[Dave355]

Hi. I have recently sold my 355 and was thinking of getting a 550 or 360.
my initial preference was for a 550 based on value for money, looks and reviews i have read. having test driven both back to back i must say i was disappointed with the 550 and amazed by the 360.

compared to the 360 the 550 felt very heavy especially clucth/ gearbox and the engine didnt want to seem to rev as agressively through out the whole range. the 360 handling was razor sharp whereas the 550 felt a bit floaty with noticeable front end lift under hard acceleration. when it came to sound the 360 was awesome even with a standard exhaust, whereas the 550 was basically unremarkable.

i am wondering if anyone else has done the back to back testdrives and come to the same conclusion or maybe i just had a bad example of the 550. any views on this anyone?

 

[BrentC]

Dave355,

I guess each drive in a Fcar is subjective. Two people can drive the same car and get totally different feelings and feedback from the car. I would say your impression of the 360 was more of what you want. It sounds like you were happier with the 360.

Unfortunately, I have only ridden in a 550, but never driven one. So, I can't be much help for comparision. I'm sure there are many 550 owners on the site that could help you.

Good Luck and keep us posted.

 

[Stradale]

Hi. I have recently sold my 355 and was thinking of getting a 550 or 360.
my initial preference was for a 550 based on value for money, looks and reviews i have read. having test driven both back to back i must say i was disappointed with the 550 and amazed by the 360.

compared to the 360 the 550 felt very heavy especially clucth/ gearbox and the engine didnt want to seem to rev as agressively through out the whole range. the 360 handling was razor sharp whereas the 550 felt a bit floaty with noticeable front end lift under hard acceleration. when it came to sound the 360 was awesome even with a standard exhaust, whereas the 550 was basically unremarkable.

i am wondering if anyone else has done the back to back testdrives and come to the same conclusion or maybe i just had a bad example of the 550. any views on this anyone?

Dave, to be fair they're two different purpose built cars. The 550 is a GT and the 360 is a sports car. If your usage is more on long distance and highway then the 550 is unbeatable. But if you want a sports car to drive around in town and track (occasionally) then the 360 is far far better.

 

[Dave355]

i think my mind is made up on a 360. one thing i have been wondering about (like many others!) is the impact on 360 prices of the 430 hitting the roads in a couple months time. 360s still seem to be sitting fairly high up the depreciation curve (as opposed to 550s) and there doesnt seem to be many cars for sale privately (here in the UK). I have noticed dealers across the country have litteraly hundreds of unsold 360s and its seems to me that they may have been keeping prices well supported up to this point. i think once dealers start to get competition from private sellers we will see prices plunging by 10-15% by year end. At the moment you can get late 99/ early 2000 cars with approx 15-20k miles for about £67-71k ish from a dealer, so am expecting these cars to be going for early £60s by end of summer.
anyone got any views on this?

 

[senna21]

I think you're spot on.

I think prices across the board will drop on all models. With the exception of cars built prior to 1990... Those I'm not too sure of.

 

[Boxer]

Dave, I agree that 360 prices will likely start to fall pretty rapidly. Not too sure on the other 8 cylinder end 80's, early 90's models as F355 prices are already in the low GBP 40k range/high 30k's, 348 can be found for low to mid 30k, and 328s in the high 20's to low 30's. These 3 would all seem to be pretty much fully deprecaited and the price tiers do have logic to them.

 

[Andrew]

Dave,

Best of luck on the search, I think you are on the right track. I would also wait at least 6 months for more F430s to be delivered then you will see some more price falls.

As Stradale said, two very different cars, choose the one that will suit your driving style.

 

[Stradale]

i think my mind is made up on a 360. one thing i have been wondering about (like many others!) is the impact on 360 prices of the 430 hitting the roads in a couple months time. 360s still seem to be sitting fairly high up the depreciation curve (as opposed to 550s) and there doesnt seem to be many cars for sale privately (here in the UK). I have noticed dealers across the country have litteraly hundreds of unsold 360s and its seems to me that they may have been keeping prices well supported up to this point. i think once dealers start to get competition from private sellers we will see prices plunging by 10-15% by year end. At the moment you can get late 99/ early 2000 cars with approx 15-20k miles for about £67-71k ish from a dealer, so am expecting these cars to be going for early £60s by end of summer.
anyone got any views on this?

Why not try getting from a private sale. Are you a member of Ferrrai Owners Club UK? Members who have placed their orders for the new 430s will want a quick sale. That's the best palce to look for good 360s.

 

[Dave355]

i have looked on the owners club website - there are a couple of average/ low mileage 2000 cars on there for around £70k but i have my pick of cars from a number of independent dealers a few thousand cheaper than that!
the other 360s on there are 2001 or spyders and later and much more expensive....
if dealers are selling 2000 cars for late 60s with warranty, piece of mind plus their profit margin i would expect to pay early 60s privatley for the same car. again i dont think private sellers are offering enough of a discount under independent dealers prices just yet to take the private mkt seriously. hmmmf looks like a slow process of just sitting around and waiting for the usual used car market dynamics to play out.....

 

[Stradale]

Good luck Dave.

 

[Paco]

I was reading EVO and that's what the journalists wrote about the 355 : "Comes close to motoring perfection" 5 stars.

About the 360 : "Worthy successor to 355 but not as involving as it should be". 4,5 stars.

And about the 550 : "Best car of the 90's. Perfect" 5 stars.

What does "not as involving as it should be" mean ? Is the 355 better than the 360 ?


Besides, some cars like the 360 reveal their ability immediately while others (like the 550) take a little bit more of time...

 

[Boxer]

It is all very subjective, drive them both and decide for your self. Each has its own strengths.