Best place to search for an F355

Backing out on the eve of a PPI tells me you may have dodged a bullet.

It looks like you have most of your bases covered, but with only around 2500 cars in the US and probably a solid half of those (if not more) being spiders, it can take a long time to find. It took me a year to find mine. If I had wanted a spider, it probably would have taken less than a month.

 

vast.com

cargurus.com

 

Some sellers, especially older ones that are out of the circle of these cars, can't be bothered to answer questions. They just want to tell you how perfect the car is and expect you to purchase on their word. I had a deal fall through with a member here for similar issues. The seller of the car I bought was 65 and he was not up on PPI's and the issues with these cars so he really could not offer much and he did not need the money. I know for a fact he was offered more from others out of state and could not be bothered dealing with them. I took him a bottle of vodka to warm him over when I did my 3 hour inspection of the car. He almost did not allow me to drive it until I said "no drive, no deal". If I was not local, he would have never sold it to me for the offer I gave him.

 

I like the Vodka incentive. I need to try that one.

 

I would recommend joining the local region of the Ferrari Club. You will get to meet great people and get the word out that you are serious. As your desire is specific to a red/tan Berlinetta or GTS that is gated, there are not many on the market, and many of these do trade hands without hitting the mass market. I would also recommend reaching out to several dealers and independent well respected mechanics and see if they know of any cars that are hitting the market that have been well maintained. By doing these 2 strategies, the worst thing that can happen is you meet people that share your passion, and you may find the exact car. However you find your car a PPI cannot hurt, the owner may not know if something is wrong or may, trust but verify.

Forza F355

 

Dave rocks nailed it... I bought this car. It arrives today.. =). Its a long story the car is perfect! Im happy to share privately if your interested. Keep looking, good cars are out there and will be rising in price.

 

Pete,

Your 2500 number caught my eye and in looking at Wikipedia it states that Ferrari recalled about 2400 95-99 355s due to fuel blocks. So that jives with what you're saying.

The total 355 production looks to be about 11,300. Were there only 2500 or so of this total sold in the US?

 

Black Horse Motors in Naples usually has some nice examples. My three go to car sites are
Ebay, Autotrader, Cars, then Hemmings and Dupont occasionally. It is sometimes just a matter of luck. Good luck with the search.

If it didn't have to be red/tan, the 95 black/tan one in Florida looks very nice.

 

I just got my F355 spider back after some time. It is now perfect and driving for the first time in DFW. Hope to see your car at event soon!

 

Jim, blackhorse is historically over priced....

 

Black Horse has a a 99 red/tan coupe that they just bought from Carbine Motors in New Orleans for 50k shipped it to Florida, did nothing to it, and priced it at 80k

I missed buying the car by 3 days or so.

They did the same thing with their 99 Maroon Spyder. (Bought from individual in Oklahoma for cheap)

 

Maybe, maybe not. Most of the cars that I have seen are very low mileage cars with services completed. Their asking prices might be a little high but maybe willing to negotiate. I don't know what their cars end up selling at, but might be within reason. It never costs anything to ask.

 

Wow the cheapest 355 they have is $74900 and the most expensive is $139,900!!! The latter happens to be a low milage Fiorano edition but still! Maybe this a good thing for current owners. Maybe the market for 355s is heating up!

 

Joe, I was wondering the same thing. I just did a search on Autotrader and Cars and it does seem like the lower mileage cars have higher asking prices. Even cars with moderate mileage seem to be doing the same.

 

Cars.com much better search parameters than any site I've been on.

 

I have a red/tan 1995 GTS. I can tell you finding a car like this is like spotting bigfoot. This is my second F355 and my math says a *sorted* red/tan GTS comes on the market once or twice a year. About double that for a Berlinetta. Prepare to pay top dollar and act fast if you see one.

 

LOL

 

Badabing,

Thanks for the heads up...

 

Be sure to have that recall work performed (fuel block and OBII PIN connector) - it's very important