Wanted My First Ferrari (F355, Testarossa, 360, or 550 Maranello, in that order)

Hey all,
It's finally time to pull the trigger on my first Ferrari! While I've owned quite a few vehicles over the years (56 in total thus far) from a variety of marques, the timing has never been quite right for a Ferrari, but alas, it's finally come!

To keep it short and sweet, as the headline states, I'm leaning (heavily) towards an F355, but open to other options. GTS, GTB, or Spider (in that order) manual a must, open to color combos. If 360, coupe/manual only. Service history and good records are a must, lightly modified okay. Budget is open within reason.

Although I scour the interwebs nightly (and have found a couple of potential cars), I'm reaching out here to see if anyone has something they're holding but haven't listed quite yet. I look forward to seeing what y'all got!

-Erik

 

Personally I completely love the 550, and it'll be my first Ferrari. However it is more of a GT, so it will depend what you'll use the car for. Are you using the car as a daily? Or a weekend car only? If a weekend car only I'd go for the mid engined cars.

 

550 is a beautiful car! Whatever I end up with, it’ll be a 3rd/4th car so weekends and fair weather days. If I’m honest, the Testarossa was my first poster car (aside from the F40, but that one’s a tad out of budget at the moment ; ) followed by the F355, so either of those should be the first purchase…I don’t make the rules. I’ve driven all of the aforementioned cars and love each for their individual character/quirks. We’ll see where this search takes me I suppose!

 

The huge boot/trunk on the 550 and the rear shelf does make it a very attractive car for any long weekend/week trips you may have planned...I can't think of many finer cars than the 550 for one of those! That said the boot/trunk in the 360 is pretty big as well IMO and should easily take 2 big soft travel bags as well if needed. Harry metcalfe (from evo/youtube fame) has managed quite a lot of stuff in the testarossa as well...355 I'm not sure off how large the trunk is.

I'm rambling. I think any of the cars have their merits and any will be a fantastic choice. So long as the 355/360 is manual, future proof as well. 355's can become pretty expensive however if you get a bad one...

 

Personally I would go with the 360 or the 550 rather then the f355. F355 fully major service can cost a heavy penny do to pulling out the engine completely out. The 550 is nice it’s a front engine and one of the last v12s.


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I've owned both a 355 and a 550

The 550 is a wonderful car to throw two golf bags in with enough left over room for a couple of suitcases for a weekend of golf in Carmel including dressing up for a nice dinner at a fine restaurant.

The 355 has limited room in the front trunk but it may be the best sports car you will ever drive.

 

Make sure you research some of the cars you spoke about and check into the costs to service the cars.

Some of the cars are more expensive to service than others. Perhaps the service costs may also help influence your decision.

 

Listen to this man.

 

I appreciate it. I’ve researched them all ad nauseam for years and yeah, I know an F355 is much cheaper to run than say, a 360, but mannn…the heart wants what the heart wants! In all seriousness, the running coats are factored into the equation, but not a 100 percent deterrent. Thanks for looking out nonetheless!

-Erik

 

Did you mean to have those in reverse? The 360 should be a much cheaper car to maintain since it doesn't need an engine out service like the 355 does.

 

Yep…I did that backwards (facepalm)! Looong day at work today and I’m just responding quickly in between setups. One should not text/type when preoccupied.

-Erik

 

Correcting this (is there an edit feature on here or is this like Twitter?). Meant to say 360 is cheaper to run than F355. Mods, I’m reporting myself for idiocy.

-Erik

 

I have a 550 and a 355. Both fantastic cars for different occasions.

Of the cars in your list, the best all round car is the 550 in my opinion.

 

Don't try and decide based on logical reasons, buy what your heart wants (and you can afford). It's not a logical purchase after all.

Just remember a classic ferrari and a modern one are similar in name only.

 

I had this same dilemma looking for my first Ferrari between a 355 and 550, as you can see by my avatar I ended up with the 550.
However in my case I did not have any more preference for one or the other, I was equally torn between the 2. Ultimately I chose the 550 because it was easier to maintain and because of the comfort level for my wife on the passenger seat. Another reason is since I live in Miami we don't have fun twisty roads, just highways, so the 550 was better suited for driving here as well.

As others have mentioned above the 550 is the better overall car, but in your case your heart is set on a 355, get a 355 and don't even consider anything else. Last thing you want to do is spend $100+k on your first Ferrari and then question "what if".

Albeit now I'm looking for an FF for whole family!

 

I think there's many people who would debate you there!

 

My best suggestion, based on the responses above, is what are you looking for?

I have a 1986 328 GTS - small and tight, fits like a glove and is great fun to drive.

1990 Testarossa - yes, the 2nd gear thing can be a little annoying, but 12 cylinders, open road - this is a GT at it's best.

If you want old school, then something like the above should work, on the other hand.....

2011 458 Italia - almost perfect. Last normally aspirated 8 cylinders. Too bad it didn't have 12.

I do have a predilection for mid-engined cars.

 

I don't know, I had a spiritual enlightening that it was factual, you can't argue with that!

 

I have owned a Testarossa and still have my 575 Maranello. From a car and driving perspective, the Maranello is light years better. The TR has a lot of shortcomings but nothing turns heads like a TR.

 

308/328 are on the list as well, albeit much further back. I love the 458, but truth be told, I’d rather keep the budget under ~ $150k, so in the current market, I’m priced out. I do see one in the future though! Ironically, I’ve only ever driven the Speciale (which was ) but never touched a “normal” Italia.

-Erik

 

I think you might enjoy the 360 in regards to power and overall ride. Tight suspension/ handling and the prices for the 360 seem to be right. 355s have bottomed and are on the way back up. I'm biased towards mid engines . Cheers

 

I just sold my FF. Pass if it’s your first Ferrari it’s not that fun. Only get one if you have another TRUE Ferrari then it makes total sense.
That being said I also live in Miami and it makes more sense there (the ff), but when I had it It was mostly used in California where true Ferraris are more enjoyed.


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Ill take a testarossa and it’s lower center of gravity over the 575 for a fun driving experience in a twisty…. And the sound man… nothing beat an exhaust on flat12


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I tracked my TR once, the twisties are not where that car shines. The TR is certainly more raw but it’s hard to quantitatively say it’s better than a Maranello at anything.

 

You had listed what you were looking for at the top of your post. What I meant to convey was some sense of specifics - i.e. "cars and coffee", cruising car, weekender, etc. So with that in mind, the luggage capacity and comfort for long drives become additional points to consider.

I hear you on the 458 Italia. I just bought mine - before the prices got too carried away (and even then it was a stretch). Can't believe how much they have gone up in the last year!! Some respondents might question the 458 given your desire for a manual, but as a point of clarification, I consider the 458 to have a hydraulically assisted manual transmission