[tamburello]

I am posting a thread for the first time in my life, as I am also about to fulfill a life long dream and purchase my first F car. As many of you can relate to, I have been a gearhead and Ferrari nut since early childhood. As many of you have done also, I have committed years of hard work and saving, and more recently, a year of solid research including attending recent cavallinos and events and talking to owners, then following the F car market and homing in on the 355 or the 360, as i have a weakness for manual gearbox spiders and these spectacular cars are now within my reach. I have also pored over the posts at ferralife (and other sites for tifiosi), and probably went a bit ocd with respect to the intensity and breadth of my research. I particularly enjoyed a recent thread initiated by a gentleman racer poised to make his first acquisition and unable to decide between the 355 and the 360 - my predicament as well! Everything changed when I test drove my first F car a few days ago, a 97 355 spider (rosso corsa/tan with 6x and 28k miles) at an independent. Now, I cant get sleep at night as I cant stop thinking about it. I need to drive it again, and again, and again. Five minutes after I test drove it, I almost wrote a 59k check on impulse just to drive it again. But I held in the reigns and would like to drive the 360 spider and learn more before I join ranks. The 355 i test drove had pirelli shoes up front and potenzas on the rear. Is this uncommon, should I be weary? furthermore, the front right headlight doesnt flip up until you thump it with your fist. Loveable italian quirk or ominous black cloud? How might i find the best PPI, as I am hesitant to trust the referred inpector of the independent car group selling the car? should I be hesitant? Also, has anyone ever heard of a so called "auto trust" in alaska that supposedly enables you to set up a perfectly legal trust to acquire (and drive) cars purchased by your trust and exempt from sales and personal property tax? I can afford these, thanks to a higher power, but I'm curious. Finally, is it appropriate to discuss specific dealers and independent car groups on this forum? I am going to travel to test drive some 360's and I would hate to make the mistake of dealing with dispreputable businesses, but I dont want to step on toes. Finally, any advice on insurance issues? I have a fairly clean record (some minor heavy right foot issues) and would drive the car for 6 months out of the year, as I live in the midwest and just completed a custom heated garage with lift capability for the new stallion. With much appreciation and regards to everyone.

[Barry]

Welcome to F-Life tamburello. I had a similar choice a number of years ago and chose a 360 Modena, which has delivered fun and excitement in equal measures ever since. Regardless of your choice you will get a great car, both the 355 and 360 are wonderful machines each with their own charms. Good luck in the decision making process - enjoy it, its half the fun.

[tamburello]

cheers, Barry. I appreciate the advice. I see you're in Dublin. My wife is Irish, from the county cork, and we"ll be visiting soon. If I hear that screaming V8, I'll find you

[Boxer]

Build quality on the 360's is much improved over the F355s.

Mismatched tires might indicate an unsympathetic former owner who was light on the maintenance $$$. Check the service history and have an indepth PPI done.

Depending on your height, 360 Spider is a much easier fit than the F355 Spider. Putting the top up on a F355 Spider if you are over 6" will result in your being impaled on the steering wheel.

[tamburello]

thanks boxer. I am 6'2" and the 355 had its top down on display and for my test drive. I confirmed that the mechanism was functional, but didnt actually sit in the car to appreciate headroom , or lack of. I think rather than risk impalement on the steering wheel, I will aim for a modena spider. I have never driven one before, and I plan to test drive a few in the coming weeks and continue to lose sleep , with a smile plastered on my face, until its delivered. in the interim, red, silver, or black?

[Boxer]

Originally Posted by tamburello

thanks boxer. I am 6'2" and the 355 had its top down on display and for my test drive. I confirmed that the mechanism was functional, but didnt actually sit in the car to appreciate headroom , or lack of. I think rather than risk impalement on the steering wheel, I will aim for a modena spider. I have never driven one before, and I plan to test drive a few in the coming weeks and continue to lose sleep , with a smile plastered on my face, until its delivered. in the interim, red, silver, or black?

On a 360 Spider, IMHO, red and darker blues are the best colors.

[tamburello]

The classic red/tan with a ragtop and manual box of the 355 was purifying. I think the factory option modular rims make the 360 more intensely sexy and mysterious. Pardon my curiousity, boxer, but what colors are represented in your collection?

