550 issues and values

Denny -

This forum is as good a place to start as any. Beyond that, there are few downloadable 550/575 Buyers Guides on the internet that are a pretty good primer and very reasonable ($10 or so.) That will get you up the curve quickly. I would also encourage you to do a web search on all the auto magazine reviews on these cars, particularly the long-term reviews to get a better feel about what it is to live with a 550/575, versus just tearing one around a race circuit for the afternoon. They are getting harder to find because the 550 came out thirteen years ago, but there are still a few out there in cyberspace.

Most of all, as with any significant purchase, read as much as you can get your hands on. If your 308 is any example, you could own one of these cars for 20+ years so make sure you get a good one and get a good sense about whether it's the right choice for you, your lifestyle, etc.

Happy hunting, and keep us posted.

ketel

 

Denny- Check out the ferrariusa.com site of Ferrari North America for an idea of where the top end of the 550 stands. E-Bay is usually a good place to check out both top-end and bottom-end cars. There are usually a few on fchat's ferrariads, but all got flushed with the new, improved format and will take a while to refill. The Ferrari Club of America site also has cars, many of which are really well maintained cars owned by real Ferrari freaks.

Settle down for a few hours and read everything on this forum about 550s. You will quickly pick up the car's strong points (many) and weak points (few).

Taz
Terry Phillips

 

Denny,

I just bought a 1998 tdf blue 550 two weeks ago. See the thread at:
- http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=226859

I also own a 430, so like you, this was my venture into the 12 cylinder Ferrari cars.

I am far from an expert on 550 issues and values, but, if it helps you any, I am very happy with mine.
Mine has just over 17,000 miles on it and has turned out to be much nicer than I would have ever suspected given the asking price.
The asking price for mine was $82k and I got it for slightly less than that.
Even though that price might seem good-to-okay these days, I suspect they will get even a little more affordable during 2009.

The issues I came across by doing fchat searches were:

- Make sure the car has had the wheel recall issue completed.
- the hose that goes under the plenum intake needs to be the modern replacement which has two vertical white stripes on each side of the hose clamp (visible from the front of the engine).
- the motor mount upgrade involves the use of the 575M motor mounts which have a metal plate on top and keep the engine from chewing into the rubber donut and sinking to a lower position (which supposedly causes an oil leak where you have only 30 seconds or so to stop driving the car before the engine is ruined).
- Window alignment issues are not as big a deal as on the 456 car. So, don't panic if the car has a gap in the back of the window fitting.
- Timing belts need to be replaced every 3 years but a lot of people take the risk of doing it every 5 years. The covers are designed so that the front of the engine can be accessed without pulling the engine out of the car.
- Expect $2k - $5k in annual maintenance costs. Note that the 60k mile service is one of the most expensive and will be in the $9k neighborhood. A 30k service is something like $5k and a 15k srevice is something like $3k, I think.
- Look for the beginnings of rust under the hood near where the front bracket attaches underneath. My understanding is some of the Florida and Calif. coast cars will have some rust starting to form in this location.
- When you do a test drive, watch the oil pressure gauge, water temp, and oil temp. A good car will be somewhere near the middle on each gauge once it is fully warmed up. Let the car idle for a few minutes until the water temp comes up from zero before driving at all. Wait until the oil temp comes up from zero before doing any high rev's or attempts at speed shifting.

My new-to-me 550 is absolutely amazing to drive. The torque and power is incredible as you get to 5000 rpm and above. Do not turn off the ASR unless you have some spare room to play with on the road or in a parking lot. Sport Mode on the dash actually seems to stiffen the car quite a bit (more than I would have thought).

If I've missed anything or misrepresented anything, I'll defer to the regular posters in this section that have a lot more 550 experience than me.

Good luck and enjoy.

 

I hate to say it, but use the search function. Or at least read a good 4 or 5 pages back of threads. You'll find more information ad nauseum about these cars than you can think to ask.

Don't bother with a '99 unless it's basically november/december.

 

What's wrong with a '99?

 

read the archives. i alone probably got 1000 posts on the subject

 

I tried searching through past threads and I couldn't find any evidence of specific issues w/ 99 550s, I did find that there faster than the 2000-01 because they precats .

 

denny i owned a 328 for approx. 8 yrs. puurchased a 2000 550 1 yr. a go the differance is like a 32 ford and 65 shelby .give me acall

 

.

 

Wrong. They're not faster necessarily. The biggest airflow issues aren't in "precats" but in the filters, center resonator and exhaust. Change those three and w/o touching the motor you've got 35-40 wheel horsepower. No joke.

In late '99 they switched over to CAN bus, they changed the steering rack, revised the motor mounts, changed the thermocoupler ECUs, updated electronics (all part of CAN bus, I suppose), etc. etc. etc.

