Ferrari F355.....Time to buy is now??

[NSX2F1]

This may not be the best place to ask this question. But I need answers from real people, not mere snobs on ferrari forums. And I know some of you own other exotics too or maybe familiar with exotics sales.

With the bond yield as low as it is and the market seems to go sideways forever, I am really tempted to fork the money for an F355 Berlinetta/GTB 6speed. And it looks like a buyer market now for newer Ferrari. I won't keep the F355 forever like my NSX. I'll sell it after 1-2 years for financial reason. Again, I never intend the purchase to be an investment, I simply want to minimize the loss. Is now the rigth time to buy, or should I wait couple more months. I probably able to get into a '95 with under 10k miles for high 70s-low 80s. This will be my first Ferrari purchase, so any insight will be appreciated.

TIA, ray

[This message has been edited by NSX2F1 (edited 01 November 2001).]

 

[hejo]

Originally posted by NSX2F1:
I probably able to get into a '95 with under 10k miles for high 70s-low 80s. This will be my first Ferrari purchase, so any insight will be appreciated.

The price sounds way too low to me. I know they've dropped in price lately but only a few months ago a 95 355 w/10k miles would bring $105k all day long. Recently I've heard of some selling in the low $90ks, maybe into the $80s but I haven't seen any in this range that didn't have something wrong with them.

One thing to keep in mind is a Ferrari cost a LOT more to fix than your NSX. I highly recommend that you find a tech that will check it out for you that has NO affiliation with the seller AND who will end up doing your work.

Buying a Ferrari is much different than buying many other cars. I know of 2 recent buyers who have been burned. Don't take this the wrong way but once again it's one thing to buy a Ferrari it's another to own one. If you find another at that price that's really clean let me know!

I could use another Italian mistress!

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hejo

Lake Oswego, Oregon
95T Blk\Blk SportShift

 

[Lud]

I've seen clean early model year F355s going under 100 lately... Do your research before buying if you haven't already; there are some issues with the earlier cars to be aware of.

I'll let someone else try to predict the economy for you <g>

 

[smoore]

if you drive your nsx all the time keep it if you drive it on sunny days get the ferrari, however i would deffently try to get a 360; more reliable, faster, sweeter and maybe an extra $30,000 but if finacing it you should be able to get a better rate on the loan and for more years meaning the payment will be around the same as the 355
stuart

 

[hejo]

Oh one other thing... does it come with the cool brief case??

 

[Nsxotic]

ok, let me jump in here.........! Whew. Firstly, if you can find 355's under 10k miles for 70-80k, I want you in business with me. We'll make a lot of money. Hal is correct that 95-96 355 Berlinettas will bring 105-130k all day long. Also, 95 355's did have problems/issues as Lud said. And, finally a 360 will cost WAY more than 30k over a 355. 99 360's are fetching 175k-190k.

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Todd Arnold

http://www.geocities.com/nsxcessive/index.html

 

[smoore]

you can find 355 all day long here in florida going from 85k to 100k and some are more but you can find 360's for the 140k's

 

[NSX2F1]

I appreciate all the thoughts. It is not easy to find an F355 going on that range but it is not very hard either.

It seems that selling this kind of car is not as easy as it looks.
Several months ago, before the economy considerably worsen, a friend of mine was selling his 95 F355 Berlinetta 6speed with about 11k miles. He put it in local papers for a couple months for $95k with no result. He was moving out of the country, going back to his home country, so he was kind of desperate to unload it. He went to an authorized Ferrari dealer, and they would NOT touch it for $80K!!

He didn't say that the car had problems, but did say that he hasn't done the 15k service, which he said is kind of major for Ferrari nor he replaced the clutch.
My friend is not as anal as most of us, and he is not a carguy. He bought it because he wanted a Ferrari.
I know for sure that the car was never hit, but it's NOT flawless, there are few chips on the nose, and a small scrath on the front air dam. The car's color is the usual Rosso Red, not one of those hard to sell customized one.
I didn't take it because I still believed in the market recovery later in the year.

Here is another one that I got from Ferrari Market Letter:
F355 BERLINETTA CHALLENGE VERSION, S/N 100330 (1995 USA model). Fly yellow with black interior. 3,900 miles. Partially converted back to street trim. All Challenge equipment goes with car including 2 extra sets of wheels & tires. $84,950. 4/00 Auto Classics, [email protected], 208-765-2886, fax 208-667-8830 (ID)

I know that the Challenge version is significantly cheaper. But the car's mileage is very low, and it's for sale by a dealer. I figured that the one exchange hands privately will be even lower than that.
I wouldn't mind to get the Challenge either.

Another friend of mine is a dot-gone casualty. He just sold a 2000 Rosso/Tan F355 F1 Spyder(convertible) with 1,700 miles for $160,000. He just sold it On-Consignment at Ferrari of San Francisco for $160k minus the consignment fees about three weeks ago, Dealers normally asks about $190k for this kind of car. So the dealer margin for Ferrari is bigger than most cars.

I had a lot of infos from both of them, but figured that asking more, especially from this forum will not hurt. Thanks again.

[This message has been edited by NSX2F1 (edited 02 November 2001).]

 

[nsx1164]

Originally posted by NSX2F1:
F355 BERLINETTA CHALLENGE VERSION, S/N 100330 (1995 USA model). Fly yellow with black interior. 3,900 miles. Partially converted back to street trim. All Challenge equipment goes with car including 2 extra sets of wheels & tires. $84,950. 4/00 Auto Classics, [email protected], 208-765-2886, fax 208-667-8830 (ID)

I know that the Challenge version is significantly cheaper. But the car's mileage is very low, and it's for sale by a dealer. I figured that the one exchange hands privately will be even lower than that.
I wouldn't mind to get the Challenge either.

A Challenge car would make a great. albeit expensive, track car. Converting it back to street-legal trim can prove to be difficult and $$$ (just to get the exhaust to comply with SOUND and emissions is probably going to be a lot).

Also, "low mileage" can be misleading, particularly if the car has been raced (muliply by 8-10 x to get equivalent street mileage). Check the history on this one carefully.


[This message has been edited by nsx1164 (edited 02 November 2001).]