This 1995 Ferrari F355 Berlinetta doesn’t appear to be the typical time capsule examples that most Ferraris become once they leave the showroom. In fact, it’s pleasingly ordinary, by all accounts, and the seller describes the supercar like any other daily driver. The mileage is even on the high side, clocking in at 59,000, and pictures show heavy-duty maintenance work happening in the confines of a dingy garage without any Ferrari technicians present. The opening bid is $50,000 with no reserve, and this driver-quality F355 is listed here on eBay locatedi n Quebec. If you ever needed proof you could daily a Ferrari, this would seemingly be Exhibit A.
Please note: I am not criticizing this car at all. Quite the opposite, as it goes to show you that mere mortals can enjoy driving an exotic such as this even if their bank account can’t support regular servicing at a Ferrari dealer. I feel like you always hear about the expensive engine-out servicing needing to happen while observed by a guy wearing white gloves and a beret, but this listing goes to show you that neither is necessary. The seller claims that the Ferrari remains in sound condition both cosmetically and mechanically, with the only noted defect being that the A/C needs a charge (didn’t I tell you the listing read like that of any older used car?) Despite the mileage, the bodywork looks good and the seller claims there is no rust on this example, which is a former U.S. car that was previously exported to Canada.
The engine-out service is a virtual must-do for Ferrari owners, and the seller notes it happened for this example in 2019, with a mere 100 miles added since then. The seller doesn’t detail what happened in that servicing, but it usually entails the typical must-dos like changing the timing belts and usually runs anywhere from $6,000 to $10,000 depending on who is doing the work. I’d love to know if the seller did the labor themselves, as the grimy confines of the garage would suggest that it was not performed at a pricey dealership or even a boutique exotic car specialist. I have no problem with that, as any owner willing to take on this level of maintenance must be somewhat talented with a wrench.
Rest assured, the engine is back home where it belongs. The seller notes he also replaced the “… thrust bearing and replaced with Ricambi part,” the last part which seemingly indicates the brand the seller used for the new component (Ricambi is a Ferrari parts vendor, according to Google.) It also comes with a slick Tubi exhaust. The seller doesn’t include any pictures of the cabin, but describes it as being in 8-8.5/10 condition. To me, this is the kind of Ferrari I’d want to own, if I aspired to such things, as you wouldn’t be afraid to actually use it as the Lord intended. Obviously, a PPI would be a wise investment in this case, but if it all comes back roses, I’d go for it.
Fantastic cars. A good friend has a yellow 1995 F355 that was a one-owner car and had every service done. The owner also replaced some interior bits, such as armrest area surfaces that get sticky after a few years. With no interior photos shown here, which is weird, I’d want to check it out personally. But, I would anyway with a Ferrari. Nice find, Jeff, they’re great cars!
Confucius says: All cars were one owner once.
Run forest Run. White trash garage repairs and Ferrari’s don’t mix well…
I met a gentleman at my wife’s work gathering in New Hampshire that daily drive one of these like it was a 300ZX. It was a couple years ago and I didn’t ask him the financial details of doing that, but he didn’t strike me as broke. He said the car was relatively easy to live with. It car had a targa top as I remember and felt ordinary compared to the Italian super cars of today, which isn’t a bad thing IMO
Wow.
My neighbour runs a Ferrari more or less as a daily. I can’t work it out.
These are nice cars but maintenance scares me. That and Ferrari build quality and parts cost.
Nice though ..
This reminded me of a project I’ve done for a good friend 3 years ago. What we did was removed the Ferrari engine with a Ford 302 due to my friend had the same mindset as mine. A Ferrari with a Ford engine. Remember the Pantera? My friend really his “daily” driver and his friends asked how he could afford a Ferrari until he showed what’s under the hood! We called it Louis’ Garage Special. I would to buy this one and relive the memory!
Years ago I worked in the motor trade and was dropping something off at a dodgy backstreet garage.
They had a 355 that had an engine fire. They had dropped the engine out and were cleaning it up before giving it a spray and popping the engine back in.
Same place I also saw a fired airbag being glued back together before sale.
These are not that bad to work on, and I will say kudos to the owner for doing the major service. I have done this with the use of a lift and a table and it is not that bad, but doing it on the floor is pretty impressive.
Normal service parts for these is not cheap but it doesn’t have to be outrageous either. The price of simple items like timing belts vary greatly depending on if you want one with a little horsey on it vs just getting a generic Dayco one. People seem to think they must go to the dealer and only buy dealer parts for a Ferrari, this is simply not true. If you are smart you can get the correct functioning parts for much less than a dealers price.
There are two big problems with 355’s, the valve guides wear out and can cause a valve to drop in the worst case scenario. And the exhaust manifolds crack. You can get manifolds from 1200 hundred to 3k, do these while the engine is out. Make sure that the valve guide upgrade is done. Considering this is a driver my guess it is.
One annoying problem is that the switches get sticky and leave a residue on your hands. This can be fixed cheaply if you are handy or there are companies that will fix it for you.
On this particular car there are a few things I noticed. They took pictures of it wet so the paint looks nice. The paint is actually looking tired. Also it looks like someone has been having sex on the left side of the hood. I have seen this type of damage more than once on a Ferrari. Other than that it looks like a good driver. I thought the price was a little high but it is a true manual and that adds a pretty good price premium.
Ended: Mar 14, 2020 , 10:07AM
Starting bid:US $50,000.00
[ 0 bids ]
So the bidding ended at zero bids??? Could you say the bidding never started? :-) :-) I wonder what the next move is for this car’s owner? The Ford-engine swap sounds like a good idea but the engine should be a hot-rodded flat head!!…Sure, the power might not be there, but you’d be the only guy on the block…or on the planet, with a Ferrari-flat head hot rod!!! :-) :-)
That’s a 20k car at best. You can’t trust that white trash garage did anything correctly. Being cheap sometimes bites you in the ass…lol