355 ownership - 1 month on
Discussion
Well I thought it was about time to put some of my thoughts down - hopefully for the benefit of others in a similar position to me. Firstly some background - I have wanted a Ferrari since I was 8 - had all the toys, the big painted shield on the bedroom wall, the duvet set etc etc. I started attending the odd Ferrari event as a member of the prancing horse register at around 11. The 348 never really floated my boat but since the 355 was released I was smitten and have planned a purchase ever since - promising myself one before I was 30.
My 20's came and went and despite running a highly enjoyable business the financial rewards didn't come as quickly or as greatly as i'd hoped so my 30th passed me by. I actually came very close to buying the ex-coogan car that year but things transpired against me and I was pipped at the post at the last minute whilst sorting the finance out and the car sold from under my feet.
Anyway, 2 years on in the run up to my 32nd birthday I had a slight health scare (which turned out to be nothing thankfully) but it gave me the wakeup call I needed to get the car of my dreams. After 2 full years of waiting for the perfect car to come up for sale (and chasing the owner of the ex-coogan car repeatedly!) I finally got the opportunity to "create" the perfect car by respraying a currently yellow car (in the ideal spec) to Grigio Titanium.
Ben Cartwright (Nick's son) had known about my requirements for some time and had been keeping an eye out for the right spec car. So he approached me with this one which ticked all the boxes (once it was to be resprayed at least) and the deal was done. I collected the car on 21st June 2008 and have since completed 3000+ trouble-free miles (via le mans, magny-cours, dijon) and will be heading off to Spa-Francorchamps in the car next week.
Every time I start the car I get the same tingle down my spine - the same hairs standing on end on neck and all those other crass sayings that don't mean anything until you actually experience them.
Now onto the crux of the matter. I cannot afford this car and should probably not have bought it. I've financed it with a sizeable balloon and whilst I can probably afford to service and maintain it - a serious mechanical failure (engine/box etc) would render the car a museum peice until such time as I could save up to fix it. That said, if the whole thing goes pete tong tomorrow i've had the best month of my life and have achieved a life-long ambition. "Better to have loved and lost" and all that!
If you're considering one and share even a fraction of the passion that I do for the brand - I can't recommend it enough. It's all about priorities and if you're prepared to compromise on certain aspects of your life there's no reason why a car like this shouldn't be viable for even the most modest of earners.
Jonny
Here's a picture of me *properly* grinning from ear to ear whilst driving round Dijon-Prenois earlier this month:-
My 20's came and went and despite running a highly enjoyable business the financial rewards didn't come as quickly or as greatly as i'd hoped so my 30th passed me by. I actually came very close to buying the ex-coogan car that year but things transpired against me and I was pipped at the post at the last minute whilst sorting the finance out and the car sold from under my feet.
Anyway, 2 years on in the run up to my 32nd birthday I had a slight health scare (which turned out to be nothing thankfully) but it gave me the wakeup call I needed to get the car of my dreams. After 2 full years of waiting for the perfect car to come up for sale (and chasing the owner of the ex-coogan car repeatedly!) I finally got the opportunity to "create" the perfect car by respraying a currently yellow car (in the ideal spec) to Grigio Titanium.
Ben Cartwright (Nick's son) had known about my requirements for some time and had been keeping an eye out for the right spec car. So he approached me with this one which ticked all the boxes (once it was to be resprayed at least) and the deal was done. I collected the car on 21st June 2008 and have since completed 3000+ trouble-free miles (via le mans, magny-cours, dijon) and will be heading off to Spa-Francorchamps in the car next week.
Every time I start the car I get the same tingle down my spine - the same hairs standing on end on neck and all those other crass sayings that don't mean anything until you actually experience them.
Now onto the crux of the matter. I cannot afford this car and should probably not have bought it. I've financed it with a sizeable balloon and whilst I can probably afford to service and maintain it - a serious mechanical failure (engine/box etc) would render the car a museum peice until such time as I could save up to fix it. That said, if the whole thing goes pete tong tomorrow i've had the best month of my life and have achieved a life-long ambition. "Better to have loved and lost" and all that!
If you're considering one and share even a fraction of the passion that I do for the brand - I can't recommend it enough. It's all about priorities and if you're prepared to compromise on certain aspects of your life there's no reason why a car like this shouldn't be viable for even the most modest of earners.
Jonny
Here's a picture of me *properly* grinning from ear to ear whilst driving round Dijon-Prenois earlier this month:-
I massively respect what you've done. Not because you've got a Fezza but because you've financed it to the hilt and readily admit that a catastrophic failure could be devastasting to you. That takes real balls in my opinion, and I respect that. Sometimes it takes sacrifices to realise your dream or sometimes large (calculated) risks. As you've waited so long for it I assume you've done all your research and as long as important things like family or mortgage don't suffer, who are we to judge. I like your style!!! 
