This week we thought we’d explore the myth behind mileage, or in South Africa, kilometrage!

There seems to be a disconnect between age, condition and mileage, especially when talking about the Ferrari marque.

For example, an immaculate Ferrari from 2000 with 50,000k’s and a Full Service History is generally considered to be “a difficult sell”, purely based on the “high” mileage. Paradoxically, an immaculate, comparable   Porsche from the same year with 100,000k’s is considered “a good buy”.

Let’s explore the psyche behind this way of thinking.

Is it a preconceived brand reliability theory? Who knows!

In the super car market place, Ferrai has no more reliability concerns than any other-high end marque, in fact, quite the contrary. Without naming and shaming, there are manufacturers of top performing super cars who’s build quality, reliability and re-sale values are nowhere near that of Ferrari.

Here’s the thing, when buying a car, any car, the thing to look out for is a reputable and complete service history.

As for cars with higher mileage, Paolo Martinelli, Chief Engine Designer for Ferrari, once told me that cars, especially high revving performance cars, will only be properly bedded in and have found there “sweet spot” at around 60,000 to 70,000k’s. From then on it’s a simple question of regular maintenance. Most problems or issues occur between zero and 50,000 to 60,000k’s.

 An automobile manufacturer creates a car that is designed to be driven. We buy said car, drive it (for the purpose which it was intended) and then get penalised when we want to sell it. All because it has been used for the exact purpose for which it was designed.

It’s an odd mindset and even odder that it only applies to certain brands, mostly without any kind of logic or substantiation.

So the message we are enforcing is, “Don’t be afraid of higher mileage, the car has simply done what it was designed to do.”