FAQ: Shopping for a used 360

trust me im right there with you.. i had a very specific spec in mind for my car.. It had to be a TDF spider and i wanted tan and factory upper dash and steering wheel covered to match the rest of the interior. Anything else and i would have felt like i settled.
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That’s a lovely car and rare to find with top of dash and steering wheel matching interior. I have never seen one like this on Oz

 

thank you..Not everyones cup of tea but i love it. . ive only seen a handful of them stateside but knew thats what i wanted.

 

This is so true, especially with 20 years old used car - you tend to settle for what you find in the moment.

I am looking for a coupe in Black, Silver or Blue, preferably manual...I know I will have to wait.

 

Download my spreadsheet and fill it out according to your own needs. You will find it a great way to focus on what you want as your dream car and what compromises you are will to make to get the best car possible for you. I found it a great way to keep a clear head in what was a very emotional purchase. Had to bite my tongue several times not to jump too early on what was other lovely cars. A year of looking later I was very glad I stuck to my guns.

 

I go from wanting a manual 360 absolutely to saying the F1 is OK since I already have a manual GT3...
First world problems...

 

That’s a huge compromise. The two are very different driving styles. You tend to like one or the other. My 360 is manual and I have a CLA45. Great little scud missile but for shear driving pleasure I’ll take the manual any day. I guess it’s an old man thing of which I am definitely a member

 

Responding to @Reddesire348, I love the pedigree dog analogy. To extend it a bit, we could say that people buy pedigree dogs for certain reasons:

1. To get a dog with known, predictable characteristics
2. The purpose the dog was bred for, like using a Logatto Romagnolo to go truffle hunting in the woods
3. To win awards in the AKC Dog Show and earn stud fees
4. To tie up to a post in the back yard, and just brag about owning it

And realistically, it's some combination of those things for most people.

In my case, I'm focused on the first two, and not too concerned with #3. I want authentic Ferrari 360 performance so I can drive the hell out of it, and am not as focused on protecting resale value. In dog terms, I would definitely want to know that a prospective dog doesn't have congenital heart defects or was prone to hip displaysia. A PPI should be able to provide reasonable assurance against some of those things, but maybe not all of them?

Citing @Camdon53's original post, it was a known issue that pre-2002 cars had certain "congenital defects". Upgrade campaign paperwork would be evidence that they'd been resolved, but I was wondering whether one might conclude they'd been resolved even WITHOUT paperwork, given that they'd survived for however many years or miles without manifesting some symptom that would be obvious in a PPI. If so, that would double possible cars for consideration, with all the 99-01 cars now in play.

In retrospect, I guess my question needed to be narrower. Upgrade campaign by upgrade campaign instead of a blanket rule for everything.

However, it's all moot for me now. I ended up finding a 2003 car with the specs I wanted, and it came back clean in the PPI. I'm now the proud owner of my first F-Car and couldn't be more excited about it. Picture attached (taken out the passenger window of a buddy's McLaren)!
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Sounds like another success story of someone who hung out until they got what they really wanted. BTW love the pic. Nothing like a great action shot of the 'lady in red' gliding down the street.

 

I didn’t go through all the pages however I will if there are pictures of the books, tools, manual pouch, etc. Are there pics of these accessories? Thanks.

 

Dumb question. I'll peruse the pages. I might even learn something.

 

What a thread! Hopefully I can contribute when I get my Modena.

 

Great, the more the merrier

 

I have been looking for a Spider for a couple of months. You Excel is VERY useful!

 

Thanks I hope you can find the car your looking for. It helped me keep focused when I was looking foir mine

 

The only thing to know is to get the one in your budget that's not a salvage car.

Year doesn't matter. You'll have any issues with a 1999. You'll have possible issues with a 2004. Avoid needed everything to be "perfect" with the car and you'll have a fatter wallet.

 

My manual clutch slave started leaking at about 20K. Made better sense to replace the whole clutch at the time. I LOVE LOVE my gated 360..Too much fun.

 

My Capristo stage 3 is the best....not imperfect but worth it. Mine actually says " 360 Modena" on it.....Ferrari slapped a ceast and desist on Capristo for that one. I think maybe a hundred were made and one is on my car. Cheers!

 

1. The best 360 you should buy, is one which has just rolled off the factory floor, and is new. Good luck with that
2. My opinion of mileage is it does not matter. What matters is how the car was maintained. That mean you want to see records. No records, probably means poor maintenance, so pass it by.
3. Color? I'm from the Henry Ford school of colors for a Ferrari. You can have any color you want as long as it is red. Interior I go with tan.
4. Coupe or Spider? I own a coupe. The decision to purchase a coupe was made by a higher power in our household, my wife. Her words were, "If you buy a spider I will never ride in it, my hair will get messed up." Happy wife, happy life, I can drive a Ferrari now.
5. F1 or stick. I have an F1. Why? It was for sale at the right price. In January I paid $7K to have an F1 hose leak fixed. Think about F1 maintenance before you make a decision.
6, "Seems right?" Who is making the Seems Right decision? If it is some Ferrari mechanic who has twenty to thirty years working on Ferrari's, and has a good reputation, I would probably go with him.
7. What should come with the car? The keys and the FOB's are good. More important the four digit code for the radio, and car itself. New FOB's are $900 per a set of three from Ferrari. Four digit code for the car is $500. The four digit code for the radio is free if you take the secretary at the shop where car is, out to lunch.
8. I think the advice which was given on this point is good. Shops which work on Ferrari's usually have some knowledge about what cars might be coming up for sale, what condition they are in, and how they were maintained.
9. What I see already posted is good advice. Especially the last sentence, related to having some in your back pocket for surprises, $10k to $20K would be good to have laid away.
10. If it is a 360 you want then you are looking at cars from 2000 to 2005. I would not buy an earlier car. The youngest of this group is going to be sixteen years old. Chances of someone loaning you money for a car that old and expensive is probably nil. So you are going to be paying cash.
11. I agree with the five paragraphs written above. Buying a Ferrari is sort of like a crap shoot. You are never going to really know what you have bought until you own it and drive it. I bought my car from an eBay seller, it cost me $28K to get it up to good running condition. The selling price and the $28K brought the total cost up to what a good running 360 was selling for.

Take your time to look and see. Educate yourself on the 360, the more you know the better buyer you will be.

Good luck
ceb

 

Who said anything about this being an "internet urban legend" ?

 

Wow! You are definitely reaching when pulling up a 3 year old post just to challenge it without any facts. Nicely done. And to directly answer you question: clearly I did.

 

What does the age of a post have to do with anything? And, if you want to tell yourself that to make yourself feel better, or to help yourself believe whatever it is you're peddling, I'm all for it

 

Still no evidence. It is as if you have none to support your challenge. Me I have 13 years of owning a 360 F1 and most here know that.

 

I'm happy for you that you are the exception. But don't tell me that every F1 will have the same luck you've had. One case doesn't represent all. Surprised you don't know that.