1999 F355 F1 spider with 38K miles - value?

A 355 without any prior service records can be a bad acquisition. I would try to find another 355 with proper service records. You will definitely pay more but you get what you pay for. These are definitely not the types of cars you want to get a "good deal" on. To many good deals have transitioned into thousands of dollars in repairs. I would read the threads in this section and research the car a bit more before you dive in.

 

RUN, don't walk - away from this.
The new buyer will most likely be uninformed and will be making an emotional purchase only to be shocked when he/she finds out it needs things like a valve job, etc. costing 2-3 times a normal belt service.

 

Why not do i PPI and get the car checked to see what it may need? Just because it has no service records does not mean its a bad car.Maybe the owner did all the work himself.

 

+1

 

Car needs nothing and is in your price range! Would love to make a sale, let me know.
-Salvatore

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/ferraris/417071-1996-ferrari-f355-spider-%2449-500-a.html

 

Does not sound like a good deal to me. I don't care how good the car is, the lack of service history and records takes THOUSANDS if not tens of THOUSANDS off the value of the car not only for someone buying it now but for when that person is selling it 5 years from now.

Also, If my 355 had a dent in the rear quarter I would not drive it or do anything else to it until it was perfectly repaired. If anyone is okay with their 355 having that dent I what else are they okay with that can't be seen? Maybe lack of service to start with...

If it passed a PPI $30k would be what I would be willing to pay. Full major, valve guides and dent repair could add on $20k right off.

 

C'mon . $30k?

 

Your results may vary. For me, $30k, yes. I would budget $15k-20 for a major and clean up then I would be left with a car that has no records, has paint/body work and I have $45-50k into. For The same price you can buy one just as nice with the records. Just look at Salvatore selling his a couple posts above. I would jump on his at $49k before buying this one at $30.

 

Just because you have a service bill..it does not mean the work had been done.
A friend of mine used to work for a ferrari dealership many years ago and a few 95 355 were billed to the factory under warranty to have the guides done but the work was never done.
Guy up here just bought a very low mile 355 7000k seller had a bill for a full major service
I put the car in the air and i can tell you that the motor was never out of the car.
Please dont say that the service may have been done by the gas tank,because on his invoice it allso said cam seals were done and that cant happen the gas tank way.
I do agree with what you say about the dent.but who knows when that may of happend.
You also say that if it passed a PPI that you would only pay 30K If it passed a PPI it wouldnt need guides ...so why is it only worth 30k ?? because it may need a service?

 

To me it would only be worth $30k. Do I thinks someone will bite at $43k, sure. 3-4 years ago I may have been the one to bite at $43k. I am 2 years plus into ownership and that ownership experience has changed my view.

There are many views on the valve guides. Without documentation I would assume that they would need to be done at some point. Why? There are so many other good cars out there with complete service records and proof of the guides being done that I have no reason to buy one without those things without a large discount. There are many good private party cars out there around the $50k mark.

I'm not the guy paying $43k for such a car. I wouldn't look down upon anyone who did, I would just rather spend $50k on a more documented car.

 

Three ways to buy these cars.

1. Buy one with all the work "done" and the receipts to "prove" it.

2. Buy one without anything in service records and have the work done under your watchful eye to your standards. Price accordingly.

3. Somewhere where in between....good luck.

I like #2 personally and that's what I did.

No offense to the trustworthy folks out there, but I have found more slime in used Ferrari sales than in any other car or airplane I have ever bought. Even "receipts" are questionable with some of these guys. You are buying promises and a handshake...Caveat emptor big time here.

My 2 pennies. Best of luck.

 

Ouch! Thats cheaper than honda accord

 

+1

 

Sure is! A lot more fun too

Let me not forget the 10's of thousands of maintenance my car had prior to my ownership. It adds up to way more than $30k over it's first 13 years of life. The purchase price isn't the expensive part. The solution is FIXING the cause of the problem rather than just the part that broke! The dealership doesn't like that idea very much.

 

These debates over service history frustrate me to no end.
Why is a car with no history automatically worthless? Absolute nonsense, get the car inspected by a trustworthy shop and then make a decision.
Yes I'm biased as I bought my 355 with very little history, performed a major service along with some other minor things and drove 7k miles with her in the last 2 yrs. Is my car perfect? No! But it has nothing to do with lack of service history.

 

For me the service history isn't about it being a good or bad car now. It is about the fact, and yes it is a fact, that service history documentation effects value. That is Ferrari 101 stuff and we all know that. My car had some gaps in history but i didn't care because it was discounted appropriately. It's a great 355 and most are. I didn't invent the game but I sure as hell am going to play it the best I can.

 

I will give in to the fact that records help resale but for guys like me that plan to own their F355s (or any Ferrari) for the rest of their life only the current condition of the car should matter.

You could buy a car with a binder full of service records and it could blow up the first time you drive it. What then? Are you going to shove those pieces of paper into the hole in the block to stop the oil from pouring out, get back in and motor away into the sunset?

My point is to not place so much trust in service records and rely more on the current condition when considering a cars value to you. I obviously went this route and I'm still a happy owner 3 years in. My F355 will be serviced by me from now on so all I'll have to offer is pictures and receipts from Ricambi as proof. This probably won't satisfy many would be buyers but in reality my car will be treated better and no details will be overlooked because I am performing the work on my car, not a tech working on "some rich dudes Ferrari" that he will beat the snot out of on his post service test drive.


Rob

 

+1

 

You got a good one! Congratulations and welcome to the group. It's a great group that is always willing to jump in and help out.

 

The fact that so many out so much stock into service records is why you see BS ones showing up where it has receipts for work cough cough that wasn't done.