Ferrari 355 GTS as a daily drive
Discussion
Last year i was searching for a F355, however after viewing many "clean" examples i came away feeling disheartened.
I have seen a beautiful example at Amari Supercars in Preston, Nero with black leather, challenge grill & grey anthracite alloys, carbon seats (a slight crack but still very nice).
It's a '99 manual with about 34k miles on the clock, history is top notch too.
Now my question is this, could/would you use it as a daily driver, i work from home so don't need to use it to travel to the office (once a month if that).
My current car is an AMV8 (it was a feature car on here 8 months ago "you know you want to") it's been absolutely fantastic and unlike my last one, has been 100% reliable.
However looking at the ever increasing price of the 355 models, i think it's time to scratch that itch before they get too expensive.
I'll only be doing about 4k miles a year so i doubt it should be that taxing on the car.
All feedback from owners will definitely be appreciated.
Cheers
Pete
I have seen a beautiful example at Amari Supercars in Preston, Nero with black leather, challenge grill & grey anthracite alloys, carbon seats (a slight crack but still very nice).
It's a '99 manual with about 34k miles on the clock, history is top notch too.
Now my question is this, could/would you use it as a daily driver, i work from home so don't need to use it to travel to the office (once a month if that).
My current car is an AMV8 (it was a feature car on here 8 months ago "you know you want to") it's been absolutely fantastic and unlike my last one, has been 100% reliable.
However looking at the ever increasing price of the 355 models, i think it's time to scratch that itch before they get too expensive.
I'll only be doing about 4k miles a year so i doubt it should be that taxing on the car.
All feedback from owners will definitely be appreciated.
Cheers
Pete
If i had a super car or a classic i would certainly have a 2nd car as a run around, i suspect driving over a mile of speed bumps and parking in a small car park to pick up some custard and returning is even less enjoyable in a Ferrari than it is in a £500 ford focus, the savings in running costs alone on these sort of journeys would probably be enough to cover the extra VED and insurance
ging84 said:
If i had a super car or a classic i would certainly have a 2nd car as a run around, i suspect driving over a mile of speed bumps and parking in a small car park to pick up some custard and returning is even less enjoyable in a Ferrari than it is in a £500 ford focus, the savings in running costs alone on these sort of journeys would probably be enough to cover the extra VED and insurance
+1 That is what I have a second car as a run around.When I sold my Mondeo I had to use the 355 (Spider) as an everyday car and it was fine. The only downer was the Tubi exhaust I have on it. It was a little bit loud for firing up at 5am to go to work in.
Apart from that they're great cars. Easy to drive, boots decent enough for shopping. I've done the weekly shop with mine and even taken my 18 month old daughter with me as the car seat fits (I had the airbag disable by a specialist)
Get it bought and use it. You'll probably find its a more reliable car for being used more.
Apart from that they're great cars. Easy to drive, boots decent enough for shopping. I've done the weekly shop with mine and even taken my 18 month old daughter with me as the car seat fits (I had the airbag disable by a specialist)
Get it bought and use it. You'll probably find its a more reliable car for being used more.
JFDI
Edited to add: not an owner, but used to have a 348 which was used a fair bit on the daily run and have run a Chimaera as a daily too. I think that just means we are suckers for punishment though, so don't pay any attention to what we say.
Edited to add: not an owner, but used to have a 348 which was used a fair bit on the daily run and have run a Chimaera as a daily too. I think that just means we are suckers for punishment though, so don't pay any attention to what we say.
Edited by Ace-T on Saturday 8th March 18:39
Jonty355 said:
When I sold my Mondeo I had to use the 355 (Spider) as an everyday car and it was fine. The only downer was the Tubi exhaust I have on it. It was a little bit loud for firing up at 5am to go to work in.
Apart from that they're great cars. Easy to drive, boots decent enough for shopping. I've done the weekly shop with mine and even taken my 18 month old daughter with me as the car seat fits (I had the airbag disable by a specialist)
Get it bought and use it. You'll probably find its a more reliable car for being used more.
