Is the 355 at the bottom of its depreciation?

NICE????? ONLY NICE???
Read this post please...

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=121829

I don´t agree with your "only" nice..
And with all those problems.. I admit some cars have those problems.. But I bet there aren´t many cars with all those problems.. Maybe one or two..
If you go to BMW forum you will find many more problems in a new M3 than the ones you pointed to the 355...
348 had their problems 328 also and 360 will have... But 355 doesn´t have more than the others.. differents maybe.. If not way everyone says it is one of the best ferraris ever built???

Regrads,
Pedro Maia

 

EXACTLY!!! I just made the EXACT same observation in another thread
http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=121928

Don't be blanketing the forum with these horror stories about ALL 355's have ALL these issues....it's simply not true. The service shop in my area has never performed a valve job on a 355 in all their years, IMO this issue is blown WAY out of proportion. I personally have not had to deal with any of the issues commented on above on my car. Yes there are issues with 355's as there are with ALL cars. If you respect and maintain them, they will last and give you tremendous joy for years, or decades. My 2005 M3 is more of a pain in the ass than my 1997 355B. Respect the car and it will respect your wallet.

 

And my '98 M3 was a bigger pain in the ass than any of my Ferraris, some things never change.

All cars have issues, but the informed buyer makes a better decision on what will work for them. It's just good to know what an owner has the potential to be getting into...

 

As far as comparing it to an M3's problems...not even in the same boat. BMW has address all of it's issues with recalls, upgrades and extended warranties. Even a replaced engine has an additional 100K warranty

It may be true that one car does not have all the problems that Brian had listed but I think he's pointing out the non-emotional part of owning a F355. I'm sure it's from experience and a lot of other mechanics will agree with him. With that said, I still want a 355! Especially since I live 10 minutes from brian.

 

I have no argument with anyone wanting a 355 I just feel potential buyers should know what they are getting into. You don't tell a guy kicking tires on a P51 it is as cheap to run as a 172.

And for those that say they have not had these problems, most cars will have them. It is a matter of time. Just like my Testarossa's fuse board. It is going to burn up, and I have the experience to know that I can bet a handfull of Ben Franklins that it will be in the next 10k miles.

 

Please read this thread http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=121928

Your comments tend to be blowing the 'dreaded 355' way out of proportion.

 

I remember a few years ago reading a thread like this about 355 problems that they say will happen. Well two years and 10kmiles later i still have not had the problems that are so called common on the 355s. In fact reading through the full service history and paper work the car never has.The car has done 46k miles now and i will no doubt report the same thing in another 10k miles, so i will take ya Ben Franklins.
I have seen two early 360s in workshops with low miles 12k and 8k were the big end shells have been chewed up, and thats just what i have seen. I am not for one min saying that the F355 is 100% with out problems. But (touchin wood) mine hasnt had problems and is still knocking out 328 RW bhp. And the roof has never failedect ect. All ferraris will have there fair share of problems over a time.
If ya want to get a 355 then ye do ya home work but also sift through the information care fully and make your disision on what you think is the right thing for you and your pocket.

 

I posted that thread and can assure you that FerrariChat is NOT the only place I used for my research...besides "Rifledriver" is simply summarizing and restating what has already been said by many people in many different forums (not necessarily Internet forums).

 

Dude leave the 355s and go get ya self a nice 328. As i said there are them that can and them that cant..or wont In fact go for a 360, do you like them.

 

I think it may be since you being in the repair business you see alot of the problems. So it may seem rampant from that perspective. Kind of like when police officers dealing with the riff raff on a daily basis, they think most everyone is a crook .

Ownership is a decision that one has to make oneself. Heck, I remember when everyone was telling me not to buy a p-car because "they are always in the shop". Most of those people telling me that, never owned one and never thought that a nice car like that might be in the shop for something other than "issues", sometimes a car is in the shop to do upgrades and modifications !!

 

Only a 355 or 360 could make me leave my 993. I can't afford a 360, which leaves a 355...and that's really not for me.

BTW, there is a lot of back & forth discussions about owning this car or owning that car...but when you really think about it, we're all pretty damn lucky...I mean life ain't too bad when your driving ANY Ferrari or Porsche...

 

Hey man i love the 993s and 355s. Heres my spider with my mates 993
And check this out http://s115.photobucket.com/albums/n281/ferrarispider/?action=view&current=355fly.flv
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I beg to differ, my job in no way is like that of a police officers. I see all the cars on a regular basis, not just the ones that break. When over the years you see as a routine some models almost exclusively for routine scheduled service and other models almost exclusively for repairs you cant help but draw conclusions.

Also do not forget your data base is one car.

My experience at the dealer level dates back to the days of carburators. I have seen a few models come and go.

 

True, I own one (1) 355, but I myself am in poverty compared to a close friend who has personally owned at least 30 f-cars. Up to 12 of them at the same time, at one point during the time I have known him (over 18 years). I have other friends who own multiple f-cars as well. Their experiences are the reason I was and still not weary of ownership .

 

I appreciate brians honesty and candor but the bottom line is if you have the means and want a 355 its the car to own IMHO. If you are worried about the financial implications a 355 will impose upon your wallet then take a pass and look at a different car.

 

curious if there are any updates to this thread. Any predictions on where the "bottom" is for the 355 now that we are a year on?

 

I haven't seen much change.

Cavallino list pricing changes in their magazine.

 

Nero Spiders are worth the most of all F355's !!

 

There's a nero surcharge on all Ferraris! Anything else is just primer.

The big question mark for 355s will be the avalanche of used 360s. They're piling up at places like Motorcars, Sport Auto and at the dealers.

The 355 has the looks, but as discussed in another thread a lot of people have a 'newer is better' mentality.

 

So, figuring in the depreciation and such, are these cars tending to have more large scale 'issues' with mechanical failures that would affect pricing of them on the used market?

 

I have noticed many of F355's are same price as a 360 or more expensive than a 360.

The 355 may be expensive to maintain, insure, tax etc..but is the 355 a good car to buy now given that is near the bottom? I have seen little changes in 355 prices in the past 18 months..

For example, I could buy a 997 C2S for same price as many F355's today. 1 year later the 997 C2S will be worth quite a bit less. F355 will be roughly same price if well maintained?

 

very true

 

It's a better buy at $50K than it was at $90K a few years ago, but the newest one is 12 years old: they're all going to need a major cash infusion to keep them roadworthy.

I would expect the economy is going to be soft for another year or two, and 355 prices will continue to settle at a slower rate. Buyers factor in the cost of likely repairs and service, and if you scroll back to Rifledriver's list in this thread you'll see why 355 prices now overlap with 328s. The only difference between 2006 and now is that suspension/moving parts have had another 4 years to age.

OTOH, nothing depreciates like a new car, so I would look at a gently used 997 if you want to go that route.

 

FERRARIS(vintage excluded) are not investment instruments, they are cars meant to be driven to fully experience the enjoyment from the machine.

 

Well eventually they do become vintage. The problem is you have to wait a long time before that happens.