However, if you can double the amount you pay for a Boxster, the risks might reduce somewhat.
But enough theory. Can you really buy your way into exotic terrain with little money? And does it bring with it the kind of headache you can imagine? Read on to find out…
Quick links: Background – Driving – Maintenance – How to buy a cheap Porsche Boxster – How to buy a cheap Ferrari Mondial
The cars
We set out to find the cheapest Ferraris and Porsches and ended up reviewing the pair you see here. There also wasn’t the absolute cheapest working Porsche or Ferrari available that day, and anything left-hand drive or accident-prone was eliminated.
And in the case of the Porsche, we avoided the Boxsters that have covered much more than 100,000 miles (although that doesn’t mean they’re bad buys) and another type of Porsche that can often be had for even less than a Boxster : the first generation Cayenne.
Early Porsche SUVs often suffer from problems ranging from leaking plastic coolant lines on the V8 to floating air suspension problems and illuminated check engine lights, the causes of which are difficult to isolate. And as impressive as the strange-looking Cayenne was, the Boxster is a more exciting candidate as a sports car.
There’s also more than one starter Ferrari under £40,000. For the truly adventurous (or rash) there’s the 400/412, a stylish four-seater with a V12 engine that’s very similar to a grand tourer and often comes with a cheaper automatic transmission. While demanding and expensive to maintain, it’s still glamorous and gives you one of Ferrari’s more refined engines.
Or there is its successor, the 456 GT – also a V12 four-seater, often with an automatic transmission and also expensive to maintain, according to Roger Collingwood, boss of Kent High Performance Cars.
KHPC has been an established Ferrari specialist for 40 years and is quite possibly the UK’s largest source of used Ferraris. There is also a workshop that maintains, repairs and restores these cars.
Here we find a 1985 Mondial for £37,995, 49,000 miles and 240bhp 2.9-litre V8.
“The Mondial is a typical entry-level Ferrari,” says sales manager Simon Hamilton-Walker. Collingwood adds that its four seats can often help get the green light from a family man’s partner, although Hamilton-Walker adds wryly that the back seats are “only useful if you have no legs.”
Collingwood explains that the majority of inventory is “on a sell-or-return basis” and KHPC receives commissions on cars sold on behalf of customers. Typically 60-70 copies are sold annually.
Each car is inspected before sale and all necessary work is carried out to bring the car up to date. This can include anything from minor fixes to corrosion repair, particularly on older models such as the Mondial, which Collingwood says is “highly susceptible to rust”. He elaborates: “The chassis is usually fine – it’s tubular – but the fenders, doors and sills are all vulnerable.”
The mechanical story is more encouraging. “The engine will easily last 100,000 miles with proper maintenance and regular oil changes,” he adds, and the same goes for the transmission if it is treated with care.
Most mechanical parts are still available for the Mondial and body parts can be found or crafted. Trimming is more difficult, says Collingwood, but can usually be done.
What are they like?
We can’t drive this Mondial because it belongs to a customer, but we are driven with it for a sufficient distance to give the impression that it works as it should, a sports exhaust enhancing its acoustic impact. There are no rattles or squeaks, the engine sounds perfect, everything works and the interior is in excellent condition, as is the red bodywork.
It feels like you can travel a distance with this car instantly and without any hassle.
This probably also applies to the Porsche we found. All doubts arise from its low price and the fact that there were no repair works before the sale.
But this 2002 Boxster with a 228 horsepower 2.7-liter boxer engine (0-60 mph in 6.4 seconds, which isn’t bad for this money) has a very well stamped service book, almost all of them right people, and the last service wasn’t that long ago.
maintenance
There are no invoices, but the complete book package and spare key remain with the car (both encouraging signs), it comes with a factory hardtop, and its mileage of 87,000 miles is below average for its age.
The paint has some scratches and the interior could use a more thorough cleaning, but there should still be plenty of life left in it.
This Boxster is being offered for sale through UK Carz Club, whose owner Ash Rehman operates from his home in Ilford, east London. Most of his stock comes from British Car Auctions, he says, but this Boxster was a trade-in for a newer model.
Neat without being exceptional, for the price it’s fine. Obvious problems are these scratches and the inevitable wear and tear on the steering wheel rim and shifter. But its MOT history confirms the kilometers traveled, the only indications being corrosion on some brake lines, worn brake discs, corrosion on the MacPherson struts and a slight oil leak.
All of this points to a car that could use a small investment for a healthy future life. This includes checking the oil leak, installing new brakes and new brake lines, and repairing the driver’s side power window that doesn’t lower and rise when the door opens and closes (although it otherwise works).
A quick drive around a parking lot suggested shocks and bushes tiring, but nothing else that was obviously a concern. You could probably drive this car for a while on a minimal budget.
However, it would be better to tackle those MOT notices and freshen up the suspension to better enjoy the ride for which the Boxster is so prized. Doing all of this would probably cost a good £3,000 to £5,000 unless you can take care of some of it yourself, but you should then have a mechanically functioning, reasonably priced, relatively low mileage Boxster.
For some, this would make it an interesting and fun ongoing renovation. Others may think it’s better to spend the renovation money on a better car up front, which is always a problem with late-model used cars. However, even an 8,000-pound Boxster is likely to need some of this work, so it might make more sense to buy cheaper.
In any case, the Boxster offers impressive value for money compared to the Ferrari, albeit less glamor. Oddly enough, both reached 60 mph in 6.4 seconds when new.
Both are mid-engined, both have entertaining chassis (although the revised and more expensive 3.2-litre Mondial T is significantly better) and both are infinitely more attractive than the small SUVs you can buy for £5,500 or £38,000.
How to buy an affordable Porsche Boxster
The likelihood of finding a detailed service history on a £5,000 Porsche is much lower than on a Ferrari, but this particular Boxster has an impressively complete set of stamps that are virtually up to date and from both reputable Porsche specialists The manufacturer also has its own network. This is a good start.
The original 986 Boxster has the infamous problem with the intermediate shaft bearing. A failure can destroy an engine instantly. The good news is that this affects fewer cars than the internet suggests, and many have had a change made to correct the problem.
If such work can be proven, great. If not, you’re on your own and failure would be fatal: the £10,000 to £12,000 cost of rebuilding would erode the value of the car.
That’s one of the reasons Boxsters are so cheap, but it only affects a minority. Otherwise, good advice is to buy the best example you can afford. Look for all the usual hazards such as accident damage, tire brand and condition (an indication of current maintenance standards), and signs of neglect and abuse.
How to buy a cheap Ferrari Mondial
Roger Collingwood from KHPC says: “Buy the best you can afford and preferably from a specialist because then it will be checked.”
As a specialist himself, he has to say this, but the condition of this Mondial and the experiences of your regular car buying reporter also confirm this advice. And if you have a problem, you can contact a dealer with a good reputation.
Equally important is the history of the vehicle, especially in the case of a Ferrari, which can deteriorate significantly if not maintained regularly.
This car, as you would expect from a 39-year-old, has a fairly extensive service history, all neatly cataloged. Particularly good news is that the car had new timing belts and a new clutch less than 5,000 miles ago.
Workshops with fixed price menus are also helpful for budget planning. A Mondial service costs £745 at KHPC and a belt change costs £1650 – hardly a Dacia price, but not bad at all for a thoroughbred.