Please advise on this F355

Hello, please see this eBay listing:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220642259060&ru=http%3A%2F%2Fmotors.shop.ebay.com%3A80%2F__%3F_from%3DR40%26_trksid%3Dp4712.m39.l1313%26_nkw%3D220642259060%26_sacat%3D%26_fvi%3D1&_rdc=1

It says that "its is priced appropriately because service is due". How much can I expect to pay for this service?

Please advise and thanks in advance.

 

Well in addition to the cost of a major you would want to get a PPI done, it may need headers/cats/etc as well.

The reported frame damage would be a deal breaker for me.

 

Where do you see "frame damage"?

I hate ads that basically tell you all about the history of a marque, when they should tell the story OF THE ACTUAL CAR THEY ARE SELLING. I know the compression ration of a 355 and what year it was introduced. Tell us why we should bid on your car, seller.

It is a good looking car and tempting price, if we knew more details about it. Sorry to the original poster about my little vent.

 

Check out the Autocheck history report....that car was an auction whore for 2.5 years, and it has frame damage.

I would stay away from that one just based on that information.

The seller is a sponsor here....maybe they can give you the straight scoop on the car. I would just personally stay away from cars with stories like that......the seller has lots of Ferraris and based on the market could probably find you a good no-story car for under $50k.

 

If it has frame damage, stay far away. A regular service can cost you $4k-$8k easily if you have to do belts, brakes etc.

 

This was the response I received from the sportscarcompany selling the 99 F355 when asked about the damage report:

"Car looks fine to us!We show no record of this! - sportscarcompany"

Can you believe this guy? Is there a discrepancy in the report on eBay or never underestimate the predictibility of stupidity!

 

Looking at this dealers other cars, I would keep well clear. Most if not all are stated as ex rental in the small print of vehicle history reports, and we all know how one-day-with-a-Ferrari-drivers will treat their machine. Plus his unwillingness to come clean...forget it!!

 

Besides his over use of exclamation points, that is a very vague statement.

 

Wait. The person selling it says they show no record of it even though it's in the report?

 

The same guy bought a Silver F355 about a year ago off eBay with a description of previous damages (which were incredibly minor), but when he posted the exact same car under his eBay name there was no mention. The price was like $15K more than the other guy wanted. It was absolutely the same car.

There was a big thread about it and it got really heated.

I dunno. He's on FChat. Some people swear by him and others do not.

To me, it looks like another cheap FCar with the potential for costing you far more than a sorted one.

 

What a weird thing.... The Autocheck report is *freely available* with the auction. So he went the extra step of providing *free access* to the Autocheck report. Somehow, Autocheck score comes back with a 90, which is clearly a meaningless score, because when you click "View Free Report" and see it, the FIRST thing you see is the BRIGHT RED alert for "Title/History Problem".

Three times *at a FL auction* the car is showing as having been reported as having frame damage and unibody damage. Unibody and Frame on two consecutive days in 03 at a FL auction, and unibody again in 06! Imagine how bad it has to be for a FL auction to catch it and submit the report to DMV???

My feeling is always, as useless as Carfax and Autocheck are, when they DO show dmg... take that as a miracle and run away. LOL

But its very mysterious that the seller would provide free access to a report that clearly shows reported dmg on two separate occasions 3 years apart and then not have an explanation for it either in the ad or via email.

Either way... $45K + major is already in the ballpark of clean 355's, so I cant see why anyone would buy one with a bad Autocheck (which is almost unheard of since it seems to be so easy to wash problems right out of AC and Carfax)

 

I agree. How can they tell there is no frame damage just because it "looks good to them".

 

Just went through a lawsuit with a dealer who sold me a Rolls Royce that had odometer rollback and a bad title. I can't mention their name because I'm under agreement not to disclose but they too are a Fleabay seller.

This place sold the car with an odometer disclosure statement saying the milage was actual and the title was original not salvage. In Texas you do that, you can collect triple damages and if you can prove it was done intentionally you can double that!

Let me clear up any doubts whatsoever...if you deal in cars especially high end exotics, you aren't making foolish mistakes by not checking the provenance prior to bidding or buying. No dealer shells out this kind of cash on something because "It Looks Okay To Him"! They are going to pull everything they have access to and know full well what they're getting into. That's why they carry those Black Books with them, a Blackberry so they can pull up Manheim Reports & CARFAX/AUTOCHECK Reports, and PAINT METERS!

And funny how when you go to buy the car from this sorta ilk, how insignificant the damages are once you learn/prove the history, but turn around and try to trade it off or sell it back to them down the road and it's the one thing they will focus on when negotiating with you. Most dealers with any experience and has good intentions, would just stay away from these types of cars.

Sad thing is the typical Used Car Dealer stigma doesn't only apply to the $5,000 cars.

 

Ask Roy and Kevin at Cats Exotics about Sports Car Company and a certain yellow Diablo 6.0 VT...