355: On the precipice
Discussion
Upperworks said:
fantastic cars. I've had/got a few Vantage variants and it's a different experience, very analogue and very rewarding even at slow speeds.
Here's mine. One of the rare green cars!
Verde Zeltweg or Verde Silverstone? Either way it’s Verde Gorgeous!!! One of only 4 RHD Berlinetta's in green! Stunning with that tobacco interior. Here's mine. One of the rare green cars!
Edited by MaserCoupe on Saturday 22 February 18:35
https://www.tfcgb.com/used-cars/11038425-ferrari-3...
Has the instrument binnacle been recovered? It doesn’t look like the normal leather.
Doggydog33
Has the instrument binnacle been recovered? It doesn’t look like the normal leather.
Doggydog33
cgt2 said:
wyldstalyns said:
Completely agree. But unfortunately the majority of 355s for sale in the UK seem to be about the 20k mark — which seems ludicrous to me, probably highlights the clocking problem.
If the average was 40k, nobody would care about the 50k mark.
On a 355 many owners used to disconnect the speedo cable and connect it back up for the MOT. Not me I should add, sold my last one with 42k miles in 2010!If the average was 40k, nobody would care about the 50k mark.
I sold mine with a little more than 50k miles on it - it looks like it has done about 700 miles since I sold it towards end of 2011 and has no current MOT
Bought my Spider 6 years ago, also just to scratch an itch, it won’t be leaving me anytime soon.
Regarding servicing, find a good, recommend indy, think my tyre kick service is about £400 and the big service last time was £2.2K, but this included refinishing the cam covers and oil tank, brake pads and a few other odds and ends, not unreasonable IMO.
Chris.
Regarding servicing, find a good, recommend indy, think my tyre kick service is about £400 and the big service last time was £2.2K, but this included refinishing the cam covers and oil tank, brake pads and a few other odds and ends, not unreasonable IMO.
Chris.
ANOpax said:
At the same time as I had the F355, my wife was running a V8 Vantage. Despite being a decade younger design, the V8V suspension and sportshift were nowhere near as resolved or finessed as those on the Ferrari. The Ferrari handled better in the corners and was more comfortable on the motorway. The Ferrari possessed a lightness of touch and a nimbleness of foot that the Vantage simply couldn’t match. The vantage had a nicer interior and was more practical. The Aston felt like it was hewn from granite but also drove like it was made of granite too. The Aston sounded good with the valves open but the F355 sounded epic with a tubi exhaust. Internet consensus (FWIW) seems to be that the F355 is one of the best sounding cars of all time. And I agree
Buy the F355. You won’t be disappointed. (And IMO, the F1 gearbox is great - you just need to learn how to drive it). When funds and garage space allow, I will be buying another one.
Just sold my Vantage S and having owned 2 x 355's (1 Manual 1 F1) I couldn't have put it better myself, absolutely spot on Buy the F355. You won’t be disappointed. (And IMO, the F1 gearbox is great - you just need to learn how to drive it). When funds and garage space allow, I will be buying another one.
Upperworks said:
fantastic cars. I've had/got a few Vantage variants and it's a different experience, very analogue and very rewarding even at slow speeds.
Here's mine. One of the rare green cars!
WOW ! STUNNING SHADE OF GREEN, wish i could have found a 430 in that colour when i was looking, there has been 2 360's in this colour for sale fairly recently 1 coupe and 1 spider , understand j.k had or still has a f355 spider the same colour, i had a 308 gtb in metallic medium green some years ago and when i advertised it people were phoning to ask has it had a colour change as they didn't realise ferrari sold green cars, sorry for highjacking the thread but couldn't help myself , WOW !Here's mine. One of the rare green cars!
I think the 355 is real sweet spot in the V8's; beautiful, enough performance, manual, relatively small. I recall the first one I ever saw was a metallic copper colour (I'll give it a google...) and I was entranced (it was parked near Ford's in Warley, Brentwood in case it's anyone on here). It was only the second Ferrari I'd seen up close and 355's had only just been launched. The combination of colour and shape (I had no idea of its sound or performance back then) easily made it the most beautiful thing I'd literally ever seen. I must have stood there for twenty minutes...