I would echo these sentiments. I am approximately one month into ownership but, despite my best efforts, have only managed to cover circa 5-600 miles. Work is seriously impinging on my social life!
I have always liked fast cars, having had a father and uncle also devout petrol heads and thus grown up with a series of 240z's, M5's 911's and a yellow Citroen GS.
I have been fortunate enough to own some fairly quick and fabulously fun cars in my brief stint at the wicket, however I cannot think of any that ticks the 'grin factor' box in such a way as the 355.
I have always been a Ferrari fan, right from the outset (books, t-shirts, scale models, etc) and when as a teenager I was given a ride in a 246 Dino, the die was well and truly cast. One of the most uncomfortable and glorious sounding machines ever.
Similarly, I had a recent health scare (small tumour which I had cut out of my face) and realised that life simply was too short to wait about. So, with the house purchase finalised, I decided to set aside some money and start saving for the car. I managed to screw together the funds from various sources and, as luck would have it, bought my perfect car from Verdi (tdf, tan, GTB). I say found, as I have been watching the classifieds every day for ages!
I'm hoping that if serviced and used properly and regularly, that nothing will go wrong, as if I receive a major bill then I too will be back to the drawing board, however in the mean time, I honestly think this much fun would be cheap at twice the price. It's not the fastest thing on the road by any stretch, however no other car has made me bounce up and down in the seat out of sheer excitement or giggle like an idiot at random moments. It's the noise, the smell, the noise, the feel, the noise, the haunches in the wing mirrors and lastly, the noise.
I can understand why these cars have so many owners. Did I mention the noise? You can probably keep it for a year and not suffer much depreciation so they become not only a viable ownership proposition, but will always remain one of the 'life boxes' that is firmly worth having a tick in. Hopefully, I will be able to keep mine as I cannot see myself becoming bored at any point.
If by any means, you can beg, borrow or scrape the funds together, do so ASAP as you won't regret it.
I have always liked fast cars, having had a father and uncle also devout petrol heads and thus grown up with a series of 240z's, M5's 911's and a yellow Citroen GS.
I have been fortunate enough to own some fairly quick and fabulously fun cars in my brief stint at the wicket, however I cannot think of any that ticks the 'grin factor' box in such a way as the 355.I have always been a Ferrari fan, right from the outset (books, t-shirts, scale models, etc) and when as a teenager I was given a ride in a 246 Dino, the die was well and truly cast. One of the most uncomfortable and glorious sounding machines ever.
Similarly, I had a recent health scare (small tumour which I had cut out of my face) and realised that life simply was too short to wait about. So, with the house purchase finalised, I decided to set aside some money and start saving for the car. I managed to screw together the funds from various sources and, as luck would have it, bought my perfect car from Verdi (tdf, tan, GTB). I say found, as I have been watching the classifieds every day for ages!
I'm hoping that if serviced and used properly and regularly, that nothing will go wrong, as if I receive a major bill then I too will be back to the drawing board, however in the mean time, I honestly think this much fun would be cheap at twice the price. It's not the fastest thing on the road by any stretch, however no other car has made me bounce up and down in the seat out of sheer excitement or giggle like an idiot at random moments. It's the noise, the smell, the noise, the feel, the noise, the haunches in the wing mirrors and lastly, the noise.
I can understand why these cars have so many owners. Did I mention the noise? You can probably keep it for a year and not suffer much depreciation so they become not only a viable ownership proposition, but will always remain one of the 'life boxes' that is firmly worth having a tick in. Hopefully, I will be able to keep mine as I cannot see myself becoming bored at any point.
If by any means, you can beg, borrow or scrape the funds together, do so ASAP as you won't regret it.
Edited by Cactussed on Thursday 31st July 09:32
LittleBro said:
Sarnie likes your style, I like your plate 
Is it 76JL? Year of birth and initials?
Car looks superb, enjoy.
Yes 76JL (DOB+initials!) - that's my "rod through the block" fund - so if I do have a catastrophic mechanical failure I can sell the plate and i've at least got a contribution towards the repair bill! Is it 76JL? Year of birth and initials?Car looks superb, enjoy.
J
I'm still hunting for one. The more I read the reviews, write ups and comments, the more I want!
They are such a fantastic looking and sounding machine.
jleroux, thanks for sharing your experiences with the car with us, I have been following your exploits on here since you first picked your car up. I will probably take a similar route to you finance wise, that is why I want to buy the best I can afford and I am taking my time.
I've got to admit, when I was about 14 I promised myself a 911 before I was 30, I've sort of switched now, but you can't really blame me can you?
They are such a fantastic looking and sounding machine.
jleroux, thanks for sharing your experiences with the car with us, I have been following your exploits on here since you first picked your car up. I will probably take a similar route to you finance wise, that is why I want to buy the best I can afford and I am taking my time.
