It's time for us to entertain this question again. I'm looking at '98 and '99 F355 Berlinettas (6-speed manual only). [Not for myself! For someone else ] I found one with a little over 20,000 miles. I'm thinking that once the odometer crosses 30,000 miles (say, in one year), the wholesale value of this car will drop even more--down to the low- to mid-60s, which puts the retail (private) value just around 70K. Your thoughts? I know that a Ferrari that has been driven is better than a garage queen. I know all about that. However, dealers don't seem to really be discounting 355s with over 20,000 miles. What do you guys think about the market value of a 355 with over 20,000 miles? With over 30,000 miles? Assume for now and for the future that the car is in "excellent" shape, has had recent service, and is generally "well sorted," to borrow a phrase from this site. We can talk 355s in general or key in on '98 and '99 Berlinetta 6-speeds, or both.
I think soon as F430'***** US soil then the F355's will really drop in value. I doubt a few thousand miles will matter.
IMO The millage thing is a rod that the ferrari owner has made for his own back I think becourse many ferrari owners want to keep the value of there ferraris high, alot of these so called ferraris are not indeed low millage at all. If you get my meaning, especialy if there is a multi £/$ diferance between a !7,000 mile car and a late 20,000 mile car. I do find it funny when when during the summer 10 year old 355s come on the market with only 7,000 on the clock, yea right. Have you also noticed that there are alot of 360s with 20,000 miles plus out there? Give it a couple of years more and the same ones will be low millage ones again. Its ferrari majic. Contaversial may be, but who does not think it.
i dont understand why ppl dont drive their cars. sure if you are 1st one on 430 list and plan to turn the car back, ok drive 2000 miles and flip. but if you have a older car and plan to keep, why not drive it. its lots of money sitting there, its not an investment, ur paying insurance. whats the point only put 300 miles a month on it.
good point chris, but i think 300 miles a month a lot for some f car owners...i see plenty that aaverage 1-2k miles a year, at most....
yes i know. if they are too busy to drive the car, i fell bad for the car. if they don't want to drive the car becauee they worry about high mileage and resale. well, they bought the wrong car.
also wondered this. if/when i get a 355 Berlinetta (future - not this week, but not next decade) i am wondering if i get one with 25K or 30K miles, how the resale value will hold up. Are these statements true... 1. even IF i try to SELL mine down the road, and it has say 48K miles on it - if i price it maybe $5000 less than all the others out there, SOMEONE will buy it because people are always looking to get into a 355 (or any ferrari) for as cheap as possible. and 2. miles shouldn't bother a buyer if the car is up on maintenance and has always been maintained. TRUE? (newbie greatly seeking info!)
1) price talks. no matter how many miles u have, if you price it right, someone will buy it. 2) mileage sure bother some buyers. but again if its factor in price, it will be fine.
I think the service history, frequency and depth of attention are much more important than mileage. I am selling a 99 355 that just turned 20k, but has had all the major services, and plenty inbewtween, looks and runs like new. I bought a 98 550 that had just 4600 miles and it immediately cost me 11 grand to get it all right as too many items had not seen enough use to maintain their flexibiliy. So, personally, I don't worry about mileage as much as history and condition.
I agree wholeheartedly with John. What happened Dave - the PPI on the first car you were looking at didn't check out?
not sure about that. if a car has 8k without service history, and same car same yr same condition has 20k with service history. which car will u buy at the same price? i will take the lower mileage one. the mileage alone makes 12k difference in price, which makes up for lack of history. just my opinion.
the subject is on a '98/99 F355, so valve guide and header is not really a factor. but lets say it is. you can spend 10k to do a servie and upgrade the valve guide and header. the 10k u spent will be offset at resale due to 12k less milage. whats the difference?
I'd rather have a F355 that was *taken care of* with 40k miles on the clock than 20k. By then, all the bugs will be worked out of the car. Same goes for BMWs. E38 7s and E39 5s are better cars after 100k miles than new.
Great cars BUT the e38's...and E39's..the only problem are the auto tranny's..they are made in France and are cheap junk.
Srorry forgot it was a 98/99. Valve guides alone are around 8k, still service and headers to be had and possibly cats, which seem to be hit or miss on these cars as well. Based on the fact that 95's are asking around 70k for driven (20k) miles I don't think that 98/99 will be at 70k for 30k mile. Possibly they will go to 80k.
I think 20k miles is normal and probably a good number to see. You would prefer one that isn't too low that it is drying up and you don't want one that is so high that engine wear comes into play.
