355 asking prices via dealers

NO.

 

I think you are very close on the price. TB is the least desirable and therefore least expense style, 6-speed helps a lot. Red/tan people really want.

Here's a link to something I think is close to what you want:

http://www.sportauto.cc/inventory_ferrari/mar06fer98red/index.htm

Steve and Daryl are fair guys, but I think this car might be consigned. If I recall it seemed a little high to me when I asked.

 

I would say yes. A 98-99 GTB is going to be cheaper than any of the spiders you see around and I wouldn't pay over your range for a gtb.

 

Call Steve Jones at SportAuto, He will take care of you.
If he does not have what you are looking for, he will locate it for you.
They are Good People!

For the record....I have NO affiliation with Steve Jones or www.SportAuto.cc
I am just a client

 

For the record - me too on Sport Auto. Client and advocate, nothing more. As I recall that car was well under $90K. It still seemed high to me.

I recently drove a very nice Black/Tan GTB at a Porsche dealer. Had 7K miles, recent belt service and extra clean - bad part was it was a 95. They were talking low 70's. They had bought it on spec and had ended up holding it for a really long time and wanted out.

 

I think you should be able to find a GTB to your specs in your price range. For instance, there is a Giallo/Black 355 with recent major at Chariots of Palm Beach and it is pretty clean. They are asking $83K and when I looked at the car I felt they would negotiate. Too bad I'm looking for a Spider.

FoCF will negotiate. I wouldn't hesitate to work with them. The 119K Spider in their showroom is beautiful.

 

In January I had two dealers offer me mid $70's for my perfect 99' 355 F1 Spider. I had three private party offer in the mid $90's. The dealers were certainly low balling me! Tim

 

To me, that is crazy ($70k's)....... Why someone would sell a 355 so low is beyond me. I guess some 355 sellers must really need to sell. With 360 spiders still in the $160k+ why drop the value of the 355?

 

It's pretty seasonal too - this is obviously the most expensive time to buy.

 

my spider is on the ferrari ads and is somewhat negotiable but already priced pretty fair! Take a peek!

Good luck in your search.

 

I just bought my first Ferrari from Sport Auto and started looking at this same 348... ended up with a black 355 spider.... they are really great people and I am positive I will be dealing with them in the future.

 

Congrats on the car. Post the specifics and pics if you will.

 

I will second all of that. I have seen the red/tan they have and it is truly exceptional, the best GTB I have seen. I think the asking price is 85 but please don't quote me on that. In all honesty, had I not found the GTS I have now when I did, I would own that GTB.

 

second that!!!

 

If you can wait until the end of the year I'll be selling my perfect 99 red/tan Berlinetta F1 when my F599 comes in.

 

how much do you think you'll be asking for it?

 

I'm looking for a spider as well. Am hoping to get a 97-99 for 85K but I will step up for the right car. I am looking for a 15K miles car with belts done and hopefully (with the miles) will have been previously sorted by another owner.

As far as dealers go I have seen good examples as from low 90's to 115,000 and more though the higher priced cars have been Fioranos or queens.

I would think this would be high season for resale and think for us "bargain hunters" we may be better off in the off season. I think you are like anyone else who wants a great car at an even better deal.

 

You want two contradictory things: low price and great service.

If you want the lowest price for a non-wrecked F355 (or any exotic), you'll need to call the exotic leasing companies (one is a sponsor here) to be placed on their bid list for vehicles coming off lease.

Vehicles coming off of leases sell for $10,000 to $15,000 below the prices that the same vehicles will sell for once they have been serviced, prepped, and backed by a dealer on a showroom floor.

On the other hand, the purchase price of a Ferrari may be the least of your expenses. These are big boy play toys. They aren't drive-and-forget Honda's that put on 200,000 miles per year with no maintenance expenses.

One of the advantages of using an authorized Ferrari dealership or a truly great independent shop is that they will often stand behind any major malfunctions in first month or two of ownership...with no hassles.

So if you want great service/piece-of-mind, go through an authorized Fcar dealership.

If you want a great price, then go bid on cars coming off of leases and take your chances (sometimes you'll win).

Those are the extremes. At best, everything else is a comprise in between those two extremes (e.g. auctions, small exotic dealerships, individual selling his/her car, etc.) of price/service/piece-of-mind.

I can tell you flat out that I ran autocheck and carfax on every car in my search, and *many* of the cars for sale at independent shops were flagged as mileage rollbacks, duplicate title, rebuilt, etc. No problems at the authorized Fcar dealerships, though.

But you've got to **choose** between service/piece-of-mind versus lowest price. And choosing is one of the hardest things for most people to do (don't we all just "want it all").

 

I used a broker to find and help facilitate the purchase of my '97 GTB this March. He found the car that I wanted in Denver, on consignment at an independant dealership, which had been serviced at FOD since being brought there. I paid an independant mechanic who had worked on my 328 for five years, his days salary and air ticket to go with me to Denver and go through the car for five hours. Even though my car has 32K miles on it, it is in great condition, besides needing new headers which I new before purchase, and have since purchased.
I paid less than $75K for mine, so your price of $75-$80K seems doable for a '98 if you are patient and look in the right places.
PM me if you would like the contact info of the broker.
-Bill

 

THE PRICE YOU SPEAK OF IS DOABLE.

 

What about the GTB makes it the least desirable?

 

I talked to a seller this past week who had a >10K 98 spider 6 speed, all issues addressed, major completed, new tires, pentiometers no sticky console, no shrinkage, in other words a well sorted low mileage car. Yellow/black that he was letting go for 85K.

That is the first one I feel like I missed out on. I couldn't get down there and save it frmm the dealer trade in a timely fashion but it certainly makes me believe there are very good cars at very reasonable prices if you are patient and make a diligent search.

 

Most people like the driving experience of having no roof overhead. The GTB is supposed to be a stiffer car frame so it flexes less during hard driving, but the lack of a removable roof is what makes it cost less (there is more people in the market looking for the GTS / spider). A fixed roof is really the only down side I thought of when I was looking at getting a TR. I did not even think of the extra maintenance a 12 cylinder would be.

BT