I've got to admit, when I was about 14 I promised myself a 911 before I was 30, I've sort of switched now, but you can't really blame me can you?
bob1179 said:
I've got to admit, when I was about 14 I promised myself a 911 before I was 30, I've sort of switched now, but you can't really blame me can you?
To be fair - we're all fairly stupid at 14 aren't we - at least you've seen the light L-)on the plus side - mechanical failures aside the 355 will be significantly cheaper than my BMW to run over a 3 year period - they're more or less hit the bottom of their depreciation curve now and a decent specialist (Nick Cartwrights for example) are no more expensive than my local BMW dealer.
jleroux said:
bob1179 said:
I've got to admit, when I was about 14 I promised myself a 911 before I was 30, I've sort of switched now, but you can't really blame me can you?
To be fair - we're all fairly stupid at 14 aren't we - at least you've seen the light L-)on the plus side - mechanical failures aside the 355 will be significantly cheaper than my BMW to run over a 3 year period - they're more or less hit the bottom of their depreciation curve now and a decent specialist (Nick Cartwrights for example) are no more expensive than my local BMW dealer.
To me a 355 ticks all the right boxes, they look awesome, sound awesome and feel just right.
As for the 911, I'll always have a soft spot for the 930 Turbo, but the newer ones have been usurped...
jleroux said:
Now onto the crux of the matter. I cannot afford this car and should probably not have bought it. I've financed it with a sizeable balloon and whilst I can probably afford to service and maintain it - a serious mechanical failure (engine/box etc) would render the car a museum peice until such time as I could save up to fix it. That said, if the whole thing goes pete tong tomorrow i've had the best month of my life and have achieved a life-long ambition. "Better to have loved and lost" and all that!
Nice one - I'm hoping this will be me in the Spring as well. My TVR goes up for sale next month and I'll be seeing the winter thorugh in a snotter of some sort until after my wedding in Jan (If I spend any money beforehand when I'm supposed to be saving I'll be a dead man).I'll also be financing as per yourself with a balloon and again whilst I can afford 3k or so a year servicing I'd have an expensive garage ornament if something serious went bang.
I'm presuming the engines in the 355 are reasonalbly strong and as long as they are looked after/serviced properly should give no major problems?
I spoke to lots of people during my ~3 year hunt for the right car and the overwhelming response was that the engine and boxes are very strong indeed. many of the original 355 challenge cars are still on original boxes and the red-letter-day cars I know of have never had any engine or box issues.
it was comforting to speak to so many people about it. you can still spend thousands on non-engine issues though such as ECU's, manifolds, senders etc etc. That's why it's best to pay a bit more and get one from a reputable specialist IMO.
I know it's incredibly sad, but i'm keeping a log of everywhere i'm going and everything i'm spending on the car (including fuel!) - mainly as a diary so I can remember in years to come what a great time I had with it!
before anyone asks - it's averaged 18mpg so far! I only get 22mpg out of the BMW!!
Jonny
it was comforting to speak to so many people about it. you can still spend thousands on non-engine issues though such as ECU's, manifolds, senders etc etc. That's why it's best to pay a bit more and get one from a reputable specialist IMO.
I know it's incredibly sad, but i'm keeping a log of everywhere i'm going and everything i'm spending on the car (including fuel!) - mainly as a diary so I can remember in years to come what a great time I had with it!
before anyone asks - it's averaged 18mpg so far! I only get 22mpg out of the BMW!!
Jonny
Congrats Jonny!
I presume you have not succumbed to the temptation of a Tubi or Capristo exhaust yet?
You'll know better than anyone that most UK circuits will be out of bounds if you do!
But the noise on the road and on European circuits made up for it for me, although maybe not if I was in your line of work.
The F355 is reassuringly solid. Indeed it is the only Yumobile to have survived 5 years of ownership without serious engine malady.
Although not as amazing to drive as my F430 Spider, I must say I had the most fun and felt the most affection for my F355 Spider out of the few Ferraris I've owned.
Have a great time at Spa. I guess we'll find you in the office less and out on the circuit more from now on...
I presume you have not succumbed to the temptation of a Tubi or Capristo exhaust yet?
You'll know better than anyone that most UK circuits will be out of bounds if you do!
But the noise on the road and on European circuits made up for it for me, although maybe not if I was in your line of work.
The F355 is reassuringly solid. Indeed it is the only Yumobile to have survived 5 years of ownership without serious engine malady.
Although not as amazing to drive as my F430 Spider, I must say I had the most fun and felt the most affection for my F355 Spider out of the few Ferraris I've owned.
Have a great time at Spa. I guess we'll find you in the office less and out on the circuit more from now on...
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