i also have a black/black berlinetta(1995) 6 speed
Man I love those F355s. From all angles they are just to die for. And thats not even considering their sound. Gotta get me one of those one day. Itll probably kill me the first time I cant get to work because of reliability issues though...
When was the last time you saw a 355 on the side of the road ? Or any ferrari for that matter ? ferraris are very reliable as long as there manitained. Cheers !
Ive never seen one on the side of the road. If I would, Id stop! So if any of you see a yellow 02 NSX approaching while youre broken down, never fear, a friend is near! I keep coming back to this because I love F355s so much. By reliable, I mean appropriate for a daily driver. I mean reliable to get me to and from work, day in and day out, for 8 months of the year. By reliable I mean when maintenance gets done, Ive got the car back by the end of the day. By reliable I also mean that Im on TTC if my Fcar isnt driving that day I only have room to physically keep 2 cars. My wife needs one full time. Would it be reasonable to expect a F355 to be the ONLY mode of transportation you have at hand? Ive thought the answer was a clear no. Of course for errands that cannot be done in the car because of its size, there is the Sienna to fall back on, but having my car off the road for ANY period of time would be torture! Especially a F355!
Dave, Fair enough, then I would say this to you and others. People need to stop thinking about ferraris as everyday cars, all of them !! The new ones are better for more daily adventures, but this has never been the mantra of the brand. They are a race team, and build race cars. A ferrari is a race car, not something to drive to and from work daily in stop and go traffic, in the rain, or pick up errands. Buy a toyota, or different car for that. Ferrari is the only car company that builds cars for the purpose to go racing. Not like other manufactures that build cars for the street and then take a portion of money to go racing. With that said as great as a 355 is, or any other model, I would recommend you rethink the ferrari idea because you will be in for disappointment. Newman who is a ferrari owner and member on this site said it best. Owning a ferrari is a "love hate relationship" You love it when its working properly, and hate them when there not". Cheers.
NO, it is not reasonable as your ONLY mode of transportaion. Ive read your concerns, and regarding the 355 Id have to say ANY Fcar would be unsuited to daily driver status. The most relevant to your concerns would be.... 1) REPAIR TIME: If something does go wrong (and it will, even on the most reliable, best maintained Fcars), it usually takes time to arrange for time to take the car in, have it repaired and get it back. This isnt a Ford Mustang that any mechanic at Canadian tire can repair, not to mention part availability.There is only a small pool of Fcar able mechanics and Garages, relatively speaking. It might take some time to even book your car in, and G-d forbid if it needs hard to get parts...account for some unusually long waiting times. In the meantime, since you dont have another car,you still have to get to work every day.... 2)MAINTENANCE/REPAIR COST: If your gonna use your 355 everyday, its gonna rack up the KLM's...accelerating an already expensive maintenance schedule, not to mention kill the (relative) resale value. The math on this isn't pretty... 3) WINTER DRIVING: Since you live in snowy Canada, there are gonna be a few days when your 355 is going to be a nightmare to drive. Once you factor in some dings and salt damage, it gets even scarier. Do they even have snow tires for these things? How do you get by with the NSX in the winter? Ive owned a couple in the past and they had absolutely zero traction in the snow....I imagine the 355 would be quite similar, although I never tried mine in that enviroment. I know you mentioned you only have room for 2 cars because of the wifes, but have you considered alternative locations/garages for storage. Work parking space? Almost ALL Fcar drivers have a regular car that they use for everyday/winter driving...so they dont have to worry when their Fcar goes on the fritz, or drive it in bad/snowy weather...it will be very hard for you to get away from this fact given your situation. Dont get me wrong, the 355 is a hell of a car, and is the first of the newer generation of "reliable/everyday" Ferraris...but according to your criteria and concerns...I'd have to say NADA.
Thanks for all of the effort above - those are exactly the conclusions that I came to 12 months ago when I stopped looking for a Ferrari and bought the 02 NSX I brought to the drive last weekend. So far - I love it. But driving beside those F355s last weekend gave me the itch again. Love those F355s. Winter driving and maintenance costs wouldnt necessarily be an issue. The NSX goes away for the winter also and although it is a daily driver, I put 5k on the NSX a year (1.5k of it at Mosport). See you there next year!
Based on your use, you probably did make the correct choice. Ferraris are not for evryone. See you soon !!
If you only have room for 2 cars then get a stacking hoist. A friend of mine sells them for around $3K installed with in the toronto area and Im considering it as well, too many friggin cars and I dont like paying to store one elsewhere. Problem solved, 355 on top, crapper on the bottom and wifey gets her own spot, will that work?
You know what, Ive thought of doing just that! I dont believe that I have the height though. I live in the Beaches where the racetrack used to be (Woodbine Park) and our garages are trellaced (sp?) at 9ish feet I think. Plus, the width is about as narrow as what can possibly pass for a dbl car garage. If itll fit, would be an option...
Paul does he have the ones that you can use as a repair hoist? They look like the storage (stacking) hoists but have the extra lift on a slider to bring up the wheels too so one can work on the car. If so, Please advise. Price?.
You need the height of the 2 cars plus nine inches to fit the hoist, this is in the ad for the hoists so go measure. Ill PM you classicferrari.
I'm just north of you at Kingston Rd. I'll be tearing down the existing garage and building a double with height. Not cheap!
Lucas, I tried PMing you and for some reason it said you mailbox was full????? Any how, I want you to full size me this pic. I decided this is the pic I want, as is....either with the plate numbers or without doesnt matter. Get back to me. I cant upload the pic lucas its too big. I will try and pm you which one it is.
Just a qesution, who on this board wants their plate #'s taken off pics before I upload them? Main concern is Rick's TR as it is in a lot of pics (Tom's car was behind yours most of the time , until you boys decided to make a 10 car U turn ). However, Steve's 550 shows up every now and then too. But anyhow, if anyone wishes their plate #s to be taken out, let me know please!
db, I am a big fan of no plates being posted. Many members know how I feel about this issue. I think they should be deleted before posting. but given the amount of photos lately and all the plates that were exposed. For me, if you wish to post with my plates, go ahead, I have already changed them. So it doesnt matter to me anymore. Cheers.
So you've changed them since Oct. 29? Alright then. But I will keep a note for any of our future meets, and I'll make sure that your's and everyone else that I know who's a fan of the no-plate policy, gets the plates removed. So far that includes Mike Hunt, Steve and Faiz. Dunno about Paul or Jay, or Mark for that matter. Ah hell, I'll just remove them all in the future, that way I won't miss anyone's and everybody is a happy camper
Hey Rick, Sorry about that, I just cleaned it up. If you could try again that would be great. If it still doesn't work then my email adress is [email protected] Thanks!
Lucas, Page 2 pick #43...front angle shot of the TR from the last meet in Brampton with the NSX guys.
Hey Mike, they're uploaded but I haven't opened them to the public becuase of plate issues. haven't had the time to edit the lates yet, but if you don't care for this time around I can upload them.