[Boxer]

Originally Posted by tamburello

Pardon my curiousity, boxer, but what colors are represented in your collection?

Currently both Ferraris are red. However I used to have a NART Blue 360 which looked

[tamburello]

The great thing about this site is that others can genuinely appreciate this thing of the heart and share it. I will post pictures of the new garage and details pertaining to specific testdrives soon. Any final words of wisdom before long awaited purchase?

[tamburello]

As I'm committed to a 360, I'm curious as to why you parted with the modena. Traded up? Thats what I am considering in a year or two....but then I think Ill be too in love with first one to part with it.

[Boxer]

Originally Posted by tamburello

As I'm committed to a 360, I'm curious as to why you parted with the modena. Traded up? Thats what I am considering in a year or two....but then I think Ill be too in love with first one to part with it.

Only reason for selling was that the 360 Modena was LHD and I moved to a RHD country.

[Granucci]

My 2cents[or tupance or whatever ya'll call them ] is, the 360 would be a better car.

But I do know your feeling having that as a first drive experience as was mine: For years I was after the 355, but actually now would probably like the 360 better.

[FLYONWALL9]

Congrats on the test drive. When I purchased my Pcar I also noticed that it had mismatched tires on it. I just wrote it off to the rears wear out faster than the fronts and the owner was about to sell the car so they didn't put expensive Michelins back on the rear. It could have been something as simple as one of the tires could have gotten a puncture on a trip and the place they had to make the repair didn't sell the same brand. My point is I wouldn't automatically think the worst based on the tires alone so long as the cars records reflected good over all repair. Also, if the car checks out well in its PPI then that will tell you what you need to know.

Lastly, if you find a car in a given city you may want to check the member list for that city and ask around for who they have work done by. This may give you good source for your PPI.

Best of luck

[tamburello]

Thanks flyonwall9, excellent advice with respect to checking the member list. Ill definitely investigate and hopefully, find a local independent place for PPI and for potential aftermarket work as well. I'm dissapointed though, I called the closest official dealer (closest to the location of the car) and they quoted a ppi estimate that was close to an even grand. I called a local place near Chicago and got an estimate for less than half of that. Why do some dealerships try to take advantage of people so shamelessly? Frustrated. Incidentally, how are those rear tires doing? Are they still on?

[FLYONWALL9]

Originally Posted by tamburello

Thanks flyonwall9, excellent advice with respect to checking the member list. Ill definitely investigate and hopefully, find a local independent place for PPI and for potential aftermarket work as well. I'm dissapointed though, I called the closest official dealer (closest to the location of the car) and they quoted a ppi estimate that was close to an even grand. I called a local place near Chicago and got an estimate for less than half of that. Why do some dealerships try to take advantage of people so shamelessly? Frustrated. Incidentally, how are those rear tires doing? Are they still on?

No worries... Though I do not own an Fcar yet I did learn the PPI workings when I purchased my Pcar. I also didn't know anything about it nor who to trust or take it to. I had the idea to look on a few forums and found some members in the area the car was in and contated them. It worked out really well. You may even find someone who knows of the car if it were a local car and not an out of town trade or out of town purchase if your buying from a dealer.

I think you will also find local shops pretty much all of them will be far less than a dealer cost. As you know dealers have more mouths to feed. One thing I am unsure of is if dealers work off a 'book' price for PPI. If they do this could explain the drastic diff from a local shop vs dealer. An independent shop say for my Pcar hr rate can be as high as 85 per hour, the dealer can be as high as 200hr. I do know from having a great friend with a high end shop, the work they do is based on 'book' costs. This is how tech's are paid, if a set job; lets say timing belt change booked out at 3 hours that is your labor cost plus parts. If the tech is good and knows the car hey may can bang it out in half or less than half that time. Go over that booked time and the shop and tech loose money. If the car comes back with an issue from the work done or if they screw up something as a result of the work done they have to again eat that cost. My PPI for my Pcar was very detailed far more than I even asked him to check, the cost was only 120 bucks. This wasn't a shade tree type guy, he was very well known and known for really taking care of customers.
SORRY FOR THE lengthy explanation, I could be completely off the mark for Fcar procedures....

cheers,
Scott

[tamburello]

