What Can I Expect Racking Up Miles on F355 Daily Driver?

you might holla at this cat... he might have some idea..

http://www.ferrarichat.com/pp-classifieds/showproduct.php?product=103&sort=1&cat=2&page=6

 

I have a 99' 355 Spider and live only 15 minutes (or less when driving the Ferrari FAST) from you. If you would like some real life insights, please PM me with your phone number. Tim

 

Randy's car has no problems currently minus the exh manifolds unless he got them fixed?

 

I think the biggest problems you are going to have have more to do with the issues of driving it every day vs. maintenance costs. Sure, it costs more to maintain than a general car but probably no worse over more miles in less years than it would otherwise have if driven less over more years. In fact, as most people will testify, the cars generally run better with more use. I am currently splitting time between my 1991 Lotus Elan (daily driver for last 8 years) and my (new to me) 1998 F355. I haven't had the F355 long enough to answer your exact questions but here's what I notice about driving it every day.

1. Its a pain to get in/out of if you don't have a lot of clearance to open the door. There are 2 positions for the door. The first position is just a bit harder to squeeze into and out of and this the one you'll almost certainly have to deal with when parking in a parking lot (I assume at work). I try to find spaces where a pole gives me added clearance.

2. The engine can be noisy. On a commute - you may like this or get tired of it.

3. If you get a 6 speed, the clutch is heavy and its an effort to shift. Not something you want to be doing in stop and go traffic. Not to mention, the car gets up to operating temperature quickly and it seems in hot weather the fans come on. It always worries me a tad that they have to come on when the car isn't moving (although I haven't seen the temp gauge go up so I guess its ok).

4. Its a wide car (much wider than a Corvette) - take that for what you will.

5. There is no glove box - well, some newer cars have a thing that they call a glove box but not in the normal spot.

6. Parts are ridiculously expensive. It will make you think that your Corvette is a Toyota when it comes to getting parts. Not that I think it will be all that less reliable. Its just that you have to wait and find the part from Ferrari and they charge an arm and a leg for them.

All that being said, I don't think there is much of a problem with it.

Scott

 

A good list. Also add:

7. The car sits very low. Even things like the ramp in a parking garage an be a challenge to negotiate without hitting the front bumper. Also need to watching parking curbs.

8. I think it takes longer to reach operating temperatures than other cars I have owned. Makes short trips very unhealthy for the car. When I drive it to work I always plan to a little longer drive for lunch versus something around the corner.

 

you will get more value and enjoyment out of your car if you drive it everyday. its like buying a boat, and sticking it in a marina somewhere, not to use it. it will lose its value , perhaps faster ,if not used. you are goign to take a hit on the car ,might as well use it! the diff ive noticed between high mileage ,and low mileage resale is hardly worth mentioning , when you consder the drive time...priceless! for example the first owner of my car drove it 8k miles ,and took a 50k hit on resale ... i will be way less i assure you ! and many more miles.

 

It's just a car!
Do the required maintenance just like you would on any of your other cars and you should be fine.

 

this is some great info guys, some of the same i was looking for on my post.

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=67243

although i dont plan on using mine as a daily driver, i was planning on keeping it for a long period of time and driving it into high milage territory.

355or360 and Michael1 i think the 3 of us should stick together looking for all of these answers and we could all benefit from it!

you can email me at [email protected] if youd like