Alright Fchat! Time for Cleanest 3-pedal 1998 F355 in the USA round TWO. This one is also a 3-pedal car, but it's not red (which we like better) and it's a spider. Price, right off the bat, is a lot. $77,500. But, you get what you pay for, period. Those that get it, get it, those that don't, won't. _____________________________________________________________________ 1998 Ferrari F355 spider - rare 6spd manual. JUST had a full major service with timing belts done at Ft Lauderdale Ferrari - this car has been serviced meticulously and needs absolutely NOTHING. Grigio Titanio over Tan, 100% stock with the addition of a Tubi exhaust, rear challenge grill, and a clearbra. Customer also purchased Keith Collins custom floor mats (Tan w/red horse) and sheepskin seat covers. -- Absolutely one of the cleanest ones on the planet. Excellent service history. Original window sticker, all books, tools, keys, and cover. Two documented owners - the second owner purchased the vehicle in 2005 with just under 8000 miles. Both owners were fastidious in the care and maintenance. All recalls were done, annual services were performed on schedule, airbag cover replaced, heat shields replaced, a clearbra was installed at 5k miles, all recalls done, cam seals, convertible top lubricated, etc. etc. -- We have every single receipt on the car since new, including a copy of the PPI performed in 2005. The closing line of that PPI states 'This car appears to be an honest 8000 mile car with no surprises. It has obviously been lovingly owned and cared for.' -- The second owner has had the following maintenance done during his ownership: -- June 2005, 8244 miles: New tires, alignment, brake fluid flush, detail, oil checked, new battery, Tubi exhaust installed -- August 2005, 8533 miles: Replace RH Seat Potentiometer, Replace Engine Hood Struts -- October 2005, 8679 miles: Replace Catalytic converters and 02 sensors under emissions warranty -- March 2006, 8976 miles: Oil/filter change, check top operation/top off fluid -- November 2006, 9566 miles: Change Oil/Filter, Gearbox fluid flush, coolant flush, new heat exchanger, new cat ECU, driver & passenger seat potentiometers replaced, wiring repair. -- January 2009, 10321 miles: Full 30k service - Timing belts, all fluids, all filters, spark plugs, all sticky interior parts refinished, total bill $11,604 -- November 2010, 10764 miles: Annual service - oil/filter change, coolant flush, brake fluid flush. Full dealer inspection and recall/campaign check. -- January 2012, 11096 miles: Annual service - oil/filter change, brake fluid flush, coolant flush, gearbox fluid flush. Batteries replaced in all three key fob remotes. Full dealer inspection. -- March 2013, 11357 miles: Full 30k service - Timing belts, fluids and filters, replace Engine lid struts, replace alarm siren, full dealer inspection. -- This car is absolutely immaculate, as is every car that we have purchased from this same collector. If you're looking for an average 355, there are plenty out there. If you're looking for the best one, here it is. -- Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
I don't see that the valve guides have been changed in your description, did I misread?.... Unfortunately this will turn off most Fchatters who have mostly become obsessed with this issue.... Great car, fair price IMO.
I'm sure it will turn off the misinformed ones, and that's too bad. I've read about everything there is to read on this issue, and talked to many experts who don't post online.....the ACTUAL problem was with a very small percentage of early cars, but of course everyone now thinks that every car needs them replaced. If anyone has any qualms, they are welcome to have a PPI done with leakdown and compression.
THIS is the facts, THIS is correct. Only a small sampling of the cars had the issue. Most of them will burn headers, if tracked, but that's another question. Good luck with the sale!!!
Cars been on the market for what, nearly a year now? It wasn't the lack of a major that caused it not to sell. Nice car, over priced.
Thanks for the opinion. Yes, it has been on the market a while, but the owner was not in a hurry to sell, and while we had many offers, a deal was never made. The lack of the major probably was the primary reason it didn't sell earlier for the asking price.
I tried to buy this car for 64 before the major. No deal . Another car I tried to buy in Naples also hasn't sold and they raised the price as theyve done here. Still scratching my head on the no sale lets raise the price thing.
Sorry we couldn't make a deal, but that wasn't the highest offer that the owner turned down. The ONLY reason we raised the price is that the car just received a full major service, as it was due by time, not mileage, and that has very real value on the open market. We reset the car back to its original asking price.
Doug as an owner now I hope he gets his price and that all of this bernanke liquidity spills over to the 355 market and we all get big smiles on our faces! There's a *** for every seat I hope it goes well I'm not sure of your numbers but I do know that red spider in Naples was relisted on eBay 5000 higher and no new major. Really interesting marketing move.