Appreciate the lengthy explanation, actually Scott. I quickly tried to find where members of the ferrarilife community live by surfing the site, but was not able to isolate specific members based on geographic exclusion criteria. I will contact administrators (another first!) How do you like the p car? Where is your friends shop? I wish I had the killer hookup with experienced mechanic and a honest, efficient, and nearby team for maintenance and aftermarket work. The 360 spiders I'll be testing have either stock exhausts or tubis. If the one I choose has a stock exhaust, I intend to install a valve controlled capristo stage 1/3 exhaust. If the car I pick has a tubi, I hope its because of the tubi! If the tubi doesn't amaze me, I may sell/trade/ the tubi for the capristo. Its unfortunate that the regs and emission restrictions have choked the true exhaust note of the motor. Does your friend have experience with these installs? Thanks again for explaining book time. If I find a great shop that's not too far away, I may invest in a trailer and transport the car myself...whole nother topic

[Jimmy Chen Shiba DDS]

Welcome to FL, tamburello. Good luck with your search. Where are you located ? w/ smiles Jimmy

[tamburello]

greetings Jimmy! I was quite pleased to see your post and the lovely dino in the profile shot. I am 39, I currently reside in western illinois but i have lived in new york, california, ohio, wisconsin, and the french carribean. I am a surgeon blessed with a wonderful wife and three boys, as well as the long-awaited privelage of acquiring my first Ferrari. I remember when I was 7, I begged my dad to get a dino! I thought the lines were timeless and made me think of a very special girl in the 1st grade that i was in love with. Years later, in the early 80's, I begged my dad to get a 288 gto as that car perfectly coincided with the teenage testosterone surge! Needless to say, my dad bought old porsches and rolls royces instead (which are now one quarter of their value instead of quadruple their value) but my dad didnt buy cars for their investment potential, he bought cars that spoke to his heart. someday, God willing, Im gonna grab a 250lm or a dino. First, however, I ache for a red/tan spider with a manual box.... heading to Texas, Florida, and Missouri next week for test drives, inspections, and final selection. With warmest regards Jimmy, stay safe and be well.

[Jimmy Chen Shiba DDS]

Originally Posted by tamburello

greetings Jimmy! I was quite pleased to see your post and the lovely dino in the profile shot. I am 39, I currently reside in western illinois but i have lived in new york, california, ohio, wisconsin, and the french carribean. I am a surgeon blessed with a wonderful wife and three boys, as well as the long-awaited privelage of acquiring my first Ferrari. I remember when I was 7, I begged my dad to get a dino! I thought the lines were timeless and made me think of a lovely girl in the 1st grade that i was in love with. Years later, in the early 80's, I begged my dad to get a 288 gto as that car perfectly coincided with the teenage testosterone surge! Needless to say, my dad bought old porsches and rolls royces instead (which are now one quarter of their value instead of quadruple their value) but my dad didnt buy cars for their investment potential, he bought cars that spoke to his heart. someday, God willing, Im gonna grab a 250lm or a dino. First, however, I ache for a red/tan spider with a manual box.... heading to Texas, Florida, and Missouri next week for test drives, inspections, and final selection. With warmest regards Jimmy, stay safe and be well.

Thanx for the great self-intro ! In this cyber age of faceless, virtual reality, it is wonderful to get acquainted with someone who is open and honest. I can certainly relate to your taste with cars, especially the 288GTO. Great to have you on board and looking forward to your inputs. w/ smiles Jimmy

[tamburello]

So funny Jimmy, I was prepping the garage and thinking about my introduction to a global community of Fcar enthusiasts while your most recent post came through. Amazing how technology has developed! Speaking of technology and the internet, i was also thinking about the f1 trans and its merits. I have reviewed f1 vs manual debate on forums of Flife, and i dont mean to beat a dead horse... I remember Mansell debuting the paddle shift f189. Its first in the world performance, at Brazil and Portugal in particular, were impressive. The f189 was the first f1 car developed with a 7 speed semi-automatic paddle shift trans. the The f1 car itself is truly beautiful. I have newspaper clippings about the car, given to me by my dad, pertaining to that particular racer. Only one of the cars I intend to test is an f1 transmssion. It is a spectacular low (but not too low) mileage car. Of all the manual boxes you've connected with, which is the best and why? So glad to have found you guys.