talk me out of buying a 550...

found a nice complete car with everything. right options....

1999 with 18k miles........

haggling for a sub $70k number.....

thoughts.... coming out of a 575 i'm a bit worried about all the extra issues the 550's have....

 

Henry- Any of those issues is easily fixable. 550 is very reliable and any problem areas have already been addressed here. Fixes are relatively inexpensive, too.

 

550s don't have issues, they have idiosyncrasies

 

DO IT!!! Personally I like the 550 over the 575. I hate drive by wire.

 

+1.......

or "charm"

 

Huh?

 

Sorry, but can't do it... I have a 2000 550 and love it. I am local to you in Atlanta. Fell free to give me a PM and we can get together to discuss.

Bryan

 

Agreed 110%

 

If you buy it, you will need to fix those itty bitty brakes.

 

OK...I'll help you.

1) you are going to hate replacing rear tires all the time because you can burn rubber in 3 gears

2) You are going to be bored to death because the 550 does not break down so you have to find something else to do in the garage

3) You are going to hate having no cup holders

4) Your girlfriend will be pissed because the torque will throw her back in the seat and she won't be able to get her lipstick on right

5) You will have to answer cell phone calls because it is quiet inside

6) Your friends will tell you that a REAL Ferrari needs more than just gas and oil

7) Three pedal cars are just so yesterday (eventhough the new C7 Corvette has invested in the most modern twist in manual gearboxes since the 6th gear)

Well that's a start...

 

Oh for the love of G-d don't buy a 550. It will probably explode. *





* I don't know, just following instructions here. I still think they're the best looking post-1989 Ferrari by a mile, despite the crappy plastic interior. OTOH that's 328 money for a car with obsolete electronics, so there's an argument against it. But it is still a hell of a lot of car. Rent "Family Man" (Nic Cage film) and then decide.

 

He had a 575, so has more hands-on knowledge on the differences than most of us.

Naturally, I prefer the 575. What a surprise.

 

better haggle quick, good ones are harder and harder to find. but you do get what you pay for.

 

lol,

4 years of 575 ownership...thing was bullet proof. i had to replace the drivers side brake duct tubing. outside of that..not a thing.

 

Hello Taz...

I started with a 1999 550, than traded up to 2003 575 3 pedals car,

than miss the 550 much, come back to buy another 1999 550 having the 550/575 both cars in the same time,

still like the 550 more, and bought another 1999 550, so now keeping two 550s and one 575,

drove the 575 more and more, and like it more and more at some point even more than 550s especially when high speed cruising and manuvering... Ferrari made a great update from 550 to 575...

Now, I love my 550s and 575 just about the same in different ways....

Next step... Barchetta or Superamerica...???

Alex

 

a gated 575 (outside of silver) has been hard to find... and the 599 prices have not dropped as fast as i thought they would...... where are those f12 deliveries ?

 

That is TOO awesome!! Please go out into your garage, snap some shots and post them! Gotta see that please You are too cool for school sir !

 

seriously, we want pics!! please.

 

The obsolete electronics can be turned off. There's a switch for that and I use it all the time. If that switch gets sticky, it's easily fixed with some rubbing alcohol, q-tips, a soft cotton cloth and elbow grease.

Henry, If these have not been fixed, you will have to fix them:

Fuel tank/line connections
3 hoses under the plenum
engine mounts
Twin ECUs
sticky switches
alarm siren
water pump

Also, make certain that the a/c blows really cold because that can be ridiculously expensive to repair. The rate of destruction of the fuel lines depends on the gasoline formula that it has been exposed to which differs by region. Water pump and alarm siren fail because of sitting idle for long periods of time. The ECUs fail due to heat. The more cycles of heating and cooling, the more likely they will crack and fail.

That's a pretty short and inexpensive list when compared to any other model.

 

check on everything besides the ECU's, alarm and pump. tks

 

go for it.

this is your life, not a dress rehearsal, so live it driving a great car.

i like the 550 over the 575 anyway, so i am biased. best value 2 seat gt of that era.

 

Tires cost more than those items.

 

Henry,

I'm still very happy with my 2000 550 after nearly 4 years. Love the classic gated shifter! Very few problems. The car just works for me. Would not take $100,000 for mine even though that is above market average.

RRS

 

Dave- What problems have you seen with the Motronic 5.2 ECUs? Had not heard of anything going wrong with those.

Early 575Ms had a service campaign (119) on the Motronic ECUs, but I have not heard of anything on the 550. Some 7.1.1 DMEs on the 575M were replaced for free with updated software.

 

I tried to post pictures, but system would not allow me to do so... Will definitely post more pictures later when available...

Alex