Test drive a 355 Spider today - Need input

I have a 2007 Velocity Yellow Corvette Convertible but have always wanted an F-car. I just moved into my new house on lake norman here near Charlotte NC and i pass by a used high line car dealership every day. A black 355 Spyder caught my eye on the way in uesterday so i called today to inquie about it and ended up stopping on the way home and took a ~15 miles test drive. We let everything get up to temp and then he let me drive it as hard as i felt comfortable doing. Cosmetically the car on the outside is pretty much mint. On the inside the last owned replaced that large leather parts of the dash and the only real wear is seen on the arm sills and where the doorhandles are as they have the typical stickiness to them. The car is a little on the high side for mileage and has had 5 owners. All of the service is documentd, see link but they have a lot more than that at the dealership. The major service was done in 2005 and the owner spent ~$22,000 at that time pretty much refreshing the car (regular major service + clutch, radiator, exhaust from the engine back (headers, cats, mufflers, refresh the leather on the interior, brakes, etc).

http://www.autosportsbythelake.com/webtemplate.aspx?iid=310492

This is no garage queen but i drive my cars and it would be driven hard anyway. It ran flawlessly, tracked straight as an arrow, etc. It felt a little underpowered conpared to what i am used to but i expected that going in. What are your thoughts on pricing at 69k (I think i can get it for 64-65). Am i just asking for trouble with a 5 owner car? What is this car really worth

 

For anyone who considers a 355 underpowered. Where exactly are you driving??? If it feels underpowered to you, perhaps there's something else going on.

5 owners seems like a lot of turnover to me, and if it weren't for the documentation, I'd doubt the miles. If the car passes a PPI, and you can buy it at that level with all the $$ invested, why not buy it? I paid a bit more for mine (1 owner 97 with 10k miles), but that seems like an OK price. If you're going to work the car, a "better" higher-priced example will just depreciate faster! One man's opinion. Is 26k miles really "high" for a 12-13 year old car? That's only 2,000 miles a year.

 

It always bothers me when people cover everything in the interior with Carbon Fiber. I know some people like it, just not me. Also are those giant speakers behind the seats?? I would take off a few K for replacing those things. I would say 60-62.

 

Buy that sucker before someone else sees it and swoops on your new ride. That thing is pimp, CF isn't my deal but tons of guys pay crazy cash to have it done, and with all that work into it... BUY IT, after ppi, of course.

It probably is slower than your previous cars (07 Vette, right?) , but remember, the lack of torque in the 355 can be deceiving. To me, accelaration is much more adrenaline-inspiring when the rate of acc. increases as the RPM's increase. Just keep her in the powerband, and enjoy the sound of the "best car ever."

Now is the time to get a 355, especially a spider, as prices are in the dumps, with a lot of good cars out there. Good luck!

 

I went from a C4 vette to my Ferrari 348, which has virtually identical physical dimensions as the 355. Going from a C5 Vette to a Ferrari 355 will be similar.

Here's what you'll notice after any reasonable amount of driving time:

1. you just *thought* that visibility was good in your Corvette. In the 348/355, you can actually *see* where you are parking, and how close your front bumper is actually coming to a wall or car in a corner. Visibility is much improved in the 348/355 over the Vette.

2. the 348/355 has horsepower; the Vette has torque. To tap into Ferrari's power you have to put the RPMs up at and above 7500. Once your mind shifts (pun intended) to this mode of high RPM driving, you'll find that you have more shifting control, acceleration, and passing power *response* than the comparitively low RPM Vette. But it's a different state of mind. If you are just thinking that you want that "torque" power when you hit the gas pedal at 1500 RPMs, you'll miss out entirely on the Ferrari experience. Different worlds.

3. Maintenance. The Corvette has low maintenance, but when you do something, you really have to get into it. You take off the front wheels to change the spark plugs. Not on the Ferrari 348 and 355...you just reach under the engine bonnet and change them (see spark plug link below). On the Corvette, you take off the rear wheels (and sometimes the rear bumper!) to change the differential fluid. Not on the Ferraris. The diff and tranny are integrated in the 348 and 355, with just one drain bolt underneath the car and an easy to access bolt (heck, you can fill them up from the tranny dipstick, if desired!) on top for filling.

Good luck changing the Corvette's fuel filter, too...it's right next to the blazing hot catalytic converter, and tucked behind a body panel that needs to come off first! You can, if desired, just reach into the 348 and 355's engine bonnet from on top to change the Ferrari fuel filters (easiest access is through the rear wheel wells, however).