Roll on fifteen years...I've owned my early GTS for ten years now. It's currently in for its cam belt service (which I stretch to four years now) and I've just dealt with cleaning and repainting sticky interior parts which are currently being refitted. Other costs haven't been too eye watering. It had had the valve guides replaced early in its life. Needless to say it's a keeper.
Roll on fifteen years...I've owned my early GTS for ten years now. It's currently in for its cam belt service (which I stretch to four years now) and I've just dealt with cleaning and repainting sticky interior parts which are currently being refitted. Other costs haven't been too eye watering. It had had the valve guides replaced early in its life. Needless to say it's a keeper.
I was in the same boat as you are a couple of months ago. I’ve wanted a 355 since the day I first saw one in Autocar, the pictures literally made my knees go. I flirted with a Mondial t, with 355 alloys about 20 years ago and whilst it was much better than I expected, it was not what I longed for. Kids came along so the Mondial went, to be replaced by another integrale about six years ago. I swore I’d never sell it as that was what I had before the t and I have to admit regretting selling it to get the Ferrari but that’s life.
Anyway, fast forward 20 odd years and the 355 thing was still there. I started thinking maybe if I sold the Lancia in November 2020 I might get some decent money for it as it’ll be 25 yrs old then and could go off to the US. However life happened again and it turned out we found out my wife was suffering from Parkinson’s Disease, which, as you can imagine, came as quite a blow (she’s only 46)
We took stock of things for a while and looked at what was important in life. We have a fairly good standard of living but are by no means well off. However we realised life is indeed short and we should do what we want, when we can. She knew I’d always wanted one so out of the blue one day she just said get one. Yeah, I know, I’m a lucky boy..
Anyway, if you can get one, get one, you really are a long time dead.
I took the yellow GTS at Fosker’s for a drive and it was simply perfect, it was a sunny day, the roof was off, the Capristo exhaust sang and the car was everything I wanted it to be, well, apart from being about £10k more than I had to spend and there was no movement on it. I ended up getting a 98 car from a franchised dealer 6 months later and the dream came true.
I would definitely recommend the Fosker’s car, it’s stunning and also the staff thee were really good about everything, the only reason I didn’t buy it was that at the time it was out of reach and the other one came up so I got that.
You will never get tired of the feeling you get when you walk away or return to it when you’re out in it, it’s like looking at your children lol.
Anyway, fast forward 20 odd years and the 355 thing was still there. I started thinking maybe if I sold the Lancia in November 2020 I might get some decent money for it as it’ll be 25 yrs old then and could go off to the US. However life happened again and it turned out we found out my wife was suffering from Parkinson’s Disease, which, as you can imagine, came as quite a blow (she’s only 46)
We took stock of things for a while and looked at what was important in life. We have a fairly good standard of living but are by no means well off. However we realised life is indeed short and we should do what we want, when we can. She knew I’d always wanted one so out of the blue one day she just said get one. Yeah, I know, I’m a lucky boy..
Anyway, if you can get one, get one, you really are a long time dead.
I took the yellow GTS at Fosker’s for a drive and it was simply perfect, it was a sunny day, the roof was off, the Capristo exhaust sang and the car was everything I wanted it to be, well, apart from being about £10k more than I had to spend and there was no movement on it. I ended up getting a 98 car from a franchised dealer 6 months later and the dream came true.
I would definitely recommend the Fosker’s car, it’s stunning and also the staff thee were really good about everything, the only reason I didn’t buy it was that at the time it was out of reach and the other one came up so I got that.
You will never get tired of the feeling you get when you walk away or return to it when you’re out in it, it’s like looking at your children lol.
