Doing your research should be a critical part of any purchase, especially when it involves a pre-owned car. We’ve seen the best and worst scenarios involving oversights or undisclosed information by a previous owner. Failure to adhere to the manufacturer’s service schedule can transform your car into a time bomb, which is why all service information needs to be evaluated before the money changes hands. In the case of used exotics, some services are more expensive than a nice daily driver. Such is the case with Italians from the 90’s. We’re most certainly not singling them out because most 90’s cars were designed without regard to maintenance.
For cars like the Ferrari F355 and its contemporaries, the costs for seemingly routine repairs have led to a negative perception by those who aren’t worthy of such a masterpiece. The team at JR Garage bought an abused example to shed light on the costs of neglect.
Here is what happens when you don’t research the car’s history. After the purchase they found a few items that needed to be addressed:
So after owning the car for 1,000 miles, the cost of keeping it roadworthy was:Â $37,735. That is $735 more than I paid for a new 2002 Camaro SS…If you wonder how this nightmare could have been avoided, there is light at the end of the tunnel. It comes in the form of Ferrari’s service department. JR’s F355 with the Formula1 transmission is worth more in parts, but for every poorly maintained car there are a few with unblemished records. Located in Torrance, Ferrari of South Bay has been a mainstay in the duPont REGISTRY for years. That is because they are the premier sales and service center in southern California. Their pre-owned inventory is worthy of your consideration; because if you don’t want to make the mistake seen in the video above make sure your F355 is like this one.
A silver F355 GTS with the F1 transmission is a great way to become a Ferrari owner. The GTS was based on the coupe, but it was reinforced to in order to accommodate a Targa top. The roof can be stowed behind the seats, combining the best features of the coupe and convertible. The single-clutch automatic F1 transmission was only offered on 529 examples of the GTS, making it somewhat rare. Horror stories about the early F1 gearboxes have been squelched by modern improvements to the clutch and software. The major service item on them are the timing belts. It is a time-consuming procedure that requires the engine to be dropped. But this car had it performed n late 2015 at 18,800 miles. The clutch is the other expense, but it shows 89% left as of 19,890 miles.Stored inside since new, the black leather interior is not cracked or faded. With only 19,928 miles, this car is a time capsule back to MP3s and Y2K.
