What do you think about this 355?

I test drove a 95 355B today from a private seller.

It is red with a few scuff marks undreneath the front end and some rock chips in the nose. At the base of each of the c-pillars was a fine line in the paint. No bubbling of the paint was noted.

The interior was in good shape with scuffing on the left bolster of the driver's seat.

The car has 26K miles and has had the 15K service but not the 30K. Valve guides and the exhaust manifolds have not been changed.

Both rear tires were bald and had cupping on the inside edge of the tire. The driver's side rear tire had cupping bad enough to reveal the radial cords.

The engine started up easily. The car drove fairly nicely but I must admit that this was my first drive in a Ferrari.

The seller is asking 75K.

What do you guys think of this car? I want your opinion before I commit to a PPI.

Thanks.

 

The right price for this car is 65K as is.

70-72K with the 30K serv.

The car would need to be perfect to command 75K with 26k mi.

Nick

 

Couple of things:

Full Service with everything that needs/should be/etc. Full Service, Figure Clutch (if it is past 60% done), berings, Valve Guides, etc. Figure at a dealer 10 - 12K maybe more if you have anything else - cats, fuel pump, etc.

Figure another 1K for the tires.

The seat wear and the front bumper are pretty normal - you can get the bumper resprayed for 500K - probably figure doing this every few years if it bugs you.

So lets say on the high side on the full service you are at 15K + tires 1K - that takes you to 91K...

You could get a 99 with service - under 15k miles for less...

If you look at the Ads portion of F-Chat - I think Martin at Cavillino has a 98 Spider for sale - with 19K miles - with the full 30K service done and clutch for 86K... (Martin - Make check payable to ... (Martin would be a good one to chime in on what would be a fair price for what you are looking at as well).

I think this is way high - take your time - post your thoughts - you can get a lot of car for 75K - 85K - just have to look and wait... I would start with Ferrariads some of the guys on this board and our sponsors have some great/fair deals...

Hope that helps,
Rich

 

This is a $65k car on its best day. Current problems, future problems and due a major service. You can do much better today for $75k. Pass or renogotiate.

 

Knock off $10,000 minimum. If you take the car to the dealer your are looking at minimum $6K, for the engine out major. That is money that will have to be spent no matter what. The cars is pushing ten years old. That is way too long on the original timing belts. Then the tires are gonna run you another $1,000 - $1,500 for a full set, depending on what brand. If the valve guides need to be replaced that is another couple thou$and buck$ at the dealer. How is the clutch????? That could be another $1,800 - $6,000, depending on if it needs a new flywheel. Does the a/c and heater work properly? Just take the car and have a PPI done by a reputable mechanic. It could be the best $250 bucks you spend. Also run the vin number and see what comes up. Asking price and selling price are two different things. Knowing what I know about Ferrari's I wouldn't pay more than $64,000, at the most, for the condition the car is in.

 

That should be a bumper respray for $500 dollars not 500K - When dealing with F-Cars I am not used to typing in anything less than thousands

 

I had not negotiated with the owner, but I was thinking that I would offer him 65K. So I am glad to find out that my offering price would be in line with most of you.

What do you think of the cupping on the rear tires? What could cause this?
Would a wheel alignment fix this problem? Or a very expensive suspension repair?

As far as the clutch is concerned, it worked fine but who knows when it is going to need replacement.

 

Man... my honest, gut feel opinion on this one? Walk.

 

Get a PPI before you do anything, and run a carfax on it.

 

First I have to ponder if I want the car or not.

The car drove nicely but I really couldn't open her up or really see what she had since the owner was riding shotgun. My only lasting impressions of the car is that the clutch pedal was way too far to the right for my liking and that it did have quite high cornering capability.

By the way, this car is on eBay.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2467778289&category=6212

 

Do not think that because the clutch feels ok that it is... I just posted my 355 Full Service Pics - on saturday - with pictures of the clutch - which was down to .86mm (even a picture of that). It felt fine... but in about 8 months I would have needed a new one.

If there is a suspension problem - you are in a whole different dollar ball park.. The Shocks alone for the 355 are $500 each - And that is just the start.

I honestly would walk - the PPI is great - but will tell you about 1/2 of what could be wrong... If it had the 30K service by a good service shop - you could at least give them a call to get some info - but it hasn't had the major service - so you are really rolling the dice. Most of us on the sight do not want to see you get the bad end of the deal.

What is interesting - is that if this "seller" has gone this long without service.. 1.) He obviously did not care about the car .. Or 2.) He knows there are a few big things wrong and he doesn't want to fork out 15 - 20K to do them - sell it and start again...

I don't like the sounds of it - for him to be at 75K - means he is either clueless or knows he will have to come down a lot... It would have said much more if he would have been at 65K - and stayed firm on that - saying it would need 10K to get it where it needs to be.

I would walk and get one that has more history.

 

Too much money. I agree with Richard. You can buy a 355 alot better for that money, or a better/newer 355 for a little more money with the service done.

Walk my friend.

Vasco.R

 

He says no marks or scratches on the car and the seats are in perfect condition? Perfectly maintained and cared for... But no service?

Let me guess - he had slicked back hair, and appeared very sales like... did he try to sell any property... I guess my point is he is not really honest and looking for a very very quick sale. Run fast... Run fast...

 

I read your thread. It was very informative. How many miles were on your car at the time of clutch change?

 

you have to wonder about someone who thinks the car is a "berlinetti".

did the seller tell you the story behind the car? how he got it, etc.?

 

Actually, he appeared to be a reasonable guy. He told me that his wife passsed away 3 years ago due to cancer and he has not been driving much since.

The eBay auction was put up by his son-in-law, who suggested to him to the idea of eBay auction.

And you know, nobody is going to bid on that car.

 

He told me he bought from a dealer with 1000 miles on it. He used it initially to commute to LA from Riverside.

 

Got a question on the serivce.
I know car has 26k, but isn't 30k service way overdue already since it is a '95 car?
Service goes by mile or time whichever comes 1st, right?

 

Dosn't sound like it was well taken care of. I'd pass.

 

17K on the clock when I had the clutch changed - and the car was not tracked or anything - just driven like F-cars should.

I would guess from the F-cars that I have had that around 20 - 30K miles is pretty normal for a clutch change - if driven normally (F-car normally).

 

15, 30, 45, 60K miles for the regular service intervals - or 3 - 5 years whichever comes first... is the general guideline.

In this case the car should have had the 15K in 98 or maybe 99. the 30K in 2001 or 2002...

If he had it since 1000K miles - I am very surprised he wouldn't have taken it in before the warranty ran out - for the major service... Though the engine out would have cost him - any thing else they found would have been covered... Hmmmmmmmm...

 

65K is a good price if the PPI checks out and he has all of the service records. If he doesn't have the service records, then you have to ask why. Please remember that not everyone who owns a car is a car lover and treats them all the same. Not everyone who can afford to own a Ferrari thinks to keep all of their service records....to them it's just a car. That doesn't mean however that it's a bad car. If the oil has been changed regularly and the belts are still intact (which they are since you went for a ride) base your decision on a good PPI, records and overall aspect of the car. BTW I no of a few F-cars that ran with relatively bald tires...but were otherwise well taken care of. Different people have different priorities.