Another Berlinetta just popped up on ebay.

I think a buyer can find a car he wants for 60-70k, but money better be in hand and seller's number on speed dial. It is possible to get the car and sort out the issues on your own. I would do the same. But in the same token, we can't ignore pristine cars are moving near high asking prices, indicating a possible upward trend in value.

 

Seems way up there. Good luck.

 

No doubt nice B's and GTS' are in demand at the moment but I'm having a hard time believing that they have increased in value from 46.5k (which is where F1 Moving bought it less than a year ago) to $89k now. It will be interesting to see where it sells particularly in light of the fact that it is an F1 since most would be buyers seem to want a 3 pedal. If for sake of argument 355's start selling for $100k+ I would suspect that you will see quite a few hit the market.

I also don't think Black Horse is indicative of the overall market per se since they sell a handful of nice cars at premium prices to buyers who are willing to pay the rich price for convenience and less hassle.

All of this being said, as an owner of a well sorted GTS in a rare color I hope I'm wrong

 

I agree. I think the market has moved up, but an increase of 91%..... Good for him if he gets it. It will be interesting to see what happens.

 

If they had the F1 in 95 I would have bought it over a 3 pedal. OBD I was a higher priority for me so I have a 3 pedal. But in the future, regardless of what type of car it is I will have an F1 style trans. Most likely a Porsche PDK.

 

If you are going to heavily mod a 355 and you are not concerned about resale, maybe consider a car with a branded title. I have seen several examples that looked well enough.

These cars are fairly simple in terms of their technology and assembly. There isn't much that can't be fixed with some paint, leather, parts, and the right know how.

So find a salvage car for $30K, spend your $40K getting the way you want, and you'll be happy and the purists can breathe a sigh of relief.

 

How improved upon?
They have 380 bhp from the factory.
They stop on a dime from the factory.
They handle like a dream from the factory.

What u gonna do...give them 20 more bhp...bigger brakes...too what end?....bigger wheels/tyres...you'll just upset the car's poise and balance.

Fix the sticky stuff
Change manifolds

Disregard all of this if you're gonna go racing.

Keep original as the factory created.

 

I would have to agree 100% - I'm also very fond of the steering wheel.

 

Seems to be an american thing this street rodding of european sportscars.
In the UK particularly we tend to keep as original as possible.
Changing only items that were designed bad at Maranellos such as sticky interior parts and manifolds which fail unless the engine and motronic system is working perfectly.

I think you have easier access to go faster parts and a culture of hot rodding.

Each to his own but in 20 years time when the 355 is a valued asset it won't be the cars with big brakes, fancy wheels, wider tyres, lowered suspension, remapped ECU's and carbon fibre add ons that will be the ones to own.

And personally i have never seen a set of wheels on a 355 that look more beautiful than the magnesium OEM set. Replacements always look out of place to me.

If you want a more aggressive 355 do the right thing and buy a Challenge or at least a Fiorano

 

To each his own. I certainly won't try to sway you from your chosen philosophy. Personally, I think the factory steering wheel looks like it was taken from a john deere tractor, the OEM exhaust muzzles an engine waiting to be symphonic, wiring and connectors can be better, manifolds can be better, cats can be better, airboxes can be better, and there are innumerable other mechanical as well as aesthetic upgrades that inarguably help to refine the car. So, it's not a question of 'can the car can't be improved upon from the factory.' It can. Only the matter of preference is open to debate, and I completely respect each individual's preference and would not cast into dispersion preferences that differ from mine.

 

Fine Kevin.
I have a M2.7 355.....steering wheel is sublime.
Taken to its ultimate end what a tradegy it would be if in 20 years time all existing 355's were modified.
You can apply the upgrading and making better to all F cars over the years.
It is though the original condition Dinos, Boxers and Daytonas that really shine.
I agree with exhaust system change....but this is heard and not seen.

 

That's why I keep the original components. When I sell the car I can replace the 360 CS wheel on my car with the 4 spoke minivan wheel and replace the Gruppe M air box with the original air boxes so the purists won't be offended. Certainly some mods can detract from the performance (like lowering the car and changing wheel & tire size w/out any thought to proper alignment, oversteer/understeer changes) but blanket statements like "original performance can't be improved upon" make no sense. If that was the case Dave Helms wouldn't be offering things like the GCK.

 

Sir
The GCK won't make the 355 any noticeably quicker...unless the oem connectors are buggered...then the GCK will bring things back to spec.
Your air box won't make the 355 any noticeably quicker.....unless you are a top level track driver pushing the cat to its limits....there's a handful of such people in the world.

I simply do not believe that an extra 5-10 hp is noticeable.
You'd notice more performance if the driver was skinny, drove alone with 10 litres of fuel in the tank compared to a fatty fatty fat fat driver with a passenger and 80 litres of fuel.

Good to hear that you have kept original components.
Then she can be easily restored to oem in later years or sooner if you have a change of heart.
I think some make changes and sell the original parts.
My steering wheel is the non airbag type and is a joy.
The original air boxes look great and are in keeping with the look of the engine bay itself.
The carbon engine parts to me suit the 360,430,458 bay...they just look out of place to me in a 355 as does carbon interior parts

I should say that i have k and n air filters in place...just to save on changing the original paper ones not for any gain in performance.

 

I agree, I highly doubt that you would notice a performance gain of 5-10hp. If you think you do that is fine.

I think the 360 steering wheel does look sportier than the 355's, but the OEM wheel doesn't bother me enough where I would replace it.

The only parts of the car, that I would upgrade or improve upon are the ones that have been known to be problematic.

OEM usually always bring the most money in the end. So if things get changed it is always best to keep the OEM equipment so it can be returned to factory spec.

