1996 F355 for $58,000?

If the price is good enough get a PPI. $58k isn't a steal but $52-55k is very appealing.

 

Kevin is right, PPI, PPI, PPI.

A 355 with problems will cost a bloody fortune to fix. If it has problems, you'll have a $75k car faster than you can say "Ricambi America"

 

What Daniel said -- a bad 355 can be an unparalleled money pit -- plus:

If this is your first Ferrari, you might want to consider buying from a Ferrari specialist or a dealer. I might be reading too much into this, but a guy running a dealership out of his house, who needs to sell fast, and can't be bothered to remedy the CEL issue... my spider sense tells me you're going to be on your own with any issues, and that you will have issues on day one.

A conscientious owner would have already reset the CEL, assuming that's what it is.

 

It is too good 2 be true . Repairs will send you right up to the cost of a car without any questions .Be careful.

 

There was a guy named Randy selling a red/tan with 70k miles for $52k, someone who did a PPI said great condition except exh. manifolds needed to be replaced. 95 F355's can be found for $65-75k with 5-15k miles. Why is it suprising one with 50k miles is $58k?

The price on this car isn't that great and everything about it screams run so far. If you can get a PPI done and pick it up for $52-55k like I said, it's another story.

 

I saw this car for sale on Autotrader last year for about the same price but I am not sure if this is the same owner and has been for sale since then or if maybe it was purchased and the buyer is selling it now. Looks like a great deal be always be careful.

 

I just bought an F355 in Vegas, and boy was it expensive.

Thanks

 

Let me Guess; Was it the Yellow/Black Spider from Norm Baker ?

If it was, i hope you didn't pay close to their asking price !

 

I think we may all be forgetting something.....to the average citizen a car with 50k miles isn't too much, most cars will run twice that with no problems...BUT this isn't "most cars"...this is a Ferrari and the high-performance engines aren't quite the long-haul workhorses you find in your Camry! To this guy he found a car with not too many miles on it...think from his perspective.

Bottom line: YOU indeed get what you pay for!!!!!!!!!!

When you buy your car from the actual owner, you get to look him in the eye, ask him questions and get to know the car and it's former owner: that means a lot to me.

Every darn time I found a "friend", "associate" or "guy who does car sales from his home/garage".....you find a car that has a story, but the person you are dealing with can play dumb & numb and tell you what they know. 2 words for you: PLAUSABLE DENIABILITY. Lemon cars are dumped by 3rd parties.....it's how the owner cuts free from the problems and let's someone else sell it to a faceless buyer. We're in F-chat, and I'm telling you; F-THAT!

Now...in all fairnes, this may be a good car...but wear & tear IS wear & tear. Once that cars mileage hits the 60k's it's like terminal cancer to sell. I think you're about to buy into a car that is about to plummet in price/value and potentially set you back some huge figures.

PPI all the way, don't buy this car without it. You get what you pay for, you just have to ask yourself one question: do you feel lucky? well...do ya?

 

Also....I hate the way the ad reads; it's so obvious that a hustler salesman wrote the wording. He may as well write "Hurry, hurry, hurry and step right up"

You have to ask yourself....what did they buy the car from the seller for and why would a seller unload a car that cheap?

Spend a bit more and buy-down the miles!!! I think it's best to buy from the owners, not hustlers. Be sure to check-out FerrariAds.com right here on this website!

 

That's a load of crap because one of the ways to reset the ecu's is to DISCONNECT the battery. I wouldn't touch this car with a 10 foot pole until you get a Pre Purchase Inspection.

Better yet, keep looking.

 

Okay I just read the link and it said it was "Carfax prefect". Oh really?????? Then why the song and dance about the CEL?

Keep looking.

 

Just my opinion but BS. My 348 just turned 50k miles. Compression as new, leak-down exceptional. A good friend has a 328 with 145k+ miles. Platinum award winner and 1 of the strongest running 328’s I have ever experienced. Only timely service performed. Well-maintained car. Many 308’s have well in excess of 100k miles with no issues. These are strong cars with very sturdy power-trains. A well maintained 355 with only 52k miles has 2/3 life remaining minimum. The 355 appears nice, great wheels. Look like my 18” Speedline Alesio wheels but are chrome plated or polished on the 355. If you are interested have a PPI. Cheap insurance.

 

Based on what I've seen and heard, I wouldn't worry about the engine needing a rebuild at 70K, 80K or even 100K miles (assuming the known F355 issues are taken care of). Ferrari V8's seem tough. There was a 115K-mile Mondial featured in Forza last year as a cover car.

But - the comments above about the market value of Ferraris with high mileage are accurate. There was a VERY nice red/tan 87 328GTS (great year, great colors, great condition) with close to 50K miles that spent a long time wanting for a buyer last year, because it was priced like a 20K-mile car, well over $50K.

An F355 is likely to cost a lot more in the short- and long term than a Mondial 3.2. If you like it a lot more, then go for it.

More generally (and less usefully), I worry about "more car" as a rationale. I think you need to get the car that brings you maximum enjoyment - visually, driving and owning. But then, I wouldn't think twice taking a drafty, leaky and loud 1955 Porsche Speedster over a 2002 Porsche 996 with nav, ABS, climate control, power top, etc. Less is more.

 

I have had some good luck with my 355. Bought the car with 40k miles for $54,000. I have to tell you I do the work on the car myself with the help of others including a engine out 30k service. I have to replace the manifold's soon. So the car's actual price is creeping up to $70,000(if you took it to a dealer to do the work). I drive the car everytime the weather is nice, which is about 3-4 days a week. I can't think of a better way to burn my money with a smile on my face. I guess its my catholic up-bringing.

 

Ditto that I purchased my 355 F-1 GTS w/ 30 k and now has 57k and no
weird issues.

Beware of copied doc's from owner passed to dealer.Thats where I got screwed.Call the tel# on the reciepts and verify they are authentic for services provided.

THIS WILL ELIMINATE "SOME" SCAMS!!

MY355

 

You may very well have a solid point...my experience is based entirely on what I've heard from other Ferrari owners; guys who have owned several Ferrari's and been around them for years have all led me to believe these engines are super-tough & strong, but they are sort of like the candle that burns twice as bright.....they don't go long into the sunset like a Chevy.

The 355 is putting out quite a bit more power then the 328 or 348, and I'm not sure how the engines differ, but the 355 has 5 valves per cylinder. The greater power puts more stress on everything: bearings, rings, crank, etc......maybe they're strong, but I think it's like a box of chocolates....you never know what you are going to get. Course, I'm a guy selling a low-mileage 355 who is looking to get back a little of the premium I paid when I bought the low-mileage car

My gut feeling is that, at this point, a 355 spider is discounted about 60-cents for each mile it has over 8,000 miles.....(that's -$6,000 for each 10,000 miles) and about $8,000 per each year of age off '99. So you put a '99 with very low miles and great condition at $105k and deduct from there. Just a general rule, but you'd be surprised how accurate it seems to be.

 

For your info., the F430 uses timing chains.

 

SO what are the service intervals (and what needs to be done at those servicings)?

 

And so does the F50. The race version of that engine hits 10,500 rpm. The 333SP used the same engine as was in the F50.

 

Nope, no lift needed. Two floor jacks and removing the rear bumper will do the trick.