soon to be 355 spider owner...and have some questions...

try the search feature first - 99% of your questions will be answered. The price question is better done when you have picked out a specific car

 

Welcome to the forum!

355's 1995 thru tail end of 1998 seem to have valve guide issues. All 95 thru 99 seem to share header cracking issues too. Make sure to get the most recent service records i.e. not at what mileage it was performed, but also when(date). More and more you'll see sellers mention, 30K performed at 20,000 miles and the service record was done like 5yrs ago...this isn't considered recent.

On the Interior, Check to see if the center console has any sort of bubbling, sticky buttons, check the dash for shrinkage especially around the passenger side airbag area. Check the windsheild for any sort of hair line cracks. Ask if the car has had any sort of paint work, body damage, accidents. Overall if your interested in it, don't go too far without getting a PPI done by a qualified Ferrari shop , expect to pay about 4hrs labor for a PPI and be sure to get a leakdown and compression test too!

355 Prices in your favor these days, I'd say most 95-98 are in the 65K-80K, depending on 30K performed, history, valve guide, any extras(wheels?), gtb/spyder, color etc.

Also to help you further, you can use the Search button above and look up key words like PPI or Pre-Purchase Inspections, those threads usually have these types of questions answered in full. Good luck in your search.

 

Cracked Manifolds


This is a very common issue and every car will suffer from it eventually. The problem lies in the design of the manifold. When constructed, the tubing is bent to the point that it becomes relatively thin, and with the manifolds running at a very high temperature the metal eventually cracks. This results in a ticking sound at idle and if you put your hand inside the engine bay you may even be able to feel the air compressions that result from the leak.


This problem can be sorted in three ways:


You can get a new manifold from Ferrari. I would not recommend this option because this is a design fault and Ferrari have not redesigned the part. Therefore it will fail again and with manifolds are expensive; this is not cost effective. Ferrari have been known to replace manifolds under warranty but with the cars aging only the very latest cars at the time of writing are still under warranty.
You can buy an aftermarket manifold. TUBI does one among others, it is expensive at around £4000/$6,000 for the pair. There are claims of increased power from these (they are actually for racing). NA Performance is another company that have recently produced a replacement manifold which is a lot cheaper than the TUBI or you can get your existing manifolds reconditioned.

Valve Guides


This is the big one. The valve guide issue has been much discussed on web forums such as www.ferrarichat.com, and there are many horror stories to read about. The truth is that if it happens it is very expensive, but only a small percentage of cars have actually experienced the problem and most of those did so fairly early in their life. There is no guarantee but a later car (say, 97 or 98 onwards) is much less likely to experience the fault.


The first cars built used bronze valve guides, and these very soft guides tend to wear too easily. Once worn the guides allow oil to leak past them and this results in the engine burning oil. Left unchecked, the oil will eventually run low resulting in signficant engine damage. The results of a compression test (which you should be getting as part of a pre-purchase inspection) can give you an indication as to the condition of the engine in this respect.


Later cars had their valve guides changed to steel. It is not possible to tell which guides your car has just by looking at the build year or registration number, because Ferrari seemed to use both materials for a while. To find out, get the car's chassis and engine number, and query Ferrari either through a dealer or directly.


Engine rebuilds can be around £7000$10,000 to correct this problem, so it does warrant very careful checking. You should keep the results of your pre-purchase inspection and then have a compression check say every couple of years to compare. This will help you understand how your engine is wearing.


My best advise is to spend some time on the internet and ferrarichat, and do your homework. Research and be a wise buyer, know the nuancies and pecularities about this beautiful car. This might take you several months to find the right one - don't rush and buy the first one you see.


Good Luck
-G

 

Low mileage is overestimated.

What you want is a 355 with all of the updates (e.g. aftermarket exhaust headers, new valve guides, etc.).

Here's the irony: a 355 that has those updates will cost less because it will have more miles on it (because so many first-time Ferrari buyers place such an emphasis on mileage rather than on what counts).

So if you want to be clever, then take advantage of the poor sap who came before you. He had to buy the aftermarket exhaust headers. He had to pay for the top-end engine rebuild to get the new valve guides...

...so now you won't have to. And by going this route, your 355 will cost less to purchase and it will cost far less to maintain than if you go buy some never-driven garage queen 355.

 

what are your resources based upon 95-98 model years fetching 65k-80k-? I believe the 95's are in the $50s, the 96's are in the 60's, the 97's in the 70's and the 98's in the 80's. Of coure, all other issues resovled of service aside the general market pricing today is based upon the condition of the GTB's and they will be lower in the respective yearly spread w/ the spider garnering more retrun on the higher end of the spectrum. Of course throw in mileage and you have another point of consideration.

my two cents.

 

Mostly friends in the network who bought a 355 or sold, dealers etc. I've mainly been after 355 spyders(red), but in all the cases I've seen it's been between $65K-$80K dependent of course on 1) Condition, 2) Recent 30K performed, 3) Miles, 4) Color, 5) Extra's, and 6) Season. It always comes back to those 6 things that bring the price up or down.