[quote=Stellartois]I was in the same boat as you are a couple of months ago. I’ve wanted a 355 since the day I first saw one in Autocar, the pictures literally made my knees go. I flirted with a Mondial t, with 355 alloys about 20 years ago and whilst it was much better than I expected, it was not what I longed for. Kids came along so the Mondial went, to be replaced by another integrale about six years ago. I swore I’d never sell it as that was what I had before the t and I have to admit regretting selling it to get the Ferrari but that’s life.
Anyway, fast forward 20 odd years and the 355 thing was still there. I started thinking maybe if I sold the Lancia in November 2020 I might get some decent money for it as it’ll be 25 yrs old then and could go off to the US. However life happened again and it turned out we found out my wife was suffering from Parkinson’s Disease, which, as you can imagine, came as quite a blow (she’s only 46)
We took stock of things for a while and looked at what was important in life. We have a fairly good standard of living but are by no means well off. However we realised life is indeed short and we should do what we want, when we can. She knew I’d always wanted one so out of the blue one day she just said get one. Yeah, I know, I’m a lucky boy..
Anyway, if you can get one, get one, you really are a long time dead.
I took the yellow GTS at Fosker’s for a drive and it was simply perfect, it was a sunny day, the roof was off, the Capristo exhaust sang and the car was everything I wanted it to be, well, apart from being about £10k more than I had to spend and there was no movement on it. I ended up getting a 98 car from a franchised dealer 6 months later and the dream came true.
I would definitely recommend the Fosker’s car, it’s stunning and also the staff thee were really good about everything, the only reason I didn’t buy it was that at the time it was out of reach and the other one came up so I got that.
You will never get tired of the feeling you get when you walk away or return to it when you’re out in it, it’s like looking at your children lol.
[/quote ] What a lovely wife you have stellartois , she doesn't by any chance have a single sister
Anyway, fast forward 20 odd years and the 355 thing was still there. I started thinking maybe if I sold the Lancia in November 2020 I might get some decent money for it as it’ll be 25 yrs old then and could go off to the US. However life happened again and it turned out we found out my wife was suffering from Parkinson’s Disease, which, as you can imagine, came as quite a blow (she’s only 46)
We took stock of things for a while and looked at what was important in life. We have a fairly good standard of living but are by no means well off. However we realised life is indeed short and we should do what we want, when we can. She knew I’d always wanted one so out of the blue one day she just said get one. Yeah, I know, I’m a lucky boy..
Anyway, if you can get one, get one, you really are a long time dead.
I took the yellow GTS at Fosker’s for a drive and it was simply perfect, it was a sunny day, the roof was off, the Capristo exhaust sang and the car was everything I wanted it to be, well, apart from being about £10k more than I had to spend and there was no movement on it. I ended up getting a 98 car from a franchised dealer 6 months later and the dream came true.
I would definitely recommend the Fosker’s car, it’s stunning and also the staff thee were really good about everything, the only reason I didn’t buy it was that at the time it was out of reach and the other one came up so I got that.
You will never get tired of the feeling you get when you walk away or return to it when you’re out in it, it’s like looking at your children lol.
[/quote ] What a lovely wife you have stellartois , she doesn't by any chance have a single sister
Was one of my bucket list cars too, so 3 years ago I bought a black GTS manual (not a fan or red) after deciding the GTS was the perfect compromise.
Pro's:-
Looks Stunning
Sounds Stunning
Quite practical
Con's:-
Horrendously expensive so service & keep on the road. £7,000 in 24 months and the previous owner spent £3,500 the week before I picked it up and i sold it needing a service.
GTS top creaked no matter how often it was adjusted & lubed
Sticky interior was awful and it doesn't improve
Dashboard leather started to crack
Constant worry - will it let me down (it did, one of only 2 cars that ever left me stranded)
No good for short trips, won't engage 2nd gear when cold, needs 30 mins to warm up (avoid 2nd or double declutch)
Very slow steering rack
In the end I sold the car and will not get another. Perhaps I bought a bad example but I had it at 4 highly respected independents in my ownership and they all gave it a clean bill of health. It also had 2 inspections by prospective owners when I was selling it with no major (or minor) issues. It was also the hardest car I ever sold, took me almost a year and in the end I had to put it through an auction.
