| Author | Message | ||
| Neal (Mercedes_benz)
New member Username: Mercedes_benz Post Number: 10 Registered: 5-2003 |
Mitch, thanks for the reply! As i am learing more and more about Ferrari's i am starting to change a little bit. Knowing that they are well built cars and can be drivin, i may consider keeping the car past my original thoughts like 25-30k miles. And i am sure i will really love the car, so after that i will hopefully just get a newer one to stay current, and for some change. And about the maintanence costs, i really do not mind paying for any of the major services. I was only concerned at first if the cars are known to have some expensive problem areas that need to be worked on often. It seems like the chanches i would take would be the same with any car. I will not mind paying for and maintanence for it to better the car, and for the future of the car. Now i only cant wait to get one. :-) | ||
| Mitch Alsup (Mitch_alsup)
Member Username: Mitch_alsup Post Number: 888 Registered: 4-2002 |
"How long can these cars last?" at least 100K if properly serviced. "or if thats not a good term, up to what milliage will i start have big expenses and problems?" There are two answers (depending upon you point of view) a) immediately, b) a long time a) any and all maintanence on a Ferrari is expensive compared to almost any other make. And it is highly recommended not to attempt to UNDERmaintain a Ferrari. b) A Ferrari is a very strong automobile, it can take a lot of punishment and come back for more. If you shift smoothly, avoid drag racing, but otherwise run the snot out of the car, you can expect long life from all the major systems {Engine, tranny, clutch, brakes, A/C, suspension, body, paint (except for stone bruises) "One of my last questions is, how much will the resale go down?" a) a lot based on cache b) not so much based on percentage. "I dont think i would ever really wanna keep the car past 25k 30k miles the MOST." Then you are just paying to allow the next buyer to enjoy the rest of the cars' life. | ||
| KCCK (Kenneth)
Member Username: Kenneth Post Number: 466 Registered: 10-2002 |
Whilst on this topic, if one were to brush aside the "brand new car" point, should one get a 360 because it is more modern, or a 355 because it is more classic? And what are the weighing factors involved? | ||
| Neal (Mercedes_benz)
New member Username: Mercedes_benz Post Number: 5 Registered: 5-2003 |
Thanks again, very very helpful reply like your other. I should make one slight correction, when i said try to look with a car for service records, i ment only look and get serious with those. I have learned i would not take someones word on anything like that. I will be e-mailing you for that PDF. To bad i am not going to be getting the car sooner than a year from now, but this will definitly help me know what to expect in the future when the time comes, and even to know what to look for in my searches i am doing for them right now. I will also read the fourm and search to gather more info. Thanks | ||
| Mr. Doody (Doody)
Intermediate Member Username: Doody Post Number: 1437 Registered: 11-2001 |
About the 30k mile service, about how much does that cost? it depends on a lot of variables, but $5K is a reasonable estimate. you could get it done for as little as $3K if you timed it advantageously and were lucky. $6K isn't out of the question either if they find other problems. my rule of thumb (fwiw) is to plan on $2K per year in maintenance. you'll spend hopefully less than $1K per year (i seem to run about $500 on my cars) and then bank the remainder in prep for the major every five years. if you push your majors to 6 years or whatnot, you can do your own math. Besides that is there anything else the car needs besides oil changes? basically there are 30K majors and 15K intermediate services. realistically speaking, you end up doing a season-end or season-start service on the car each year, and the 15K stuff gets worked in then as needed. email me [email protected] and i can send you a PDF (800KB - too big to post here) of the service schedule section of the user manual (for a 1999 USA car). Of course i would try my best to fine out exactly when all the services were done. as a wise, short dude once said, "do or do not. there is no try.".  if a car doesn't have its service records, that's a chunky discount on the price. you'll learn a lot about a car from reading its service history. have you heard any people having any sort of common problem? take a read through the FORZA 355 Buyer's Guide (you can buy the back issue from them - search the archives for Ross Periodicals). in general, by the time F1 showed up, they'd sorted most everything out. there are a number of threads on this in the archives. obviously, check for recalls, etc. will i be looking at having this car in the shop alot of i use it everyday? no. they are solid cars. they're not honda accords, but they're solid cars. mine has never let me down. all the issues i've had with it have been dumb crap (eg: alarm unit battery failure). how do you feel about using this car as an everyday driver? what kind of question is that.... i ••••••• love it!!!!! doody. | ||
| Neal (Mercedes_benz)
New member Username: Mercedes_benz Post Number: 4 Registered: 5-2003 |
