You always knew there was a place like this but it’s still a sad sight when you see it. Stripped Ferrari bodies and pallets with Lamborghini V12s on racks. Ferrari transaxles looking like new and a red 458 roof on its side against a wall. This is Eurospares in Essex, UK. When Ferraris and Lamborghinis go here they never leave. They’re dismantled and sold off in pieces. Even engines are sold in pieces rather than assembled. If the Ferrari factory in Maranello is heaven, this is Ferrari hell.

They’re called “exotic breakers” in the UK

In the UK they’re known as “exotic breakers.” It’s a somewhat sprawling complex of seven storage buildings and the main dismantling building. Maybe it is not so much what Eurospares does here but what happened to these cars and why can’t they be fixed?

Dismantling exotics is only part of what Eurospares does. Basically it’s around to save exotics not kill them. Its purpose is to provide parts for lots of sports cars. If there is a need for certain components and Eurospares exhausts its cache of used ones it might make a few dozen or a couple of hundred reproductions.

“I said to Momo: ‘Let’s make 100 of them’.”

“If a part is no longer available, and there is sufficient demand, we’ll have it made,” Eurospares owner James Pumo recently told Autocar. Eurospares has a gang of sources for reproducing components around the world. “For example, I’m stuck for Ferrari F1 steering wheels at the moment, so I said to Momo: ‘Let’s make 100 of them’.” 

It also buys out parts from bankrupt dealers and repair shops. There is a need, especially for wheels, windshields, and body panels. Basically, the pieces on the outside that are most susceptible in a crash.

Eurospares sells components for about half of what new parts go for.

The demand is high because Eurospares sells components for about half of what new parts go for. At half-price, a lot of the parts seem exceedingly expensive. Autocar noted a front end for a Ferrari Daytona was $10,000. A cheap-looking piece of Ferrari 458 trim about the size of a ruler is $1,250. 

One of the problems Eurospares faces is that many times parts are purchased from them by speculators. The parts are kept by the buyers in the hope it will rise in value. It’s kind of like a mini-Eurospares. It does seem a bit dumb for speculators to buy a piece here and there even if it doubles in value in four years.  

There are a couple of prized cars Pumo wished he hadn’t dismantled

Pumo expresses little regret for dismantling these prized cars, though there are a couple he wishes he hadn’t. He bought a slightly damaged Maserati Ghibli SS for $12,000 in 2002 that he stripped for parts. Another regret was a right-hand-drive Lamborghini Countach 5000 QV he also stripped a couple of years later. 

Eurospares is sitting on millions of dollars of cars and parts but it would be tough to make it liquid in a hurry. It’s not like a restaurant where you cook a ham, serve it, and get your money. Pumo knows this is a business that must factor in time. 

There are many dismantlers in the world but few that can take your breath away with the stripped shells of former prized sports cars. While most will continue on possibly forever, others inevitably come to a bitter end too soon. But in most cases, their pieces will live on to save another car for another day.