I need a 355, your input please

[mojorider]

I want to upgrade from my TVR to a 355 and would like some input from this forum. Can you help with the following.

Are there any big changes between 95,96,97, etc cars.

I want to spend around 50K, whats the best year to go for, low milage 95 or higher 96?

Is there a large handeling difference between the spider and the hard top, what about the removable roof model?

I love the blue and black ones, can I expect them to be cheaper since less popular?

Any other advice would be great to point me to the right direction.

[tonyhopkins]

You will prob. be better off having a look on www.ferrarichat.com for answers to your questions about year, make and mileage.There's a lot of archive info to plough through .
For what it's worth, i think the spider is the way to go.'96 cars with mileage up to 25K are offered in region of £58 k from main dealers-summer's coming!-, with rosso/corsa the most popular colour.
The independants to look at in the south are;
verdi
talacrest
kent high performance
joe macari

i'm sure others will chime in with other names.Good luck with the search.
Tony

[MOD500]

Talk to Manu at scuderia systems www.scuderiasystems.com he is a very helpful chap

HTH

MOD.

[456mgt]

Douglas, if you can get along to the FOC concours (or any major event) you'll see lots of 355s lined up. When I was looking at 355s some time ago this was pretty illuminating- the interior changed quite a bit over the years.

I was surprised by the variability of different 355s, not only by year, but individual examples. Ajay @ Scuderias has driven lots of them, and knows a good one when he's in it.

Kevin

[GT2man-2]

---> Are there any big changes between 95,96,97, etc cars.

The notable difference is the change from Motronic 2.7 to 5.2 during '96 (I believe) and that earlier cars had issues with valve guides.

---> I want to spend around 50K, whats the best year to go for, low milage 95 or higher 96?

It's not a case of age or indeed mileage, it's down to condition.. a low miler could be in worse condition that a well looked after high-miler.

---> Is there a large handeling difference between the spider and the hard top, what about the removable roof model?

Some say the hardtop (Berlinetta) is the best handling, and the Spider/removeable roof (GTS) chassis flexes a fair bit.. but unless you're going to need that extra stiffness I wouldn't care either way.

---> I love the blue and black ones, can I expect them to be cheaper since less popular?

I would say so, yes. Red is the colour for a F355 IMO.. and many first time buyers want a "red one".