Those who claim "Nothing is selling" by looking at ebay are fools. ANY Ferrari dealer in the country is able to move a good 355 with history in a matter of weeks, in most cases. Still a very in-demand car. 355's with checkered pasts needing a major are tougher to sell even at very low prices. Auction prices are wholesale- those cars go to "Highline Dealers" who vacuum those little stripes into the carpet, coat everything in an inch of Armor-all and call an oil change a "Full Service".
People like to bash eBay and for pretty good reason in many cases, but it is a mostly valid marketplace for cars. I think the sentiment that "nothing is selling" is quite valid, though not in the strict literal sense. Good cars are simply trying to wait out a down market in my view (a kind way of saying nothing is selling). If you own a nice 355, chances are you aren't the type to be in fire sale mode. It is a good cheap way to advertise for private sellers and dealers, and you do see a lot of return cars week after week. Like it or not, it is still a buyers market, and selling is slow. I am a potential buyer for a 355, but I am certainly not losing sleep over buying in todays market. Things are stable at best, with room for more downward lag more likely than not. At the $50 to $60K mark a 355 has a lot of competition. For you that just simply love the 355 and nothing else compares....well that is awesome, I respect that, but not everyone has drank the kool aid.
whoever says the only way to go is "up" is a liar. All cars except for a few truly rare ones go down - way down - until such time that there aren't many running around. That's going to be a few more decades. The 355 will get down into the $20s before it's all said and done. Just like its mass produced predecessors. Once it reaches that point, it certainly could "appreciate".
I for one, am actually quite happy the 355 has the proverbial 'bad reputation' ........... that alone, sends the 'limp wristed' and 'faint of heart' looking elsewhere ......... on to vehicles that are more friendly and forgiving ................ .....................
It always comes down to supply and demand. Want to make prices of 355's go up? All of you guys out there torch them tomorrow. Will future Ferrari enthusiasts want the 355 over the 360 or 430? Hard to tell. It's not a perfect car and it can get darn expensive real fast. As they get older, horror stories may frighten people away. When cars get to their 5th, 6th, and 7th owner, you know someone has been cheating somewhere on the upkeep or hiding something about it's condition. Of course, other cars have the same issues but the real question is -- in the future what do people want? No one can answer that exactly. Some say 6 speeds but others will argue that no one drives a stick anymore anyway so why would they. If it were just on looks and sound, the 355 could be seen as something to own for a future owner. It has that going for it. But the best way for the 355 to gain value is for 360's and F430's to rise in value...and I don't see that happening anytime soon.
You really think the F355 will dip into the $20k's as an average selling price? Look at MKIV Turbo Supras, and FD RX7's. I think the F355 is safe from that price bracket. Rob
Yeah I also think that's nuts- 308's never got that low for good ones- sure the high mileage beat cars that needed paint were like $22K 5 years ago- Look at the 308/328 market today! Worth more than 348s....
I don't know about you guys, but instead of debating I'm gonna go out and enjoy my newly bought 355 spider...life is too short to worry about depreciation...depreciation will never trump the biggest F-ING smile on my face when I drive her through the tunnel. btw, i love to compare cars to women: 328 = low maintenance priest's beautiful daughter from a small town who will always be kind to you. Some people adore her others may find her to "goody two shoes", but to you she's a keeper and she only gets more beautiful with age. 355 = sexy model from Milano who's bi-polar and high maintenance. If you don't take care of her well, she will take your credit card and charge it until you cry for mercy...and then she will charge more. She will be the envy of every heterosexual male where ever she goes. You can't live with her and you can't live without her. In time, if she's well taken care of, she will be a hot MILF...if not, she will be a complete mess.
I would like to add another point regarding the mainatanance costs overtime for 355 versus 360 and 430, particularly the 430. The costs to maintain a good 355 are fairly flat when it comes to the major service so it's expected and can be manageable. I don't know the exact figures for how many 360's and 430's came with F1 transmissions but I know that there were a lot more than six speeds particularly the 430. In my opinion the costs of a failed F1 transmission will be the achillies heal for the cars as they age and the last time I checked a failed pump in an F1 tranny could cost 12k alone! So from my perspective these concerns will really concern the next buyer on rolling the dice on a failure for the next buyer of these cars when they get 10-15 years old. So I believe that because so many 355 has six speeds that are nearly bullet proof this is factor into the appreciatability of these ars in the long run compared to the 360 and 430.
The 355 is just baaaad assss!!! That is why I bought one, I am not defending my purchase ....... the awesome-ness of the F355, was the REASON for my purchase ........ As for waiting until 360s and 430s to go up before the 355 goes up idea ....... it does not make sense ....... as the Dino did not 'wait' for subsequent models to go up ......... it just 'passed them up' .......
Yes we will see them in the $20s but it will be a while yet; 5-6 years perhaps. Several years ago when I was looking for my first 348, the market on those was high $40s for a rough one to high $50s, even low $60s, for a nice one. If you look around now, there are a fair number of these cars in the low $30s/high $20s. A low $40s car gets you a pristine one. Those still in the high $40s and $50s aren't serious sellers. Of course, the 348s are still falling, as are the 355s, the 360s, and so on. A guy on my block bought a PAIR of 2002 360 Spiders - one red, one yellow, for $80K each about 6 weeks ago. I don't know the 360 market but that seems very, very cheap. If that is the market for a 360, then a 348 is going to necessarily be some fraction of that. And when 360s are trading in the high $50s and low $60s (and they will within a few years), you will then see 348s in the low to mid $20s, with 355s in the low $30s to high $20s.
Just to add a some recent, real world data to this thread, i feel that average cars are in the 40's and it is the rare car that commands actual selling prices above 50k! I purchased my 97 B a few weeks ago and Final price I paid began with a 4! This was from a factory dealer and included about 10k of additional work - ie engine out full service w/belts and new tensioner bearings as well. Car had 25k miles and I would characterize it as a very mechanically strong driver. Body was certainly not concours as several rock chips and couple of scrapes in paint that are also being addressed by dealer, but I wanted a driver and given that it had tubi headers, hyper flow cats, tubi exhaust, recent tires and clutch, I am hoping that I will be able to drive the wheels off of it over the next couple of years!
gbutler, Congrats on the purchase. The condition that you've described is basically what I'm looking for. Have fun with it and great deal.
C'mon Husker, why stop at 355s in the $20s .......... lets just go down to the $10s ...................!!!! ...... those cheap examples of any model ...... are just that ...... 'cheap examples' ..........
And a 430 will be going for 50 to 60 right? Get a grip man. When a 355 averages in the 20s is the day that there will be many other things to worry about.
Get a grip man? Why would the 355, 360, or 430 be any different than any other mass produced Ferrari? What makes them so special? Why did my neighbor pick up a two-pack of 360 spiders - one red, one yellow, for $80K a piece two weeks ago? Why are 348s now dipping into the low $30s and high $20s? They're all going to the $20s my friend.
Hi, Do you know were I can buy a Futures Contract on that @ $20,000.00 put me in for 200 cars. Realy $20,000.00