Last year I was in a similar position. There was a beautiful 99 F1 spider. Originally listed for $75900. It was a 2 owner, perfect, all records from new, tools, manuals, cover, cross drilled disk option.... under 7k miles. Ultimately I had a signed deal for $58k! PPI was good on all the important stuff, but there were a number of minor issues that added up a bit: tires were shot (dry rot), leaking shock, bad window regulator... Dealer agreed to fix the shock and a couple of other things but I ultimately bailed because I decided that while I initially was taken by the color, in the long run I wouldn't be happy with it (initially the car was advertised as the wrong color). Anyway, the dealer came back to me at $55k. I probably should have taken him up on the deal but I was feed up by then and passed. I hope you get what you are asking, but I haven't seen many of the higher priced cars selling. I'm sure you have see the other silver/navy 98 355 for sale on Cars.com, under 10k miles. They are asking $74.9k. Been on the market for a while too.
Time and time again, sellers (owners) think that if a car needs a major and they pay for it prior to the sale they will get the money back by tacking it on to the price. Plenty of examples show that the major helps sell the car but they don't get the investment back. Case in point with my car. The seller had a hard time since it needed a major and he did it and I bought the car and I can tell you he did not get his investment back.
You make an interesting point here, that has been discussed in other for sale threads. It is not necessarily that the higher priced cars aren't selling, it's that there's always a REASON for the discrepancy in pricing, as the apparently similar cars for $10-20k less really aren't that similar. This one will sell. I had an uphill battle previously because the car was as perfect as perfect gets, but overdue by time for a belt service. I finally convinced the owner to do this, and now it needs nothing. Zip, nada. No minor issues, no surprises, no stickies, no leaks, no dash pulling, no paintwork, the car is stinkin' perfect. Those of you that know us know that if we say it's the best one out there, it is.
I was just looking at a really nice one owner 95 with $18k miles. The ask was $54 including a major. Next thing you know the car is in for the major and the tech sees bronze guides and tells the dealer they need to be replaced. No leak down of compression test performed, just saw the bronze guides. In Feb the car had passed a CA emission test so it was probably just fine. Car had all records and apparently the guides were monitored as leak down tests were performed at each previous major with no problems sighted. I figure if the guides were fine 3k miles ago (previous major) they were still fine. The failure mode was pretty fast in the cars that had problems. So dealer tells me the price will go up about $5k to cove the additional cost. That's when I asked if it was confirmed that the guides were bad. No reply to that. Next thing I get an email saying th price is going up again because the tech say replace the tappets too. At this point I lost interest because either the tech was ripping off the dealer or the whole thing was a scam to raise the price of the car. Maybe it was all on the up and up, but I'd rather have my tech do the work. I might have gone along with it is the work was being done by a Ferrari dealer, but the car was on the opposite coast and who knows what was going on.
You may be correct. The car I was referring to was otherwise perfect cosmetically. Leather, dash, wheels, all perfect. Ultimately the dealer did fix the shock and the window regular and the top issued turned out to be a simple refresh of the top ecu because it got out of sync. The car dealer wholesaled the car for $55k (which is why he offered to to me for that). It went to some dealer in AZ who put tires on it, did the major and probably a couple of other things that were found on my PPI and listed the car for $84900. The car sold. I don't know what for, but it sold. Just goes to show you there an idiot somewhere with money to burn. But it did make me feel a little stupid for passing it up. Then again, I'm not in the market to buy, fix and sell.
Here is another awesome car that appears to need nothing. Ferrari : 355 SPIDER in Ferrari | eBay Motors This color is really sharp and makes for a nice car that you don't see every day.
It's an F1. Not really apples to apples. Let me tell you a little story Dave about the cars that 'appear' to need nothing. A few years ago, the same seller of this F355 had a very nice 550 for sale. My friend was on the hunt for a 550, but thought my client was asking too much. He flew out and inspected not one, not two, but FOUR different 550s, all which had great service history and were represented as perfect cars needing nothing. He turned around instantly on all four as they were not as represented, and ended up paying 'too much' for this seller's 550, because it really was all it was cracked up to be. He still has the car today, and LOVES it.
I won't disagree with that at all. Both ends of the spectrum are out there. However, that does not mean it's the case with this car or others. Lots of great 355's can be found. And while some may "need nothing", some may need very minor things that can be handled very affordably without the need to pay a premium. Without you or I knowing the car on ebay, we certainly can't tell everything from the writeup or photos but it sure seems inline.
