Which 355? If any 355?

Greetings and happy festive period to you all. I am a recent Ferrari owner (87 Testarossa) who has the bug and some spare cash, a dangerous thing. I have convinced my wife that buying, say, a 355 Spider to enjoy for a year or two will be a cost-neutral exercise (with prices on the up) and not much hassle. There are some well priced LHD examples in Europe (I am in London) including this rather crazy one
Automobile Pühringer: Alle Fahrzeuge[alias]=fb14d8c5d2552e22e0865a553407332e3a3c65e403b0456f01414fe737ae01c0
I am no mechanic. Are my assumptions crazy? I won't drive it much, sadly, as won't have the chance. But for those rare sunny summer days..

 

a 355 Spider would make a great pair with your Testarossa. Go for it.
But try to get an original example, not the one with the crazy interior.
this is chassis 109457 btw...

 

Michael thank you. Sounds like you know that 'wasp car'! Will keep looking..

 

Darius - you need to focus - it seems like every week it's a new thread with a different model but the same logic

Why not enjoy your first one this coming summer (since it is barely arrived as I recall) and then see about another

You'll know better the shortcomings that you want your next one to resolve

 

Jimmie, you are absolutely right...and sound like my wife, except I won her over.. and friends have also said the same, about enjoying one before buying another (Ferrari, not wife) but...who knows how long I'll have money for. The journey of life is short and Ferraris maximise the feedback. And they are more interesting than many of the 'investments of passion' I have indulged in.

And seriously, there is one thing in common with all the models I am considering/considered, namely price. All are in the 40-60k GBP bracket, and I budget 10k GBP per year for maintenance. Within that, you have 355, 348, some 328 and 308 (but no longer the best ones), Mondial, 400, 412, 456 and 550 the last four of which don't suit my short-blast mojo. Of those, 355 sounds best (am I wrong?) and a Spyder adds the factor 30 on the bald patch. So does a 348 Spyder.

That's my reasoning...But I appreciate your point! And the Ferraris I have driven are all post 2000 thus my seeking advice amid the infinite wisdom here.

 

Short blast mojo, I was thinking that AMG DTM for 40 k pounds on the link to the dealer you posted ..... Would be fun.
Of course I am not certain if it was pounds or something else, but it is listed as cheaper than the F cars on there.
I don't have a wife, but the story you told her to get the "go ahead honey ... A-OK" from her might be useful to some on here
Make sure the convertable top works, if you have to start throwing cash at that her attitude might change abruptly.

 

If the goal is to be money neutral you won't be able to fully enjoy the car, and vice versa.

 

Tomy ha you are right about the DTM AMG..I have already sated the AMG bug though! And I get to drive a lot of AMGs in the day job. Cool cool car though.
Pete, I appreciate that. Cost neutral is a red herring. Who knows where the market will go..
If there are any Spyder specific thoughts, either pro or con, from anyone I would like to hear. Soft top electric roof mechanism in general should be less troublesome than folding hard tops? But do these cars start to shake at 50k + miles like some 20 yr old cabrios?
Also is there a big plus in getting the revised drivetrain with the extra power in the GTS/GTB/spyder?

 

Revised drivetrain????

 

Sorry = missed a line my bad
.. Meant to ask about 348 manual roof vs 355 electric and if owners had vastly different experiences.
And then, re 348, the question whether the later models with revised drivetrain and 20 extra horses (GTB, GTS, Spider) are a big plus.

 

Hi Darius,
£10k GBP per year maintenance is well over the top so you will have plenty left over to play with. I would recommend calling some of the respected specialists and also Ferrari main dealers here in the UK to compare servicing costs and enquire about cam belts. It could mean you have a higher a budget to buy right hand drive instead. What have been your maintenance costs on the Testarossa?
Left hand drive vehicles will always be cheaper to buy here and respectively more difficult to sell on in a year or two as you're planning.
Looking at the list of cars you're thinking of I owned a 1987 Mondial 3.2 which was a great car and now have a 1993 348ts and the difference is like night and day. I just can't get enough of it and makes me very happy. I haven't owned a 355 but from what you will find here they are amazing cars and even quicker still. As Ferrari developed the V8 line of cars they improved respectively.
Totally agree about prices rising continuously, 308 and 355 are the same now.
All the best.

 

Yes, you can expect to be cash neutral (as you're not going to be doing many miles).
Bear in mind that you have to foot the negative cashflow until you sell, and that there is a bit of risk (possible market drop, seeing as we're in a very bullish market that will drop one day).
So it should be money that you can afford to lose maybe 20% on, worst case (these more recent cars havn't risen much yet, so the downside risk is reasonable).

Buy a 100% original car, as modified cars are never cheap enough...

 

Hi Peter, thank you for that compelling and encouraging response...Completely agree about LHD in the UK, I remember selling my LHD Porsche 968 back in the 90s was a bit of a process. But the price differential seems significant now particularly with strong sterling: Good LHD 355 Spider = £45k (including import process) on the continent; same car in RHD £65k+ in UK. Obviously works the other way with resale. But good to know my maintenance budget is ample...As for the Testarossa, I haven't owned it long enough to give you a truthful answer! I bought it with cambelt service just done and not driven it this winter. But I will be writing about it (and this potential car) on GQ.com.
I am going to take another look at RHDs..
Alex, it's a good point about cashflow and good point also about market.. I have spoken to a number of dealers about the possible bubble...as you imply it may be a bubble for some of the older cars (365GTC4 for £250k?) but these haven't got that far to drop..And who knows I may keep the cars for decades.
Speaking of original cars you answered my question! But what does anyone think of this one?
liste voitures occasions
(you have to choose 355 Spider from the list)
Service book looks good. Are the wheels a turnoff? All else original.

 

the wheels should not be an issue as they can be resprayed for a few bucks. to me that red car looks a bit off for some reason. also the roof does not seem to be original and not a tight fit.
That Phuringer shop is way too expensive with every car they put on there.

but for 45.000 pounds you can buy my black F355 spider which is in a far better condition.

 

Jochem, thank you - those are valuable observations. Views of owners are very important to me. I would love to consider a FChatter's 355 which will have been cherished, but exterior colour would need to be giallo (ideally) or rosso, three pedal. UK RHD or Euro LHD. I'm not in a hurry but equally feel this is a good time of year to buy a Spider.