1998 355 Berlinetta F1

HELP! I'm new to this and am attempting to buy my first Ferrari. I am
> seriously looking at a 1998 355 Berlinetta F1 with 10,000 miles from a
> private party. New tires, Tubi exhaust, major service just completed,
> incl. cam, timing belt replacement in last 1,000 miles. Asking price is
> $98,000. What questions should I be asking? For example, I've heard
> something about manifold troubles on this model. The seller tells me the
> Tubi exhaust takes care of that problem - whatever it is. Is this true?
> What else should I ask and get answers to before I decide? HELP - I'm
> truely a novice here! Thanks in advance.
> Jim G

 

My first question would be 'What are you smoking?'

A Tubi exhaust has nothing to do with burned out exhaust manifolds. The exhaust is downstream from the headers, there is nothing it can do to lower operating temperatures and prevent a leak or burn through.

Price is too high, even with a major performed.

Do a search on here with key words like '355 problems' or '355 buying advice' or '355 issues' and you'll find all the information you could ever want.

 

suggest you do a search on buying tips as there is loads written on this subject already, but re-the manifolds,, both exhaust manifolds are prone to breaking up,,, and you can't see it as its inside the outer casing,,,,, they are expensive to have sorted or replaced,, £2 to £3000..... and replacing with a tubi exhaust will only sort the problem if they have fitted tubi manifolds as well,,, (most people) only fit the tuni silencer at the back,, only replacing the manifolds if they are gone,,,,,, ask the seller if he has reciepts for the manifolds ////

no matter what ever you do,, do not buy the car without having it inspected by a main dealer or a good independant ferrari specialist,,,, if owner refuses,, walk away,,, in fact run,,,,,,,,,, then you will know what it requires,,,,, and what cost,,, then you can settle on a price..

cheers
scott
glasgow

 

I also agree that the price is alittle too high for a Berlinetta.....if your new to Ferrari ownership you may want to find a good independent mechanic in your area because repairs are very very expennnnnnnnnsive. Good Luck and if you can get a PPI.

 

"My first question would be 'What are you smoking?'

A Tubi exhaust has nothing to do with burned out exhaust manifolds. The exhaust is downstream from the headers, there is nothing it can do to lower operating temperatures and prevent a leak or burn through."

Rob I think that is a bit harsh, first off the guy says he IS NEW to this so he would not know the ins and outs of the 355 manifold problems.Also are you aware that tubi makes headers I have them on my 355 and they certainly take care of the burn through.

I think a better response would be to suggest that jgrasso ask the owner if the tubi is just the rear can or the manifolds and the rear can ,and to search the archives because there are many threads with LOTS of 355 information that will help him be an informed buyer.
David

 

Yes, Tubi makes manifolds that would solve the problem. I assumed he was referring to the muffler replacement that most people make. I should have used 'muffler' in my response instead of 'exhaust'. My bad.

He had asked "What questions should I be asking?", my smoking reference was meant as what to ask the seller and intended to be a joke. The asking price isn't very realistic.

Not only did I instruct the original poster to search the archives, I even suggested key words to use. Lighten up.