Thanks Mr. Doody your reply was very helpful. I really dont know why the salesmen at the Ferrari dealer told me about that $5,000 5k miles thing. About the 30k mile service, about how much does that cost? i am asking because i have no idea. Besides that is there anything else the car needs besides oil changes? Now that i know i might not gain all that much with a very low milliage car it can make the search and price alot better. Of course i would try my best to fine out exactly when all the services were done. Your theory about depreciation is definitly a good one to most people. I just happened to have asked just because of being very curious and have this all new to me for this kind of car. I am not looking to make money off this car eaither. And of course like anyother car a daily driven car will depreciate alot more than one that was not drivin often. And when you say "frequent services are good for longevity" would those only services be the 30k mile and oil changes? Some last things that were not really answered are, if all these services are done when required, have you heard any people having any sort of common problem? will i be looking at having this car in the shop alot of i use it everyday? Or are these usually trouble free for the most part? Last question, how do you feel about using this car as an everyday driver? Thanks again for your reply, its a big help. I like to hear some of these answers comming from owners rather than salesmen. | ||
| Mr. Doody (Doody)
Intermediate Member Username: Doody Post Number: 1433 Registered: 11-2001 |
stuff like the challenge grill and brake calipers are pretty easy stuff to swap out. plenty of parts are available, so don't let that hold you back. there weren't all that many options available for these cars, which makes it relatively easy to find a car (relatively). once they offered the F1, most buyers chose it. so 98s and 99s are mostly F1s. i wanted a 99 6 speed - that made my search a bit tougher. the cars do not require a $5K service every 5K miles. not sure who told you that, but avoid them :-). the cars require a major service, which involves pulling the block, every 30K miles. conventional wisdom says "or every 5 years, whichever comes first". however, the time-vs-mileage issue is a fuzzy one. some argue that a 5 year old car with 9K miles on it does not need its major yet. search the archives re: timing belt failures for more data on this. be careful about the garage queens. the longer you wait to buy, you want to be careful about the low-mileage cars. if you have all the service records you can piece together how the miles went on. 1K miles per year, metered out roughly at 200 per month excepting winter storage months is probably totally fine. but if one of the owners never drove it for 3 years, then be careful. oil changes don't have to cost that kind of money. you can do it yourself if you want to. agip sint 2000 at $6 or $7 a litre plus the filters. etc. etc. no rocket science involved. my standard answer about depreciation is that if you have to ask then you can't afford it. cars depreciate. cars that are used as daily drivers are likely to depreciate faster than cars that are used sparingly (QED). i believe that the 355 model is the 2nd most-produced ferrari after the 308. there are a LOT of them out there. they will depreciate. nobody knows how long they'll "last". certainly, the ones built in 1995 are still around :-). plenty of 1970s cars are still healthy and happy. search the archives for high-mileage discussions -there are a number of six-figure-mileage ferraris out there. remember, these frequent services are good for longevity, in theory. the biggest risk is finding a car that hasn't been taken care of right, imo. good luck! doody. | ||
| Bart Duesler (The_bart)
Junior Member Username: The_bart Post Number: 223 Registered: 1-2003 |
If you buy a garage queen (low mileage) expect to pay more now and later. You will save by buying a F355 with some mileage. | ||
| Neal (Mercedes_benz)
New member Username: Mercedes_benz Post Number: 3 Registered: 5-2003 |
I have always been dreaming of owning a Ferrari and although i am not going to be buy one on the next month or 2 i will hopefully have one on a year from about now. I like to know what i want ahead of time so i would like to know so facts now. My ideal car is a Yellow F355 Berlinetta Probally an F1, i dont think i want the 6 speed, but i would not mind if its was a good buy. I would also like small things like red calipers and maybe the challenge grille. Well anyway, i was at my dealer and spoke to a salesmen about the car i would like and he said he will keep an eye out for it and call me if he can get one or when he gets one since he said thats a car they would buy. Some of my concers are i would like to use this car as my everyday driver, i need to know its that is a bad idea? besides the services every 5k miles which cost $5,000 and the oil changes which cost $285.00 quoted by the salesmen, will there be any other costs i will have to pay? Will this car be reliable for everyday use? i would like to find a F355 with about 10k miles or under. The most i would probally go to buy a car is with 15k. I would rather under 10k. How long can these cars last? or if thats not a good term, up to what milliage will i start have big expenses and problems? if any. I am also just curious whats the most milliage anyone has seen on an F355. One of my last questions is, how much will the resale go down? I dont think i would ever really wanna keep the car past 25k 30k miles the MOST. I know i asked alot of questions about this but i would really appreciate them answered the best thay can by people with some experience. Thanks. |