Any thoughts, I have been watching the prices of 360's recently, for about 4 months. I have recently sold my car and ideally its replacement will be a 360. It appears there is a lot of stock 'standing still', with the same cars appearing week in week out (and month in month out) on autotrader and in some of the established dealers. A car i was interested in originally for sale at £68K, the chap is now looking nearer £60K after only 6 weeks, he paid £71K from lancaster colchester only 3 months ago ! making me a little nervous as to where and when this drop is going to end. Nearly all the main dealers and traders have wiped £2-3K off their screen prices in the last month. There are some low mileage 355's overtaking 360 prices, whether they will sell is another matter, but i am inclined to wait another 6 months and let winter go by until i buy another F car. Market seems stagnant, time of year maybe, or dealers with too much money tied up in overpriced cars they cannot shift? Comments on a post card, addressed to: 'Bewitched, Bothered & Bewildered'!!!!!!!!! Cheers Anthony
Cars will depreciate - on the day you die therefore they will not be cheaper for you - unfortunately the flaw in the argument is that you never actually get to drive it
I'm hoping to buy either a 355 or a 360 in summer 07, so have been looking at the market myself. I agree with your assessment that the market is stagnant at the moment. I also think that waiting another 6 months will see prices fall a bit - the more established the 430 gets, the less expensive the 360 will get. However, if you've got the money now (I need another years worth of savings before I can afford to buy), you may as well go for it - after all you only live once, and if you are intending to keep the car for more than 3 years, losing a bit more in depreciation prob won't seem such a big deal in the long run
Thanks for your thoughts, The fact is that my previous 'toys' - 5 porsches and 1 x Ferrari 348 GTC (admittedly all quite a bit cheaper than a 360), i have done extremely well in resale value and the prospect of actually 'blowing money' seems a bit alien. I have a sneaking suspiscion however that 360 prices will bottom at £55K, for the next 18 months, allowing 355's to take their ground in the £35K- £50K bracket. And no I am not a retail analyst for a living !
I agree with you, the 360 prices here (in Italy) are doing the same due to the F430, this is the time where the previous model (360) will depreciate the most, I have seen many early 360's here for around £55k as year old f430's are comming on at normal second hand prices (not list!) because the availability of new cars is good now. LHD 360 anyone?? It seems (to me anyway) that the 360 could suffer the same way as the Porsche 996, where a good 993 is comanding more money than the newer model. Personally I love the 360 but it was bought by a lot of 'moneyed' people who can afford to buy new toys then sell when the latest big thing comes along then it's down to the enthusiasts to pick up and dictate the secondhand market and most of us are on a limited budget and (as you are rightly doing now) want to make sure we're not going to loose 10k in the next year or so in depriciation. I'm no professional analyst either but I like to keep an ear to the ground and an eye out for a bargain!
I've wondered whether the 360 will drop below the 355 as well, but am not sure why it would - with the Porsches, many view the 993 as the superior car as it has nicer styling and is the last air cooled 911. Similarly with the 328/348, the 328 is now worth more as many regard it as better looking and more collectable. Another thing I wonder is whether I would actually get more enjoyment out of the 355 - my only quick car so far has been a Mini Cooper S works - far from being Ferrari quick, so I wonder if the 355 would be the more enjoyable car at lower speeds (does that make sense? I hope you get what I mean). In fact the only area where IMO the 360 is conclusively the better car is that its interior is nicer. The main reason I think I would enjoy a 355 more though is that something about it just makes me want to buy one and never part with it, whereas the 360 I could see myself buying and then trading up to 360 CS/430/something entirely different. Any thoughts guys?
The 993-996 pricing 'phenomenon' doesnt fit the 355-360 situation all that well IMO, although in my heart I wish it did. The 993 is regarded as being a pretty bullet proof car and reasonably cheap to service, regardless of age. That does not apply to the 355 in the same way - the 355 can be expensive to run/service. In theory the 360 is a cheaper car to service (belts etc), and (although time will tell) it seems to be slightly more reliable..... unless all the 360 owners are keeping quiet about their car's failings I prefer the 355 looks by a long way, but I think a 360 represents great value at 55-60K (typical '99 car price)... I suspect the usual autumn price drop may have already been mostly priced in to the glut of £59,999 cars currently available. One might as well go for it now and enjoy the tail end of the summer IMO
I think your right about the 355 being a 'keeper' DD. I also think your right about wanting to change the 360 after a period as the 355 is pretty and certainly a classic shape and the f430 is agressive as hell, the 360 seems a bit of a middle man.I'll probably get slated for saying that (sorry 360 guys) but I am being objective as I can't afford to upgrade to any of the above cars!! The point about the sevicing costs is a valid one also as the 360 is much more of a usable prospect than the 355 as far as I can tell. Is it possible to park in a normal sized parking bay and get out without having to open the window!!!????
I think it's simple economics. The 360 is a mass produced car. Hence supply is pretty high. Demand for Ferraris is no doubt higher than in the past, but not so much as to match the supply. Hence, the 360 will eventually drop to below 308/328/348/355 prices. It'll take time, but it will happen.
