| Author | Message | ||
| Andy Murphy (Murph7)
New member Username: Murph7 Post Number: 6 Registered: 11-2002 |
It's a Sony MEX-1HD. RRP seems to be 1500GBP here in the UK but it can be had off the net for 800 or so. Perhaps less. In the US I wouldn't be at all surprised if you could get it for dollar equivalent. The only other make doing them at present seem to be Pioneer, and they're a lot more expensive (and don't look as good, spec or panel wise). The version I have appears to be the "mkII". This has a 16Gb hard disk (v 10Gb) and also the Gracenote CD titles database. This little gem is what does the auto-labelling for you (most of the time) and is worth many hours of typing in titles with two knobs! The mkI didn't have it. All of which sounds like quite a bit of cash for a stereo system, but... 1) you no longer need any CDs in the car once you've transferred them all. 2) I've not seen too many CD changers that can hold a couple of hundred CDs, even if you wanted them all in the car. 3) You'll never have moments where the CD you want is in the car/house. 4) It's less prone to skipping. 5) It's a very cool toy that looks as good as it functions! 6) You can take the factory fit head unit and CD changer out of the car, saving a bit of weight and a bit of space (though what you'd use that for I'm not sure). I have it plugged into the factory fit speakers and the sound's superb (not that i have it on massively loud, the V8 sound track is that bit better than any CD I currently own - apart from a bit of a Jamiroquai track that has an engine sound track that sounds suspiciously like the V8 behind me, but that I believe is a Diablo). Will get some pictures up when I get 5 minutes and if you want anything more specific, let me know (if you're UK based let me know too as I might know somewhere that'll do you a good deal and give top notch service). | ||
| Andrew (Enzo250gto)
Junior Member Username: Enzo250gto Post Number: 54 Registered: 2-2002 |
Andy, Congrats on your purchase. I'm very interested in the hard disk unit/radio. How much and who made it? | ||
| DES (Sickspeed)
Member Username: Sickspeed Post Number: 389 Registered: 8-2002 |
Ken- what magic you had to conjure to pay $125 a year in insurance on a Lotus, i have no idea. What i DO know is, that doesn't seem feasible for me... and i'd kill to pay $550 a year... are you paying year-round or are you paying for only a certain amount of miles or weekends or summmer months only, etc...? As excrutiatingly painful as it is for me to admit, i have 8 points on my license- not something i'm proud of and certainly not something i can easily sweep under the rug... i'm not sure how that would affect the numbers you gave me, but i'll certainly look into it... Mercury and General Assurance are the only two companies that will accept me right now (that's so pathetic), but i'll try looking into Hagerty... thanks for the tip and let me know how you've got your car insurance- whether it's year-round or otherwise specified... | ||
| Ken (Allyn)
Member Username: Allyn Post Number: 586 Registered: 10-2001 |
DES: If you go with a Hagerty or similar company you can pay very little for insurance. Don't let that be an impediment to getting an exotic. I pay $125 a year on my Lotus, zero deductible and full agreed on coverage. There are a few hoops to jump through but it sure beats the $550 State Farm wanted. Check this out: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1875308024&category=6212 I know this guy; he's a real collector. I almost bought a Lotus from him a couple years ago. I haven't seen the car but knowing the guy, it should be in pretty good shape. | ||
| Mark Collins (Markcollins)
Junior Member Username: Markcollins Post Number: 65 Registered: 7-2002 |
Andy Only just picked up on this thread, well done mate, I'll see you soon and BTW you never tire of those things. If you get anywhere on the 360 Wheel let me know regards | ||
| Barney Guzzo (Trinacria)
New member Username: Trinacria Post Number: 45 Registered: 8-2002 |
Congrats Andy and good luck. 355 GTB is gorgeous! (I am partial to the GTB over the S) | ||
| DES (Sickspeed)
Member Username: Sickspeed Post Number: 382 Registered: 8-2002 |
