Newbie looking...

I'm looking for my first Ferrari. I'm leaning towards a 355 GTB whereby I can get a taste without breaking the bank. Aside from the cost of a "major service" ($7500); what else should I look for or be wary of. Could I buy a clean car with 25000 miles and reasonably expect it to last another 5 years/25000 miles (or more) with recommended services or would that be wishful thinking?

Also, what are good sources for used cars besides autotrader.com and ebay?

 

Also try ferrariads.com and cars.com . The 355 is iknown to have some header and valve issues, but if you have the money you can find some with these issues already addressed. I would recommend having around $10-15k available for service / repairs.
BT

 

What Year & Color/Combo do you prefer ?
Headers,Cats & Dash Shrinkage are 355 Glitches.'95 - early '98 MAY have Valve Guide Issues.They MOST likely would of surfaced @ 25,000+ Miles.
Obviously have a PPI prior to Purchase.
GOOD LUCK with your Search.
Try Clicking on FerrariAds,top of page.It will give you a feel of the market place & you MIGHT find your Dream Car

 

Someone should seriously make a FAQ sticky for the 355 & 348.

 

For 355 Berlinetta money, you can look at a 348 Spider and save some coin. Im a drop top man. Id go nuts in a hard top Ferrari.

 

355's are fast and great-looking, but they also have a reputation for being the most expensive V8 Ferrari to maintain. You might check some of the parts prices on Ricambi (sponsor link here) for an idea as to clutches, brakes, etc. go for.

There was a post about the replacement F1 pump going for $13K or so, but that assumes you're getting an F1 car. Also, the pumps aren't a common maintenance item.

Just go in with your eyes open. I considered a 355 and ended up going with a 328. Big performance gap, but the maintenance costs factored into my decision.

I bought from Sport Auto in NC. They tend to find a lot of nice '80s and '90s Ferraris, so their web site is a good one to check periodically.

 

I have a 355 spider with 32,000+ miles. It gets tracked regularly and driven fairly hard on the street. The only maintenance I've had to do other than the major service and annual service is to replace an oil pressure sender. My annual service at FoW costs less than the annual on my Cayenne. My buddy who has a 355 Challenge racer that he raced in the series stiil has his and he spends almost nothing to keep it running. He explained that the car is "bulletproof." After 3 years and 10,000 miles I would have to say he is right. Find a nice one and enjoy.

 

The main reason I went with a 355gts versus a spider is becasue I also track my car. Did you put in a roll bar or do you drive in the lower run groups that don't require one?

 

I run in the Red and Blue Groups ( the two unlimited speed groups around here) depending on the track. The local track events do not require roll hoops, just extinguishers and sometimes Nomex. However, there is no question that not having hoops limits my options for the Track
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

The major is not 7500, its more like 3500 from an indepentent and about 5000 from a F car dealer.