high mileage 355s

[daslondon]

Hi, i am looking to get back into sports car ownership after running a TVR for 5 years and then a runaround for the last 2. Really fancy a F355 but at my price range they are high mileage. Providing they have been maintained correctly that in itself doesn't put me off and of course most of the depreciation has already been taken care of. Question is are there any major issues other than routine servicing bills / things that any other car would need done likely to come up with a car with with say 60k on the clock?
Thanks for any help.

[baptist]

No, as long as it checks out with compression and the maintenance has been carried out, should be fine.
Mine is at 45k now, and is stronger than ever.

[highmiler]

I have owned my F355 for 8 years now, it has 91K miles on the clock. It has never caused me a days problem since i bought it. I have put 55k miles on it my self in th eight years of ownership. The key is to keep on top of the servicing and drive it often. It gets better with age IMO.

[daslondon]

Thanks for the feeback guys. Seems like interiors don't wear as well as the mechanicals but providing i can find the right car i will try not to let it put me off!

[evil_dr_fish]

An interior is very easily taken care of

A 355 would be a hugely fun toy

You've had Tiv's so you know the score - do all the backgraound research into each car you're considering and get an ace spanner turner to check it over for you

Let us know when you take the plunge

[baptist]

highmiler said:

I have owned my F355 for 8 years now, it has 91K miles on the clock. It has never caused me a days problem since i bought it. I have put 55k miles on it my self in th eight years of ownership. The key is to keep on top of the servicing and drive it often. It gets better with age IMO.

That must be one of the higher mileage ones in the UK. Nice to see that you actually use it, the mileage facination with Ferrari owners is ridiculous!

[lambo_xx]

daslondon said:

Hi, i am looking to get back into sports car ownership after running a TVR for 5 years and then a runaround for the last 2. Really fancy a F355 but at my price range they are high mileage. Providing they have been maintained correctly that in itself doesn't put me off and of course most of the depreciation has already been taken care of. Question is are there any major issues other than routine servicing bills / things that any other car would need done likely to come up with a car with with say 60k on the clock?
Thanks for any help.

The only real problem with high mileage Ferraris is that their resale value is severely affected. If that doesn't bother you the just go for it. Just make sure the car has a full service history and get it checked over. Otherwise it should be fine. Oh just one other thing make sure you buy on condition.

Good luck, let us know how you get on.

[Stu_00]

baptist said:

highmiler said:

I have owned my F355 for 8 years now, it has 91K miles on the clock. It has never caused me a days problem since i bought it. I have put 55k miles on it my self in th eight years of ownership. The key is to keep on top of the servicing and drive it often. It gets better with age IMO.

That must be one of the higher mileage ones in the UK. Nice to see that you actually use it, the mileage facination with Ferrari owners is ridiculous!

Can never see the point of owning a car and not using it, 91,000 miles of an epic soundtrack and a big grin - perfect!

[DrYazz]

Stu_00 said:

baptist said:

highmiler said:

I have owned my F355 for 8 years now, it has 91K miles on the clock. It has never caused me a days problem since i bought it. I have put 55k miles on it my self in th eight years of ownership. The key is to keep on top of the servicing and drive it often. It gets better with age IMO.

That must be one of the higher mileage ones in the UK. Nice to see that you actually use it, the mileage facination with Ferrari owners is ridiculous!

Can never see the point of owning a car and not using it, 91,000 miles of an epic soundtrack and a big grin - perfect!

I doth my cap to thee fellow high mileage F355 drivers. Mine is on 60k and I fully intend to take it past the 100k mark. What is the fekin point of having a Ferrari and keeping it under a cover in a garage?

[cerowe]

evil_dr_fish said:

An interior is very easily taken care of

Is that so? I'm in the same boat, looking to get either a 348 or a 355. I'd probably prefer the 355 but tatty interiors on high mileage cars put me off a bit. I'm definitely in the "drive it" rather than "look at it" camp but a good part of the attraction is a good looking interior. If its feasible to bring an interior back to life quite easily then I'd definitely look at that option

Out of interest how much does an engine rebuild normally cost if you need to fix compression issues.

Edited by cerowe on Tuesday 8th December 10:48

[Cactussed]

Interiors are easy. Its usualyl just the seat bolsters that wear, so you can sort them out with a good scrub and leather feed on most of it, then simply reconnolise the seats. V easy.

As for a rebuild, how long is a piece of string. Depends what needs doing, how much you're prepared to do yourself vs who you use for the rest and associated labour rates etc.