Paul, Citgo won't give me a gas card- there's no way the bank is gonna give me a loan... and even if i could get a loan, i would never be able to afford the car insurance- i just got my rate down from $6300 a year to $3150 a year... and that's just for liability on my Sentra...! i would have to get full coverage on a Horse and, if i could get anyone to take me, it would probably be close to 8 Gs... i think i'm just gonna have to sit this one out... | ||
| Vince (Manatee)
Junior Member Username: Manatee Post Number: 91 Registered: 6-2002 |
Congratulations, Andy. Drive your new beauty in good health. The smile is permanent. It doesn't matter how long I've owned a car, I still open the garage door just to look at it. | ||
| Paul Newman (Newman)
Member Username: Newman Post Number: 890 Registered: 12-2001 |
30 years? they wont have engines anymore by then. They will run on magnetic propulsion or something like that or antigravity. Just go to the bank and get a loan. Life is too short. | ||
| DES (Sickspeed)
Member Username: Sickspeed Post Number: 379 Registered: 8-2002 |
LOL, it'll be a while, Paul... i estimate about 30 years, if i have no serious financial lapses... | ||
| Paul Newman (Newman)
Member Username: Newman Post Number: 889 Registered: 12-2001 |
When are you getting one DES? Quit wasting time, just do it. | ||
| DES (Sickspeed)
Member Username: Sickspeed Post Number: 378 Registered: 8-2002 |
Dude, that rocks...! Doody snagged it before i could say it, so i'll just repeat it- drive it like you stole (and who gives a •••• what the cops think- now that you're in a Ferrari, that won't even be able to catch you...) | ||
| Frank K Lipinski (Kaz)
Junior Member Username: Kaz Post Number: 73 Registered: 11-2002 |
Andy - Point well taken. However, car is 3,000 miles away. Heavy rain and snow for next few weeks in western part of U.S. Truck is in enclosed tractor trailer. I'm in sunny Florida! Will wait a few days and cruise with top down along South Beach! Cheers! | ||
| Andy Murphy (Murph7)
New member Username: Murph7 Post Number: 5 Registered: 11-2002 |
Good luck in getting the car Frank. The dealer I bought mine from noted that they collect the car for servicing (they're a 200 mile round trip for me). The conversation went like this: Dealer: "And for servicing we collect the car for you." Me: "Why would I want to give your guys the pleasure of driving it 200 miles?" Dealer "No, on a lorry (truck). We collect it and bring it back." Me: "Oh. Why would I want it transported 200 miles when I could drive it 200 miles?". Phone the delivery firm and meet it today  They'll be the best miles you do. Mr Doody - it's the Police thinking I stole it I'm worried about | ||
| Frank K Lipinski (Kaz)
Junior Member Username: Kaz Post Number: 72 Registered: 11-2002 |
Manu - Well, I may have made a mistake. Switched to Exotic Auto Transport to ship from SFO to MIA. They said I would have it B-4 Xmas. Last Friday I was informed they added a stop to the truck in Salt Lake City, which means I won't get it until Thurs or Fri. Garage is good to go, however! | ||
| Manu (Manu)
Member Username: Manu Post Number: 582 Registered: 2-2002 |
Andy - congratulations mate!!! That grin will not leave your face until the car leaves your ownership! Hey Frank - have you got yours yet??? | ||
| Frank K Lipinski (Kaz)
Junior Member Username: Kaz Post Number: 70 Registered: 11-2002 |
Mr. Doody - LOL! | ||
| Mr. Doody (Doody)
Member Username: Doody Post Number: 644 Registered: 11-2001 |
congrats! my first time trying to open a 355 door had me down on my hands and knees looking for the !#@!&!@(* handle! enjoy that bad boy. drive it like you stole it ;-) and post some pics soon! doody. | ||
| Frank K Lipinski (Kaz)
Junior Member Username: Kaz Post Number: 66 Registered: 11-2002 |
Andy - Congratulations and Merry Christmas! Does not get any better than that. I about at 97 355 Red/Tan Spider about a month ago & it is in transit to me. Was hoping to have it here by Xmas, but looks like won�t be here until Friday. I will have to live vicariously through your post. Re: Getting the red right - go to www.autopia.org. Best site around to post questions and get product info. There is a detail guide on the bottom of the page & you can down load the first 9 chapters for free - more than enough to get you started. I am a contributing member and we have several UK members. If you have any specific issues / problems, please e-mail me directly and I will be more than happy to help. Happy Motoring! Frank | ||
