Ferrari 355

[jaytip]

Has anybody on here driven/been a passenger in one?
I'm thinking of moving over to the dark side and getting one of these.I wouldn't touch a 348 but thanks to the NSX the 355 is something altogether different from ferrari's that came before.
Any advice and opinions would be appreciated.

[Kevin]

Sound nice....

Have you read the www.nsxfiles.com? Doug has a 355, you can read about his adventures with it there.

[AR]

Good write up here:

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=216337&f=63&h=0

I like them, but I think that there are better cars for £ 50.000 even a 550 will look better. The F 355 looks quite date when compare to newer Ferraris. A 360 can be had for £ 65.000. But then again there is the HSC looming in the horizon.

BTW do not forget that the F355 Aluminiun body is not as corrosion resistant as the NSX.

[jaytip]

My budget for one would be around the 40K mark.It's a choice between paying off my mortgage and then saving for a nice car or saying sod it and just get the car now(well soon).
With regard to it looking dated compared to other ferraris.Against the 360 and the 430 maybe it is but to my eye,i think it a nicer shape than the two mentioned above.The 550 is not my cup of tea plus its out of my range anyway(awsome car though :D )

[DamianW]

I'd love to have another go in a 355 to really see if my one experience of them was duff... because I really didn't like it. Interior felt cheap, throttle pedal kept sticking, handling seemed ok... but just came away not really "getting" it. Couldn't see what the fuss was about.

Oh and be prepared for eye watering running costs.

[markc]

Nice quandry to be in :)

I used to think the F355 was the most beautiful car I'd ever set eyes on and had it at the top of my Fezza ".... one day" list. More recently I've found myself leaning more toward a 550, must be getting old!
The 360 never did it for me but just like the change from 348 to 355 the one from 360 to 430 has done wonders for the overall look of what is essentially the same car.

First thing to bear in mind is that the F355 IS a facelifted 348. Just look at them in side profile, only the nose is drastically differant, the tail and doors only have minor changes, interior is the same and the engine 'box the same but with increased capacity/power (and 5 valve heads).
The 348 rightly got a poor reputation but most of the faults (mainly handling) are relatively easily fixed with upgraded (or F355) parts and settings.
I've driven a LHD F355 and have to say it was lovely. You do sit quite skewed and in old style fashion Italian car tradition require long arms and short legs. The gearchange is not the easiest or quickest (certainly not compared to an NSX) but the ride is very good and the engine just fabulous. 8)
I've been on track days (in my 993) at the same time as F355's and they're noticebly quicker in a straight line and therefore similarly quicker than the NSX. They sound fantastic when passing you at full chat. 8)

Most of the F355 I've looked at have either had or need the joint between the tops of the rear (aluminium) wings and the bottoms of the (steel) roof buttresses repaired/repainted. Expect to have to have this done every 6-7 yrs as the electrolysis? effect means it WILL happen. Service costs aren't as bad as their reputation provided you use specialists like Verdi (who do fixed priced servicing) or Talacrest rather than official Ferrari dealer who will take the pi$$, BUT they are in a differant league to the NSX (or indeed Porsche).

I think it's a fairly logical "upgrade" from an NSX and the F355 is just about old enough to have shaken off the dodgy Professional footballer/Lottery winner image.

If you have the itch and have the resources to scratch it I say do it. :D

Cheers

Mark

[Rob_Fenn]

I think the 355 is a beautiful looking car. The major problem with the NSX for me aesthetically is that the proportions aren't right, whereas the 355 is spot on.

However, i don't think i could ever get a Ferrari because of the associated image. I don't think i've seen a Ferrari driver that didn't ooze arrogance. It seems to be an impulse purchase for anyone who gets into 'new money.' I'd even go as far as saying they make me cringe, like the latest fashion whore who thinks wearing jeans with holes in and a pink t-shirt looks cool :lol:

My dad and I were talking on the way back from AP Racing on Monday and he said something along the lines that you can only own an NSX if you are comfortable with yourself. You don't buy an NSX to impress others, it's simply a car for you which can be admired for it's pure ability, not by it's badge.

-Rob

[jaytip]

My NSX was my only car and therefor used every day.If i do decide on getting a 355 it would be a second(nice weekend) car because i know that running one every day would make it very expensive.A very large part of my reason for getting one is the lack of depreciation.I think they have pretty much bottomed out now and from here on in it will be only a slight drop in values,if any.I have been looking at auto trader and the for sale section of this club and it seems to me that NSX's are not selling unless its a real bargin :?:

[AR]

My NSX was my only car and therefor used every day.

