Getting My F355 Spider next week
Discussion
Tigerfurxxx said:
Any advice for a new female 355 owner ?
Enjoy it! 
And bookmark this page as these are the guys who know the 355 inside out and I'm sure would be happy to help out with free tips:
http://www.verdi-ferrari.com/contact.php
First off, be sure to enjoy it and ignore the comments of less brain-endowed people, some of which seem to frequent PH. A female friend of mine drives a 328GTS, it was even her only car for a year or so. She is very open about owning the car and that seems to go down well, at least here in Holland it does. Personally, I have also found that being open and sharing your Ferrari with people around you makes it more enjoyable for everyone and there is less jealousy to expect. But I can't comment from a female perspective, the male chauvinists out there can be quite jealous.
The F355 is a great car. I'm not sure what your driving skill level is, but be a bit careful once nearing the limit. Lots of cars are written off because people underestimate the speeds or overestimate their skills (made that mistake myself once). One thing to look out for in particular is wet and/or cold roads. These tyres don't like the cold, they don't grip half as good below 10 degrees C. And in the rain there is more risk of aquaplaning with wide tyres.
As for the car itself - when properly maintained it is very reliable. It is a bit more expensive to maintain than the 360 or 430, so make sure you have a decent budget for it (for a decent car an average of 2k a year should be plenty, this means probably a couple of cheap years followed by an expensive one, followed by cheap years again).
Post some pics!
Onno
The F355 is a great car. I'm not sure what your driving skill level is, but be a bit careful once nearing the limit. Lots of cars are written off because people underestimate the speeds or overestimate their skills (made that mistake myself once). One thing to look out for in particular is wet and/or cold roads. These tyres don't like the cold, they don't grip half as good below 10 degrees C. And in the rain there is more risk of aquaplaning with wide tyres.
As for the car itself - when properly maintained it is very reliable. It is a bit more expensive to maintain than the 360 or 430, so make sure you have a decent budget for it (for a decent car an average of 2k a year should be plenty, this means probably a couple of cheap years followed by an expensive one, followed by cheap years again).
Post some pics!
Onno
to another new Ferrari ownerJazzyO said:
for a decent car an average of 2k a year should be plenty
Obviously, it's mileage dependant, but given how old these cars are getting, I think realistically to keep it in mint condition, you're talking at least £3k per year on average, excluding upgrades like exhausts etc. Just think tyres, brakes, buttresses, manifolds, suspension bushes, cats, wheel refurbs, stone chip resprays, retrims etc etc etc.When it gets looked at by a good mechanic, there's always a couple of things that need doing that are preventative. I think that if everyone meticulous about having necessary work done (reasonably common for forum enthusiasts i'd probably say) then recorded the costs using the PH garage functionality (which most people don't do), they'd probably get a little bit of a shock as to what they actually spend
Tigerfurxxx said:
Any advice for a new female 355 owner ?
How about : try meeting other owners Pics of previous years look fantastic so how about for example at Cliveden May 15 : http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
tomtom said:
Just look at my fuel bill (!)
Jesus wept! How are you only getting 13mpg out of yours? I have to drive 15 mins through traffic in london to get to anything even resembling a clear-ish road, and I still manage 16.7 according to my ongoing spreadsheet on my computer (yes, I am that geeky 
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