| Jordan Witherspoon (Jordan747_400)
New member Username: Jordan747_400 Post Number: 33 Registered: 12-2002 |
LOL, its embarassing, but I had trouble finding the door handle on the 355 too We all gotta start somewhere! Congrats on your car though! It sounds gorgeous! The 355 is one of my favorites! | ||
| Tyler (Bahiaau)
Member Username: Bahiaau Post Number: 424 Registered: 12-2001 |
Congrats! | ||
| Bart Boonacker (Sharky666)
Junior Member Username: Sharky666 Post Number: 112 Registered: 9-2002 |
Andy, congrats on the car. Never heared of someone putting in a hard disk based "jukebox" . Would be great to see some photo's. Now you can follow Mark to the European Fchat meeting early june, that would be great Enjoy the car and just keep the grin, it makes life a lot easier - Bart | ||
| Andy Murphy (Murph7)
New member Username: Murph7 Post Number: 4 Registered: 11-2002 |
Will post some pictures when I have a few that do it justice. The red never seems to come out quite right but will work on this over the holidays. And don't worry, it'll get driven | ||
| Nebula Class (Nebulaclass)
New member Username: Nebulaclass Post Number: 36 Registered: 11-2002 |
Congrats, man! I'm jealous!!! Arrrgh! Enjoy the hell out of it. Drive it like it begs to be driven; you deserve it! Again, congrats and I wish I were you right now! | ||
| John A. Suarez (Futureowner)
Member Username: Futureowner Post Number: 325 Registered: 3-2002 |
Post some pics of this beauty if you have some! | ||
| Byron (Bmyth)
Junior Member Username: Bmyth Post Number: 75 Registered: 10-2002 |
Andy, Congratulations on the new car...Just in time for the holidays... Enjoy every minute of it! Cheers! | ||
| Andy Murphy (Murph7)
New member Username: Murph7 Post Number: 3 Registered: 11-2002 |
Well, after wanting one for many years I finally picked up my first Ferrari on Saturday. The grin will need to be surgically removed! F355 GTB, rosso corsa, crema leather now sitting in the garage. Driving experience is superb. Was a bit nervous on this front as my other car��s a Caterham 7 (perhaps one of the purest driving machines available, and will show the 355 a clean pair of heels in most departments), but whilst different the 355 is every bit as enjoyable (which is praise indeed). Certainly those in the 7 fraternity who thought I��d be disappointed were very wrong �� Will have to keep a strict eye on the speedo though to avoid losing my license. All too easy to get into deep 3 figure mph territory. Haven't been able to stop nipping outside or into the garage to look at it yet (was seriously tempted to sleep in it on Saturday night!) and everyone who has a go in it is just breathless. Reactions from other road users have also been extremely positive so far, which is a little surprising here in the UK. Only thing I have to do now is learn how wide the car is. Finding it very tough seeing its extremeties and my parking space has already resulted in a scuffed alloy - space is about 2" wider than the car, has concrete kerbs and not much room outside the space for manoeuvres. I'm also used to driving something much smaller into it. As a slight aside, I swapped out the factory fit stereo/CD changer for a hard disk based unit. Looks and sounds superb and you can store about 150-200 CDs on it, all in the head unit. If anyone's interested, drop me a line. Massive thanks must go to Mark Collins who has helped me a lot in the decision process with specs, what to look for and, most importantly, info on the warranty options that even the sales guys didn't know about. This site has also proved useful. I've been lurking for a while using the archives to help. Luckily I have an unlimited mileage insurance policy as I expect to be putting on some good mileage over the next few months. Already looking into some options (the Caterham gives a disease called upgraditis that is hard to shake no matter what car you have) - a set of luggage would be nice (anyone know of alternative vendors or some private sale stuff that might be available?) and I'm still tempted to look for a bakelite type gear knob and 360 steering wheel... Do you ever tire of people not being able to find the door handle? Or wanting to look at the engine? Or pulling along side for a closer look on the motorways? |