How to buy a used Ferrari for less than a new Ford

It’s here where we find a £37,995, 49,000-mile Mondial from 1985, with the 240bhp 2.9-litre V8.

“The Mondial is a typical entry-level Ferrari,” says sales executive Simon Hamilton-Walker. Collingwood adds that its four seats can often help win a green light from a family man’s partner, although Hamilton-Walker drily adds that the rear seats “are only useful if you haven’t got legs”.

Collingwood explains that most of the stock “is on a sale-or-return basis”, KHPC earning commission on cars sold on behalf of customers. It typically sells 60-70 annually.

Every car is inspected before it’s sold and any necessary work carried out to bring the car up to standard. This can include anything from minor rectification to corrosion repair, especially on older models like the Mondial, which Collingwood says “is very prone to rust”. He elaborates: “The chassis is usually okay – it’s tubular – but the wings, doors and sills are all vulnerable.”

The mechanical story is more encouraging. “The engine will do 100,000 miles with no problem if it’s properly maintained and has regular oil changes,” Collingwood says, and the same applies to the gearbox if it’s treated carefully.

Most mechanical parts are still available for the Mondial and body panels can be found or fabricated. Trim is harder, says Collingwood, but can usually be made.

What's it like?

We can’t drive this Mondial, because it belongs to a customer, but we’re taken for a ride in it over enough distance to suggest that it functions as it should, a sports exhaust lifting its aural impact. There are no rattles or squeaks, the engine sounds healthy, everything works and the interior is in excellent shape, as is the red bodywork.

It feels like you could immediately do some distance in this car with no issue.

Servicing

There are no invoices, but the full book pack remains with the car, as does the second key (both encouraging signs), it comes with a factory hard top and its 87,000 miles are below average for its age. 

The paintwork carries quite a few scratches and the interior could use a deeper clean, but there should be plenty of life left in it yet.

Ultimately it's mid-engined and infinitely more appealing than the new small SUVs that £40,000 could buy you.

How to buy a budget Ferrari Mondial

Collingwood says: “Buy the best that you can afford and ideally from a specialist, because then it will have been checked over.”

As a specialist himself, he’s bound to say this, but equally the condition of this Mondial and the experiences of your serially car-buying reporter bear out this advice. And if you do have a problem, there’s a dealer with a good reputation to go back to.