There are significant and material changes. The "easy" tell-tale sign is whether a car has the becker vs the sony stereo. That's a good first start. When I wanted to buy my 2nd car, I compiled a (now very old) database of something approaching 85% of all fo the 550s in North America. There aren't too many of them I didn't, in some way, know about. The point I'm making is that it was very apparent t ome that the cars definitely advanced over the course of the production run (as is logical).

That doesn't guarantee that EVERY '01 is going to be better than EVERY '97. In fact my '97 was a particularly good and strong one, and my '01, it seems, was a particularly good one too (and unique - the only one done in its' color scheme). And sure the differences aren't going to be as material as, say, the evolution of differences in build quality for F40s, but that's not to say the differences aren't there.

PS: you didn't look hard enough. it's not specific issues with '99s, it's early cars vs late and serial vs CAN bus (the major evolution / transitions happened around sept '99)

 

My car is June '99 and came w/ the Becker radio? And I also have a Tubi BMC filters and an X pipe.

 

Something to note on the older cars. I would be a little more proactive in checking the O2 sensors and the Cat ECUs that operate them. I think a combination of age, climate and increased hwy driving did ours ECUs in on our '99 causing the sensors to go then finally one of the cats. The ECUs should be fully sealed.

I guess the bright side was, the cats were replaced with Hyperflows.

 

Do you have an aftermarket exhaust with the Hyperflows and how loud are they.

 

Denny - It's probably a good idea to be specific about what you are looking for ideally in a 550 - color combo, options, mileage parameters, price parameters, etc. If not, you might get deluged with info on 550s for sale out there that are off your spec.

Just a thought.

ketel

 

Actually, I still have the stock cans. In doing some research on the Hyperflows the company said, just replacing the cats and central silencer would be a good step forward. The central silencer along with the original cats were fairly restrictive and had alot of sound deadening material. The silencer showed some wearing as well. So with the cats and x-pipe combo the car has more growl (especially, 4,000rpm+). Also, the power band seems more even from bottom to top. Before the car would show alot out of the gate, a bit of a dip between 3-4,000 and then be back at home at 4,500. Noise wise, I like it. You may get a little more with a Tubi, Xost, etc. However, I am very happy where things are now.

 

The main benefit of the Tubi is about a 30lb weight loss.

 

That is bout right. I do not believe the Tubi inner exhaust pipes have the back pressure valves that open up at 4,500 rpm.

 

True, but let's not forget the sound enhancement over stock. Even at idle a Tubi'd 550 will rumble with such resonance that it can feel it's shaking the fillings out of your teeth. Some love it, others find it a bit loud - especially if you live in urban areas with nearby neighbors who don't care for hearing you fire up the 550 for the early morning drive to work.

ketel

 

Exactly. Do not forget that it quiets down at speed, when the music can become droning over time. Also do not forget that you can add 15hp to the 485 claimed and have a 500hp car that will go OVER 200 mph. 500 hp and 200mph top speed just sound better than 485hp and 199 top speed.

 

The resonance was greatly reduced by the addition of the x pipe.

 

Just FWIW....

My Tubi doesn't drone. If I recall, Tubi changed the design on the mufflers with the advent of the 575 and discontinued the 550 variant, simply selling the new 575 version for both model cars.

 

Interesting....mpatrizio, do you know when this started and what (subjectively) was the improvement in drone reduction with the 575 variant fitted to 550s?

I love the idea of a Tubi or similar aftermarket system for the extra horses and sound at speed, but the only caveat is the noise being an issue at idle and in close quarters. [I live in San Francisco...a great city but not the most car-friendly place. A SF friend who has a Tubi'd 550 now regrets it and is thinking of re-fitting the OEM exhaust because it's put him on bad footing with his neighbors.]

I know it sounds like I'm being a sensitive Sally, but this is something to consider for city people, and definitely for anyone who is thinking of using the 550/575 for early morning drives to work (or Sunday AM blasts in the country side). I had a Ducati 900 Supersport for years with Ferracci pipes, and let's just say I wasn't a big hit at the annual block party because I liked to do early Sunday AM rides in the wine country and that particular bike (carb model) required that it idle for a few minutes in my driveway to get the temps up before I could head out and drop the hammer. Lots of people in bathrobes giving me the middle finger salute.

ketel

 

Take them up on their suggestion. F _ _ _ 'em.

In San Francisco (and its suburbs), the act of owning a Ferrari is enough to send about 1/3 of your neighbors off the edge. My wife is taking an informal poll of people's reactions as we drive by. So far, she thinks that 1/3 love the car, 1/3 hate it, and 1/3 couldn't care less.