tbarkowsky - what bizarre comments from someone that has never held ownership of a 355 spider. Why do you offer such advise to another?
The 1997 Porsche Twin Turbo S is a great car, but good luck finding one for the price of a good 355 spider. Less than 500 produced world wide, still going for well over 100K (MSRP was 150K) Cheers, RC
Looks like I'll just save and save until I can get a 360. I love the Ferrariness of the cars, but I hate the idea that you have to spend so much on maintenance. I guess that's why they say "Plenty of people can afford the, car... it's affording the service that kills you."
Richard and Richard- great information nad perfect posts for those seeking a 355 (or not sure what f-car they are looking for). Thanks for the great information, and hopefully it will help some new people getting into the 355 series. Regards, Eric
you're making a huge assumption here - that 360 maintenance over time is going to be less than 355 maintenance. 360s cost less NOW because they're so much newer. entropy happens. with the 360 (esp. the F1 tranny) you've got all sorts of electronic gizmos that you know FSpA is going to ream you on. for all you know, by the time you can "afford" a 360, stuff'll be breaking on them left and right that costs even more to fix. remember, the 355 headers problem took a while to become an "expected" issue. the 360 is probably replete with similar stuff that just hasn't happened yet 'cuz so few people REALLY put the miles on their cars and push them. life is very short. doody.
I love the 355 spyder, but the cost of maintance is crazy and I don't know why....if I were you I would go with a late model 328 or keep the money invested let the interest grow then go with the 360. Good Luck their both beautiful cars.
http://atsearch.autotrader.co.uk/WWW/cars_search.asp?modelexact=1&lid=search_used_cars_full&make=FERRARI&model=F355&variant=&keywords=&min_pr=20000&max_pr=&mileage=&agerange=&postcode=de74+2xj&miles=1500&max_records=50&source=0&photo=1&sort=3&ukcarsearch_full=SEARCH Todays rate is US$1.743 = UK£1 - and the cheaper ones will be left hand drive - cheapest on there at the moment is a '96 GTS for $57,519.
Cool... Z06 will be my track ***** and I'll be shopping for a F-355 vert one day... do they come in white with red interior?
Because I work on the things everyday..thats why. Less overall issues with the 348 Spider then the 355 Spider. If you would like me to list them..just ask.
I'm going to disagree with you here Doody. In the business we knew of most of the 355 shortcomings LONG before the 355 fleet was as old as the 360 fleet is now. The knowledge may not have been in the public domain but people in the dealers knew. For that reason I try very hard to shift my clients from 355 purchases or ownership to 360's as much as possible. 360 F1 components are now and have always been cheaper than 355 F1 components. In that sense they are just like consumer electronics. Besides most people that are very cost concious and bother to do research go to manual cars anyway. I like F1s but would never suggest they are as cheap to own as a manual. The other side of the coin though is that the 355 due to its age is on a much flatter part of its depreciation curve than the 360, so even with the extra service costs, the total ownership cost may be cheaper.
Do you Fellas think that 355s have Bottomed Out ? How Low can a Well Sorted >30K '95 or '96 sell for in the next few years ? '89 328 GTBs are Fetching $50K+. I know they are Rarer than 355s, but will they eventually Surpass them in Price ? What do you think ?
if you can afford it,, buy it,, there are a few certain things about the 355 and 360 and all ferraris they are expensive to buy, expensive to maintain, they all depreciate ! thousands of people have 355 spiders and love them,, they put up with expensive to buy, maintain and yes the depreciation,,,,, but they buy what they want !!!!!!!!!! you could wait until the 360 spiders come down in price,, and then consider not buying one of those, cos the 430's are that but more reliable,,,,, buy before you die !!!! scottie,,,,,, have both 355 and porsche 993,,,,,,, and have spent about £7000 on the porsche in three years on maintenance,,, ferrari 6 month,,, so far £200 !
I don't consider 0-60 in 4.8 and 1/4 mile in 13.00 slow by anyone's standards. I've had a '95 Spider for 2 1/2 years and am sold on the 355. I have had my share of repairs, but the fun of driving it has far outweighed the costs. I was considering a 550 until I drove a 575 F1. Nice power, but hated the hesitation in the F1 trans . Seemed like more of a highway cruiser, and not the light nimble feel of the 355. Go through a tunnell at full wail and you'll think you have a F1 car strapped to your butt. Go for it!
Phillip, I have to agree with you. People come up with the dummest statements sometimes. Anyone who has been in a well driven 355 would not say it's slow. Sure it's not the fastest car out but to say it's slow is just stupid. It's a very well balanced car, and because of it's fairly small size it's a fantastic car for the mountain back roads. But then again it only does 0-60 in 4.8 sec, hardly can even consider it a sports car could we. Darrell.
Wow! You have a beautiful car! I own a 1999 355 GTS in Rosso Corsa and just love its lines. The GTS is neat because you can have the benefit of a quiet coupe or a top-off al fresco drive. Did you add the shields? If yes, where were they purchased? I'm considering doing this as well but don't know if it'll spoil the car's sleek appearance, although your yellow-on-yellow looks superb! Doug
interesting data, brian. thanks. i wasn't aware that the 355 problems were well known in the tech circles well before (though that makes sense). doody.
