Whoa now...thread is veering off into P&R territory. We might need to move this thread soon. Back on topic, not sure what all the 355 hating is about ... is this what it feels like to be a 348 owner?? Sux. Mark my words, in 5-15 years, well sorted F355s will trade for more than 360s and 430s! All you haterz will be lined up waiting to buy INTMD8's car.
Looks like my work here is done. Got some fires lit!!!! I'm with Whyte though....I think the herd will be thinned and the nice survivors will command a good price. As long as there isn't an overly large number of bad examples dragging down the whole market due to "fear" of the model. Anybody know of a nice "roller" with a bad engine? I'd still like to find one. Especially since Washington says the recession is over....
Going back to the original poster's question, there are a lot of used Ferraris on the market. Just like any other used car you should shop for the one you want and then find the lowest mileage, least owner, best maintained car with complete service records. Always pay for a PPI and maybe have a second one if you aren't sure of the findings. In the November issue of Forza in the "Market Update" section Michael Sheehan wrote the following........ "The F355, 360, 430, 456, 612, 550/575M and 599 are merely used cars with no investment potential...but they are unquestionably a lot of car for the money". I don't completely agree with the statement but prices do currently reflect it. I think a fixer upper is a long shot, and you should always buy the best car your budget permits.
I have to admit that I have never, personally, watched (more than a few seconds of) "My name is Earl", but the inclination that this is show is better than politics as usual is spot on.
i think we only have to look at what 308/328s have done to understand what a 355 will do. i don't think there's a doomsday scenario going on with 355s, just regular price dropping that occurs for any aging model. prices will stabilize in a few years and good cars will always get decent money, bad cars will always be (not) cheap (enough). no need to panic, cars depreciate for like 20 years, it's normal.
Huh? Yes, the toothferry came by last night and I feel much better already Fantasy and reality are not the same. Sure, positive thinking can go a long way but it doesn't change reality. Kai
Rick: I could not agree more. No less an expert than Dave Helms feels that the F355 will be a very highly sought-after Ferrari model in the coming years. IMHO, the F355 will be THE Ferrari model to have from the Dino 308 through the 430 (along with carbureted 308s and the 1976 308GTB fiberglass model).
The 355 is perhaps the most expensive Ferrai to own. These cars have not only engine issues, but electrical gremlins are popping up. Roof modules, ABS ECU's, A/C issues, blower fans crapping out, cooling fans failing, rads leaking..etc. All pretty much normal stuff on a regular car..BUT throw in the Ferrari price tag for these parts and add the labor..well you got yourself a whole lot of wallet vacuuming. For anybody that is thinking about buying on of these cars, be VERY sure you are financially prepared to take on such an automobile. Else you will find yourself extremely unhappy with your "dream" car, very sick in the wallet, and owe the credit card company 20% interest per month on that financially stretched service bill. God forbid your lovely 355 throws a cat converter. Last I checked they we're $2500 each. Basically If you make 300k a year and your living expenses are modest in comparison to your income, then buy a 355 and enjoy..it is indeed a wonderful machine when running 100% as it should. If you making 100k a year with a family..you can't afford it.
How about the guys that like myself who bought a 355 spider that needed work? I didn't buy this car as an investment I bought this car to enjoy, mod & feel what it feels like to own an exotic sports car. Yes so far I've done a major, had one of the pistons removed to change out a bad piston ring, replaced all the valves & valve guides, ported the heads & throttle bodies,fabspeed headers, fabspeed bypass secondary delete pipe, testpipes, new 02 sensors, Quicksilver supersport exhaust, rebuilt the alternator, also had the clutch rebuild to a stage 2 high performance clutch, rebuilt the front shocks added H&R lowering springs, 20" Nutek wheels & I only bought the car last Dec. & have been working on it ever since! All I can say is I'm gonna love this car!!! I'm not selling it & I don't care about depreciation, resale or any other prices cause this is my ferrari & I'm gonna drive it like a stole it & once fully complete may just be better than it ever was brand new! I wouldn't trade this car for any other car! I have had alot of great experiences already with my 355!
I plan to do my own service whenever possible and replace failure-prone oem parts (headers, cats, etc) with aftermarket or my own fabricated/machined parts. I also don't care about resale. I waited 15 years to call a 355 my own and I'm not going to be discouraged by stories from others who refuse to get grease under their fingernails. Labor is ~75% of repairs on these cars it seems. Rob
If labor was 75% of the total bill on all invoices, I'd be loving life! A $20,000 engine rebuild would then be 5k in parts and 15k in labor!! Sign me up for that deal!!!
Hahaha yes Ferrari's cost money!!! I'm by no means rich & I was lucky to find a non salvaged ferrari that as you see was neglected! But I'm giving it a 2nd chance & a new lease on life! I also forgot to say I had to replace a motor mount as well & my battery died so recently I bought a new red top ultima battery & my ebrake needs new parts & guess what I can't take my Ferrari or my money with me when I die!!! So I'm gonna enjoy the entire process! I did some of the work myself but obviously when it got time to get serious I had to do my research to find someone ! Just cuz a mechanic is Ferrari certified doesn't always mean he's good! All I can say I understand if you are gonna get rid of your Ferrari at some point but for me I found a Ferrari that I'm making my very own...kind of like your favorite sofa or favorite pair of jeans!
Good luck with the project..Your having a good time and thats all that really matters in the grand scheme of things
Thank you! What it really did was also help take away the intimidation factor of these cars! I'm no purist, I just love cars! Didn't know much about the 355 until I found one now I'm in love & know more than I ever thought I would about it! The car is badass & just like your wives or girlfriends ain't none of them perfect...but in the eyes of the beholder anyone can be amazing!