I have owned 355, 360 and now 430 all spiders. The cars cover circa 7000 miles per year - mainly in Europe . There is no doubt IMO that each evolution is a huge improvement on its predessessor in so many different ways and I cannot possibly imagine 355 being worth more than 360-sorry but it isnt in the same league nor the 360 to 430. Having said that they are all fantastic but you wouldnt expect things to go backward with the developement and research that goes into each new model. Dont want to upset anyone as its my first post on this site
Thanks for all your comments, I have read so many threads recently that my eyes are going square! however i have come to the conclusion that if i go straight to a 360 i will have missed out on something rather special in the '355'. I have therefore put a bid in on a '98 R' Reg.355 with 13K miles on the clock. I am hoping to keep it a couple of years at least and then see what happens, maybe every man and his dog will be driving round in the massed produced 360's, only joking! . If Ferrari continue to bring a new car out every few years on a more mass produced scale, having a ferrari will be like having a fancy merc or beamer, surely its the exclusivity that everybody on here enjoys as well as the driving experience? Cheers Anto
Im only 20 so dont get mad. If i was you since your still savin, i would buy a property wait another yr. Within that yr reno-vate/rent the property out. Get some rental income Appriciation of the property (sorry for my poor spelling, one of my faults) Summer 2008 buy yourself a 360 and stil have change I to want a ferrari but parents are drumming into me to just buy buy buy lol my aim isto have a brand new one for my 25th birthday touch wood im sure theres more business minded people on this site than me but thats my bit of advice today. buy bricks and water
Don't worry mate, I aint gonna flame you for only being 20 and having an opinion (far preferable to not having an opinion at all IMO) - I'm only 26 myself. In fact you sound like a guy after my own heart (except one thing, which we'll come to soon enough). I've always aimed to have a brand new Ferrari for my 30th (you're 5 years more ambitious than me), though as I get closer to that age and the financial position to have one, I like new Ferraris less. And that's where we start to disagree - I'm just not keen on the 360. In fact I had a funny day yesterday - I saw a 360 Modena at a tiny little unofficial Porsche service place next to an office I have (I also heard it as they repeatedly seemed to start the engine from cold and rev the bolloc*s off it and then turn it off again); then later as I was driving home I was followed and later passed by a 355 that was pretty much identical spec (Rosso/Crema sports seats, challenge grille) and I realised that the 360 just doesn't get under my skin like the 355 does. With the whole investment thing, I already own one business, am starting another and have renovated properties for profit as well - therefore this car purchase is the reward for 4 years of sheer bloody minded determination and hard work that I've so far put in since leaving Uni. It comes down to this: I know the 360 is objectively the superior car in every way, but the 355 is so much more 'my kind of thing' and that's it - I love the 355's compactness, it's beauty, it's delicacy, it's litheness, it has a certain specialness that for me was lost in the 360 in terms of styling and the 355 hasn't been blighted by the 'footballers lifestyle accessory' image of the 360/430 (i'm not dissing the 360/430 for that, it just doesn't appeal to me). I'm not bothered that the 360 is more powerful and faster than the 355 - I derive far more enjoyment from driving in terms of the handling and feel of a car than the actual speed I'm going. I guess it's one of those things like when you find a girl to be the hottest woman on the planet and your mates just don't get it - the more I think about it, the more I realise a 355 is the F-car for me. And with the change I may even buy a Lotus Exige or 340R as a track toy... or save up some more and get a Dino as my first classic! (Wow - longest post ever, huh?)
Fair play to you 'young' lads, I'm at the ripe old age of 36 now and got my first Ferrari at 30, Testarossa (my aim was always 25 but I over shot a bit!), but a word of warning from an old man, fast cars are addictive and I seem to have spent the last 6 years undoing all that good work I did in my twenties by buying more of them than I should and it's wipped £100,000 from my account in the last 4 years! And I'm no millionaire! Never mind I still have the 348 and it's a thrill everytime I drive it. I live in Italy now and the house market is just starting to take off here so if you want to work in the greatest country in the world, with the best food, wine, women and of course cars, Pack your bags!! It was 30 degrees and sunny here today what was it over there??!!
My aim is to buy a f car. Paid for. its not even gonna be a thing bout driving it here, there and everywhere. I'll just knowin my heart that i have a f car, paidfor, and weather i drive it or not. No bigdeal I will have achieved one of my goals. my dad always wanted a rolls when he was younger and now owns one. he bought his in the early 80's . A silver shadow. QUALITY But i want an f car, a brand new one. The car wont make me no money but it will be a reward for my success in life. The car is far from a investment. Proeprty is. You dont need to tell me about the need fro speed, i was very lucky enough to get a nice ickle mini cooper when i was 17 and still ahve it now, ive been racing go karts since i was 11 so spee dis in me. So the f car will defently get some thrashing.
There were over 11000 F355's built, and I think the number for the 360 is not too far off that, so both are essentially 'mass produced'. The F355 is a 'special' car, but the 360 is a far better car to drive, IMHO. It may not be a conventionally good looking as the F355, but is an improvement dynamically. Personally I think the F355 is really showing it's age now, but that's only my opinion. I love the new, more agressive styling of the F430 and the 599, and I don't mind if they are not conventionally 'pretty' as I am buying a car for it's ability, rather than looks. You will love your F355, as it is an experience, but as far as driving ability goes, a 360 is leagues ahead of it.