4. Insurance. Not enough children drive Ferraris to skew insurance rates. My 2008/2009 full coverage body/theft/liability/track/uninsured motorist policy for my Ferrari 348 is now a mere $595 per year through Met Life's property division ($1k deductable, no tickets).

5. Real Italian leather. After a couple of days in your Ferrari, you'll begin to disdain the cheap GM interior in the Corvette.

6. Exotic looks. Unless you are in West Palm Beach or Beverly Hills, people see more Corvettes than Ferraris every day.

 

I'm always suspicious of dealers who don't understand what they're selling...

Then again, if it IS turbocharged, it REALLY should not feel underpowered....

 

Another point: if you are driving a Corvette convertible, then you know all about wind noise and the inability to wear a hat while driving with the top down (even if you roll up the windows).

Not the case in the Ferrari Spiders. You can easily talk on the cell phone or to a passenger with the top down while driving, and yes, you can wear a hat without turbulence blowing it out of the Ferrari.

The windshield dimensions and angle are perfect on the 348/355 models.

 

i went from a 996 turbo to a 355 spider, and was immediatly wondering, where is the power? i have since learned ther is so much to the car than the turbo offered, and i can only imagine the gap being that much bigger from a vette to a 355. i love my 355 more and more each time i drive it, if you get a good example 355(mine certainly needed some reinvestment to get it up to par), then you wont regret it!! they are great machines, by the way if you get one, try hyperflows with mille miglia exhaust, simply insane sound!

 

I could feel the power at the top end of the RPM curve. I kept it at 7-8k rpms for about 2 minutes through a country road and really wound the car out (I am surprised the let me truly drive the car this way to be honest)

I love the look on the outside, i am 6'5" and i was crammed in the car, i cannot say it was comfortable. I am sure i could get used to it but it was a little cramped, having said that i could get over it but i thought i may look foolish sitting in it as i am packed in tight

I am a little worried about the maintenance. A lot (over 20k) was put into the car 3 years ago (which was about 6,000 miles ago) and it drove really well but with 5 owners I am not sure i am not buying a money pit as it does not seem anyone has ever made this car their baby.

I am 31 and have had 5 corvettes, the C6 convertable beign the current one and I understnad the differences, I would disagree ont he maintenance part as C5's and C6's are cake to work on but can see some of your points. My main concern is going to be how much maintenance a 12 year old 5 owner ferrari that i will drive 3-4 days a week fairly aggressively will need.

I cannot keep the Corvette and the Ferrari I do not have the room, time or money. I am going to a wedding tomorow in atlanta and they are closed Sunday so i will probably take a closer look Monday night. Any other info you guys can provide would be helpful between now and then

Thanks,
Robert

 

Don't worry about the maintenance, usually only people who let their cars sit in the garage have problems with them. I drive mine almost everyday and take it on 2k mile trips on a regular basis.

Haven't done **** to it minus oil changes.

 

If you can buy that car for $65K and it passes a PPI, do it!!! Do prepare for a major service in about 2 years. Start saving now. Once you get used to driving these cars, you will not go back to a Vette. The refinement and balance is incomparable. The drive is a total experience for the senses. The Vette becomes merely a car. You might want to inquire about vavle guides. Hopefully, this car has had proper warm up and driving and no abuse.

 

That 355 looks pretty sweet. I am not a huge CF fan but that one is done tastefully.

5 owners for a 355 Spider is not that uncommon. These cars get horse traded all the time. People buy them, park them in the garage and then later resell them. Seems silly but I have seen that countless times.

Regarding the recipts. It looks as everything has been sorted. All of that stuff needs to be addressed at one time or another so they bit the bullet all in 20K dollars.

BTW, they need to be more discreet with the owner's names and numbers on the recipts. Good news is that it shows the previous owners so it adds some authenticity.

Bad news is I would be pissed if it were my info.

I say get a PPI and go for it.

 

I know that car. An Fchatter (on the East Coast, but not in North Carolina) has owned it. PM me and I'll put you into contact with him.

I think it is extremely unprofessional to print service records with the visible name/address of the prior owner.

 

I agree++

What puzzles me about the service work is that I saw 3 cat ecu's(PN179278) replaced on the same work order??? Guess the extra one goes in the upper y-pipe/muffler??

 

There are indeed 3x of them in the car. That is correct.