Tuck in the napkin.... The 355's came of age at the same time the tend of finding how cheaply a Ferrari could be maintained did. This new practice was started on the 348's but perfected on the 355's. Granted, the 355 had a number of design issues that led to outrageous repair bills to rewind the clock spring. Upside to this is that a number of folks that REALLY like/respect this model have invested a good deal of time and have solutions to most every problem affecting the model. What Ferrari should have done... others are stepping up and doing. The 355 is the last of the small, light, nimble, throw it around and slide it Ferrari's, everything after was wind tunnel designed and relied on high technology to keep it on the cutting edge. The 360's and 430's are nothing short of spectacular in every respect but will not age gracefully if the current trend of maintenance is employed. There are many factors weighing in on resale value of any given model of Ferrari, an 'expert' stating they are merely a used car has a vested interest to say so... Follow the Money! Only time will tell who is right but there are a number of under lying factors to this that have not been looked at or discussed. I wouldnt want to be the one holding the knife and fork with a lump of rubber sitting in front of me! Hey Dog..... Time to talk again so I can clear up some shelf space for you.
Not all of them. My 355 is sitting at a dealer with what might be my personal favorite 360, low miles, good car, good price. My choices: trade 355, pay probably at least 25k in difference, plus sales tax, and then what do I have? A car that I don't like as much, that MAY be more reliable but has it's own gremlins starting to rear up (including but not limited to headers with precats, same sticky bits, cam variators that may or may not be fixed...). It's also a car that will cost me more to insure, and more in property tax (I know it shouldn't matter, but it does to me). Or I spend 10k and get a car back that is completely sorted, clean inside and out, and more important, IS THE CAR I REALLY WANT TO DRIVE!!!! Honestly, if I switch from Ferrari, I am going to a Gallardo, because I believe the reliability there is far superior. But honestly, the G-spider has such crappy storage that it would limit some of the things I love about the 355. Plus, NOTHING sounds better. Again, at the end of the day, the 355 is just what I want to drive, I don't care what it is worth. And I don't like the G-spider enough to spend 70k. A Gallardo clutch costs how much??? I am going to go out on a limb here an guess that you have not actually owned a 355. I see this type of thing all the time. Just because cars have issues, it doesn't mean every car has every issue. The internet amplifies issues, because the guys with problems for whatever reason come here to vent. And you don't get the full story; they sure aren't going to say they neglected maintenance, and that's why x, y, or z is happening. The 355 is NOT the most expensive Ferrari to own. A NEW Ferrari is the most expensive to own. If you bought a 430 in 2005, you lost at least 100k in depreciation alone. Think it's going to be free to run? How much does a clutch cost in a 360 spider? a 430 spider? Ferraris are ALL expensive to maintain. It doesn't change with purchase price. I can afford a different car, and I have been tempted like a sailor at a convention for recovering nymphomaniacs, but everything I look at leaves me wanting. The 355 has something special for me, end of story.
Amen!!! Its funny when I bought my 355 I actually went there to look at a 2006 Dodge Viper coupe. Only thing is when I was sitting in the Viper all I was doing was stareing at the Ferrari! The Dealer told me about the bad header & cats & that it wasn't gonna pass emissions in its condition! Guess what I still bought it! I'm not a mechanic but I learned quickly as I had friends come over & help it was awesome! Later I befriended a great mechanic who gives me his friends & family rate! Yes I think alot of the neglected 355's get a bad wrap on this forum. But hey I didn't neglect the car I'm giving it all the proper respect & care it maybe never got in the past!
Actually Tom B is a mechanic, and works on a bunch of 355's as well as various other F-cars/Porsches/Lambos, etc.......very experienced guy. I've been to his shop and he has done PPI's for me. Explain the maintenance schedule for exhaust headers, catalytic converters, valve guides, an ECU, adjustable shock, or soft top control unit......etc........
I am right there with you. I adore 355s and fully intend to add one to my garage when the time is right. I could have one now, but I refuse to sell my 308 and would like to see where 355s are going in hte coming 5-10 years. I have a terrible feeling 355s but I hope I am wrong.
Fair enough, but I stand by what I said, because mechanics get it even more. They see all the problem cars preferentially. Especially at an independent, because in general you are seeing guys that are stretching a dollar a bit more (myself included). There is none, of course, though you can argue that cars with other issues are more likely to have header and cat failure, and cars that are not driven are more likely to have things like shocks and top controllers fail. But you still have made this a good example: My car just had a header failure, and I have replaced the cat ECUs with the updated units. I have not had issues with valve guides, adjustable shocks, catalytic converters, and I don't have a soft top. I have not had any issues with the "problematic" F1 system, and I have 20k miles on the clutch with no apparent wear. I don't have any dash shrinkage. My point is that not every car is going to have every problem. It's not as if every 355 is a rolling POS waiting for a ditch to be pushed in to. Let's talk about Testarossa gearboxes. How about 456 window seals. Tell me about 360 door release latches. Or 430 headers. Or wiring on older cars. Tell me how much a major is on a 512TR. The statement was that the 355 is the most expensive Ferrari to run. I don't think that is true. If you are trading a 355 to another car in hopes of saving money, I think you may be making a mistake.
I don't disagree with you that all F-cars, or all cars for that matter, have problems and to some extent some have more than others, whereas even a few have them all, and others have none. For me, it is all about the "potential list"......... But still, the only car that struck fear thru my cheque book was, and still is, the 355.........personal opinions being what they are. I don't know what Tom's Ferrari model mix is either, maybe he will comment on that.
