Ferrari 355 Everyday car?
Discussion
I’m thinking about buying a Ferrari 355, just looking for tips on how practical it is to have as a car. I will be keeping it on a London street, so think maybe not red or yellow! It will be used for fun at weekends and d driving very slowly round London! Am I being unreasonable to think I can have it instead of a Porsche 911? Or can you really use it as an everyday car?
Many thanks
There are others better quailified to comment than I but I reckon that a 355 would be a struggle as a daily driver. They were the last of the old school v8s (tubular chassis etc) and are getting to an age where they are becoming 'classics' ie expensive things going wrong.
The useability and liveability of 360s are light years ahead of 355s, its just a pity that they don't look as good.
The useability and liveability of 360s are light years ahead of 355s, its just a pity that they don't look as good.
911 + car club membership?
I would love to run a F355 daily and I reckon if you bought a good high mileage one cheaply enough, it could be done but it's the on-street parking that would be the biggest source of worry for me and the cost of keeping it in tip top cosmetic shape (if that's what you want to achieve) could really mount up interms of repairs and replacement parts...
Not quite the same leage but I ran a mid 80's Alfa GTV6 and street parked it in W8 in the mid 90's for a year and although nobody vadalised it (more likely with a Ferrari I would imagine), a cracked electric wing mirror was almost impossible to obtain anywhere in Europe at any price and although it had non-painted impact bumpers, somebody managed to hit it hard enough that it creased a front wing over the wheel arch! Brought tears to my eyes!
Can you imagine coming down in the morning to find that some berk in a 4x4 has used his rear mounted spare wheel as a parking sensor and biffed in your bonnet or challenge grille?
P.S. I once saw a diablo street parked in Berne with dents on every panel and cracked filler on the wheel arches!
I would love to run a F355 daily and I reckon if you bought a good high mileage one cheaply enough, it could be done but it's the on-street parking that would be the biggest source of worry for me and the cost of keeping it in tip top cosmetic shape (if that's what you want to achieve) could really mount up interms of repairs and replacement parts...
Not quite the same leage but I ran a mid 80's Alfa GTV6 and street parked it in W8 in the mid 90's for a year and although nobody vadalised it (more likely with a Ferrari I would imagine), a cracked electric wing mirror was almost impossible to obtain anywhere in Europe at any price and although it had non-painted impact bumpers, somebody managed to hit it hard enough that it creased a front wing over the wheel arch! Brought tears to my eyes!
Can you imagine coming down in the morning to find that some berk in a 4x4 has used his rear mounted spare wheel as a parking sensor and biffed in your bonnet or challenge grille?
P.S. I once saw a diablo street parked in Berne with dents on every panel and cracked filler on the wheel arches!
i wouldnt keep a 355 on a london street - always a chance a 4x4 will park in front and reverse straight over it!! seriously though, worth renting a car park space i would say...if you factor in a bumper respray each year for the courteous parking, the chance of it being broken into (355 has a regular old style stereo that thieves can sell on for a few quid) etc. will probably work out the same cost
As noted above, don't leave it on the street routinely. At least get off street parking.
Mechanicals should be fine but as Angelis notes, using a car for too short trips often is probably worse than not using them at all - they need to get thoroughly warmed through and used, and town driving is not the best for this.
Also as noted above, keeping on top of the car cosmetically will be expensive if it's left outside.
Have you looked into renting a garage?
Mechanicals should be fine but as Angelis notes, using a car for too short trips often is probably worse than not using them at all - they need to get thoroughly warmed through and used, and town driving is not the best for this.
Also as noted above, keeping on top of the car cosmetically will be expensive if it's left outside.
Have you looked into renting a garage?
PK328 said:
They were the last of the old school v8s (tubular chassis etc).
I understand the 355 to have a monocoque, not a tubular chassis. What prompts me to say this is more than one article I've read about the 348 which describes it as the first monocoque chassis Ferrari, the 355 being the 348's successor and thus also having a monocoque.Gassing Station | Supercar General | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff