1988 Ferrari 412 GT

Finished in Argento Nürburgring Metallic Silver with a Pelle Blu leather interior, ‘F328 OYP’ has been in the seller’s care for the past ten years.

But, after fulfilling his dream of owning one, life got in the way, and he hasn’t been able to enjoy it as much as he hoped. It was, however, carefully stored in his garage and had a heat-cycle put through it every now and then to keep everything nicely lubricated.

Being a gentleman, he also decided to put it through a £5,000 recommission before offering it for sale, and this included an advisory-free MoT.

Nonetheless, it still offers the opportunity for its next owner to add value, making this one for the enthusiast who is not afraid to get their hands dirty in order to own a classic Ferrari at a very affordable price.
 

Argento Nürburgring Metallic Silver gives the Ferrari a hewn-from-solid look we love; the 412 is an elegant shape anyway but this one could have been carved from a solid ingot of aluminium.

Of course, the illusion only works if shutlines are consistent, panels are beautifully aligned, and the stance is perfect.

The clear front indicator/sidelight units and Cibie foglamps help too, and the chromework, which is subtle enough to be little more than jewellery, is an important part of the artifice – and the fact the headlamps tuck away so neatly doesn’t harm the cause any.

The five-spoke alloy wheels are in an excellent condition. Free of serious kerbing scrapes and scuffs thanks to a beneficent combination of thick sidewalls on the tyres and careful curation, they need nothing, not even centre caps as these are still a lovely bright yellow despite having been fitted in 2010.

The tyres are metric 240/55VR415 Michelin TRX. All have decent tread, but they are getting on a bit now as they were made fifteen years ago.

Returning to the paintwork, we can’t see anything here that would offend most reasonable buyers: The paint itself has been beautifully applied, and while we can’t confirm it’s the original, if it isn’t it appears to have been applied with the same care and skill that Ferrari would have in 1988.

And the smaller details stack up just as well: The exhaust tailpipes are perfectly aligned in their apertures; the badges are excellent; the headlamps pop up and down on command; the numberplates are from Graypaul; all the window glass, including the windscreen, is etched with the same combination of letters and numbers; and the Maranello sales decal is still in the windscreen.

As for an assessment of the coachwork’s condition there are fewer stonechips than we’d expect to see on a car of this age and flaws we spotted include a few light marks on the trailing edge of the driver’s door, damage to both front indicator units, door mirror caps that are showing their age, and slightly misaligned front bumper corner trims.

More seriously, the rear screen is badly cracked and needs to be replaced, and it would be sensible to replace the sealing rubber while you are at it as it has perished.

Rust is also starting to make itself known along the inner rim of some of the wheelarches and the nearside door frame. There is also a bubble on the boot lid and another on the roof above the nearside door, as well as a couple of spots of rust on the bonnet.
 

The Pelle Blu leather interior couldn’t be more eighties if it was wearing shoulder pads and legwarmers – and lest there be any doubt, we mean that as a compliment. 

And, being car of that era, its specification is more comprehensive than you’d find in cars from an earlier generation and includes power-steering, central-locking, air-conditioning, electrically operated windows and front seats, and a heated rear window.

Other period design highlights include square surrounds for the buttons and instruments, orange markings on the dials, a three-spoke Momo steering wheel, and a torch with a coiled power lead in the glovebox.

This example has also retained its period Blaupunkt radio-cassette player, which is a lovely touch.

But then there is an awful lot to admire in here including the leather front seats, which are somewhat plumper than you’d find in a more overtly sporting Ferrari, but which are very comfortable as a result. 

They’ve got good lateral support too and have worn well with nothing more than light creasing, the odd surface scratch, and a small amount of colour loss here and there.

Being a 412 we get to talk about the rear seats next. These are equally plump and comfortable, and in an even better condition than the front seats as their leather facings have fewer creases and are even more colourful.

The pale blue carpets, which are piped in dark blue leather, are grubby but otherwise in a good condition with only a few marks marring their finish. 