Does this mean that you sold it?

I do like the 355 do not get me wrong, but if you think selling an NSX is hard, when there was only two versions. I magine how hard it will be to sell a Ferrari unless is a bargain.

But as a car to keep the 355 is a real nice car and one of the best sounding ones outhere.

Cheers

AR

[jaytip]

Sell it,hell no.I had far too much time and money invested in it to sell it.After two and a half years of ownership i still could not walk away from the car and not look back at it after parking it up.No, unfortunately some bastard relieved me of it.Until the anger subsides i am driving around in a 1.1 peugeot 106 turd that i don't care if someone bumps/scratches/or nicks.(i only paid 600 quid for it.)
I will be building a garage before i invest heavily in a car again.

[AR]

Sorry to hear that mate, living in South Wales myself this worries me. Did you have an alarm? Was it taken from a public place?

PM if you'll rather not discuss this over the forum.

Cheers

AR

Here is a bad picture of one of my alarm systems:

[Senninha]

I drove the 355 with manual shift a few years back at Thruxton :D .

IMO one of the best looking cars ever ( I agree about the proportions of the NSX, a bit tooooo long in the tail but still love it).

The 355 did exactly what you wanted, the steering was accurate and well weighted, allowing you to position the car at high speeds. Brakes felt solid and progressive and it sounded absolutely superb. On the downside, I felt the transmission was bulky and would be far from user freindly in traffic.

Not sure I would want to put my own Fezza on the track (where it would be happiest) or if I could live with one for anything other than sunny weekend or Eurodash use .

Hope this is of use.

[Welshman]

I don't think i've seen a Ferrari driver that didn't ooze arrogance. It seems to be an impulse purchase for anyone who gets into 'new money.' I'd even go as far as saying they make me cringe, like the latest fashion whore who thinks wearing jeans with holes in and a pink t-shirt looks cool :lol:

-Rob

Yup that's me, arrogance oozing from every pore :lol:

[Ciaran]

We were at the final leg of the European 360 Challange in Florence a few weekends back, (just to catch up with "our mate " who won the Championship), and you get to see and hear every Ferrari every made, that still runs.

I've got to say the 355 is as beautiful a car as any of the really new stuff. The 430 is a 360 with make up and neither do it for me, and the F40 has dated really badly. So role on the 355.

Just imagine having to make that decision every morning....NSX or 355 today...eeem.....oohh!! :mrgreen:

[DTA-Motorsport]

I've owned a 355 spider back in 1999. Granted, I only had it for about 5 months before having to sell it (international move) but I thoroughly enjoyed every moment with it. At the time I was living in Marbella which (during the summer months) is supercar heaven and the 355 outnumbered every other exotic by a comfortable margin. It sounds absolutely amazing (mine had a Tubi exhaust fitted) and handles superbly (both in town and when pushing it on the twisties around Malaga). I've not had the oportunity to get back into Ferrari ownership due to various stints abroad but would do so in a hearbeat! I'd get another late model 355 or possibly a 550 - different beasts but a beast none the less. In my opinion it is a timeless classic - much like the NSX.

If you do decide to take the plunge make sure you do your homework and don't buy the first one you fall in love with. It is extremely important that it has a full Ferrari service history and that all the services have been performed at the correct time. Another thing to look out for is transmission problems. The manual box is prone to various problems after the first 30k miles and the clutch also needs replacing regularly (if driven hard). My car was serviced by a factory authorised workshop just outside London (pm me if you wish to know more). Eventhough I lived in Marbella the company would send a flatbed truck out to collect it, service it in the UK and deliver it back to me in Spain - all at a very reasonable rate and far better than going to the dealer. From a personal point of view I'd stay clear of the F1 paddle shift equiped cars. It's a nice gimick but the early versions are very harsh and shift much like BMW's M3 SMG's - very jerky. Could be because it was fitted to a manual box rather than an auto box but I've recently driven a F430 with paddle shift and it is a world of improvement over the 355 version. Ferrari have definitely improved on it.

If you do your homework you can't go far wrong with a 355. Check out a couple of the Ferrari forums/registries to get a feel for what to look for and perhaps even buy a member's car.

Good luck,

Dan