ONE OF MY FRIENDS OWN A RED 1997 FERRARI 550 MARANELLO WITH 15,000 MILES. HE WANTS $90,000. HOW MUCH IS THIS FERRARI WORTH BUYING. ALSO, DOES ANYONE WHO OWNS A 1997 -1999 MARANELLO HAVE ANYTHING IMPORTANT I SHOULD KNOW REGARDING THIS MODEL SUCH AS: SERVICES, OPTIONS, OR WHAT PARTS SHOULD HAVE BEEN CHANGED BY NOW.

THANK YOU GUYS,
ROSH

 

Rosh, I had a 98 550. They are one of the best buys in the car world for the prices they are going for. I think 97 might have been euro car only though, so you should verify that. If it s a euro car make sure it has all the dot and epa paperwork. There is a stigma about euros too that reduces the price byk about 10k. There may have been US cars in 97 too, just not sure.
The issues can be found and much discussion about them at www.ferrarichat.com. Just do a search or two.
They are very fun to drive, gobs and gobs of torque, very smooth and very nice handling for a two ton(almost) car. Beautiful, understated yet very appealing design with a great motor and with a few mods, great sounding too. I sold mine because it was just too heavy for my driving needs and I prefer my sports cars around 3k lbs or less. The 550 is really a gt cruiser car extrodaniare though and it can be fun for limited duty in the twisties if they are not too tight. Its very cool though, as I figure you could drive the whole coast hiway in 3 or 4 gear and have a blast. Huge low end grunt. God its addiciting! Good luck, hope that helps.

 

Rosh

They are relatively great cars. No major issues. As long as the services are kept up.. Cooling systems are a bit of a pain as are the clutches if not looked after,. other than that its the typical ferrari thing, seals leaking ( normal) etc . electronics are pretty good and reliabilty is good. You can drive this car everyday.

We service many 550's in the OC area and our tech is Factory Trained , he knows them well.

If you need an inspection email me and we can take care of it for you..

The 550 is the Italian Muscle Car... I love them!!!!!!!!

 

If you get one it has to be titanium - for the real shark look

 

Does the 550 require engine out service?

 

doubt it since its fornt engined....tranny is in rear...
remember "she's miss California, drives a Maranello"

 

that's nice; really nice.
i would get it. But make sure to get the car PPI-ed.
post some pix of the car you are looking at.

raja

 

There are US-spec 97s, but they were the first year. A lot of cars vary in condition, so have it checked out by someone who knows them well.

Check the recall list and make sure it's up to date (mag wheels, etc.). The cars are fairly straight-forward, so there's not a whole lot that needs t obe done if the servicing has been kept up to date.

That car should have had a major by now. BuddyG: majors are engine-in by a long shot. Tons of room inside to play.

They're fairly reliable by Ferrari/Italian standards. I have been daily driving them for a few years now and have had no major issues.

If you want more info, happy to help.

--Dan

 

What would be the maint cost for a 550? I suppose this is something that can be done by myself since it's a engine-in as I normally do 30/60/90k service for my p car.

Are there other modern F car that is easy on the wallet like 550? The main thing that keep me out of F car is the $7k per year maint.

 

On average, I've been seeing about 2k/year. The majors on both cars cost ~5k, but I haven't attempted them myself. The other services are *very* straight-forward to do yourself (Oil change, filters, etc).

The number wouldn't even be that high, but I'm a believer in the major-every-3-years rule, especially as I'm averaging about 10-12k miles / year on them.

The 7k/year kind of stories are when you have to do an engine-out on a 355 and discover the whole world's gone to **** cuz the car does 1k miles / year. Driven cars work better. It's that simple.

Where in the BA are you? If you'd like, you're more than welcome to take mine out to see if you like it.

--Dan

 

Thanks Dan. I am in Foster City. I knew 550 is much easier on the wallet for maint than F360. Didn't know it's only $2k/yr which would make it a very practical car.

Thanks for your generous offer. I'll keep that in mind. I'm probly a year or so away in getting serious about a Ferrari. We should meet up at the next 969 Motorsport get together. Love to see your ride up close.

 

You've probably seen me tooling around then. Either a blue or a black 550 with a bike rack (sometimes not). I am on the south side of hillsborough so I take 92 a lot.

I missed the last one because I got the dates confused. I got back in town on the 12th, and for some reason thought the drive was that day. Oh well.

If you're around and want to drive it (even if you are a year away) - more than happy to let you have a go.

--Dan

 

Boba you seem to be somewhat of an expert on the 550, with the reasonable maintenence and the possibility that you can find them in the sub $100K range make one very atrractive. NEVER thought that I would say this but I may actually be able to pocket one of my very own. Where do you recommend searching for a good cared for model? I have looked on Autotader and Dupont but some of thier cars seem priced a bit above market. What kind of history should I look for an dare there any specific details to look for on any particular year?

 

I found these threads in fchat on 550. Thought you may be interested. I haven't found too many 550 under $90k lately. Seems like they are hovering higher or I'm looking in the wrong places. Maybe prices are levelling off which would make 550 a collector item. The future 575 replacement seems to be larger and not as sharp edged from what 612 looks like. If true, this may further boost 550 desirability.

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/sho...ght=buying+550

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/sho...ght=buying+550

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/sho...ght=buying+550

 

Thanks, Lots of informative details to be had when searching for an F car. Makes for an interesting ownership experience but I'm sure that once you own one you will understand and will never go back. Sounds like more of a headache than it really is but good to what your'e getting into.

Kinda like dating a gorgeous woman, lots of prepwork and maintainence but man are the rewards sweet.