The leather on the door cards, rear quarter trim, armrests, and transmission tunnel has all worn very well indeed, and needs nothing other than continued cleaning and feeding. 

The leather on the top of the dashboard is good too, with none of the sun-damage you often find. However, there is some scuffing to the instrument binnacle directly in front of the steering wheel. 

The headlining is taut and free of damage. 

As befits such a luxurious grand touring car, the boot is large and well-trimmed. It too has survived the ravages of time better than you’d expect, and it even still contains the Ferrari tool kit that’s becoming increasingly rare as owners tend to hang on to them as a keepsake when they sell the car.

The boot also contains a full-size and matching spare alloy wheel.

Faults include the heating fans, which don’t work. Pressing some of the seat controls doesn’t trigger any response either, and the driver’s window is consistent in that it doesn’t rise or fall. 

Neither the boot nor the fuel release buttons work (but the manual releases do), the door seals are a bit damaged, the trim surrounding the driver’s seat tilt lever has come loose, there are some marks to the top of the offside rear quarter trim panel, and our man also reports a musty smell inside, which may be due to it not having been used much in the past decade.

No one is likely to complain about the presence of V12 power, especially when it’s sent to the rear axle via one of the better automatic gearboxes of the era. True, the benchmark 0-60mph time drops to seven seconds dead but the relaxed nature of the auto ‘box suits the 412’s nature very well.

That said, there is something amiss with the engine as our assessor reports that it has “no power and barely moves, even with your foot flat to the floor.” It also cuts out when manoeuvring on full lock.

The brakes are very poor too, which is mysterious as the Ferrari’s MoT, which was issued in January of this year, was issued with no advisories.

A brand-new stainless-steel exhaust system was fitted in this year as part of the £5,000 recommission we mentioned in the introduction, and this item alone was a significant undertaking as it included replacing the headers.

The engine bay’s condition is not the Ferrari’s strongest feature as it is grimy, and the alloy fittings have tarnished. There are plenty of rusty fasteners too, but the first job would be to get it running right; it hasn’t been used much for a very long time and would benefit from some professional attention from a Ferrari specialist.

The underside has been recently undersealed, but we have spotted rust in a few places (i.e. photos 35/59 and 54/59). The steel suspension components also have their fair share of corrosion.
 

It’s service history started strongly, with Maranello carrying out the first ten services at the following intervals:

•    09.01.1990 and 6,022 miles
•    29.07.1991 and 12,440 miles
•    28.05.1992 and 17,430 miles
•    02.06.1993 and 22,298 miles
•    16.02.1995 and 31,939 miles
•    19.01.1996 and 37,791 miles
•    19.08.1996 and 40,933 miles
•    06.02.1997 and 42,838 miles
•    15.02.1999 and 55,114 miles
•    24.04.2001 and 63,752 miles

Graypaul picked up the baton on the 22nd of September 2006 with a £3,000 service, and there is another pause until County Classics carried out a pre-delivery inspection and an oil service on the 2nd of October 2014 and 72,774 miles.

Webster Classic Cars serviced it as part of the recommissioning on the 15th of October 2024, and this included 12 new sparkplugs and two fuel filters.

The recent Vehicle History Check is clear, and the Ferrari comes with its original tan leather wallet containing the book pack, including the all-important stamped service history.

The history file also includes invoices, a copy of a previous auction listing, and plenty of expired tax discs and MoT certificates.

It holds a current MoT until January 2026. Prior to that, the last MoT was issued in 2015, and only a couple of hundred miles has been recorded since then and the current ticket being given.

As for its earlier years, we understand it was first sold to a Mrs. D.L. Jagelman of New South Wales in Australia in August 1988, where it stayed until coming to the UK in 1990.
 

It’s probably fair to say that every car enthusiast has dreamed of owning a Ferrari at one time or another; there’s no denying Ferrari has a cachet that others, even rival Italian supercar firms, lack.

The trouble is, because everyone feels the same, values can be so high as to place them out of the reach of folk like us.

Not in this case though because the combination of four seats and the need for a few jobs means our estimate is between £25,000 and £35,000.

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