There are lots of expensive issues to consider, not least the engine out service every 3 years that people say is £2 - £2.5k but that's just that element there is always something else needs fixing, I think you need to set aside at least £5k per year for maintenance and up to £7k and that's average. Then there are the big ticket items that might crop up when will the buttresses crack, when will the manifold crack, how many alternators will it use in the next year, will the AC gas last longer than 8 weeks, will the rear glass cloud up and need replacing (crazy. crazy money), will the magnesium wheels need refurbishing (very expensive as are the wheel bolts). Plus there is a good chance most cars could have been clocked as apparently its very easy to do so be wary of very low miles between services.
I tried 4 independents and didn't like any of them, I always got the impression I was being ripped off. In the end I found a really great chap who could sort out the bits and bobs (like throttle cable grease that goes hard and jams the throttle wide open).
I would 100% never buy another even though I freely admit its one of the best looking and sounding cars ever made. However its just ok to drive nothing special, not that quick but it is a classic. I am glad i bought it as I scratched that itch and now I don't need to think about it any more.
If you do go ahead I completely understand and get why but be very careful and go in with your eyes wide open, buy the best you can, buy with full history and not low miles, buy a RHD UK car & set aside £5k and a weeks worth of hours every year to deal with issues. Its a car that you 100% have to adore for it to be worth the ownership hassle.
Pro's:-
Looks Stunning
Sounds Stunning
Quite practical
Con's:-
Horrendously expensive so service & keep on the road. £7,000 in 24 months and the previous owner spent £3,500 the week before I picked it up and i sold it needing a service.
GTS top creaked no matter how often it was adjusted & lubed
Sticky interior was awful and it doesn't improve
Dashboard leather started to crack
Constant worry - will it let me down (it did, one of only 2 cars that ever left me stranded)
No good for short trips, won't engage 2nd gear when cold, needs 30 mins to warm up (avoid 2nd or double declutch)
Very slow steering rack
In the end I sold the car and will not get another. Perhaps I bought a bad example but I had it at 4 highly respected independents in my ownership and they all gave it a clean bill of health. It also had 2 inspections by prospective owners when I was selling it with no major (or minor) issues. It was also the hardest car I ever sold, took me almost a year and in the end I had to put it through an auction.
There are lots of expensive issues to consider, not least the engine out service every 3 years that people say is £2 - £2.5k but that's just that element there is always something else needs fixing, I think you need to set aside at least £5k per year for maintenance and up to £7k and that's average. Then there are the big ticket items that might crop up when will the buttresses crack, when will the manifold crack, how many alternators will it use in the next year, will the AC gas last longer than 8 weeks, will the rear glass cloud up and need replacing (crazy. crazy money), will the magnesium wheels need refurbishing (very expensive as are the wheel bolts). Plus there is a good chance most cars could have been clocked as apparently its very easy to do so be wary of very low miles between services.
I tried 4 independents and didn't like any of them, I always got the impression I was being ripped off. In the end I found a really great chap who could sort out the bits and bobs (like throttle cable grease that goes hard and jams the throttle wide open).
I would 100% never buy another even though I freely admit its one of the best looking and sounding cars ever made. However its just ok to drive nothing special, not that quick but it is a classic. I am glad i bought it as I scratched that itch and now I don't need to think about it any more.
If you do go ahead I completely understand and get why but be very careful and go in with your eyes wide open, buy the best you can, buy with full history and not low miles, buy a RHD UK car & set aside £5k and a weeks worth of hours every year to deal with issues. Its a car that you 100% have to adore for it to be worth the ownership hassle.
Edited by Bispal on Monday 24th February 08:31
Bispal said:
Was one of my bucket list cars too, so 3 years ago I bought a black GTS manual (not a fan or red) after deciding the GTS was the perfect compromise.
