Yellow 2002 360 Modena worth the 2 months wait?

test the 360 then buy what feels good TO YOU don't let others pick your car, i prefer the 360 (off of looks) IMO. but test the 360 and get what feels right.

 

isnt there any other 360 you can test ?

If not I would wait . Even if the 360 isnt prettier , its a better Ferrari to live with.

 

If you can afford to do so, THE 360 . . . 110%

 

+1,
but the 360 will win

 

+1 !!!

I did not try 355 or 348 so can not say anything concerning performance and handling but at least concerning shape IMO 360 for sure and you will have more modern, younger car. 348 or 355 is not collector anyway.

 

Like Bruce Anderson says about Porsche. Buy the newest best condition car you can afford.

 

+1 Excellent advice.

Frank

 

AT 21 you should be happy with any of those cars.

 

Owned both 355 & 360. The 360 is more refined than the older 3xx's. Go with the 360!

 

I'm confused.........what happens between now and the end of January that makes a 360 suddenly appear? Other than perhaps X-mas or new years???

Despite my confusion, IMO, you should get the 360.

 

I've owned both the 355 and 360. I personally like both cars, but feel the 360 is more reliable and better built. I can't comment on the 348, since I have no personal experience with it. However, I have heard people who work on the cars say that the 348 is one of the worst Ferrari's ever made. I know of one case where a customer traded in his 328 for a 348 and then returned to the dealer a few days later demanding they take back the 348 and give him back his 328 (which the dealership had already sold). If I recall the story correctly, the dealership had to purchase another 328 for him.

Even Ferrari's CEO Luca Cordero di Montezemolo has been quoted as saying he did not like the 348. Search google for more information. Here is a quote I found from him via an article covering the 348, "I had just bought a new 348,” he said in an interview with Automobile a decade after he took the helm at Ferrari, “and with the exception of its good looks I was utterly disappointed. This was clearly the worst product Ferrari had developed for some time.”

The 355 is a smaller car. You can whip around town in it more easily and rev the motor out. With just the installation of a Tubi, it sounds a lot like an F1 car. My 355 was a 1997 (it's currently owned by another ferrarichat member actually). Rumor was that the 1997 and 1998 model years were the best. I loved the car and had a great time driving it. It did require some attention at the dealership for stuff like air injectors and replacement of the cat ECU's however. The 355 also requires dropping the engine to do the timing belts, which the 360 does not require.

The 360 has very smooth lines. At first I didn't like it, but now I love the look of the 360. It's also a much more sturdy car. Everything on it seems to be more robust than the 355. The clutch on the 360 is a bigger pain to change, but as mentioned, the belts can be done in the car. The 360 has a lot more torque and is faster, but you won't have as much luck getting it to sound like an F1 car. The exhaust note is lower and more like a roar, as opposed to the 355's F1 scream at red line. The 360 is a larger car, but it's still very fun to drive. I think the 360 is a bit more balanced in some ways also. The 360 has traction control, which is a lot of fun. Also, the sports mode in the 355 seemed to do absolutely nothing as far as changing the feeling of the suspension, whereas on the 360 it's much more noticeable. The interior of the 360 is light years ahead of the 355. The 355 interior is very plain, whereas the 360 is more like a space ship inside. Shifting on the 355 is a touch nicer than the 360 - at least on the two cars I owned.

For me, 360 hands down - even if you have to wait. I think in the long run, the 360 takes the miles better and may require less dollars per mile to drive and enjoy. Of course, with that said, the price of the 355 is much lower right now too.

Both are excellent cars. As far as the 348 - which was one of the first Ferrari's I ever really lusted after - I think I would pass myself. As mentioned, I don't have any first hand experience with the car - and I don't want to offend any 348 owners out there - but from what I have heard and read, it's not up to par with the 355 and 360's out there.

Ray

 

Interesting comparo of the 355 and 360.

Regarding the 348 however, there was a lot of **** flung about its so called faults. Yes, there are people who had lemons but the vast majority have not had major issues. And its ownerbase on fchat - the Brotherhood - is perhaps the most dedicated and enthusiastic bunch of owners anywhere. You have a problem then there are people from all over the world jumping in to help you.

I take Luca's comments with a grain of salt. His comments were very similar to any new CEO of a company coming in and saying - look I inherited all this crap and now look how good the company is. According to him, the 355 was such a big change over the 348. To me it is a just an evolution and not a revolution. The cars are dimensionally identical with body parts that can be interchanged if you need to. There are a lot of other similarities between the two models.

From a driving standpoint, the 348 has unassisted steering with a lot of road feel like a go kart. The controls are quite heavy. By comparison the 355/360 controls are more easy. To me an older car like the 328 or 348 offers good training if you want to buy a classic Ferrari like the Daytona.

The 348 will not have the ultimate grip of a 360 but you will have a lot of fun driving it at its limits. From a maintenance standpoint, the 348 is more expensive than a 360 but is much cheaper than a 355. But the 348 is a simple car to fix. You dont need to have a computer to diagnose what's wrong like the 360. There is a lot more scope for a DIYer. From a sound standpoint, a 355 is the best by far - the 360 sounds more computer generated. Looks are subjective - I like the shape of the 355 the best - it looks classic and timeless. The 360 looks too bulbous and the interior looks a bit Toyota like.

Taking price into consideration, I think the 348 is a bargain for what it offers. you can get a great car for $50K.

Personally I don't think I will be buying the newer Ferraris - they seem to be too easy to drive and too much computer controlled stuff on it. The only exception I will make is for the Stradale - that car is a gem. If the lottery comes in I would love to get a Daytona, SWB and 288 GTO.