This post brings up a interesting question - is just the mileage and real gauge of wear of a car, specifically a Ferrari? I mean value goes down as the car is "used up" in anticipation of replacement of parts. However, most folks do majors" even is the car has not been driven, has anyone torned down an engine with 10K, 20K, 60K miles etc.. and compared the wear? Really, how long will a modern ferrari engine with proper maintenance last? We are not talking race engine outputs, afterall the volumetric output is in the similar to certain Ricers, ie Honda S2000, the piston speeds are probably lower, and I am sure those cars make to 100K miles without too much problems. Are the repair bill any bigger for a car that has 15K miles versus 30K miles..or even 45K miles..since the key internal component are probably just fine? is there data out there to support the fact?
Sorry, totally disagree. The 355 is a 10 yr old car, 430 is brand new.Most of the 355s depreciation is already out . The 360 will take a hard knock, IMO.
I don't think the PPI was the problem with the car, it was a few too many meetings at Earl Schribs painting emporium.
Sorry, partially disagree. I agree the 355 has probably bottomed out, but I also think values may start to rise as people appreciate the looks and charisma of the car,not to mention the value for money aspect! IMHO the 355 wins hands down over 360, as it's more involving and fun to drive! It seems odd that many think 360 values will be hit hard, I understand that if you can choose between the old model and the facelift, then obviously the old model needs to be cheaper in order to sell. But how many people will be able to make that choice in the short/medium term? Very few, 'cos they're are sold out for the next 3 years! And not all to speculators either! The 430 is £13k more than 360 at list, and if you want a 430 now, add £20k to that! So, you now have a 360/430 price difference of £33k + current depreciation of about £15k on a 03, circa £50k incentive to buy "last years model"! Quite an incentive, don't you think?
These are still issues on a '98. My '98 (see the pic in my profile, you know this car) had its valve guides done before I took delivery and lost its driver's side header last month. My build date is Sept '97, so its still a concern on early '98 models.
I whole-heartedly agree with Tony's disagreance (sp?). I think the guy who suggested the 430 prices will kill the 355 prices meant to suggest, rather, that the 430 will kill 360 prices. The 430 is said to have more of that classic 'raw' Ferrari feeling, vast improvements and certainly more power. Because the 360/430 look quite similar, the 360 is gonna go disco in a huge way! In so far as the mysterious low-mileage cars we often see...yes, it is both possible and real. I hope nobody takes offense when I point this out, but the posting members of this forum are quite different than many other Ferrari owners....we are the guys who actually have time & interest in enjoying our Ferrari's not only in the vehicle but online as well. MANY Ferrari owners bought their cars just like a trophy-wife....these individuals are super-long-hour workaholics, surgeons, doctors, business owners who literally "score" these f-toys almost like a collectors item. Sure, they get driven initially, but with all their business trips, busy schedule and the fact that they just bought the car to "have" it.....it's no wonder we see an ample supply of super-low mileage cars regularly flowing on the market. Long ago during my youth I once got a HUGE candy-bar for halloween. I saved that one piece for a special occassion. I waited so long that by the time I went to unveil the chocolatey delight that when I finally did...it had turned white around the edges and lost its freshness...and so it's final resting place came to be in the trash can instead of being assimilated to my collective weight problem. Now...I know this sounds morbid, but we are ALL destine to die & decompose...it's inevitable. Why should we hold these cars to a higher degree of preservation then ourselves? My perspective suggest that we consider each and every moment of our lives as an opportunity to enjoy & enrich ourselves: I'm plan to drive this 355 as much as I want, right into the ground....then I'll run out and buy another one. Im not suggesting we abuse our cars...but the unused hours/miles are gone forever. Think about it people.......it's in the bible!!!!!
first of all i can't help but say how much i enjoy reading steve's post's/reply's -- very thoughtful and well written. anyway, the mileage issue is really frustrating to say the least -- your damed if you do and damed if you don't. potential buyer's want to play the high mileage vs. "garage queen -- what's wrong with it" card. i think (and it's only an opinion) it comes right back to the fact that there are so many people whom really want to purchase an f-car and will look for any angle to try and negotiate and stretch their way into something they otherwise may not be able to afford. by the way, i am in no means trying to say that there isn't place for negotiating based on real issues, however, i think trying to set the value of an 355 on miles is only one small piece of a very large puzzle. i am glad that i have no plans to ever sell my car. cheers, kelly