Pro's:-
Looks Stunning
Sounds Stunning
Quite practical
Con's:-
Horrendously expensive so service & keep on the road. £7,000 in 24 months and the previous owner spent £3,500 the week before I picked it up and i sold it needing a service.
GTS top creaked no matter how often it was adjusted & lubed
Sticky interior was awful and it doesn't improve
Dashboard leather started to crack
Constant worry - will it let me down (it did, one of only 2 cars that ever left me stranded)
No good for short trips, won't engage 2nd gear when cold, needs 30 mins to warm up (avoid 2nd or double declutch)
Very slow steering rack
....
If you do go ahead I completely understand and get why but be very careful and go in with your eyes wide open, buy the best you can, buy with full history and not low miles, buy a RHD UK car & set aside £5k and a weeks worth of hours every year to deal with issues. Its a car that you 100% have to adore for it to be worth the ownership hassle.
Think Bispal makes some really good points (although does sound like he was a bit unlucky).Pro's:-
Looks Stunning
Sounds Stunning
Quite practical
Con's:-
Horrendously expensive so service & keep on the road. £7,000 in 24 months and the previous owner spent £3,500 the week before I picked it up and i sold it needing a service.
GTS top creaked no matter how often it was adjusted & lubed
Sticky interior was awful and it doesn't improve
Dashboard leather started to crack
Constant worry - will it let me down (it did, one of only 2 cars that ever left me stranded)
No good for short trips, won't engage 2nd gear when cold, needs 30 mins to warm up (avoid 2nd or double declutch)
Very slow steering rack
....
If you do go ahead I completely understand and get why but be very careful and go in with your eyes wide open, buy the best you can, buy with full history and not low miles, buy a RHD UK car & set aside £5k and a weeks worth of hours every year to deal with issues. Its a car that you 100% have to adore for it to be worth the ownership hassle.
Edited by Bispal on Monday 24th February 08:31
To me, one of the pleasures with a classic supercar like the F355 is taking a bit of time to warm it up on the drive before heading out, and then going gently until the gauges creep up and the oil is flowing. I enjoy getting to know some if its quirks (like a sticky second gear when it’s cold). And I don’t mind too much working my way through some fixes, like getting the sticky button surfaces refurbished (albeit noone enjoys a big unexpected bill, which is also a possibility).
But for lots of people those sound like a massive nuisance, and they’d be quite right to avoid a classic and get something newer. It’s really a trade off of character and practicality.
Bispal said:
Horrendously expensive so service & keep on the road. £7,000 in 24 months and the previous owner spent £3,500 the week before I picked it up and i sold it needing a service...
...I think you need to set aside at least £5k per year for maintenance and up to £7k and that's average. Then there are the big ticket items that might crop up
You admit that your experience was possibly extreme and yet you’re advising the OP to set aside 5-7k pa as that’s ‘average’. However, your car was ‘only’ costing 3.5k pa. Something doesn’t add up. When you consider that my 355 cost the princely sum of £500 pa to run, I would think that the average is below your car, not above it. ...I think you need to set aside at least £5k per year for maintenance and up to £7k and that's average. Then there are the big ticket items that might crop up
You also mention the problems of leather shrinkage, sticky plastics and manifolds. These are all items which should have been attended to on a car before the OP would consider buying it. Once fixed, they stay fixed (to that list, you can add valve guides too).
Buttresses will go over time but it’s only bodywork and paint to correct it. Not expensive and no different to other consumables.
I’m sorry that you had such a miserable experience with your car and it’s good to post a counterpoint to all the positively glowing experiences of the car on this thread. I managed to avoid some of your cons by having an F1 Berlinetta so no squeaky roof and no recalcitrant gearbox when cold
Edited by ANOpax on Monday 24th February 09:18
ANOpax said:
Bispal said:
Horrendously expensive so service & keep on the road. £7,000 in 24 months and the previous owner spent £3,500 the week before I picked it up and i sold it needing a service...
