355 Purchase

As a former 911 owner, and a current MB SL500 owner, about two years ago I kind of thought that the Ferrari's I loved had come into my price range. Initially I was impressed that the 348ts' were going in the $45-55k range, and took a look at one locally. I was immediatley put off by several factors, and assumed I would need to wait a bit to be able to pull off the aquisition of a 355 spider while still keeping the family MB S500 with me!

I've seen probably every one listed on ebay in the last two years, and think I have a pretty base knowledge of the price range. Yesterday while dropping my kids back their mother, I spied a red/tan 355 spider at the local exotic pre owned superstore. I could not help stopping to check it out. Exterior was very strong, with probably less than 10 paint chips on the entire car, all touched up well. The rear "grill" was intact, the front end was phenominally free of road rash. Car has 15,779 on the odo. I was interested within the first 10 minutes. Can I ask the members and F car owners on the board to evaluate the rest of the story and please offer input....

Car is tagged at approx $84k. Which I thought was very good based on the initial physical appearance and the mileage. I told them I would return today to inquire more.

Toady I was shown all of the service and history records they have, and the CARFAX. They just received it last friday, and were seemingly very honest that they really hadn't gone through it much and did not know all of the details as they had just aquired it. The two people I spent time with were exceptional in their attitude and forthright behavior. So far so good.

Car is a 97, first purchased in FL in 10/96. That owner retained the car until 2000. Second owner in Long Island NY, owned 2000-2003. In between there is a title issued in PA, so I assume the dealer the Long Island owner bought it from was in PA(Perhaps Algar). Third owner in NJ, owned it 2003-2005. $15,000 mile service at a cost of $7700 was done at around 10k miles(why?), and book is stamped from Ferrari of Long Island. All books are there. Copy of full invoice for 15k service is also there. They have one key and remote. Head unit is a Nakamichi 6 disc, but then again, who cares! Tires appear almost new, rims were also very very clean.

A note about this dealer: they are owned by an enthusiast, and have been expanding their current location, which houses probaly 100 exotic and musclecars. The 355 was parked next to a Gallardo. They have some gorgeous Bentleys, a large selection of MB, Vettes, a Pantera, and some classic(and much more attractive than I remembered) 50's and 60's vehicles. They have had other 355's there before(I looked briefly at a yellow one about a year ago, but decided red was the only way to go). They have been around for while, and seem to be pretty reputable.

Car interior: No noticable dash shrinkage, but the plastic around the heating vents is very rough. Leather is excellent, with a few light scuffs. The drivers door seems to be seperating a bit from the metal portion of the door-which I was told would be fixed once the car is gone over by their "guy". Carpets were in very good shape, and overall instrumentation was very clean and new looking.

Driving experience: She started right up and that classic Ferrari sound was almost overwhelming at times during the drive. The check engine light is on-which was noted on the 2003 major service as an item that was repaired then and was the result of a sender unit failure. As a current owner of 2 MB's, I am well versed at the classic "check engine" light and all of its idiosynchrases(sic). The car handled exceptionally on some pretty rough roads as there is construction very near this location. No hiccups in the drive, shifted well, clutch to me feels in tune and properly performing. The 10 minutes we spent was without any apparent trouble and I got out of the car sweating from the rush(and the heat of the engine) on a 94 degree day with the top up!

The top: The previous service indicated they replaced several bushings in the top assembly, and made a note that some parts were losing their elasticity. We could not get the top down. We unlatched it, pushed it back, and we only got that inferanal beeping as it did not move. The sales guy told me he was not an expert and offered to call the store(we were pulled over to put the top down during the test drive)to get the more knowledgable guy on the phone. He did. We did not want to force it. We relocked it closed. Back at the store, the other guy said it was a "tough one", but he assured me he could get it down if I liked. At that point I let it go, knowing I'd be having a full PPI if I remained serious.

So aside from it passing a PPI with flying colors, committing myself to selling the SL500, and convincing the wife that it all makes financial sense, what else do I need to do?

Is it just me or does this seem like a very fair price for this vehicle(altough I will certainly start lower)??

Thanks in advance for any/all advice!

Dave

 

Well I will have to rely on the PPI for that type of item. I drive em, don't profess to understand catalytic convertors or otherwise! I have read a bit about the bronze valve guide issue, so that can be checked.

It also has the challenge grill.

I guess that because it is local to me, I can drive it, and know it without traveling. That is worth at least $5k to me, so do you think I could do better than $79k