550 daily driver?

How long is the commute?

 

I don't think a few miles a day wouldn't be that bad. The only problem could be the New England winters' effects.

 

I'm having trouble finding one.

Been to all the usual places. Grant it, I am looking for black or blue and on the east coast.

John

 

In and around Greenwich you should have no issue with using a 550 as a daily.

You may want to have an additional vehicle in case of inclement weather (snow/ice), but otherwise you should be fine if you pick up a good example.

Are you picking it up from Miller?

 

John: expand your search around the country - and talk to service managers, not the salesmen.

A 550 can make a great daily driver. I am around 12-15k miles / year, but I'm in CA so I don't worry about things like snow.

--Dan

 

Given your objective of putting about 30K miles on it (plus whatever 'low' miles it has on it now) and then selling it, I'd offer that it might not be worth the low mileage premium you'll pay at this point. I glady pony up premium prices to get really low mileage cars, but because I use them selectively, they are still worth plenty in the end. If I was going to use the 550 as a daily driver and put typical annual mileage on it, I'd find a well serviced one with higher miles and save significant $$ on the front end. Disregard if this is not a stretch purchase for you and you can afford to use up a 550 like most would a Toyota Camry! Either way, you can't go wrong with a 550!

 

Good advice in addition to the fact that a 30k mi 550 like Dan's is hardly worn out, it will certainly be a great car for another 30. Nice, clean, well maintained 30k mi 550s are out there begging to be driven and have already been driven enought to be confident that the bugs are gone.

 

Every time I see threads regarding cars with high mileage/with low mileage and comparissons I start to wonder is it better to get a low mileage car that needs typical things to be changed (as a result of sitting) or buy a 30k car in which case you dont know how those 30k miles were put on the car. Lets face it no one who buys a Ferrari buys it to be driven gently...when I think about it I would still probbly go with a low mileage example and deal with the occasional leaky gasket or dried out radiatior hose versus always wondering if it was abused prior to me taking over. Unless of course you find the rare example where you've known the owner/car from day one.

 

I work on Ferrari's of all mileages and all conditions every week and I have never seen one that looked like it was well cared for that was not. If it looks like a dog it prob is, if it looks like it was loved it prob is.

I'm talking about orig cars that are 10 or less years old. Older than that many of the pooch's start getting paint and uph work and the line starts getting fuzzy.

 

Apparently hasn't driven with Dan

 

No but I'm working on it. It's better than it looks. 550's are very tough birds.

 

So this is why Dan has 2 550's?

 

Doesn't everybody?

Besides they don't do well being rammed into things.

 

LOL!

 

You kids...

--Dan

 

Im also looking for a 550. Does a belt service really cost 7,000? If a car only has 7-10 thousand miles I would assume that it needs a belt change because of years right? So what else do they do other that the belt. thanks

 

Best damed everyday driver of the Ferrari lot and hardly anything out there that will give you any trouble. Reliable, powerful, beautiful.

 

It sure shouldn't. The major on a 550 is quite easy compared to a 355. Not nearly as labor intensive.

Originally the 550 was scheduled fror belt changes every 5 years and the factory has since reduced that to 3.

If the mileage is low and time is the only issue there is no reason to do the entire major service. Belts, hoses and fluids would serve the cars and your interests just fine. When you read the factory service recomendations it says BELTS every 3 years, not major service.

 

I drove my 575 as an almost daily driver for 3 years and I now use the SA as a daily driver.

I think that the 550/575 is a really one of the great cars to come out of Ferrari. It is classically beautiful, spacious, has a real trunk and blows away just about everything out there.

The price of 550's and 575's today is riduculously low for the performance, panache and pure Ferrariness that you get. I can't imagine what else competes with it.

 

A british car magazine called evo has been running a 98 550 for over a year now as a daily driver in all weathers and conditions. The car is looked after by a main agent and is serviced on the dot(they took out the optional warranty which would be void if the service was neglected). I am sure in most cases the 550 is a reliable car, but the evo car lunched its gearbox at about 27k miles, fortunatley under warranty. The latest issue states that he thinks the engine is goosed!.I dont know how to put up links, but if you search for evo magazine and then look for the long term icon you can read all about the 550's owners ups and downs with the car. You don't need to subscribe either. Incidentally a fellow f chatter is in there with his daily drive....a sept 04 murcie that he has used every day. The latest report shows that his 18 months motoring and 22,000 miles has cost around £90k! Still he must be happy as he has the new model on order. It seems the reliability of his car has been near perfect, but hey there is good and bad apples......you pay your money and take your chances!One thing is certain you are in for a hell of a ride!

 

I have over 60,000 miles on mine and I will not sell it for love or money. The 550 is the ultimate freeway flyer. Of course, one gets too many tickets with the beast. Yipes.

12 cylinders or walk

 

Purchased mine used from Miller Motors almost 4 years ago. Now have 22,000 miles. Car is great as an every day driver in Fairfield County. Basically headache free with only a fluid change every year. Major service coming due though.