 

With all due respect where did I say that I would notice an extra 5-10 hp? I changed the air box for the sound, the better throttle response and the looks. Owners that have dyno'd their cars claim an extra 13-14 hp at the rear wheel which is nothing to sneeze at but that's not the primary reason I switched it. Likewise, the steering wheel change was for aesthetics. The other major "mod" I did was the DeltaVee sport suspension package which absolutely makes it handle better while not diminishing ride quality. I used new stock rubber bushings. Of course, I'm also in the process of having my original bronze valve guides replaced with sintered steel. Is that a mod? Is it an improvement? I had the timing gears welded because it's a known failure point and I'm using Hill Engineering bearings. Is that a mod? Is it an improvement? Absolutely.

If you define mods as only those things that materially increase hp, then, yes, I agree that there is not much you can do within reason. However, there are absolutely things you can do to improve performance defined broadly (longevity, better handling, etc). As far as aesthetics like wheels, carbon fiber sills, etc., that's in the eye of the beholder.

 

Fuel distributor recall open on this car?

 

Below is my must do list for the F355 Berlinetta

Interior:
Steering Wheel(360)
Full carbon interior with Carbon seats.

Exterior:
If it doesn't have a Challenge grill it must be done. It's perfect other than clear lights.

Brakes:
F40, movit, or bigger Brembos.

Capristo Stage 2 or 3. Fabspeed, Grouppe M air intake, ECU upgrade.

Wheels: Either Challenge or Hammans( like the movit car) most likely in black.

Who gives a **** about the resale value when you love your car.

 

The original 1994 F355 steering wheel (never installed on US cars) is sinfully beautiful.

The internet needs more high-resolution photos of it. They're actually not that easy to find, because the vast majority of F355s are 1995-1999.

We're arguing technicalities here. We all know these cars were tuned to within an inch of their lives at the Factory. We all know they have failure points that are unacceptable in what most of us define as a "modern car." The OEM and specifically engineered aftermarket solutions to those failure points are all known.

And the 355 is still a car that can be MADE reliable. It takes work and there are various paths to do so, but that's nothing new here. Carry on.

Maybe that's why prices are on the rise. People are catching on to the trick.

 

The early 355 tri-spoke steering wheel is awesome and gives a more elegant and sportier feel/look vs the airbag version. Who wouldn't want that in their car? Reality is, it is elusive and expensive when found. There's not enough of them around to please all the 355 owners in the world who do want them. Consider yourself lucky .

If our cars approached $200k+ mark, i would assume a buyer paying that price is looking for a car to add to his personal museum of cars, not a car to drive and enjoy for the long run. Originality and low mileage would carry a premium. He would be looking for a car with the original sticky interior, but of course he will try to look for one in the best possible condition. "De-stickied" interiors often lose it's signature rubberized feel and the center console no longer lights up. He would also be looking for a car with it's original headers unmodified/repaired. Original cats and original muffler. Interior leather pieces (seats, panels, console, dash, etc) that are least worn, shrunk, will add a premium to the value. All the original factory stuff is great for a person who wishes to capsulize the 355 and maybe drive it 50 mi a year, just to remind himself he still owns one.

I have a large box dedicated to all the original parts removed. My steering wheel and seats, which are currently 9/10 condition are bubble-wrapped air tight. I'll be conditioning those pieces once or twice a year to preserve the leather. My oem headers, y-pipe will also be going in that box. I have a pair of factory cats in good condition (was able to pass smog with them with flying colors during last smog check) bubble wrapped. Worth $6k brand new. Any takers at $2k??? I didn't think so. Most would rather replace with some "after-market" cats that are lighter, flow better, sound better, and maybe last longer for significantly less. When i replace my brakes, with a big brake kit setup, the calipers and rotors, which still have plenty of life and still in great condition, will also be going in that box. My original dampers and springs will be added as well. So 20 years from now when there's buyer willing to pay $250k for a pristine 355 equipped with good/great condition original parts, I might break out the box and put something together for this buyer, so he enjoy how great the 355 came right of the box in his personal museum.

So just in case that day ever comes, which I highly doubt, i have some original parts that came with the car preserved while I was able to enjoy enhanced after-market products without having to worry about wear and tear (value). Wouldn't it be a shame 20 years from now when the avg 355 is 75-150k miles and wear and tear items in good/pristine condition are nowhere to be found? It would be a shame 20 years from now if 355s haven't been driven and showing the same avg miles seen today. Money is money and can be found elsewhere. Fulfillment is more challenging. Perhaps I am wasting my time preserving these original parts because no collector will be looking at my 150k mi 355 20 years from now .

 

355 is one of the most undervalued cars around- the idea these things ever traded in the 40s is nuts....the car was plagued with people who had miserable one off experiences wrt service and it condemned the entire line. These cars shld be 6 figures all day....we will get there...

 

Ken, I have a box with my OEM headers and factory cats in it. I always keep the OEM stuff as long as I have the car.

 

One thing I'm totally with you on is the fact that I have pretty much never (aside from maybe the Hamann Pg3s) seen a set of wheels on the 355 that are better than what the factory produced. It is one of the very very few cars that can't really be improved upon with aftermarket wheels.

 

I agree 1000%

 

He just dropped the BIN price by $5k.
Same with the black GTB Auction. They dropped their's by $5k also.

I see a lot of post in the last month of perspective buyers. You would think these cars would have sold if the market was actually supportive of the price speculation. So what price point do you believe these cars realistically sell?

I see the yellow car as the higher end of the market and the black one a nice driver with different price points and buyers. Where do you think they both should be priced? I have stated my opinions earlier in the thread. Some have stated a contrasting opinion. I like the discussion so am looking to continue it here.

 

Winter. Xmas. Holidays. Most have other priorities during this time of the year. They prob dropped the price too quickly. Prices can always be negotiated in private.