Thoughts on F355?

355s are awesome cars -- great sound, good drivetrain, beautiful to look at ; BUT crappy interiors, high maintenance costs, and difficult to use on a regular basis (doors that open very wide, very low height). This is a great car to own and drive on Saturday am or plan your outing , it is not my choice for driving to work or just errands , speed bumps, pot holes and curbs makes it difficult where I live. A classic in the making but modern Ferraris are more usable IMO, good to have old and new

 

I always go back and forth between shopping for a 355 or a 360. I've observed over the years that many multi Ferrari owners usually have a 355 as part of their collection. Over and above any maintenance or reliability costs, I always wondered if I would be 'missing out' on something if I bought a 360 having never owned a 355.

 

I can't think of any Ferrari that is good running errands and sitting in traffic is no fun no matter what car one is driving. I save mine for special mountain drives and canyon runs. Our roads are so poor and the traffic is so bad in Denver, I prefer taking my FJ Cruiser everywhere in the city and saving our fun cars for the open roads in the mountains.

 

To your point, we have a member in the local Ferrari club that has owned his 1995 F355 Berlinetta for the 9 years I have known him, and has also owned the following Ferraris, F430, 599 GTB and a 458. He has sold all of the other cars after short periods of ownership for each of them and still has the 355 and never wants to part with it because he loves it so much. A well sorted 355 is very difficult to beat for the combination of timeless beauty, fantastic handling and balance (Derek Bell much preferred the handling of the 355 to that of the 360) and the incomparably medlodius engine note.

 

Along the same lines of the above post, we had a local collector (the "Tax Dr") who had within a few years had an enzo, 599GTO, 16M, 458, a couple of 599 GTBs, a couple of Californias (he usually had 4 ferraris at a time)- before I knew him he had a testarossa, 355, 360, 430...he said the 355 was one of his favorites of all! (as an off topic side note, he also said he preferred the later/faster shifting F1s of the 16M/599s over the dual clutch 458 due to the sensation of the shifts)

Regarding the comment on running errands and traffic with a 355- the very reason I have a 355 (or my prior 360) was the unique and more raw experience- specifically because I was using the car in good weather weekend driving where I wanted to experience the car. I guess what some see as a negative (low car, noise etc) most of us here see as a positive...I have an old 5-series for my daily grind type of driving. I don't like the California as a Ferrari, but sounds like that is a better car if you "have to" have a ferrari and need to drive it in a daily grind- less special than a 355 in my opinion (although it still an amazing car)- I'd prefer to have a harder edged sports car along with a daily driver however.

 

I know what you are saying. I've now had both, and wish I could own both at the same time

 

If you're taller than 6-1, you might find that the 355 is a little cramped. The long sloped windshield results in you having to duck down to see traffic lights and the rear view mirror really obstructing your vision off to the passenger side. You really have to pay attention. This very much improved in the 360.

 

This is true- if you are taller or with more girth you may fine the 360/430 more comfortable- much bigger/wider cockpit.

This is not true- both 355s and 360s have pluses and minuses- since I fit in the 355 (~5 foot 10 or 11) I find the size of the 355 to me more enjoyable from a driving perspective- even more 'go kart' with a narrower track than the 360 which is also go kart like due to the mid engine balance just not as much as the 355. The steering ratio is better in the 360 so that does give it some more go kart like feel back, but still a relatively big/wide car.

I do love the wide look of the 360, but the size of a 355 makes it more nimble to drive. The 360 is it's roomier- almost GT like, whereas the 355 is a more traditional sports car in interior/exterior dimension.

 

Really?

Unless you're a fat bastard, a 355 is a very comfortable car.
Similar performance to 360, better sound, and way better looking.
The whole "expensive maintenance" thing is only true if you buy a cheap 355 which has had rubbish maintenance.
Like any other car.

 

I'm 6'1" and 185lbs. Any taller or fatter and I think I would be uncomfortable in the 355.

 

Maybe I should call my credit card company and tell them none of those charges were real You lucked out on your car and I'm happy for you, but I used the word common because my mechanics, two of the most respected in the country, saw stuff like that regularly. One even admitted that although the 355 is his favorite, he'd never own one. I'm sure there are some 355 owners who have done nothing but routine maintenance and never had a problem, but I'd bet that number is lower than the number who have spent significant amounts of money.

I forgot to mention the 4 or 5 CV boots I had to replace, the door handle that fell off in my hand, the F1 indicator light that burned out, the interior that melted, the gas door that wouldn't open, the A/C flap that broke, the headlight that would regularly get stuck, etc. It's a great car but not the most robust piece of engineering on the road. I actually lucked out because the shop I used had cars in for much more expensive engine rebuilds and valve jobs that I never had to do. There's a local one from a few years ago in the owners section with a $45k bill in one shot, and several others I know of who had similar bills but don't talk about it publicly. Just look through any classifieds section and you'll see regular references to $30k in recent service on cars with only 10k miles.

The most inaccurate information I see around these parts is that the 355 is a reliable car that's not expensive to maintain. If you bought one that already had $30-40k in service then yea you might get away with it, but that just means that someone else got stuck with the expensive stuff. Again, it's a fantastic car when everything is going well, but anyone looking to buy one should be well aware of what they're getting into, and trying to ignore that reality is not helpful.