...I think you need to set aside at least £5k per year for maintenance and up to £7k and that's average. Then there are the big ticket items that might crop up
You admit that your experience was possibly extreme and yet you’re advising the OP to set aside 5-7k pa as that’s ‘average’. However, your car was ‘only’ costing 3.5k pa. Something doesn’t add up. When you consider that my 355 cost the princely sum of £500 pa to run, I would think that the average is below your car, not above it. ...I think you need to set aside at least £5k per year for maintenance and up to £7k and that's average. Then there are the big ticket items that might crop up
You also mention the problems of leather shrinkage, sticky plastics and manifolds. These are all items which should have been attended to on a car before the OP would consider buying it. Once fixed, they stay fixed (to that list, you can add valve guides too).
Buttresses will go over time but it’s only bodywork and paint to correct it. Not expensive and no different to other consumables.
I’m sorry that you had such a miserable experience with your car and it’s good to post a counterpoint to all the positively glowing experiences of the car on this thread. I managed to avoid some of your cons by having an F1 Berlinetta so no squeaky roof and no recalcitrant gearbox when cold
Edited by ANOpax on Monday 24th February 09:18
Don’t know what the people do who drive Ferraris for 1.0-2.5k per year, but over 3 cars and well in excess of 100k km, I have not come across multiple years in a row that cost that little.
ANOpax said:
You admit that your experience was possibly extreme and yet you’re advising the OP to set aside 5-7k pa as that’s ‘average’. However, your car was ‘only’ costing 3.5k pa. Something doesn’t add up. When you consider that my 355 cost the princely sum of £500 pa to run, I would think that the average is below your car, not above it.
You also mention the problems of leather shrinkage, sticky plastics and manifolds. These are all items which should have been attended to on a car before the OP would consider buying it. Once fixed, they stay fixed (to that list, you can add valve guides too).
Buttresses will go over time but it’s only bodywork and paint to correct it. Not expensive and no different to other consumables.
I’m sorry that you had such a miserable experience with your car and it’s good to post a counterpoint to all the positively glowing experiences of the car on this thread. I managed to avoid some of your cons by having an F1 Berlinetta so no squeaky roof and no recalcitrant gearbox when cold
Remember mine was due a service (as I was clear to point out) so it would be £10k+ over 2 years and that's without an engine out service in my ownership so I think £5-£7k is not far off. Of course you could get lucky. I know owners who have paid much more and much less but i think thats a fair average. I bought from a friend who was fastidious and never had an issue so perhaps I was unlucky. In retrospect I should have bought a Berlinetta but then again I have another friend with a GTS and his roof panel is fine (mine also leaked which my wife was not too happy about on a euro trip in the rain - yes I used mine) . However my mate also spent £10k on his first service and you just need to watch the car guys youtube channel to see how much a service can cost on a well looked after car.You also mention the problems of leather shrinkage, sticky plastics and manifolds. These are all items which should have been attended to on a car before the OP would consider buying it. Once fixed, they stay fixed (to that list, you can add valve guides too).
Buttresses will go over time but it’s only bodywork and paint to correct it. Not expensive and no different to other consumables.
I’m sorry that you had such a miserable experience with your car and it’s good to post a counterpoint to all the positively glowing experiences of the car on this thread. I managed to avoid some of your cons by having an F1 Berlinetta so no squeaky roof and no recalcitrant gearbox when cold
Edited by ANOpax on Monday 24th February 09:18
All I am saying is go in with your eyes wide open and set the money aside. You have to LOVE the car to put up with the potential costs. For me I didn't but many do and that's fine. I prefer to spend my £5k pa on a McLaren warranty, we all have our weaknesses and they will cost us so better to be forewarned and prepared. I hope the OP finds a good car and enjoys it but I want to point out to him that he needs to be wary and prepared.
Gassing Station | Ferrari V8 | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff