Help me with 355 shopping

Hello, friends.

I'm 47 and a life long Ferrari fan. I've previously owned a 328GTS and a 348 Spider. Although a dedicated Ferrari enthusiast, I'm not a man of wealth. For me to own the dream, it's meant shopping for models in the 10 - 15 year old range which have taken the natural depreciation to make them affordable to me. When I was shopping for the 328 and then the 348, it seemed it was not to difficult to find the animal of my choosing. I've not had such luck with the 355 search. I live in a small rural town (we have great roads!) just outside of Lexington, KY USA, and Ferraris are rare in this area. Ironic considering the thoroughbred or "Prancing Horse" industry is significant here. Anyway, I'm limited mostly to internet shopping. My budget is low to mid $60s. I want open air, but I'm fearful of the spider with what I read about the power top issues, so I'm currently looking for a 355 GTS. A 6-speed is a must, as I love clicking through the gears. My prior cars were both Rossa Corsa, which I love. I'm also loving the TDF Blue, but I expect it will be harder to come by. If you know of such availability, or can give advise on locating one, please reply here or email me at [email protected]. I've seen the nice one listed in Ferrariads by Kona14, but he hasn't responded to emails or phone messages so I assume it's sold. I've also searched Ferrari dealers and eBay with little luck. The dealers are high, and ebay scares me. There's one on eBay now that's nice but $89,000 (What ?!?!?!).

I appeciate any help you can offer.

Geno

 

The market is in your favor for sure, but great cars will still demand stronger money....look for a car with complete service records. Stay away from a constant fixer and look for one that has been well taken care of. It is so easy to spend $10K-$20K on these cars I often wonder why so many roll the dice on junk they think they can bring back from the dead for short money. Good luck...

 

Thank you. I know I have to be careful. I've seen prices all over the place, from $42,000 to $89,000. I'm sure if I do my homework I can find a good one in the mid $60s. I sure don't want a "fix-er-upper".

Again, thanks very much.

Anybody else?

Geno

 

Geno PM me I'm in Louisville w/ spider. Welcome to come up to see mine and happy to help you find one.

 

Depending on year and model preferred there can be quite a range of prices. Many like the GTS so it can be a bit more expensive. I favor the GTB for the chassis stiffness and pure race car feel. Spiders are well hair gel mobiles, but if you have to have one, ....

You ought to find a decent car in the price range (low to mid 60's). 1995's are the best models if there are no valve and header issues. Search here for what we mean by this. 1995 is OBD I and Motronic 2.7 engine controls plus 5 more rated HP. More importantly the Challenge cars ran this box so you can see the tuning possibilities.

GL in your search and please keep us posted.

 

There was a pretty comprehensive PPI list put together a while back - search for that. Also, do a search on buying a F355 - you'll find hundreds of threads, which is probably why this thread isn't getting hits...

 

I have a very nice GTS (though it is an F1). It is not currently for sale, but I am heading to Lambo Carolinas this weekend to snoop around...

 

Let me know if you see anything to my liking....

Geno

 

J.! Don't do it!!!