Top end, I'd say around £5k or thereabouts. That said, it will be unfortunate to need a rebuild, although there's plenty of other stuff to maintain.

Personally, I think you're far better off buying a good car that has been used and maintained regularly than a low mileage example that has all the known faults caused by lack of use just waiting to go pop.

Edited by Cactussed on Tuesday 8th December 10:54

[jdw1234]

cerowe said:

evil_dr_fish said:

An interior is very easily taken care of

Is that so? I'm in the same boat, looking to get either a 348 or a 355. I'd probably prefer the 355 but tatty interiors on high mileage cars put me off a bit. I'm definitely in the "drive it" rather than "look at it" camp but a good part of the attraction is a good looking interior. If its feasible to bring an interior back to life quite easily then I'd definitely look at that option

Out of interest how much does an engine rebuild normally cost if you need to fix compression issues.

Edited by cerowe on Tuesday 8th December 10:48

I'd say easy to fix so just use as negotiation = seat bolsters, door kick plate sills and sticky/bubbly centre consol.

I would walk away from shrinking dashboard leather.

[Mario149]

I'm in the same position as the OP, possibly looking to buy an F355 in the new year. All the comments here are really useful, and it's good to know that there are high miler F355s out there! When you look at the classifieds, they make it look like they all go bang at 50k miles! So it's nice to know that the longer in the tooth cars are still running strong and being cherished by their owners Regarding cars that are run more often working better, I seem to remember reading somewhere that there are actual mechanical reasons for this, and not just people imagining it.

Also, regarding rebuild cost for the engine, is it just me or does £5k sound incredibly cheap?! I was under the impression if the worst came to the worst I'd be stuffed with a car that need £30k's worth of new/reconditioned engine!

Finally, does anyone know of any good buyers guides available on the interweb? I've found the355.com, which seems quite good, but was wondering if there are any others that people would recommend?

Cheers,

M

[jdw1234]

Mario149 said:

I'm in the same position as the OP, possibly looking to buy an F355 in the new year. All the comments here are really useful, and it's good to know that there are high miler F355s out there! When you look at the classifieds, they make it look like they all go bang at 50k miles! So it's nice to know that the longer in the tooth cars are still running strong and being cherished by their owners Regarding cars that are run more often working better, I seem to remember reading somewhere that there are actual mechanical reasons for this, and not just people imagining it.

Also, regarding rebuild cost for the engine, is it just me or does £5k sound incredibly cheap?! I was under the impression if the worst came to the worst I'd be stuffed with a car that need £30k's worth of new/reconditioned engine!

Finally, does anyone know of any good buyers guides available on the interweb? I've found the355.com, which seems quite good, but was wondering if there are any others that people would recommend?

Cheers,

M

www.clubscuderia.com
www.ferrarichat.com - there is a dedicated 348/F355 forum.
I think a company called walkersport also has an online buyers guide.

Edited by jdw1234 on Tuesday 8th December 11:25

[Mario149]

Many thanks, I'll take a look at those!

[burriana]

Justin Kenyon had a full engine rebuild on his 348 including porting and balancing a a few other bits and pieces and I seem to remember that it cost around £10k all in, but like I say, it was a full build.

[Cactussed]

If you look after them, they rarely go bang. And there are plenty of high mileage cars out there, some of them with matching odometers

[Del 203]

Cactussed said:

If you look after them, they rarely go bang. And there are plenty of high mileage cars out there, some of them with matching odometers

[F355GTS]

Mario149 said:

I'm in the same position as the OP, possibly looking to buy an F355 in the new year. All the comments here are really useful, and it's good to know that there are high miler F355s out there! When you look at the classifieds, they make it look like they all go bang at 50k miles! So it's nice to know that the longer in the tooth cars are still running strong and being cherished by their owners Regarding cars that are run more often working better, I seem to remember reading somewhere that there are actual mechanical reasons for this, and not just people imagining it.

Also, regarding rebuild cost for the engine, is it just me or does £5k sound incredibly cheap?! I was under the impression if the worst came to the worst I'd be stuffed with a car that need £30k's worth of new/reconditioned engine!

Finally, does anyone know of any good buyers guides available on the interweb? I've found the355.com, which seems quite good, but was wondering if there are any others that people would recommend?

Cheers,

M

You can pickup a little used 355 engine for circa £6k to £9k so rebuild may not be the most cost effective solution

[Cmurder]

and i got called crazy for driving mine 13k in 6months!loved that car! she will be missed,is the new owner ofmine on here?