RE: PH Carpool: Ferrari F355 Spider
Discussion
Please keep it for a few years until I can afford to buy it from you please 
I knew a chap named John once who owned that number plate - at the time it was on a very nice 328 that he polished to within an inch of its life...and he owned a DB7 Vantage IIRC....so I assume that he has either changed his name by deed poll to Dan, or Dan is a plagiarist?
Anyway, Manual 355 Spyder in TDF with crema - is what I shall have in my garage when I get fed up of my old clunker
Anyway, Manual 355 Spyder in TDF with crema - is what I shall have in my garage when I get fed up of my old clunker
Edited by rubystone on Monday 29th October 12:58
Well written article indeedy ....... I like the last part .... So true
Plenty of jealous people around who just see the car be it a fezza, lambo or similar of any age and they go stupid ..... The loud exhaust is good for especially those people as you know the 'drive off sound' really gets them more jealous and raged!
@ caniaffordit : people still buying new fezzas n lambos and the like so they will be there in future .... These companies are selling more than ever
Lovely car and great honest write up. I still think the 355 is one of the prettiest cars Ferrari have ever made, the proportions are just so right and the relatively diminutive size compared to modern exotica makes it much easier to drive on our small British Roads.
I'd have plumped for a GTS though as I think the looks of the Targa top just edge it over the Spyder for me.
I'd have plumped for a GTS though as I think the looks of the Targa top just edge it over the Spyder for me.
P2BS said:
I'm compelled to agree with the majority of the comments above - it's a beautifully written piece - so much so it has even made me appreciate a car I don't particularly like! I'd take a 456 over a 355 any day, and it sounds like they're similar money nowadays too.
One day...
Me too - my favourite Ferrari! Have you seen this one? Financial suicide I'm sure, but still pretty tempting for the money, and it's a manual!One day...
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1997-Ferrari-456-GT-/330...
Great article! I'm with you and have come to the same conclusions having owned a number of new and nearly new cars from £20,000 to my most expensive purchase at £40,000. The biggest cost as the writer sets out is depreciation, and we not talking a little bit here but by a massive margin. I was thrilled to have only lost £5,000 per year on my ex demo X5 that I bought and yet that's still a huge chunk of cars over two years.
Having suffered financially I was forced to see the X5 and settle the finance. It left me with about £4,000 equity from the car and this I used to buy a 6 year old BMW 5 series estate. A last of the line E39. Its now worth about half that but to me its worth a lot more as its a very tidy smooth and well serviced car that wants for nothing. I will be running this for many years to come (I hope) although what I am hoping for is that it is joined by something that has lost its value in depreciation and for which I will only be paying the true running costs of service, insurance and tax. I am quite happy with that.
I would consider the 355 a perfect car for that role.
Great article.
Having suffered financially I was forced to see the X5 and settle the finance. It left me with about £4,000 equity from the car and this I used to buy a 6 year old BMW 5 series estate. A last of the line E39. Its now worth about half that but to me its worth a lot more as its a very tidy smooth and well serviced car that wants for nothing. I will be running this for many years to come (I hope) although what I am hoping for is that it is joined by something that has lost its value in depreciation and for which I will only be paying the true running costs of service, insurance and tax. I am quite happy with that.
I would consider the 355 a perfect car for that role.
Great article.
Due to a rather unfortunate divorce my 1997 Berlinetta was found a new owner in 2010 and it's going, remains the worst part of the whole divorce process!! I owned it for three years and I wouldn't have missed it for the world (or my ex-wife!)
It was a very easy car to drive, although in the wet it was 'fun' particularly if the right foot hit the pedal too enthusiastically. It did encourage the young lads in their clapped out 205's to think they could out run you going down the M25 but, by the time you hit 50 MPH more than the legal limit it was difficult to see them.
Mine was red (yes) with the tan interior and servicing cost (as has been said) about £1000 for each of the three years. Insurance was amazingly cheap - I was 57 when I bought the car, and had had 4 years unblemished cover on my Honda S2000 so c.£450 a year and, with reasonable driving I could get 25 MPG. (Not going down the M25 though.)
It did turn heads but more out of recognition that it was a real classic.
Just a word of caution. I bought mine from a reputable dealer (close to Brands Hatch) who as the article suggests, was selling this for the owner, so I rather assumed that the condition was as good as perfect for it's age/mileage etc. However, the first service undertaken which followed the book in changing all the fluids, found a couple of the brake bleed nipples were locked solid so, not wanting to incur a huge bill there was naturally a small residue of old fluid left in the circuit. Also you only learn from experience, that you need to tighten the wheel nuts, at most, every 600 miles or the wheels can decide they want to part company with the car. (All that torque!)
It was a very easy car to drive, although in the wet it was 'fun' particularly if the right foot hit the pedal too enthusiastically. It did encourage the young lads in their clapped out 205's to think they could out run you going down the M25 but, by the time you hit 50 MPH more than the legal limit it was difficult to see them.
Mine was red (yes) with the tan interior and servicing cost (as has been said) about £1000 for each of the three years. Insurance was amazingly cheap - I was 57 when I bought the car, and had had 4 years unblemished cover on my Honda S2000 so c.£450 a year and, with reasonable driving I could get 25 MPG. (Not going down the M25 though.)
It did turn heads but more out of recognition that it was a real classic.
Just a word of caution. I bought mine from a reputable dealer (close to Brands Hatch) who as the article suggests, was selling this for the owner, so I rather assumed that the condition was as good as perfect for it's age/mileage etc. However, the first service undertaken which followed the book in changing all the fluids, found a couple of the brake bleed nipples were locked solid so, not wanting to incur a huge bill there was naturally a small residue of old fluid left in the circuit. Also you only learn from experience, that you need to tighten the wheel nuts, at most, every 600 miles or the wheels can decide they want to part company with the car. (All that torque!)
Thanks for a well written article.
Such a shame people are so mean minded as to make obscene gestures at Ferraris. Presumably it is boring idiots who resent anybody who drives anything different. It's not simply about money because there are far more expensive Mercs/Audis/BMWs/Jaguars etc on the roads.
Such a shame people are so mean minded as to make obscene gestures at Ferraris. Presumably it is boring idiots who resent anybody who drives anything different. It's not simply about money because there are far more expensive Mercs/Audis/BMWs/Jaguars etc on the roads.
One of my absolute dream cars- in this exact colour combination. Gutting for me that I have found a mirror image of this car (i.e. LHD, which I need) for sale; I can afford to buy it and run it, but have nowhere to park/store it, it would rarely get driven (less often than the 911 in fact) owing to a new family addition, and my wife would totally freak out. Still have to admit to trying to figure out how to overcome the parking/wife issues!!!
To me, an F355 makes so much sense in the context of (lack of) depreciation- it's the same price as a run of the mill Audi or similar. Yet looks a million dollars, and gives you the sense of occasion very time you look at it, let alone drive it. I've spent a fair bit of time in the local errari dealership recently, and all of the 21st century Ferraris leave me cold.
To me, an F355 makes so much sense in the context of (lack of) depreciation- it's the same price as a run of the mill Audi or similar. Yet looks a million dollars, and gives you the sense of occasion very time you look at it, let alone drive it. I've spent a fair bit of time in the local errari dealership recently, and all of the 21st century Ferraris leave me cold.
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff