Manual NA V8 Ferrari spider, which one?
Discussion
I am on the lookout for a Manual NA V8 Ferrari spider.
Initially I thought I could pick one up for £50k! I had no idea prices had moved so much!
So I have revised my search to £70k, which is probably still tight? I don't mind up to 50k miles.
My preferences, in order, are F355, 360 & 348.
No idea which one to go for, I want to use it for European trips so it must be reliable, fun to drive and be appreciating in value or at least not depreciating. Would consider LHD but at £10k less.
All advice much appreciated.
Cheers.
Initially I thought I could pick one up for £50k! I had no idea prices had moved so much!
So I have revised my search to £70k, which is probably still tight? I don't mind up to 50k miles.
My preferences, in order, are F355, 360 & 348.
No idea which one to go for, I want to use it for European trips so it must be reliable, fun to drive and be appreciating in value or at least not depreciating. Would consider LHD but at £10k less.
All advice much appreciated.
Cheers.
Bispal said:
I am on the lookout for a Manual NA V8 Ferrari spider.
Initially I thought I could pick one up for £50k! I had no idea prices had moved so much!
So I have revised my search to £70k, which is probably still tight? I don't mind up to 50k miles.
My preferences, in order, are F355, 360 & 348.
No idea which one to go for, I want to use it for European trips so it must be reliable, fun to drive and be appreciating in value or at least not depreciating. Would consider LHD but at £10k less.
All advice much appreciated.
Cheers.
If you want solid reliability and the full non-vegan experience you should also add a 328 to your list. By far the most reliable Ferrari I've ever owned and run down to Antibes dozens of times.Initially I thought I could pick one up for £50k! I had no idea prices had moved so much!
So I have revised my search to £70k, which is probably still tight? I don't mind up to 50k miles.
My preferences, in order, are F355, 360 & 348.
No idea which one to go for, I want to use it for European trips so it must be reliable, fun to drive and be appreciating in value or at least not depreciating. Would consider LHD but at £10k less.
All advice much appreciated.
Cheers.
sparta6 said:
If you want solid reliability and the full non-vegan experience you should also add a 328 to your list. By far the most reliable Ferrari I've ever owned and run down to Antibes dozens of times.
I have 80's cars before, reliability was scary! Although I love the 308/328 :-)cgt2 said:
Have owned all three in Spider form, the 348 and 355 are quite wobbly by modern standards (though very charming in other ways) so I think you'd enjoy the 360 more for spirited drives.
Thanks, I am after charming, I have some other fast cars for 'spirited' driving. Charming is good, as long as it doesn't mean constant scuttle shake?Bispal said:
I have 80's cars before, reliability was scary! Although I love the 308/328 :-)
Although the youngest, the 360's roof would scare me most in terms of reliability. Targa tops are sublime in simplicity & you will never get stuck in Provence with a roof half down wondering which of a dozen sensors & microswitches has packed in. 308/328s are rock solid if you get an example that's been well fettled. As far as scuttle shake goes, you are crossing vast eras of technical development even from 348 to 360. The cars are really not comparable. You need to go drive them. Last summer I was very tempted to switch from 308 to 360 but I ended up hunting down another 308. Because after driving a few 360s, a 348 and a 355, I realised it's exactly the kind of Ferrari I wanted to own long term, not because it was better in any objective way.
TISPKJ said:
Paul if you even think about paying 70k for a 348 I will never speak to you again !
Haha....That's the max for an F355 :-) There is a link to a 355 I have put elsewhere which you will no-doubt see....elsewhere. However even at £75k and 50k miles it has sticky buttons, needs reconalising and the sills need painting! Looking like they might be a bit fragile?My 348 felt very "classic" compared to my 360, and although it never had any major problems it seemed that it needed something minor fixing very often. It was a lovely car, but it felt its age.
The 360 is much more modern, feels much better built - although I'm sure some of that is due to it being 10 years newer - and feels like it could be a reliable daily driver if you wanted it to. Although it can scream and drive like a go-cart when you want.
However - although I know nothing about such things, and could be completely wrong - when you say that you want zero depreciation or appreciation, my money would probably go on the 355. I've never had one - but I would certainly expect it to have more in common with the 348 than the 360 - i.e. it will definitely feel its age and is likely to need fairly regular tinkering. But I think it is a true classic, and one of the prettiest Ferraris ever - I don't think that will change, and in the Ferrari world such things matter.
IMHO, the 348 and 360s are currently enjoying slightly optimistic prices and are more likely to fall if the market adjusts - I think the 355 would suffer less of a blip if that happened.
