F355 dilema. Why am I put off this car for being too cheap?
Discussion
Have been thinking about switching from 996 Turbo ownership to F355 early next year and of course, I can't help but start researching now. Was thinking of stretching to £40k but this F355 Berlinetta has caught my eye as it looks like great value for money. It has been on their web site for a while though: http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2122887.htm
I know Ferraris are adversely affected by even a moderate amount of mileage, but £33k still seems very good value, even for a car with 46k miles especially as it comes with a fresh belt service. It does have 6 owners which will also affect the price somewhat but it's not an outrageous number for this type / age of car. It's a late model (being a '99) with a Tubi too.
I'm still at the armchair phase and have not been to see this or any other F355 yet but why am I so in love with this particular car but yet so nervous about it too? Is it really a £33k car just because of the mileage and that it's December? For some bizarre reason I would feel better if it was up for £36k or £37k! Has anyone one here seen or driven this car at Verdi or perhaps familiar with it from elsewhere?
Put me out of my illogical misery and tell me it's a) a dog or b) a well priced car that will be hard for the next owner to shift once it's over 50k miles.
I know Ferraris are adversely affected by even a moderate amount of mileage, but £33k still seems very good value, even for a car with 46k miles especially as it comes with a fresh belt service. It does have 6 owners which will also affect the price somewhat but it's not an outrageous number for this type / age of car. It's a late model (being a '99) with a Tubi too.
I'm still at the armchair phase and have not been to see this or any other F355 yet but why am I so in love with this particular car but yet so nervous about it too? Is it really a £33k car just because of the mileage and that it's December? For some bizarre reason I would feel better if it was up for £36k or £37k! Has anyone one here seen or driven this car at Verdi or perhaps familiar with it from elsewhere?
Put me out of my illogical misery and tell me it's a) a dog or b) a well priced car that will be hard for the next owner to shift once it's over 50k miles.
There is a big gulf between ok cars and perfect cars, don't know this individual car but you can spend a good 15k easily getting an ok car to good standard let alone perfect.
I looked at 22 before buying mine
Most were very very poor, I would suggest looking at a few before making a descision.
Phib
I looked at 22 before buying mine
Most were very very poor, I would suggest looking at a few before making a descision.
Phib
It's not cheap by my book, for the miles it's probably about the right price from a dealer. Privately I would guesstimate a few £k less if you want to sell it within a reasonable period.
There's nothing wrong with a correctly maintained 'high' miles car, however they are deemed less desirable and as such may take longer to sell on. Once they get over 30k miles then prices tend to drop.
As always get an independent inspection, condition is the key, as Philb says you can spend quite a few £k bringing a car up to perfect condition turning that bargain into an expensive proposition.
I must have spent £5k+ tweaking mine in the last year working on it myself (includes mods though) and I still have a few more bits to do, none of that includes servicing!
There's nothing wrong with a correctly maintained 'high' miles car, however they are deemed less desirable and as such may take longer to sell on. Once they get over 30k miles then prices tend to drop.
As always get an independent inspection, condition is the key, as Philb says you can spend quite a few £k bringing a car up to perfect condition turning that bargain into an expensive proposition.
I must have spent £5k+ tweaking mine in the last year working on it myself (includes mods though) and I still have a few more bits to do, none of that includes servicing!
as per the others, there can be a huge gulf between ferraris of the same model. much of it is not clear until you look at a few cars in person and start to get a feel for them. it then becomes much easier to spot things remotely after that and also understand why the cars are priced so differently.
ive owned more cars than i can count, and would class myself as a decent judge of car but when i went into my first ferrari i pretty much had to throw everything out the window.
i went to look at cars that were at the top of my list after being what i thought was selective and they were all poor. it was a sobering series of trips but made getting a car i wanted much easier. i ended up buying the one i have without even seeing it in person and it was great. had i done this with the confidence i felt towards the cars at the top of my first list id have had a dog that would have been a long and expensive road to get it right.
