355 prices are going...

Respectfully, I think you are wrong, dead wrong. Except fot the statment that the 355 is one of the best Ferraris, that I fully agree with

 

From what I've been finding, you are spot on

 

I would say that addressing the known issues on the 355 (headers, guides, cats, stickies etc) with quality, permeant solutions would also be another factor of value.

 

I agree - for many in my age group, the exotic cars we aspired to had a certain look which usually included a wedge shaped nose with popup headlights. This applies to not just Ferraris like the 308 and 512BB but also various Lambos and Maseratis, the Lotus Esprit, BMW M1, etc. These were the kinds of cars that appeared on the posters on our dorm room walls. I see the 355 as the last of this generation before exotic car styling took off in other directions, and as a result I haven't even been tempted by the newer models.

By the way, I object to labeling Spider owners as non-enthusiasts. I've enjoyed mine for over thirteen years and am still quite enthusiastic about it! And the top mechanism has worked perfectly that whole time...

 

For the record, since I first introduced that "non-enthusiast" moniker I did not make a blanket statement regarding ALL Spider owners, only that the spiders sometimes suffered for being the most attractive version to a certain type of buyer. I also excluded most fchatters and made apologies

 

I had a big long reply on collector car values etc. but what it boiled down to for me when I bought was this: Would I still want the car if it dropped 20% in value per year to where it was completely worthless in 5 years? The answer was a resounding yes, being able to drive a Ferrari - and not just any Ferrari but one of my favorite Ferraris - for 5 years would be worth the full purchase price to me.

It's tough to quantify in dollars what fulfilling a childhood dream is worth, but it's safe to say it's vastly more than what I paid for my 355. The important thing wasn't whether or not the value was going up or down, because the value of fulfilling a childhood dream wasn't going up or down, so the important thing was whether I could afford it or not.

 

Nice!!!! Toys are toys, not investments! You can't take the cash with you so you are best to spend it and enjoy!

 

Does this mean we are OLD? Reality sucks.

 

I see the 355 holding like the Porsche 993 does. It's the last of that generation of design, engineering and feel. It will hold a special place in people's minds. As the 308's and 328's get older and start to need restoration, not just extensive maintenance they will also become a great financial burden and make a sorted 355 and easier car to consider when buying.

I had a client sell his 96 Red/Tan 6spd Spider with 16k for $65k last year. I rebuilt the top end and did a service, headers had already been updated etc. Good cars are still appreciated.

The good cars will hold steady where they are with the problem and pristine cars out on the fringe. When the economy really cracked and people were dumping 355's left and right, $45k would only get you a headache car.

I don't see them pushing down that much harder in price. The styling is too greatly appreciated.

 

I track this often. It is hard to say what the cars are actually selling for, but for the most part it is all about the 1995 GTB in the end. They just aren't around and the ones that are for sale seem to have unforgivable flaws.

If you have a 1995 GTB, it is the last 'garage' Ferrari. If you have it in anything other than red, the value goes up.

FWIW, I bought my car about 3 years ago after an 8 month search. I feel that I bought very well and probably at the bottom of the market as it was during the economy crash hangover. From what I can see, I would say that a good 95 GTB 6 speed is up about $10k since the time I bought mine.

 

I always suspected your car was an Ebay special

Haven't seen you for awhile??

 

Hey. That can not possibly be true!

Oh wait.....
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Not sure where values are- But my 355- 99 F1- was at the shop for a few things and a guy fell in love with it- so they called me to ask if it was for sale..Heck everything is for sale. I picked what I thought was a really high number "Sure- tell him $63K"

Not a special car- 32,000 miles but fresh major two months ago with new throwout bearing, motor mounts, F1 ecu, new dash leather, new door leather, all stickies addressed, fresh Giallo Modena respray- as perfect as you can get at this mileage...

Called back in three hours and said "No.. it's not for sale". I think the guy would have done $60K knowing the recent work that went into it, but for me having a SORTED car is easily worth $20k in peace of mind. Every car I've purchased (Fcars that is), regardless of service history, PPI outcome, owner experience etc has received a barrel full of money for repairs, restoration, tidying in the first 6 months.

There ARE guys at the very top and very bottom of the market though.... My friend paid close to $70K for his mint 99 gtbF1

 

I think most of would agree that paying $62'ish for a well cared for, fully sorted 355 (that has the body type, transmission, and color combo you want), is much cheaper than a a $45k car that has unknowns or needs work (or a color change!).

 

Mine went up in value today, found a $20 bill on the floor

Sweeet

 

Surgar Daddy!

 

An F355 that pays you... what a rare find.... maybe I can have my F355 call yours for some tips on how to please the owner.

 

That's about what I paid for my GTSF1 almost 1 year ago after an exhaustive search and looking at everything from 37-55k. This car was sold by a dealer with fresh major and lots of other little things. Have put 3k miles and not a single problem so far!

 

My car likes me, I talk nice to her

 

I realise that you guys are probably only interested in US prices, but as in the UK here in Oz 355s trade for more than 360s. The trend for 355s is stable or going up slightly while 360 prices have been falling rapidly.

There also doesn't seem to be any premium for manual cars over F1s.

Indeed three of the five most expensive 355s for sale here at the moment are F1s, with asking prices of AU$160-170k (US$168-178k).

 

I sell auto related things down yonder. One thing I do notice is they are more tuned into whats the real deal and not fluff. Quite different then what sells in the US in my line.

 

I bought the Yellow 97 Spider for 45,900 with some considerations. I may have over paid a bit but I'm pretty happy with what I paid.
The car was just the right car for me. I didn't have to settle for anything.

Yellow= perfect
Black interior/top= perfect
6 speed = perfect
The 3 peice Speedline rims= best wheels ever put on a 355
etc....

Not every one agrees on the perfect 355 but this one is exactly the way I wanted it so in the end I'm buying the car for me not what my neighbor likes.
I'll likely drive this car until the wheels fall off. (hopefully that takes a while)

 

I recently sold my 97 355 Black/Black with recent service and 19k miles for 45k to a dealer for quick sale. They then did some minor work and tried for 4 months to sell it for $60,000. They ended up selling it a few months ago for $55,000 including shipping.

Car was perfect at the dealer, so anyone thinking they have a car with over 20k miles that isnt Red, thinking your car is worth over 60k is not sane right now.

I agree most cars that are SELLING are all from 45k-60k from what I have seen also.

The best day of my life was getting the car delivered, the second best day was selling the car. I spent over $25,000 over 5 years on the car (two majors) and misc other repairs.

Decided to stick with my Porsche since the value is going up and the F car was always needing EXPENSIVE repairs and value going down. Paid $75,000 in 2006 for the car and needed $13,000 major right after purchase. SO, I spent about $100,000 on the car for 5 years use and sold for $45,000. Drove the car 8,000 miles. The F car cost me $4.37 mile driven ($55,000/8000 miles).

That is WAY over the top IMO.

Buying a 355 and thinking trying in any way to "break even" or have a "fixer upper" just isnt going to happen. I have SO many stories and I had a good car!

 

I don't consider 5k a year including two majors to be bad. The only thing you did wrong was only drive it 8000 miles. I have put almost 20k on mine in 4 years, so I am getting way more fun for my money!