 

That's so true. Its easy to clock up owners on any ferrari.
For instance a guy buys a new Ferrari with the mind to sell it straight on for a profit (Happens all the time) Then the second new owner buys it with a short term ownership in mind to stop any large hit he may get. Then the third guy buys it just for the summer and gets out of it before the winter, were the value falls slightly. Then the 4th buyer buys it as a stop gap before moving on to the 360 that he wants. Then again some one buys the car just for the summer or even two years. ect ect ect. So just by that example that's 5 owners in maybe 2-3 years. They can clock up due to a hell of a lot of owners not buying Ferraris as keepers, some times due to them being scared to death about mileage and loosing money.

 

There are threads about this car needing new valves and judging by the records on the website they were not done.

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=124559

 

Don't worry about the # of owners - 5 for a '96 is low. But I would call the last two ( I agree leaving the names on receipts sucks) and ask them why they sold the car on.
Also I notice a panel beating / bodyshop receipt in there somewhere - worth checking out.
That car looks good but is way off original, which will affect resale. Not just the CF but non standard head unit, doormats, wheels etc. All expensive to put back as was, and a good negotiation tool.

 

I only read through page four of the thread Duane posted above. Seems you would do well to have an independent PPI to confirm the numbers that FoW is putting up and which I wouldn't doubt.

Valve work may be needed and it isn't inexpensive.

That having been said. Get yourself a Ferrari. Go in with your eyes open and you won't regret it. You'll love it. The 355 is a lovely car. I like the looks more than the 24K mile 360 I got last year. These cars are not all use up at this milage as some people suggest.

Too bad that the prettiest styling point, the intakes on the side get a little lost in the black color IMO. I prefer silver to show them off.

Good luck and enjoy.

 

I guess that I disagree here. There's not too much of a secret as to who owns a Ferrari. By looking at the service records, you can ask each owner about what happened to warrant a particular repair, etc. I guess I'm just not too secretative.

 

Totally agreed - that's horrible. I'd be pissed.

 

People who have Ferraris are usually considered to be rich bastards with a whole bunch of money. 99% of the Fchat world knows that is simply not true. 99% of the casual eBay world however, is what I call "the great unwashed". In the private forums of Fchat, it's no big deal. In the foul smelling world of eBay it is different. The last thing I want is some j-o from my town seeing my addy on eBay and thinking "whoa, that dude probably has some other nice cars and maybe a plasma TV".


-d

FWIW, I don't have any other nice cars, not a single flat-panel TV, and the most valuable thing in my house (quite literally) is my new bottle of deodorant.

 

It's bad to show the names on the service records only if you don't have the prior owners' permission.

This is because a prior owner may choose to dump a car and be done with it...not wanting unsolicited phone calls or visits from new or potential owners, and may not want to be held liable for any non-standard repair.


There is a thread here on Fchat where one new Fcar owner was spending considerable effort to track down a prior owner because he *wanted* concessions given/made to him after the sale.

What prior owner wants to get that phone call or that visit at your house or office?

Because there really are aholes out there who will track you down and insist that you owe them money, whether they have a leg to stand on or not.


So if you don't have the prior owners' permission, then it's bad form to put their names online where Google can find pictures and data decades after the post has been made.

You may be the prior owner of a car 5 times removed, but if you are the only one who some jerk can find online, rest assured that he's going to contact you first for that money you "owe him" because he disagrees with your repair (and yes, I realize that you don't really owe him the money...this is called a nuisance push...guy wants to be paid to go away).

 

A few thoughts:

Have you decided you want a 355 specifically, or is it just the idea of a Ferrari and this one happening to be available nearby? I mention this, because a lot of us narrowed down which model/gearbox/colors/etc we wanted and then did a nationwide search to find our cars. I think anyone's first drive in a Ferrari is a major experience, and it's hard to get back to an analytical frame of mind with those little prancing horse keys in your hand. I don't know this dealer or car, so it may be OK, just throwing this out there before you write a big check.

Are you acquainted with the servicing costs/intervals of this car? If it was serviced last in 2005, it may technically (per Ferrari) be due for a new timing belt sometime during 2008. For a 355, the major services can start at $7K and go up. That can take Corvette owners by surprise.

Also, a pre-purchase inspection by a Ferrari tech (maybe Sport Auto up in Summerfield or Jarrod at Autos International down in Charlotte) would be mandatory if you're buying from a used car lot where they might not know much about Ferraris.

Finally, all the carbon fibre isn't standard, as noted. If you like it, fine. But in my experience non-original stuff added to Ferraris is usually a detriment to the value. The possible exception would a Tubi exhaust, because it's pretty easy to switch back to the inferior original.

My recommendation would be to take a drive up to Sport Auto to look at some other cars before you make up your mind. This 355 Spider may be the one, but you need to date around a bit before getting married, IMO.

 

Dang, That must be the good stuff....!

Mike in Kuwait