for what its worth, when i started looking for mine i went in at a relative price range that by usual standards would have put me in the area of a car i wanted to be in (ie whittled out the junk and the garage queens). it wasnt long before i was up £15k on my bottom price in order to see cars i actually might consider and i ended up taking a car that was £25k above what i expected to be the very top of my estimated range and this was the price i paid, it was listed at even more.
this sort of story doesnt seem to be unusual either.
the best thing you can do is physically look at a few to get a feel for the more subtle things that matter. if that one is giving you an itch then take a trip and scratch it. it will be a great experience even if it ends up not the car for you as it will arm you with info for the search for the right one. as for price, im not up on the 355 market but just now is a great time to be looking. theres not many buying due to climate (literal and metaphoric)
ive owned more cars than i can count, and would class myself as a decent judge of car but when i went into my first ferrari i pretty much had to throw everything out the window.
i went to look at cars that were at the top of my list after being what i thought was selective and they were all poor. it was a sobering series of trips but made getting a car i wanted much easier. i ended up buying the one i have without even seeing it in person and it was great. had i done this with the confidence i felt towards the cars at the top of my first list id have had a dog that would have been a long and expensive road to get it right.
for what its worth, when i started looking for mine i went in at a relative price range that by usual standards would have put me in the area of a car i wanted to be in (ie whittled out the junk and the garage queens). it wasnt long before i was up £15k on my bottom price in order to see cars i actually might consider and i ended up taking a car that was £25k above what i expected to be the very top of my estimated range and this was the price i paid, it was listed at even more.
this sort of story doesnt seem to be unusual either.
the best thing you can do is physically look at a few to get a feel for the more subtle things that matter. if that one is giving you an itch then take a trip and scratch it. it will be a great experience even if it ends up not the car for you as it will arm you with info for the search for the right one. as for price, im not up on the 355 market but just now is a great time to be looking. theres not many buying due to climate (literal and metaphoric)
Edited by fioran0 on Saturday 11th December 01:54
I think it's unusually keenly priced by Karl's standards. £2k above private money for cars closer to the 50k mile 'magic number' it is also a '99 car isn't it? What it does show is that those people holding out for £32k plus for their 50 miles cars might have to review their pricing. There do seem to be few buyers out there at the moment.
Go and look at it and whilst you are there look at the others he has and do a comparison. I have never been to Verdi's but I only ever hear positive things.
I looked seriously at only a few before buying mine, though I have seen many.
Good luck whatever you do.
I looked seriously at only a few before buying mine, though I have seen many.
Good luck whatever you do.
Edited by MalcQV on Saturday 11th December 11:54
Thanks for all your posts, much appreciated. As (bad) luck would have it, I called this morning with a view to seeing it this afternoon but the salesman had someone in front of him who had just paid the deposit.
As I said in my original post, I was planning to wait until early next year to change (I'll also have a bit more to spend by then too) so maybe this a blessing in disguise. I'll keep telling myself that anyway!
Andrew, will do a bit more reading and may get in touch soon. Thanks for the offer.
As I said in my original post, I was planning to wait until early next year to change (I'll also have a bit more to spend by then too) so maybe this a blessing in disguise. I'll keep telling myself that anyway!
Andrew, will do a bit more reading and may get in touch soon. Thanks for the offer.
That could be my old car from the details.
If it is, it was a truly great car. I put 33k mile on it, and it got better and better with miles. While Karl was looking after it (most of its life), it only ever needed routine servicing.
Email me if you want any other details. And check out clubscuderia.com for plenty of buying tips and owners opinions
I still miss it every now and then.
If it is, it was a truly great car. I put 33k mile on it, and it got better and better with miles. While Karl was looking after it (most of its life), it only ever needed routine servicing.
Email me if you want any other details. And check out clubscuderia.com for plenty of buying tips and owners opinions
I still miss it every now and then.
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