REAL F355 VALUES

Yes Implied sorry.

 

Was just having that conversation with someone yesterday

Why the cars tracked exclusively run puurfect and put them on the street and they just don't like it.

Your correct they are early race cars on the street and dont have the full ability to do it

Thats what appeals to me

 

Mine felt right at home on the track in stock configuration + a tubi exhaust.

Was agreed on by many that it was the best sounding car there...amongst an Aventador, 458 Spider, F12 and a hand full of Porsche's even.

 

Likely true but challenge accepted

I tracked my stock Z06 at RA until lap 1.5 when the brakes started on fire.

 

Wow, talk about a flash from the past. I looked up the Ebay listing and saw the VIN. This was my old car that had the electrical fire (under Ferrari Member ScuderiaLV) back in 2007. Great to see the car back on the road.

 

Now that's the car I am looking for. Just having a hard time finding the right one with .....

 

God's race track. The 355's intended use (but pictures taken from a Porsche):
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Bill France's race track. Picture taken from my F355 Challenge at Daytona International Speedway...

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Well, at least a 355 Challenge is a race car. But, I did 400 miles yesterday and never saw the same piece of real estate twice.

 

nice

 

that track....! ugh don't know if I could stomach the wall angle

 

The only place on that track that you feel the G force is in the tri oval.

 

I'm a Porsche guy, new to Ferrari's. I'll be test driving my first f355 spider next week (when I joined Fchat I was considering the 348 spider, hence the handle). I'm a ragtop guy so I'm curious why they seem to go for less than the targa/coupe. Is it because all you rich Ferrari guys already have a convertible? btw, in terms of price, I've been searching pretty hard and see a fair number of decent spiders in the low $50's through the country. That's ask though, not necessarily the market clearing price.

 

Very ... good first impression !!!

The spider is well known for its very effing finicky top with expensive potentiometer fix, top ECU fix, top does not retract by itself needing manual intervention, and in general over designed.

Put that over an engine that has a high tendency to melt headers, suck in insulation to destroy engine liners, causing anywhere from a valve job to an engine rebuild.

Sprinkled in lots of sticky bits and you get the spider at the bottom of the 355 desirability index.

Despite what I said above, I love 355.

 

Seems to me that until about 1 1/2 years ago spiders were typical a little more that the coupes. Over that period there has been an upswing in coupe prices and the market is now heavy with people selling coupes trying to cash in. Lately I have seen spider prices starting to rise as well. Good spiders with lower mileage are asking around $80k+. There are still some cars below $60k but I'd be very careful before I jumped on one. Even a couple of years ago it was difficult to find a well sorted spider for less that $60k. Must cars under that mark will need something, typically a major or more. I would not worry too much about the top. The ECU is pretty reliable and the potentiometer is an easy fix. Plenty here about how to do it. You can even fool the ECU to thinking the seats are all the way back (required for the top to retract) with a simple fixed resistor, though I would not recommend doing so.

Also, while you can get a lot of good info from this group, there is a tendency to over dramatize certain issues. One guy has a problems and all of a sudden it something that all cars will suffer. That may be true for things like valve guides on earlier cars, headers and catalytic converters. But those apply to all cars, regardless of model, and can be checked out before a purchase.

Take you time. When you find a car you like have it check out professionally and you should have a good idea of what you are getting into. I've had my spider for 3 seasons now and have not had any issues with it.

 

900 - 348,

What he said. I spent a LOT of time reading the good and the bad on this forum two years ago. I learned from both kinds of posts, (and learned which ones to sprinkle with a grain of salt). I'm now the very happy owner of a 355 Spider. I don't know how many 15-20 year old sports cars you have bought, but they ALL take 'some' money to get to your standards.

I believe in the 5 year engine out service period, and I knew mine would be due this winter. It's scheduled for December. I own &/or have driven just about all versions of the 911, and this is a lot more pure fun. All that said, don't buy one if $60K will stretch your budget.

 

Appreciate all you guys chiming in. I've been reading as much as a I can, and trying to take it all with a grain of salt. I spoke to the mechanic who would do the PPI (found him thanks to an earlier post) and he rattled off enough things to make me want to run in the other direction. But then I read how much you all like the car (despite the absurd top and sticky buttons), and I can't wait to drive it. The car I'm considering has a good history (I think) - I'll find out more this week. I know it's got some paint on the driver's door jam issues and also the front dash leather shrinkage, other than that... well, we'll see. Thanks again. Hope you all had a great weekend!

 

Ok guys, thinking of moving on from my 308 QV. What am I going to spend on a 40k mile GTB with valve guides and headers sorted? 1995_1997.

 

I was too busy concentrating on passing the Porsche to notice the G-forces...

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Looks like 55-75k currently depending on cosmetics and how recently the belts were done.

 

I'd say at 55k the car would be ROUGH. given all of the other info.
I recently sold my '95 GTB with 35k with guides and headers done for $75k. It was a nice, well-sorted driver, but by no means a perfect car.
I think you're looking at 75k ballpark for a decent example with recent service and all of the "issues" taken care of. Anything under 70kish would be very well bought imo.

 

Yes, 75k assumes no issues, recent service. 55k assumes needs service, stickies, maybe some bumper rash etc. which will cost you ~15k to sort out (unless you're a DIY guy).

 

I agree. You may find something for less with higher mileage but in actuality, if the car has a good history of being cared for, i am not sure if high mileage is bad. I got a car with 47k miles and it is incredibly strong with great compression and leak down numbers.

 

Also remember this a brand new Ford F 150 with all options costs more, so do the Chevys and Dodges. Them and their kids are hanging out the window screaming " that is an awesome car" can I take a picture, little do they know I paid less for my F car than they paid for that brand new pick up.
Of course we will not dip into the word warranty here lol