My first Ferrari, a 360 and it's story

I have just bought my first Ferrari 3weeks ago, and wondered at the time whether it was the craziest thing i'd ever done. We have just moved into a project house in Sept and I have other things I could have/should have spent the money on, like a new kitchen or bathroom and windows. Using Man Maths principles, I worked out that over a two year period I should break even, so with all things considered, it was a no brainer financially as long as there were no catastrophic failures. I was even factoring in a little appreciation due to it being a Manual car and rarer as a result. (would be interested in views on what it's worth).

She's a 1999 Grigio Alloy, Scuro Blue leather, Modena, Manual car with 37k on the clock and refurbed alloys in Grigio Silverstone. I have every servicing receipt, MOT, 2 keys and fobs(no red), all manuals and tools. She has extended leather, titanium silver brake calipers, and an upgraded Alpine radio, but is standard apart from that. She has now had 5 owners, though she was sold 3 times between 2012 and 2013 with the previous owner to me only keeping her for 3 months after an impulsive purchase, as he then switched to a 4 seat Maserati!

I already have a polar silver 993 turbo i've had for 7 years that's a keeper, but there's something about the Ferrari mid engined 2 seater cars that has always appealed to me at a visceral level. The 355 is such a pretty car, and would match the 993 from an era perspective, but researching the ownership proposition led me to the 360 modena as it seemed to be a landmark in terms of engineering and offers lower ownership costs with a chance of slight appreciation.

I really wanted a manual car, but they are very rare so I widened the search and subsequently missed out on an Argento F1 car a month ago at Hamilton Grays. I was gutted and gave up looking, thinking i'd focus on the house, to my wife's relief! Then a couple of weeks later I received a call from Andrew Hamilton @ Hamilton Grays, who said that a car had come up, but the deal had to be done in 3 days. I hacked over to Wimbledon and dealt direct with seller who was switching to a Maserati. It was the right car at the right price(thanks Aldous Voice) and sometimes in life you just have to jump in with both feet so I snapped it up and was a little in shock as I drove home in what was now my Ferrari 360.

Needless to say, the missus was even more "shocked" than me.

Over the next couple of weeks, she will head over to Shiltech for new belts, a service and a front balljoint or two (a known weakness due to a poor design). The rear bumper could also do with a repaint at some point due to stonechip rash.


What I love:-
How she looks side on, utterly utterly beautiful and I can just stand and stare appreciating the Pininfarina lines and curves
The sounds and sensation of accelerating through the gears, redlining in each with a screaming V8 behind your ears, I can see why Vicki Butler-Henderson gets so "excited"
For a big wide car she feels well balanced and very responsive
Looking at that V8 through the rear glass cover
The classic aluminium shifter and gate
The way the engine barks on first start-up
The standard daytona manual seats are excellent, and the cabin leather absolutely top quality.
The cabin is a very very nice place to be and well put together with no rattles, or squeeks from the interior (once i'd removed the coins that had fallen behind the aluminium door trims).

What's not so good:-
Ball joints are made of butter, or more accurately mild steel with a chrome plate... guess what happens when you get a little salt and water in them. (hill engineering make a good living from correcting Ferrari's engineering mistakes)
Due to relatively low volumes I think, Ferrari parts prices are horrendous for wear and tear items like wheel bearings(new hub!), clutches, anything really
Stone chips are the enemy with some parts of the car subject to alarming attack unless protected
Its not possible to switch the AC compressor off independantly with out losing all heating!!!
Rear visibility not great


So all in all, its been absolutely fantastic so far, and you only live once!

Pictures are here.

2000 V FERRARI F360 MODENA MANUAL SOLD - Ferrari, Maserati and Porsche Sales Specialists ? Used Ferrari, Used Maserati, Used Porsche

king_kenny
(yes i'm a liverpool fc fan)

 

Thanks for the kind words!
For what it's worth, I love that funny stick thing. When the gearbox is cold, you can really feel the difference, in the shift, and then it warms up and gets smoother and smoother, until its slick and all you can hear is the "snick snick" of the gate.

It's a real part of the experience for me.