Need Advice -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hey Guys .........good to see everyone back on here. I missed you guys. I have found a 98 355B in silver/bordeaux. The car looks stunning. Mileage 13k. Fresh major done. I was leaning towards a red/tan since i owned a Testarossa in that color combo. Its a 6 speed. No issues. I must say that i really like that color combo but its growing on me. I asked about the manifolds and i am told its not an issue on that year. The compression checked out as well. Asking $79k. Your comments. All the help is always appreciated. Whats a fair price?
Lies, It's an issue with all year 355's, just a matter of time. Think I'm making this up, then contact MVP performance and ask Kevin how many header sets he has sold to owners of that year. Lot's, thats how many.
The answer to your question is --- YES, keeping track of the market like I do. With what you have described, fresh major, not alot of miles, no issues, etc. If all else checks out - I would say that is a fair price...Yes there are cheaper cars, yes there are more expensive cars, but finding a car that YOU like and feel comfortable buying is what you are after.. Go for it...
And for '98's I think you need to check the S/N, they switched the valve guides mid-year. So it's better to have a build after the switch just to be on the safe side. If it's earlier...depends what you believe. Some say every car will have an issue, other say only some %.
+1 Perhaps your seller was confusing valve guides with exhaust headers. Some very late model 355's will *not* have valve guide problems, however, all 355's will have OEM exhaust header failures (generally before 30,000 miles of normal city driving). Of course, knowing that fact you can remove the exhaust headers on a low mileage (e.g. 13k) 355 to have them ceramic coated (the headers are dipped in the solution at a very high temperature, coating the inside and outside simultaneously). That little bit of preventative maintenance will save you from having to replace the OEM exhaust headers every 25,000 miles or so. You'll want to know if the 355 in question has the metal or the plastic power steering reservoir, by the way. The older plastic ones *will* fail. Also, keep in mind that all Ferrari air bags, regardless of model, only have a 10 year lifespan. 355 airbags at and over ten years of age have deployed spontaneously (do a search on: 355 spontaneous to see examples on this forum). To save yourself from that unpleasantness you'll want to do a bit more preventative maintenance.
Thanks. I did not know that fact. Oh, here's one thread on the 355 air bag: http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=118968
I would probably stay away form the bordeaux interior, unless you plan on keeping it for a long time. It's a hard color combo to sell. I wouldn't worry about the other stuff, if it breaks it breaks. You fix it and move on. All of us here should be able to absorb a 5,10,or 15K repair, or we should be driving a Honda. Also, all air bags expire at 10 years, not just Ferrari. I've only heard of a couple of air bags going off by themselves, and that was after a dash replacement.
