We went looking for the cheapest Ferrari and Porsche and ended up inspecting these two
Depreciation: It can be both a friend and an enemy. It lowers the value of your wheeled possessions, but can also bring once-unattainable dreams within reach.
The idea of cheap Ferraris and Porsches is almost as old as the brands themselves, but as cliché as the ‘Ferrari for the price of a Ford’ story is, the excitement about this possibility never wanes, so we’re not making any excuses to test the waters one more time.
You’ll still have to spend the price of a very decent set of new wheels – a top-end Ford Kuga, for example – to buy a Ferrari of sufficient caliber to ensure its presence in your garage doesn’t sour any time soon. For a Porsche, however, the story is quite different.
Those for the price of a Ford Fiesta – and a not-so-shiny one at that – have been around since the not-quite-Porsche 924 made its debut almost fifty years ago.
In fact, you can still buy a tired 924 for a few thousand euros, but a more rewarding and viable proposition is a Boxster, of which there are plenty from around £4000. That’s almost 10 times less than for a decent starter Ferrari, but If you can double the amount you pay for a Boxster, the risks may become somewhat smaller.
But enough theory. Can you really venture into an exotic area on a budget? And does that come with the kind of headaches you’d imagine? Read on to find out…
Quick links: Background – Driving – Maintenance – How do you buy a budget Porsche Boxster? – How do you buy a cheap Ferrari Mondial?
The cars
We went looking for the cheapest Ferrari and Porsche and ended up inspecting the pair you see here. Neither was definitely the cheapest functioning Porsche or Ferrari available on the day, eliminating anything left-hand drive or accident registered.
And in the case of the Porsche, we avoided the Boxsters that had driven much more than 100,000 miles (although that doesn’t mean they are bad purchases) and another kind of Porsche that can often be had for even less than a Boxster: the first generation Cayenne.
Early Porsche SUVs often suffered from problems ranging from leaking plastic coolant lines on the V8 to levitation problems with the air suspension and glowing engine management lights with causes that are difficult to isolate. Plus, as impressive as the strange-looking Cayenne was, the Boxster is a more exciting prospect because it’s a sports car.
There is also more than one starter Ferrari under £40,000. For the truly adventurous (or brash) there is the 400/412, an elegant four-seater with a V12 engine that is truly a grand tourer and often equipped with a depreciating automatic gearbox. It’s thirsty and expensive to maintain, yet glamorous and gives you one of Ferrari’s finer engines.
Or there is its successor, the 456 GT – also a V12 four-seater, also often an automatic and also expensive to maintain, according to Kent High Performance Cars boss Roger Collingwood.
KHPC is an established Ferrari specialist – for 40 years to date – and quite possibly the largest source of used Ferraris in the UK. It also has a workshop that maintains, repairs and restores these cars.
Here we find a £37,995, 49,000 mile 1985 Mondial, with the 240bhp 2.9-litre V8.
“The Mondial is a typical entry-level Ferrari,” says sales executive Simon Hamilton-Walker. Collingwood adds that the four-seat option can often give a family man’s partner the green light, although Hamilton-Walker dryly adds that the back seat is “only useful if you have no legs”.
Collingwood explains that most of the inventory is “on a sell-or-return basis,” with KHPC earning commission on cars sold on behalf of customers. It typically sells 60-70 per year.
Each car is inspected before it is sold and any work is carried out to bring the car up to standard. This can include anything from minor rectification to corrosion repair, especially on older models such as the Mondial, which Collingwood says is “very susceptible to rust”. He explains: “The chassis is mostly fine – it’s tubular – but the wings, doors and sills are all vulnerable.”
The mechanical story is more encouraging. “If the engine is properly maintained and the oil is changed regularly, the engine can travel 100,000 miles without any problems,” he adds, and the same goes for the gearbox if it is treated carefully.
Most mechanical parts are still available for the Mondial and body panels can be found or fabricated. Trimming is more difficult, Collingwood says, but can usually be made.
How are they?
We can’t drive this Mondial because it belongs to a customer, but we are taken for a spin in it over enough distance to suggest that it functions as intended: a sports exhaust that elevates its aural impact. There are no rattles or squeaks, the engine sounds healthy, everything works and the interior is in excellent condition, as is the red bodywork.