Thank you Jonty355Apart from that they're great cars. Easy to drive, boots decent enough for shopping. I've done the weekly shop with mine and even taken my 18 month old daughter with me as the car seat fits (I had the airbag disable by a specialist)
Get it bought and use it. You'll probably find its a more reliable car for being used more.
This was the kind of answer i was hoping for.
I do have other cars, but i use my Aston as my daily driver because i love it, and when i do drive i want it to be an occasion every time
What's been the main downfall on yours, if any?
Cheers
Pete
2manycars said:
Thank you Jonty355
This was the kind of answer i was hoping for.
I do have other cars, but i use my Aston as my daily driver because i love it, and when i do drive i want it to be an occasion every time
What's been the main downfall on yours, if any?
Cheers
Pete
Dont expect the 355 to be as refined or easy to drive as the Aston, They're more modern and designed for that sort of theing. The gearbox wont be as easy to work for a start unless you're getting an F1.This was the kind of answer i was hoping for.
I do have other cars, but i use my Aston as my daily driver because i love it, and when i do drive i want it to be an occasion every time
What's been the main downfall on yours, if any?
Cheers
Pete
As for downfall there hasn't been one. I only used it as a daily for about 2 months in the winter last year. I think the noise became a bit much for me too as I was barely opening it up, and it can tend to sound a bit flat low down all of the time. It was nice getting to know the car better though.
Speaking from experience I would say no, I now have a 360 and still wouldn't dream of using that everyday and there quite a bit more refined. But ignoring all of that I would say the main reason would be the amount of attention these cars get. It will be on a whole different level to you're amv8. Don't get me wrong a little attention isn't a bad thing at times but constantly people holding camera phones up and such starts to drive you insane if all you want to do is nip to the local Tesco's.
For some reason you seem to get a lot more negative attention in a Ferrari also when compared to other nice cars, hard to understand but it does happen.
After saying all that you're on about 4000 miles a year, maybe my comments are well out as I do between 70 and 80k a year so its a little hard for me to understand. I've always done about 3000 a year in mine and they've all been fine.
For some reason you seem to get a lot more negative attention in a Ferrari also when compared to other nice cars, hard to understand but it does happen.
After saying all that you're on about 4000 miles a year, maybe my comments are well out as I do between 70 and 80k a year so its a little hard for me to understand. I've always done about 3000 a year in mine and they've all been fine.
I did a long trip to the Mille Miglia last year and it transformed the car. The danger with the F355 is not using it enough, not using it too much.
Where you will find it a pain day-to-day is that it is a wide car, so things like car parks need treating with respect. It also has a long low slung nose, so things like petrol station cross-overs, ramps, speed bumps can all take their toll though Hill Engineering do scuff plates which bear the brunt.
Personally, I keep mine for High Days and Holidays but still love it after 18 years. I could never sell it, not least because I crashed it and although it drives very well, it doesn't quite look 100%.
Where you will find it a pain day-to-day is that it is a wide car, so things like car parks need treating with respect. It also has a long low slung nose, so things like petrol station cross-overs, ramps, speed bumps can all take their toll though Hill Engineering do scuff plates which bear the brunt.
Personally, I keep mine for High Days and Holidays but still love it after 18 years. I could never sell it, not least because I crashed it and although it drives very well, it doesn't quite look 100%.
You can definitely use one day to day but it won't feel as useable as your AM V8. My Spider was a week end toy but you still have to think about it more than an average daily run around. They are wide so country lanes, car park spaces and built up areas make it a more stressful experience than a joy. But for sheer thrill/noise/fun there's not much that can match it in kudos and price.
The clutch can be heavy unless in tip top condition and the front over hang is quite long.
The side sills are very wide and the door needs to be open fully to get in and out with out looking like a fool!
But it can be done, just don't expect the ease of use like the Aston.
Hope it helps and hasn't put you off too much!
The clutch can be heavy unless in tip top condition and the front over hang is quite long.
The side sills are very wide and the door needs to be open fully to get in and out with out looking like a fool!
But it can be done, just don't expect the ease of use like the Aston.
Hope it helps and hasn't put you off too much!
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff