Merged: buying a f355 looking for advice

The car sounds good and if I was buying it I would hold off on the service since there has not been much mileage put on and it has only been about 3 years since it was performed. There is allot of very useful information on this site about purchasing a Ferrari so just perform a few searches with 355 in the title and I am sure you will get more information then you ever imagined. Good luck with your decision and keep us posted.

 

I would agree a major service is probably not necessary if done in 03. Factory reccommends cam belt service every 3 years now but I'll probably do mine every 5 years. I would review the old receipts on the major to make sure the essentials were done and obviously get an impartial ppi done with leak down/ compression. Otherwise lots of fun in your hunt and good luck.

 

Having purchased a 355 not knowing about this forum I will say, please pay close attention. Have a complete inspection done. Inquire to see if the Valve Guides have been replaced, headers, catalytics, or bypass valve. I bought a 1998 355 GTS Fly Yellow with a production number well above the last known valve guide problem, but was shocked to find out it needed plenty of exhaust work. I bought from a reputable local dealer and they took care of the problem free of charge after a little negotiating. I was facing about 10k in repairs had they not stepped up to the plate and taken care of this.

Don't buy the first one that you find. I knew exactly what I wanted and their were only two nationwide to choose from that I could find when I was looking

My 355 is a great car so enjoy when you find the one you like!

Glenn

 

I bought a 355 in the summer this year. Last service was 4 years ago (full with belts) but it had done very low miles between now and then. I had it full serviced by a local specialist and it is fine (touch wood) - total service cost was under £2000 which included replacing cats for thru-pipes, a water pump bearing kit (very slight play in old one) a tensioner bearing and a repair to one of the cat ecu's.

I would buy it with a comprehensive but short period warranty and no service. You will find anything worthwhile out on the drive home. Then for peace of mind get it fully-serviced as soon as and that will uncover any warranty work the suppliying dealers may have to cough for.

So save you looking I also created this post for someone else:

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Hi, I looked for 2 years until I found the right one then grabbed it quick a few weeks ago.

Depends on price range / age you are looking at and if private sale or dealer. Here are some observations I have picked up over the last 24 months.

0) Get a HPi check as Ade says, and make sure there is a history that makes sense. There are independent service places that are better than main Ferrari so a factory history isn't everything. My car hadn't been serviced for 4 years (but hadn't done any miles either) and I just got it back from belt/change major service and its fine.

1) Run your finger along all panel gaps to see if they are relatively equal and panels are mounted at the same level. There is usually some rust on the foot plates under the doors, its a pain to clean up as they are bonded and removing usually bends them. Can be replaced with carbon fibre panels (see eBay). There is usually cracks/ripples in the paint where the C pillar meets the rear wing. This is normal and is something that needs attention every now and again.

2) White powder in the tail pipes = new catalytic convertors. These are £400 each (x2) or can be replaced with pipes (£200 total) but they are loud and due to emissions require a friendly MOT chap. The standard cats do fail (ceramic). Fuchs in Germany will take your old Cat bodies and replace inner with metal matrix which lasts forever (£1000 I think - but one off payment). Note that if the Cats need replacing, either with other cats or pipes then each has 3 sensors (2 Oxygen and 1 temperature) and they sometimes cannot be removed so you need new ones (£160/£60/£100 each).

3) Interior black rubber dash covering cracks in centre console and breaks up. Starts on the ashtray - again carbon panels can be bought on eBay.

4) There should be NO oil leaks, no blobs under it at all. So dont accept the "Ferrari's always leak a little" argument.

5) When/if you check the engine oil level DO WITH THE ENGINE VERY HOT! ie not cold, if you check when cold (like I did) you could end up draining 14L out of the sump (holds 9.5) been there etc...

6) Rub your finger around the top of the dampers on the black rubber bushes, if there is any oil / damp then the damper is on its way. £600 each or about £200 as a recon from Bilstein. Also if rear dampers gone then you will see high wear on inside of rear tyres.

7) Gears selection should be heavy when oil cold (miss 2nd out to save the synchros) once hot the shift should be quick and smooth for all gears.

8) The paint should be even all over and a bit orange peally (normal Ferrari) if the paint finish is mega (no orange peel) then its either been professionally rubbed down and polished or its a re-spray. Look everywhere for overspray, lift the window rubbers etc.

9) Make sure wheels are not damaged, magnesium leaks air if it has hairline fractures and an impact can cause this. They are about £850 each to replace.

10) Exhaust manifolds crack and need welding / replacing at some point. Check for blowing in the exhaust system and adjust price as required. Ferrari manifolds are about £1650 each but there are alternatives that are probably better made (eBay again, .com, I love eBay ).

11) When you remove the petrol cap (make sure it dosnt stick when pressing button on dash, show lack of care) there should be a rush of air OUT (tank pressureised).

12) Check all the electrics work OK, and I mean all of them.

13) I have never seen a car with more than 30,000m on it that hasnt got signs of wear / cracking on the leather interior (seat sides etc) so if you see wear and the mileage is low be suspicious.

14) Throttle sticks a little bit on initial pickup (needs more pressure initially when pulling away then jolts as the pedal moves) this is caused by the throttle cable run not be properly adjusted/lubricated. Its a good indicator of how recently and how well its been serviced. After a service there should be no jolt, but it gets gradually worse the closer you get to the next service.

15) Be careful to check aftermarket warranty details, I havn't found one that was worth the money / gave worthwhile cover.

16) Servicing should be about £600 a year, with £2000 every 3rd year (depending on mileage). I am budgeting on £4000 a year which should cope with the big bills when/if they arrive. I would imagine its not far off the running costs of a GT3.

In the 2 years I have been looking the bottom end price has risen about £1000 (94/95 LHD) but the top end (99 RHD Crema interior) has dropped quite a bit. The arrival of the 430 will hit 360's which in turn will squeeze the top end 355's more but I think there is an overall resistance line at £30,000. Any colour other than red will be cheaper but harder to sell on.

All I can think of now. Look at as many cars as you can, visit all the dealers you can and check out all of their stock. Even if price colour wrong - the more cars you look at the more you will notice. I checked out all the dealers in the UK including Sytners/Graypaul in Nottingham and Maranello at Egham and in the end bought it without inspection at a national car auction!

Good luck and enjoy the search.

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All service items on all cars have to be changed after either a number of km's or period of time which ever is the sooner. In general 355's should be serviced every 6000 miles or once a year which ever sooner. With effectively every 3rd (was 4th) service a cam belt job.

I would say that it def needs the belts changing - full service is a 2-3 day job as the engine does need to come out.

Price is good from a dealer so I would get them to do the service and make sure it A1 - then pay £34K.

A Porsche will (generally) be more reliable and easier to maintain but they still go wrong (early 996 engine liner issues etc). The bits for a Ferrari are generally more expensive than for a Porsche (although I thought official 355 Cats at £400 each wasnt too bad) but then a Porsche isnt a Ferrari (nothing against Porsche's, but they do make about 100,000 cars a year to Ferrari's 4000)...

My 355 had done 31000km when I bought it and had done less miles than the one you describe in the 4 years the previous owner had it (with no service) and its perfect. Having said that it might depend on where the car was kept of course. I have a feeling the chap that had mine may have had an air-conditioned garage or car-coon because of its excellent condition.