The 360 is much more modern, feels much better built - although I'm sure some of that is due to it being 10 years newer - and feels like it could be a reliable daily driver if you wanted it to. Although it can scream and drive like a go-cart when you want.
However - although I know nothing about such things, and could be completely wrong - when you say that you want zero depreciation or appreciation, my money would probably go on the 355. I've never had one - but I would certainly expect it to have more in common with the 348 than the 360 - i.e. it will definitely feel its age and is likely to need fairly regular tinkering. But I think it is a true classic, and one of the prettiest Ferraris ever - I don't think that will change, and in the Ferrari world such things matter.
IMHO, the 348 and 360s are currently enjoying slightly optimistic prices and are more likely to fall if the market adjusts - I think the 355 would suffer less of a blip if that happened.
Bispal said:
There is a link to a 355 I have put elsewhere which you will no-doubt see....elsewhere. However even at £75k and 50k miles it has sticky buttons, needs reconalising and the sills need painting! Looking like they might be a bit fragile?
The 360 uses the same coating on the buttons. And door handles. And ashtray covers. They will deteriorate without a doubt. The chrome toggle switches on my 308, otoh, are gorgeous to behold and to use and forevermore will be 
The 308 interior is lovely, quite Dino-esque with its oval binnacle and switches. However surely it has to be a 355? Certainly the prettiest since the 308/328 but with decent performance (after climbing out of a modern turbo diesel) and sound. Perhaps only LHD with the OP's budget...if it has to be RHD I'd go 308.
With that budget, I would buy the nicest condition LHD 355 you can find. If you're not absolutely set on a spider, the GTS will allay any fears about roof reliability and you'll still get the flying buttresses out the back.
They're not as fragile as you'd think - I've been to Italy and back with only a puncture to show for it. The bill for my first major service was reasonably large, as there were a few issues to resolve, but since then it has just been normal servicing. I do my own now; it's no more difficult to work on than my VW daily.
Interiors do go sticky, but that can be fixed, again DIY if you're that way inclined - just strip the old coating and paint. The guy who runs a sticky interior fixing company in the US has even done 458 parts, so the newer models aren't immune.
Make sure it's got a decent exhaust. It's hard to beat the exhaust note of a 355 with a Capristo.
They're not as fragile as you'd think - I've been to Italy and back with only a puncture to show for it. The bill for my first major service was reasonably large, as there were a few issues to resolve, but since then it has just been normal servicing. I do my own now; it's no more difficult to work on than my VW daily.
Interiors do go sticky, but that can be fixed, again DIY if you're that way inclined - just strip the old coating and paint. The guy who runs a sticky interior fixing company in the US has even done 458 parts, so the newer models aren't immune.
Make sure it's got a decent exhaust. It's hard to beat the exhaust note of a 355 with a Capristo.
theRossatron said:
I've had my 355 for 6 years and the only thing that's gone wrong with it was a seal at the top of the fuel tank. Apart from that normal servicing really.
I would suggest you ask your mechanic about general replacement of items, otherwise you will be in for an horrific bill down the line.I've had my 355 spider for 13 years, it has averaged about £3K per year since I have owned it.
works done other than general servicing are:
Refurbished cats
Refurbished roof hydraulic motors and replacement lines
Refurbished wheels
Replacement of all window seals
Sticky bits sorted
Heads repainted
Enamelled shields re-enamelled
Birkin1932 said:
I would suggest you ask your mechanic about general replacement of items, otherwise you will be in for an horrific bill down the line.
I've had my 355 spider for 13 years, it has averaged about £3K per year since I have owned it.
works done other than general servicing are:
Refurbished cats
Refurbished roof hydraulic motors and replacement lines
Refurbished wheels
Replacement of all window seals
Sticky bits sorted
Heads repainted
Enamelled shields re-enamelled
Did your car come with aftermarket headers / manifolds ?I've had my 355 spider for 13 years, it has averaged about £3K per year since I have owned it.
works done other than general servicing are:
Refurbished cats
Refurbished roof hydraulic motors and replacement lines
Refurbished wheels
Replacement of all window seals
Sticky bits sorted
Heads repainted
Enamelled shields re-enamelled
I agree, my car has probably cost an average of £3k a year over the last six years. Low cost upkeep tends to imply an accumulation of things that will need addressing eventually. And whilst I do concede that some years may be less expensive than others it'll even out. Next year should be lower for me for example but once I tackle the sticky switches it won't be.
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