Looking for some help please

Welcome. I admit I'm a little worried that you're going to spending your life savings at age 30 to buy a depreciating car that costs a lot to maintain.

(And - I think a 30 year old guy should have a girl... but I digress.)

But back to Ferraris, check out the 360/430 section here for specifics on these cars. You'll get an idea of what it costs to service them and also what to look for in terms of problems.

I hate to discourage your Ferrari dream, because they are a lot of fun, but I think you'd do better to invest the money while you're still relatively young and wait a bit. 360s are very common, and while there's some debate here I think you'll see prices fall another $10K-$20K over the next year -- which is a nice chunk of after-tax money you won't have to spend. Also, with the real estate market swirling down the toilet, it doesn't hurt to have some cash on hand in case you want to pick up your first house (unless you already own one) when the market is way down.

If you must have a car now, I'd say buy from a reputable dealer; get a car with a known history and service records and buy the best you can. Ferrari 360s with 40K+ miles are pretty hard to sell, because they made 16,000+ of them and tons of them are sitting around with <10K miles. I'd be careful about eBay -- lots of wrecked 360s, and they require specialized skills/equipment to repair, having aluminum body panels.

Good luck!

 

I LOVE this guy!

 

There nothing wrong with getting a 348, 355, or other Ferrari thats a little cheaper. Blowing your life savings on a car (even a Ferrari) might not be the most financially wise decision to make.

 

you'll be able to get one retail for that price in 3 years. or before.

 

And staying single...perhaps puts him in the top 99th percentile of intelligence on this board?

 

If you do, that may be one of the dumbest decisions you'll ever make in your life.

Take the money and invest it. Buy the Ferrari when you can afford it!!

 

This is not the dress rehearsal - go for it.

 

Face it, when you spend your life savings on a car it is crazy. The way I look at it, you could die tomorrow & looking back, a wise retirement plan is wasted. Always make sure you have a place to live & a job. After that, I vote for pleasure now. Get the F car.

 

Just make sure you understand the Ferrari market...very WELL.

As others are warning you...SOME Ferraris are blue chip investments at the multi million dollar level, the rest are merely used cars depreciating in value at the same time they are draining your funds for maintenance....

A 308/328/348 would be fully depreciated at this time IMO..

A 355 has some known failure patterns and so does the 360 family, so you have to go by year/VIN to understand what you are in for. And figure at least a percentage of "hold back" to set the car right once you have it in hand.

These are just basic theories that will keep you happy with the whole ownership experience.....

We have a long time Dino owner here who recently got into a CLEAN 360 spider for a great price, so it's a good time to be shopping for one, just understand all the variables.....oh yea, Cam Variators!!! LOL! Check those, there was a design problem.

See what I mean? You just have to understand the machine. More like flying an airplane than driving a regular car....

Welcome aboard!

 

That changes the equation a bit. But still, a Ferrari 360 is basically a used car - proceed with caution.

 

"Life is not a test drive. Drive fast, take chances."

 

Personally, I vote for the girl.

 

You want the car, and can afford it, so buy it. Who knows, you could be dead shortly, and you won't have the car. Life isn't a destination, it's a journey. The worst thing that could happen is that you wake up, find out it's too late to do something you always wanted to do, and now you'll never be able to do that. Buy it now, piss on those that say wait.

Art

 

Of course, if he gets the car, the girl will probably find HIM....

 

kind of the " If you build it, they will come" theory. I'm in...plow that corn under dude.

 

I say buy it. Screw it. Your house is paid off, and your still young enough to be able to make plenty of money in your life. Hell, a lot of people don't start really raking in the dough till their 40's anyway

Do what you like. Life will follow.

 

Your priorities are a bit skewed.

Forget the Ferrari..... go and get a girlfriend.

 

Lots of free advice here regarding the advisability of buying the car at this point in your life. However, I don't think that's the question you asked. You wanted to know about maintenance, prices and general suitability of this model for you. Perhaps members here who own 360s could provide more specific info for our young friend.

Since I do not own a Ferrari I cannot speak to your question. But I too have an opinion about whether you should in fact be looking at this car at all. My motto is "you only go around once, so always fillerup with the good stuff". If an F car is the good stuff for you, go for it.
But try to find a car with less miles. Relatively speaking, 40k is a lot of miles.
Randy

 

No kidding. What's this guy thinking?

 

He's thinking Ferrari / Girlfriend / Ferrari / Girlfriend...Hmmm

Better get the Ferrari, I can't presently afford the girlfriend.

 

Yea no kidding!!!

 

Just 2? You got off cheap my friend... (so far anyway... you're only at the 7th inning stretch. )