F355 - Dissapointing test drive! Hopefully a bad example?

[AdvocatusDiaboli]

Guys!

After all the mental mast*rbation and baited breath, I finally drove two different 355's for more than a couple of minutes.

Both 96's, one manual and one F1.

The dealer I had the test drives with is based in North London and from research I did post test - does not have the best reputation. Company name has changed a few times, sure some of you know who I am talking about.

Didn't start off well... The car I went to see "didn't make it, cos still in garage." and the chappie didn't bother to let me know before i got there. He also seemed fairly clueless, kept referring to his "own" 355 but seemed unaware about quite a few of the things you would expect an owner to know.

Anyway, I have to say coming from Porsche, that the quality of the interior was not what I expected. The heating vents are just terrible and the control panel around the gearshift looks rather cheap too. The dashboard display doesn't look like the greatest either.

The car was light to handle which was great, but the throttle was very jerky when in traffic. If you coast along and then gently touch the throttle, the car lurches forward. I tried the lightest touch, but still not solution to problem on both cars... dealer had same problem.

I raised all of this with the chappie, who said F355's in decent condition are getting very hard to find. This car was almost 45k!

I really had my heart set on a F355, but now I am not so sure... i really do want to love the car, but so far no go! Perhaps I didn't spend enough time in the car, on the right roads. Then again, no dealer is going to allow you have a 2 hours hoon in the country!

Does this sound like a case of bad examples to you? Should I persist in looking around? Maybe what I need to do is spend a while with an owner instead who really knows the car.

[stephen300o]

Over rated cars, you want a 360

[AdvocatusDiaboli]

stephen300o said:

Over rated cars, you want a 360

And a further 15k if you can spare it too...

[ferrarispider]

stephen300o said:

Over rated cars, you want a 360

Like your 360 you mean I am asuming you have owned both to come to that conclusion.

Edited by ferrarispider on Monday 29th January 16:43

[phib]

I looked at three this weekend

1st one great condition and drove really really well great interior etc had had a little bit of body work but had been done to a high standard 44k (would have had it but couldn't agree a deal)

2nd one absoloute dog damaged chipped poor paint was very jerky to drive started on 7 etc etc low on power
rattled like you wouldn't believe 42k

3rd somewhere in between great to drive very smooth and no rattles but body in a bit of a state 44k

From my little experience the righ cars are out there they just take a bit of finding in total I ended up driving about 400 miles this weekend !!!

[stephen300o]

depends if your prepared to go lhd, I wouldn't mind a 360, but i'm happy with my nsx

[MHT223]

Can't wait till I can have the hassle of finding the right 355, hopefully not too long now

Good luck with the search, if you find a good example in a combination you like I say go for it, just allow longer to sell it when the time comes if its not one of the 'popular' options

[nightmare]

have to say, having driven 3 (two on track and oen on road) that I was also very disappointed in the 355. Aside from the utterly crappy interior (for an originally 100k car) the throttle on all 3 was dreadful. two had a slight stick about 1/5th into travel...which made them bloody awful to drive and useless on track in terms of delicacy...and the third had your described 'power shunt' effect when driving slowly.....

havent bothered to drive one since.....

[POORCARDEALER]

Finding a good 355 at anything other than strong money is difficult.............BUT, they hold there money well, so getting it back at the other end should be a doddle

[andy355]

if i recall right the sticky throttle action is a RHD trait, the throttle cable having to make a detour. Finding good examples of any car is a bit of a challenge...i would stick with it and consider LHD.

[tony h]

don't give up hope , especially if the cars are from lukins . Never drove a F1 355 and IIRC the option wasn't available till '97 anyway. A manual car will be a touch baulky till warmed up but thereafter should be a joy to drive. The throttle is a bit all or nothing but you soon get used to it. Common fault is sticky throttle cable/ peddle but very easily sorted .
As regards money for 355s maybe i'm bitter and twisted but i sold my 96 spider for £42.5k in april 06 and wouldn't be paying more than £40 k now. Haggle hard

Edited by tony h on Monday 29th January 19:07

[dealmaker]

If I were you I'd continue to save my pennies ...until you could afford to come over to the dark side...........

[tony h]

dealmaker said:

If I were you I'd continue to save my pennies ...until you could afford to come over to the dark side...........

nah, the man wants a FERRARI

[murph7355]

First up, avoid your North London chap. You *know* he's a scheister from your research, so don't waste your time.

Interior - personally I still love it. It's not bling, it's understated but well done. It also gets out of shape VERY easily, so you have to keep on top of it. The rubberised textures are a pain in the arse and can look scruffy very easily. It can be fixed, but takes time/money (or non-"original" changes).

You have to choose the right colour combination too. The right amounts of crema/black/bordeaux are popular for a reason.

Throttle - again, need regular maintenance. The cable run is fiddly and it needs great care. And even the best looked after RHD's will never be perfect because of the routing as mentioned. Also, if the car's have had their battery isolatros knocked off, and haven't been run properly after switching back on, you can get odd/erratic behaviour.

Bodywork - again, can get shabby easily (you're looking at 8yr old Italians here, min.). But it doesn't cost the earth to put that right.

Persevere. There is a huge, huge gulf between good and bad cars. And the good ones are worth searching out.

[murph7355]

PS Is a 993 interior an improvement? Solid maybe. But then so are female shotputters!

PPS tonyh is defo bitter. He sold his soul to go CS and traded his in. That's pull your pants down and provide your own vaseline time. Besides, the resale on his car was ruined as he had to have a booster seat permanently fitted.

[tony h]

murph7355 said:

PS Is a 993 interior an improvement? Solid maybe. But then so are female shotputters!

PPS tonyh is defo bitter. He sold his soul to go CS and traded his in. That's pull your pants down and provide your own vaseline time. Besides, the resale on his car was ruined as he had to have a booster seat permanently fitted.

murph,
you're such a p4ick

[northernboy]

AdvocatusDiaboli said:

Terrible dissapointment, and even more dissapointing to hear that these don't appear to be one offs!

I will try again (I really want one), but will probably end up with 96/993 Turbo or a 360 (if I want another year!)

I think it just shows how far all cars have come in the last 10+ years. Interiors, especially, are just so very different now.

Great though the 355 is, they do feel like old cars now. I think that the 355's interior to a modern Ferrari's is like a 968 to a 997, which is a pity.

[Davey S2]

My £45K would go into a GT3.

[AdvocatusDiaboli]

Davey S2 said:

My £45K would go into a GT3.

Sorely, sorely, SORELY tempted!!!

[tony h]

AdvocatusDiaboli said:

Davey S2 said:

My £45K would go into a GT3.

Sorely, sorely, SORELY tempted!!!

don't lose faith and don't give any £££ to lukins FFS

Edited by tony h on Tuesday 30th January 10:27