Trade e92 M3 for 1997 Ferrari 355 spider?

[DEAN325i]

Just curious....

I saw a ferrari for a relatively good price in my area. Its red with tan interior with 38k miles. I still have yet to find out more about the service history and car history in general. Its a beautiful car and owning a ferrari has been one of my dreams! I know its old school technology, but its a ferrari! Its going for about 49k, and i know there is still wiggle room. If the car comes out clean, the maintanence is up to date, and passes the PPI inspection...would you go for it? What are your thoughts?.......

[Nine]

Are you single or married?

[Krozi]

Don't do it. Its going to be broken every day of your life, catch on fire, and somehow kill the neighbor's pet.

[THE TECH]

Convertibles are for chicks.

[MUFCbmwbear]

355 is one of the greats. But I'd vote no.

[GTM_Challenge]

355's dont have the best track record on the planet and service to keep them up and running can get pricey quick. I'd save up for a 360 modena, or better yet an F430. The F430 is a timing chain based car, so the service periods arent as often of as intense as the earlier cars. As much as i love Ferrari's you have to be prepared to spend a decent amount to keep them up.

[DEAN325i]

Originally Posted by Nine

Are you single or married?

Married w/ a child

Originally Posted by Krozi

Don't do it. Its going to be broken every day of your life, catch on fire, and somehow kill the neighbor's pet.

Yeah, i know the 355 are prone to being unreliable at times and need certain things replaced every so often. But i know a few people that own them and just as long as you keep up with the maintanence, then their pretty solid cars. Just expensive to keep up!

Originally Posted by MUFCbmwbear

355 is one of the greats. But I'd vote no.

True! I love the sound!

Originally Posted by GTM_Challenge

355's dont have the best track record on the planet and service to keep them up and running can get pricey quick. I'd save up for a 360 modena, or better yet an F430. The F430 is a timing chain based car, so the service periods arent as often of as intense as the earlier cars. As much as i love Ferrari's you have to be prepared to spend a decent amount to keep them up.

Yeah, i am aware of the cost it takes to maintain these machines. I do have a friend that has a personal Ferrari tech, that i can get a pretty good rate. The 360 is awesome also, but where i live they are very common. I see one almost everyday in which the 355 i dont and i love the design of the f355 much better!

keep in mind, this will be a weekend car. I do have a daily driver

[THE-FN-MAN]

Sweet car but the only way you should get it is if you were able to keep your M and have the 355 as a weekend/special event car. You'd miss your M if you only had the Ferrari

[Brosef]

I say go for it. however, personally, I'd get a black berlinetta with a tan interior.

IMO, the 355 is still the best sounding road car of all time. totally worth the hassle of maintenance. also, I'd take the 355 over the 360 any day - the 360 is the 996 of the Ferrari evolution.

[Darth One]

the F355 is one of the greatest cars ever made,period. if you can own one in your lifetime, I'd recommend it. but keep a reliable DD, a Ferrari fund, and resign yourself to the likelihood that you won't be able to keep it for very long once things start going wrong

[signes]

Originally Posted by Brosef

I say go for it. however, personally, I'd get a black berlinetta with a tan interior.

IMO, the 355 is still the best sounding road car of all time. totally worth the hassle of maintenance. also, I'd take the 355 over the 360 any day - the 360 is the 996 of the Ferrari evolution.

Agree on all counts! Esp the comparison to the 996

[ruff1017]

I love F355 so much however I would not advise you to get it.

It's gonna cost you so much to fix it. It will be a nightmare after.
There is a reason why they have such low miles.
Also a car like that will be very difficult to resell after putting so much money into it.

But if you are a rich man , get it because it is one of the better Ferrari ever built.

[DEAN325i]

Originally Posted by THE-FN-MAN

Sweet car but the only way you should get it is if you were able to keep your M and have the 355 as a weekend/special event car. You'd miss your M if you only had the Ferrari

I use to daily drive my m3..bought it in march 08 and and have 58K miles. And i stopped driving it daily almost two years ago. I drove it lots! I enjoy it more when I dont drive it as much and it was a great daily but i dont miss it that much.

Originally Posted by Brosef

I say go for it. however, personally, I'd get a black berlinetta with a tan interior.

sweet! I need a vert for the cali sun =)

IMO, the 355 is still the best sounding road car of all time. totally worth the hassle of maintenance. also, I'd take the 355 over the 360 any day - the 360 is the 996 of the Ferrari evolution.

totally agree!

Originally Posted by Darth One

the F355 is one of the greatest cars ever made,period. if you can own one in your lifetime, I'd recommend it. but keep a reliable DD, a Ferrari fund, and resign yourself to the likelihood that you won't be able to keep it for very long once things start going wrong

Yeah, i dont plan on keeping it forever. Just want to add it to the check list. Just like my M3, ive had it for four years and love the car! But if I decide Ferrari for a bit, i plan to go Porsche after for more reliability.

Originally Posted by signes

Agree on all counts! Esp the comparison to the 996

[mdosu]

i vote for the 360 modena. I personally am holding out for a 360 Challenge Stradale.

[Porschefile]

I like the look and sounds of a 355 but they are hellaciously expensive to maintain. IIRC the belt change every ~5k miles is $15k+ at the ferrari dealer (they have to pull the motor to do it...). I saw one at the Lambo dealer in Atlanta and they gave me that figure (maybe trying to justify the relatively low maintenance gallardo lol).

[John Tanglewood]

F1 GTS is one of my dream cars! GO FOR IT!. LOVE that car.

[PaneristiDriver]

I wouldnt. If I wanted to buy a car that was one of the greatest of all time that will also hold value to boot...Porsche 993 Turbo or Turbo S. Even the other variations of the 993 would be similar but at a lesser price point since 993 Turbos are still 90K for a clean example.

[48Laws]

Go out a buy a Reebok sweatsuit and white-framed sunglasses to match it.

[kasimmmmm]

ferrari will you laid
M3 will attract the racerboys.

[ilya335]

Always read that old Ferrari's will bankrupt you.

But if everything checks out, and as a poster mentioned above, keep a "Ferrari Fund" around, you should be fine and having tons of fun.

On a personal note, I feel like a Red Ferrari with Tan interior is the most cliche color combo of any Ferrari.

[Sy546]

if you can afford the maintenance than HELL YES.

[adc]

360 CS or bust. Whoever thinks this is the 996 of the F range clearly hasn't experienced it...

Would a 430 be even better? Hell yes, but with every generation the price goes up $30k or so. The 355 can be a straight swap for and M3 money wise, but the fragility and maintenance costs may negate any costs advantage over a 360.

So if I am to live my Ferrari fantasy, the lowest rung I would jump on would be the 360.