It feels like you can cover a long distance with this car straight away and without any problems.
That probably also applies to the Porsche we found, any doubts arising from its low price and the fact that no repair work was done on it before the sale.
But this 2002 Boxster, with a 228 hp 2.7-liter six-cylinder (for 0-100 km/h in 6.4 seconds, which is not bad for the money), has a very well-stamped maintenance booklet, almost all of it the right people, and the last maintenance was not that long ago.
Maintenance
There are no invoices, but the complete booklet remains with the car, as does the second key (both encouraging signs), the car comes with a factory hardtop and the 87,000 miles are below average for its age.
The paint shows quite a few scratches and the interior could use a thorough cleaning, but there should still be enough life in it.
This Boxster is for sale at the 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, it’s reasonable for the price. Obvious problems are the scratches and inevitable wear and tear on the steering wheel rim and gear lever. But the MOT history confirms the kilometers, the only recommendations are corrosion on some brake lines, worn brake discs, corrosion on the MacPherson struts and a slight oil leak.
All this suggests a car that could use a light investment for a fit future life. This includes checking oil leaks, installing new brakes and new brake lines, and repairing the driver’s power window, which does not go down and up when the door is opened and closed (although it otherwise functions). .
A quick drive around a parking lot suggested tiring shock absorbers and bushes, but nothing else that was obvious. On a minimal budget, you could probably keep this car running for a while.
However, it would be better to take those MOT advice and freshen up the suspension, to better enjoy the chassis that the Boxster is admired for. Doing all this would probably cost a good £3000-£5000 unless you can take care of it yourself, but you should then have a mechanically adequate, relatively low mileage, budget Boxster.
For some, that would make it an interesting and enjoyable rolling renovation. Others may think it’s better to spend the renovation money on a better car in the first place, which is always the conundrum with older used cars. That said, even an £8000 Boxster is likely to need some of this work, so buying cheaper might be smarter.
Regardless, the Boxster offers impressive value compared to the Ferrari, albeit less glamorous. Oddly enough, they both reached 60 mph in 6.4 seconds when new.
Both are mid-engined, both have entertaining chassis (although the facelifted and more expensive 3.2-litre Mondial T is considerably better) and both are infinitely more attractive than the small SUVs you can buy for £5500 or £38,000.
How do you buy a budget Porsche Boxster?
The chance that you will find an extensive service history on a €5000 Porsche is much smaller than on a Ferrari, but this specific Boxster has an impressively complete stamp set that is virtually up to date and with both well-known Porsche specialists and the stamps from the maker. own network. That’s a good start.
In the case of the original 986 Boxster there is the infamous problem with the intermediate axle bearings. A malfunction can instantly shred an engine. The good news is that this affects fewer cars than the internet suggests and many adjustments will have been made to negate the problem.
If such work can be proven, great. If not, you’ll be on your own and failure will be final: the £10,000 to £12,000 rebuild cost will drown the car’s value.
That is one of the reasons why Boxsters are so cheap, but only a minority suffers from it. Otherwise, good advice is to buy the best one you can afford. Check for all the usual hazards, such as accident damage, the make and condition of the tires (an indication of recent maintenance standards) and signs of neglect and abuse.
How do you buy a cheap Ferrari Mondial?
Roger Collingwood of KHPC says: “Buy the best you can afford and ideally from a specialist, because then it has been checked.”
As a specialist he has to say this, but the condition of this Mondial and the experiences of your serial purchase reporter also confirm this advice. And if you do have a problem, you can go to a dealer with a good reputation.
Just as important is the history of the car, especially in the case of a Ferrari, which can deteriorate significantly if not maintained regularly.
This car has a fairly extensive maintenance booklet, as you would expect from a 39-year-old, everything neatly catalogued. Particularly good news is that it had new timing belts and a new clutch less than 5,000 miles ago.
Workshops with fixed price menus are also useful for budgeting. A Mondial service costs £745 and a belt change £1650 at KHPC – hardly Dacia prices, but not bad at all for a thoroughbred.
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