360 spider advice.

[ns1]

Greetings all, am new to PH. First post.

Have sold my 996 C4S and am considering taking the plunge into Ferrari land - always been a dream to own one. I'm considering an 02/03 360 spider: residuals seem to have come off a bit lately and there seem some nice examples in the 60-65k bracket. However I'd be grateful for some advice from PH'ers on the following:

1. I want to use it everyday, can it be an everyday car ? Driving to work from West to East London on a daily basis. Will it cope reliably with London traffic and with speedbumps etc? The C4S was bullet proof but am guessing these may be little more temperamental. Although underground during the day, overnight will be parked securely outside, specifically is the roof robust weather wise? Have nightmare of interior ruined by leaky roof!

2. Servicing - am thinking 2-3k year providing nothing major occurs. There seems to be numerous fixed price independent servicing places out there. Does this number seem ballpark?

3. Are there any must-have extras I should look for?

4. Is there anything in particular to look out for in terms of common faults on these cars, that could be a problem later if not spotted (wouldn't contemplate one without FFSH etc.). I'd also get a prepurchase inspection if bought privately.

5. Ferrari power warranty. Is it just worth biting this bullet and saving potential further aggravation?

All feedback appreciated on these (frighteningly!!) basic questions. You hear horror stories, mostly from people who don't own one I bet!

[900ssduke]

1 For every day running, biggest pain with the spider is reversing, you dont see too much. Large speedbumps may be an issue, grit your teeth and crack on. You do get pads to stick under the front spoiler to prevent wear / damage, but I have not tried them. Mine is garaged most of the time, so not sure about roof long term exposure to rain.
Look out for steamed up headlights, they are a pain and were initially a warranty issue. Try out the hood, make sure it does not stick. Check the exhaust is not throwing out white dust into the engine bay (insulation between the 2 skins) They can also wear out clutches and steering ball joints pretty quickly. Must confess I dont take mine into town much, out of town its great. Its my funday toy.

2. Service intervals are 6k, so if you are doing 10 to 12K you might be 3k.

3. Matter of choice. Resale red and crema easiest to re-sell on but most expensive to purchase. Plenty of debate here and fchat re manual / F1 gearchange.

4. Prepurchase inspection is way to go if not bought from F main dealer.

5. Ferrari power warranty. - Not too sure. I got a warranty with the car, putting in for a service at month 11 and will find out what its worth.

Great cars though, but I guess needs a bit more loving than your last squeeze. If you can get a decent 1 for 65k you wont be sorry.
Im sure there's a few guys on here run them more often than me.
A

[hazy]

1. not really an everyday use car IMO, pretty docile to drive however, but dont like speed bump (wont do those fragile front balljoints any good) and three quartewr vision poor. These cars need to be given the beans every now and then, stop start wont do them any favours. Roof should be leak free and they normally work perfectly.

2. Servicing - I think your budget is about right, perhaps another £1k for "consumables" like tyres clutches and brakes.

3. sports exhaust is a 360 must have, genuine CS item best of the bunch, novitech closely follows..

4. Common faults...not many. They tend to stick the engine management light on in cold weather, F1 clutch can be jerky and will wear quickly with abuse/poor starting technique, ball joints wear out fairly frequently, easily spotted by a knocking noise which appears to be coming from the glove box.

5. Ferrari power warranty. Not really worth it on a car of the age you will be buying, just buy the right car in the first place.Get a good garage to check any potential purchases out.

Bloody good cars that are alot more reliable than somew would have you believe, I've been across Europe three times in my various 360's with other 360's for company and not one has had as much as a blown brake light (damned myself for this year no doubt...)

Personally speaking they are too special for everyday commuting, I dont think it would do the car much good, I'd buy a daily sh**ter (I just brought an old 996 cab for this) and use the F for weekends/holidays. Great choice of car, you will NOT be dissapointed.....