Jamie140

Drove a 360 and 355 back to back when I bought my 360. Thought the 360 was much better than the 355. Plus, do some research about engine out maintenance required on the 355.

Although I still think the two prettiest cars of all time are the 993TT and 355 spyder.

backeddy

I had a 348, 355 and a 360... nothing beats the sound of a high revving Ferrari. I never once dropped the engine for a service on the 355, there are ways around it, but I also had a large CNC shop, so I could fabricate pieces to lock gears in place etc. the 360 was not my favorite though, the 348 was... even with the frequent "bank error" :-) I put 84k miles on it too!!!

Marine Blue

Thanks for the feedback. So as far as the maintenance issues go, I've been reading about this and I understand that the headers and valves need to be addressed for 95 model year cars. Headers may need to be addressed on later cars but for the most part the car I would be buying would have this addressed already based upon age and the expected maintenance I will be searching for.

I am curious about your experience with it feeling slow, can you elaborate on this? Also how was the steering feel and overall handling? Having a Spyder makes you a very good person to get this feedback from!

I'm truly not as worried about maintenance. I know someone in SD that has worked on the 355 and he noted that the engineering is antiquated and quirky but that doesn't make it difficult to work on the car at all. He has offered to maintain the car for me and based upon the work he has done on my Spyder I would trust him implicitly to do the work as good as any Ferrari tech. He's **** and very meticulous. Yes it will take him more time to work on the car since he doesn't have the extensive experience but his labor rate is signicantly less and he's honest so I won't be gouged. Overall I feel comfortable with this aspect of the car ownership which is why this is the first time I really am considering the 355.

I've heard that the 348 is an amazing driving experience. How is the handling of the 355? That's my biggest question, especially having a Spyder right now. I agree the sound is intoxicating and I'm specifically thinking the F355 Spider for the sound and convertible experience that I love in the Spyder.

I need to go test drive one.....

supercup

Congrats on the change of heart - whatever car makes you happy - own it.

My philosophy has been I never go back - just move forward to then next fun thing. But there are a few cars I wish I kept. I have never been a collector and always wanted to drive what I owned and could fit in the garage.

I now have a bigger garage and a storage unit and that seems to be changing my philosophy after many years. I am now looking at cars like your Spyder (the GT4 in my case) and am planning to hold on to them. In addition I am looking for a few past cars that I really enjoyed (993 Cup car, 997.1 GT3 RS, 996 GT2) to add to the garage over time and a few cars I missed out on (GT3 RS 4.0).

These are all "analog" drivers cars in a digital world. Cars like this will be harder to come by as the years progress, so I think keeping those you pick up along the way is a good idea if you can swing it. May never get there on the past cars due to cost and rarity but they journey is the fun part!

backeddy

In my opinion, neither are even close to my 987.2 in handling....My home track is now Laguna Seca and the Spyder(P Car) would eat the 348/355 alive. Does it have the flash or Ferrari experience? no, but with that said I get almost as many inquiries asking "what is that?" on the P car as I did on the ferrari. Here was the only pic I could find of the 355.

Marine Blue

Thanks for this feedback Eddy. If the handling isn't as good then this would be an issue for me since I weigh that very heavily when choosing a car. Appearance and sound are also very important and the 355 has both in spades. Great picture by the way, love the Nero on the 355.

CAlexio

Read up on 348.. you can't exaggerate how bad the handling of that car was. Snap oversteer due to poorly designed rear suspension geometry.. many articles written about it being on of the very worst handling sports car of all time.

No comparison with 355 on that front

JCtx

The 355 has numerous potential mechanical issues, the main being a problem with the valvetrain, but should have been corrected under warranty on most cars. The main problem with those cars now is that belt service requires dropping the engine (every 5 years). Also the F1 tranny is extremely unreliable, especially on early cars. Was researching one for my brother, but convinced him to buy a 430 F1 (he wants auto) Spider instead. But yes, the 355 is probably the best looking Ferrari of all time IMO, but to buy a car just for looks is a dangerous proposition. The 430 was the first 'reliable' Ferrari, and with chain-driven cams, much cheaper/simpler to service (at least in manual version). Bought a manual 430 Spider for him many years ago, but he just wasn't into manuals, so sold it. He doesn't like new ones, so wants another but F1 this time. Will start looking for a pristine '08+ early next year.

As mentioned, none of those old Ferraris hold a candle to a 981GTS and above, which is not only much more comfortable and attractive inside (outside too, at least for me), but handles better, and has at least the same level of overall performance. I'm not the nostalgic or show-off kind (fortunately), so I always prefer new and subdued, than old and flashy, especially if the price is lower. But to each his own.

Noah Fect

F355 = boss level in the auto mechanic game. Do you own your own machine shop? Does Boeing regularly borrow your tools? Did you join the Navy's nuclear engineering program right out of college? Can you trace your family lineage back to both the da Vincis and the Medicis? Does NASA call you for consulting when the Mars rover breaks down?

If the answer to all of these questions is "Yes," then the F355 may be for you. Otherwise, run away.

jvmax

348 is the gated Ferrari bargain right now. Baby testarossa styling

jvmax

a pic to back up this thread. Oh the sound of a high revving Ferrari V8. I did not consider the 355 due to the stated issues earlier in this thread and the price. A good 348 is a $40k-$60k car all day long. I bought mine last spring and ponied up due to color and ferrari speedline wheels on my car.

tmc

Well I see that this has diverged into a discussion of the 355 vs. 360 vs. 430.

I've driven all three and owned examples of the latter two. In general, Ferrari doesn't "inch up a little" in performance from generation to generation-- it's always a quantum leap. The 355 feels downright pokey-slow compared with the 360. The 430 leaves the 360 in the dust.

I decided to stay away from the 355. Forza had an issue about the 355 about a year ago with a survey of 355 owners. The owners themselves said the maintenance was the biggest pain with owning the car and that they wouldn't buy a 355 again.

Yes the 981 Spyder is a little more of everything-- handling, power, etc-- than the 360, but not much. The thing about a Ferrari is that, even for the modern ones, they feel hand crafted and unique inside and out. I'm not a snob. But I do like nice things

INTMD8

Interesting this has been said a few times. The acceleration of a 360 over a 355 is marginal at best. It really did just inch it up a little from the F355.

My 95 is stock with new cats and a Capristo. Ran 12.6 @114mph first time I ran it down the dragstrip.

If that makes the 355 pokey slow than so is a 360.

CFIMarco

+1

tstafford

Agreed.

Owned a 355 and two different 360s. There's no doubt that the 360 is a huge improvement on the 355 mechanically and fit/finish. The engine out thing is another reason to steer clear of the 355. With the 360 you're only somewhat worried that it will breakdown every time you drive it and you only have to say one prayer per time you try to start it.