How to Purchase Ferrari 550 Barchetta Parts?

As a general rule, the cost of cars goes up with their rarity - which makes buying old cars more difficult than buying new ones. The good news is that since this car was discontinued quite some time ago, there are still plenty of parts that can be purchased from reputable dealerships in near-mint condition.

The most difficult part to find is the "wrong" piece. As long as you can find one of the rarer colors, you should be able to find it at any reputable dealership. Unless you're determined to pay a lot for "know-how" and "insider knowledge", it's best to simply purchase a complete car.

It costs you nothing extra but helps keep this site running, so please use them when you buy your parts. If you find something cheaper, please let us know and we'll update the guide to help others save money.

A few other notes:

- There's no reason to buy a used engine for Ferrari 550 Barchetta parts unless yours was somehow damaged. OEM engines are still available new and don't require much maintenance. In fact, it's best to have a professional mechanic install your engine as there are quite a few tricks that need to be done to get it right - especially when you're also installing new camshafts and other parts.

Nearly everything else on the car can be purchased new for cheap, usually, before your part even wears out. The only exceptions here would be tires and brake pads/shoes. 

- The car will cost you significantly more if you need to order a complete car from Italy. However, the parts are easier to find and the shipping costs will be significantly less.

Ferrari 550 Barchetta Parts: Engine

Ferrari recommends that customers replace their 5.5L/400 engine with a newer V8 engine. In some cases, this works out great for many owners as the older engines may be worn out and in need of replacement anyway.

However, if your car has decent mileage on it, there's no reason to replace it - or even change its mileage rating. It's not uncommon for these engines to run for 150,000 miles, which is more than enough for all but the most dedicated drivers. This is especially true if the engine hasn't been "opened" in the past 40k miles.

There are plenty of rumors about Ferrari mechanics opening up engines so that they have a way to check the pistons for wear - and then replacing them when they're found to be low. While this may be a possibility in some cases, rebuild kits are quite inexpensive and should be replaced regardless of mileage.

If you don't open your engine, you'll likely never know whether or not it needs some maintenance until it's too late. Ferrari recommends that customers replace their 5.5L/400 engine with a newer V8 engine. In some cases, this works out great for many owners as the older engines may be worn out and in need of replacement anyway.

However, if your car has decent mileage on it, there's no reason to replace it - or even change its mileage rating. It's not uncommon for these engines to run for 150,000 miles, which is more than enough for all but the most dedicated drivers.

This is especially true if the engine hasn't been "opened" in the past 40k miles. Even if you have the newer V8 engine, it's important to remember that those aren't what they used to be.

It's very likely that any V8 engine you'll find today is either a much newer or older one than what was in your car when it was new. This means you'll likely have to change many of the parts on your car as well - which can cost a small fortune.

Ferrari 550 Barchetta Parts: Transmission

The transmission on these cars is well-known for having problems with the rubber slipping and needing to be replaced quite quickly. It will probably need to be replaced again in the future so you may want to save some money and purchase one from Tastarsport. Combined with our recommended tires, you'll end up saving quite a bit of money.

Ferrari 550 Barchetta Parts: Brakes

The brakes on these cars don't need to be replaced nearly as often as on other vehicles. The main reason why they wear out is that people change their tires so frequently that the alignment goes out of wack, which then wears down the pads/shoes.

You'll save a lot of money by not changing your tires and letting your brakes go until they've worn out completely. - As always, we recommend purchasing your tires in a "matched set" or at least two sets where you can get two different colors and save some money. Your car will look better with a darker or light color tire at all times.

Ferrari 550 Barchetta Parts: Tires

Ferrari recommends that customers purchase "full-crown" 205/50ZR16 tires. This is great for the Ferrari's style but it can also be very expensive due to the rarity of these tires. There are many cheaper alternatives available from Pep boys and other similar stores that have a similar style but are much less expensive.

Either way, you'll want to use "low-wear" tires with very little tread remaining (less than 3mm) so you can save even more money on tires plus avoid any problems getting approved for a safety inspection. 

Ferrari 550 Barchetta parts: Interior

The seatbelts in these cars are very difficult to replace. It's not unusual for the replacement parts to cost more than the car itself. If you're willing to take some time and get your hands dirty, you can replace the belts yourself!

However, if you really want to save money on the belts and make sure your car passes safety inspections, then going with Tastarsport is probably best as they sell new seatbelts that work perfectly with your car.