99 355F1 with no service records?

Hello guys i am looking at a 1999 355F1 titanium with gray interior. Car has 14500 miles on it. Asking price is 79900 and dealer is willing to negotiate as they have been not been able to move the car for a while now. The car had its regular oil changes but no belt service yet. If i go with this car what do you think service would cost low and high $. I know belt service should have been done around 2003 or 2004 what could be the negatives of prolonging the service so far out besides the belt breaking. My only problem is i love the color and had a Red 1995 355B in past. I really want this color and there are not many cars in this color which are 1999. Here are the picture. Thanks for your input.

Sohail
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By the way car is at For Valley motor cars in chicago. Has any one done business with them before.

 

the car has been there for ever. i have seen them advertise this car for more than 6-7 months now. figure the belt service will cost you around $5-$6K and beware of the clutch wear on the f1 as well.

 

There are no negatives to the service not being done as long as the belts have not broken. But, it would be nice to know if all the fluids have been changed on time like brakes, radiator, transaxle, etc. 6 years ago I bought an 85 308 with original belts on it. I changed them right away, but no problem. Use it as a negotiating tool. BTW, the F1 system in the 355 is not highly regarded. I notice in the FML almost all the 98-99 355's for sale have paddles. There may be a message there.

 

Yes you guys are right. I sold my car about 10 months ago and since then i have been keeping up with the 355 market. I also saw this car 7 months ago at this dealership. My first choice is 6speed but i cant find one in this color.

 

get a ppi done somewhere else and figure about 6-7k for belt service, but to be on the safe side, plan on $10-11k because there is ALWAYS something else that needs to be repaired.

good luck
gordon

 

Agree entirely with Gordon; that was my experience when I bought my 98 355 F1 spider with 12K miles. $11K for belt PLUS service, including taxes.

 

That car is beautiful. Count on getting a new clutch with your belt service, it will need it. I happen to like the F1 system on a 355 or 360, no it is not as smooth in traffic as a six speed but sure is fun wide open! If they will work on the price I say go for it

 

80%-90% of all 98-99 355's were originally sold with paddles when new so it would make sense that the same holds true in the resale market.

 

Agreed......plus, I know you like the color, but when or if you ever go to sell/trade the car that color will not be friendly to you.

 

I am one who keeps every receipt including gas records, oil purchased and all service records with the dealer service records being most important. Some people buy these cars and do not do the total fluids service yearly esp. with low miles driven. For me it tells me that attitude of the owner towards the car and might suggest what else was neglected. With only $14k+ miles you might be OK. You need to assign a loss of value to the car if records are as important to you as they are to me.

 

what would you guys offer for the car. Do you think low 70's would be a fair price for me to jump in and buy the car, get it here and do a full engine out service and what ever else that needs to be done.

 

BTW, The Fox Valley dealership is a good and creditable one to deal with...They stand behind their word and Bill stands by his sales force commitments.

 

Run a carfax. See where/what state(s) the car has been registered. Usually, there are only a few F-car dealerships in each state. Call the dealers & ask for the service department. Sometimes, you can get the cars history by asking.

I would discount for a car that doesn't have all records. However, since you'll be the one doing the major service, that's at least starting from a good point.

Don't forget a PPI!!!!

 

I think a nice, sorted, serviced 355B F1 can be had for 84k in red.

So....

1. minus 3k for off color (a fraction of the price to repaint).
2. minus 6k for service.
3. minus 4k for "other stuff" (I really think it will come up).

That puts me at offering $71k for that car.

 

Cauley Ferrari had that car before Fox Valley a while back, so you might want to check with them to see what they have to say about it. It sat there forever too. I think it's definitely worth a look in the low 70's, as long as it passes a thorough PPI. I thought about buying this car a while back but didn't like the interior color, ended up with titanium/bordeaux instead.

Someone I know from here was offered a 99 355F1 green/tan for $70k about 8 months ago. That's a bargain for a car like this. Even if you don't like the color you can have it repainted and still come out for less than it would cost to find one in red/blue/whatever.

-R

 

I agree, the color will hurt when you try to sell it unless you find someone like yourself who absolutely loves that color. Also if you repaint the car, what about the interior? The only color you could really paint it outside would be black as red, yellow, etc would toatally clash with the interior and dash color!
gordon

 

Thanks for all the great responses guys. I am not worried about resale because i plan to keep the car for a while if not forever. The only two negatives to me are no service records and F1. I have heard people had a lot of problems with F1. If i can get in at a good price and get the car updated with engine out and what ever else it may need it will be worry free driving hopefully for a while i think. We will think about the selling price when its time to sell. what do you all think

Sohail

 

I am sure the dealer will fax you the carfax report, and can tell you the orig dealer, # of owners, etc. You don't have those details yet?

 

I asked him how many owners and he went blank. I didnt ask him about the carfax i will be calling him now to ask him for that.

Robin: I did call cauley ferrari and they said they will call me back tomorrow and tell me what comes up in their system.

 

I have a '99 F1 with no problems and love it.

The only issue I have is when I'm behind someone and can't shift at points I want.

Stay in front...........