Hey everyone, I'm currently considering purchasing a 355 spider, and on the dealer's site the color is listed as "burgundy." I am aware that Ferrari offered shades of red other than Rosso Corsa, but I can't help but wonder if this car was repainted at some point. It's too light to be Rosso Barchetta, and not orangey enough to be Rosso Fiorano. Is there a way for me to determine, either in person or online, the car's original color? Some sort of plaque on the car, or a VIN lookup online maybe? In case anyone wants to take a look: http://www.lamborghinichicago.com/web/used/Ferrari-F355-1998-Westmont-Illinois/4593337/?condition_id=10426 Thoughts?
Thanks, guys. I wonder why the dealer marked it as burgundy then. Weird. I may go take a look at it this weekend and if it's not corsa I'll let you know.
You can tell if a car has been repainted improperly with a magnet, however you can not tell if a car has been repainted the original color properly-- unless the paintwork is significantly better than expected.
Before I bought my scuderia I bought one of these: http://www.checkline.com/coating_thickness_gauges/Paintcheck Paint thickness gauge, not this one but another one. Mostly factory painted cares have a very even paint thickness over there cars. When a piece is damage its had some bog and then paint over the top and also over the top of old paint. A gauge shows this and the difference is dramatic. Also lets say the rear quarter panel is replaced then they weld it just above the rear window and a paint gauge really shows the difference there. It was worth the money for me.
Virtually any ferrari that was maintained/sold by the f dealer has been repainted. Certainly our f dealer repaints the bumper, hood & front fenders for the usual stone chips when preparing a used car for resale.....their cars all look like new. Also my car was repainted in both rear quarters to correct the paint cracking at the rear sail panels that occured on most berlinetta's and targa coups (they re weld the inner fender to permanently eliminate the paint cracking problem). Personally I could care less if a car has been repainted when dealing with a ferrari.....its expected. Its just maintenance.
if you mean on a single car I would measure up to 20 times. Takes about 30seconds each point. But its a cheap price to pay to know what you really get. I saw about 5 Scuderia's and 3 of them were crashed. This device made me realise two by having a closer look afterwards and one of them I could tell before and it just confirmed it. On my EVO it had the rear side panel replaced which I found with this gauge and negotiated the car accordingly. Got my money back on the gauge. Just because... if I was dropping so much money on a car, I just want to be sure I know what I am buying.
Repaint? Just have a painter look at it. Like they said. Most anything on the road that old has paint work especially if it was originally painted Italy LOL
An Earl Scheib or Maaco receipt in the documentation is always a good lead on a repaint. Any good painter can tell with a quick walk around. Congratulations on your new 355!!
Let us all know how the car is ...especially in the first few months of driving. I'd always be weary with those low-mileage 355s. I was trying to check out the description but there was none to be found on the webpage. Did you do a PPI on it? Did it have a recent major done? Did it come with a complete service record? Let me know...I'm trying to purchase one soon, and need as much info as possible.
Yes I did have a PPI performed. Everything that needed fixing (seat potentiometer, trunk hydraulic, and fog light out) is bring fixed by the dealer. Otherwise, everything was ship shape, including the compression test. Fixing the stickies will be the first thing I do. This was a Florida car and had to deal with the hot sun. Major service will need to be done in 2 years, even though the belts have only had ~1000 miles put on them since the last one was performed :/ Yes, it came with a very meticulous service record. I would recommend reading though the entire 'the355.com' website. It only takes about 20-30 minutes and has a wealth of knowledge, especially for new buyers. That, and reading though old forum posts on here. This place is your best source of information. Good luck!
Not to pick apart the car too much, but the front trim piece above the front bumper is misaligned on the right (drivers side). The gaps are uneven...
I don't think I'm seeing what you're seeing. Could you please clarify? I don't remember seeing anything of the sorts when I was looking at it. I guess I'll find out when it's delivered.
The trim above the bumper that runs the full length left to right. The gap on the drivers side is off. It and the bumper were probably off at some point for repaint (common) and simply needs some adjustment....not a huge deal to fix.
