1997 Ferrari F355 GTS from UK and Ireland - Comments

The person above who mentioned he was 21 & owned I think a 348, being able to insure it for £1600? Unless he missed a zero. I live in a medium crime rate zone, fully modified Civic 1.6 (180bhp) Its cost me £1500 a year in insurance & I am 20 (turning 21 next month) with 2 years NCB, Advance driving & Max Driver certified. I love the 355 & you have to admire it over the 360... I am looking to buy a Nissan Skyline & when I turn 26 a 355! (insure will be affordable then!)

I'm only 19 and have had the pleasure of driving my dad's 355 gts. Of course it's not the easiest car to drive, but it a FERRARI! Any body who comes on here complaining about the build quality not being as good as BMW, Porsche, etc... has to remember one thing, what sounds better, I own a BMW or I own a FERRARI! I think it's fair to say I would sell my soul for one of these babies.

Well, it is still dreaming for me, but to buy such a great car just so you can say "I own a Ferrari"?! Man... something isn't right here.

...and the waiting continues...

I really enjoyed reading what everyone is saying about the 355. I'm 23 and am fanatical about the 355, obviously it is my ambition in life to one day walk into a Ferrari dealer and and choose my beast, but for now, listening to so many of you who are lucky enough to own one sharing your stories is enough to send a shiver down my spine. Thanks for taking the time to share your moments.

As so many others above had said - the 355 is simply the best car ever made. I drove one round Silverstone last year for a quick 3 laps and was one of the best experiences of my life (i hope my wife doesn't read this). None of the 20 or so people before me seem to have been able to put their finger on what it is about the 355 that makes it so incredible. You very rarely hear people talk about other sports cars in this way, but I regularly meet people who can talk about Ferrari's in this way for hours -that's why the build quality is rubbish, because they have a certain something that will make people queue up to buy them anyway! - and the 355 is the pick of the bunch. If money were no object, i'd still have a '98 355 over a '05 430. Well actually, if money was no object id have both... plus a SuperAmerica, an Enzo, a 1960GTS... as well as a collection of 355's in red, green, black, yellow, blue, soft top, hard top...

Market demand in both the US and England has created a unique opportunity for Ferrari fans without Ferrari money.

While not cheap, there are now clubs springing up everywhere in which you pay a set yearly fee plus a monthly fee (varies depending on club). Anyway, for that money you get your pick of exotics and don't have to pay for anything but gas (again, varies from club to club). You get the car for a weekend or a week and can do so multiple times throughout the year. Plus, the car you get will always be prepped to be at peak operating condition.

Given most Ferrari owners won't put more than 5,000 miles a year on their cars (yes, I know some people commute with them as I've worked with such people, but we are talking MOST owners), this makes more financial sense.

I love motor vehicles of all shape, sizes and manufacturers. I know that there will be some people that will disagree as they say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but to me the Ferrari F355 is the most well proportioned and beautifully designed vehicle and my personal number 1. I drive a 1996 (993) Porsche carrera and despite its steaming windscreen and chewing up the rear tires I love the car and at speed it sounds amazing too, the new ones just don't sound or look better or have the build quality. I am fortunate to have a friend who owned a 348, F355, 360, then a stradale challenge and now a black 430 and I am lucky enough to have driven all of them. The newer Ferrari's do handle better, are more user friendly and better engineered. Despite the better engineering and a/c systems and electronics of all the above none of the above was as aesthetically pleasing to the eye and gave me goosebumps like the sound of the F355 taking off. I think that if heaven could be encapsulated in sound it would be a F355 at about 5,000 rpm and above. Everyone will always have an opinion and I will buy a F355 in the future, that is almost certain. It is one of the greatest cars ever made and if it was not for all the rules and regulations I am sure the newer Ferrari's would sound like a mixture of a tornado and the grim reaper screaming. Despite its age the car is a classic.

I'm in need of some desperate help!!

I'm nearly 24 and I own a 1997 f355 spider, unfortunatly because of my age I am unable to get insurance. I have tried every single insurance broker and company in Australia. if anyone has any suggestions please let me know as it is killing me to see my baby sitting in the garage because of it being un insured

f355spy97@hotmail.com is my email anybody's help would be greatly appreciated.

I am 33 and have 90 348 GTS.

I love it, drive it, pay for it,& cherish it. I have had it seven years & won't sell it.

For you young guys who are inquiring about insurance, who cares your license. It will probably become revoked anyhow. That is if you drive your car the way it was intended. I have a friend who makes me insurance cards.

Next, if you're like me and your favorite car is a 355, then buy a 348 and put 355 wheels, door scoops and rockers, as they are interchangeable. Now they even make a taillight panel with round lights. You can't tell the difference.

O'hhhhhhhh what a car. It is only a 4 valve motor, but its is still FERRARI V8. Better than any german car for the money. Not the fastest not the best, but sometimes I am just in awe as I forget how truly wonderful it is to own a Ferrari.

Don't get red because the attention is overwhelming after the first year.

Good luck to all in fulfilling your dreams.

Scott socal.

Modifying a 348 to look like a 355 is just wrong. It may look the same, but the owner is always going to feel like he's conning himself & the people who admire it. While the 348 was a brilliant car, the 355 will go down as one of the all time greats.

Heard that a Toyota MR2 owner, put 355 panels on it so it looked almost exactly like a 355. The conversion went so well, he's offered to do it for other MR2 owners... at a price obviously. Needless to say he's now in hiding from Ferrari's team of lawyers!!!

I recently purchased a F355 GTS (1997) in red with 19,000 recorded miles for £48,000. I have previously owned several executive and sports cars, but always wanted a ferrari so at 40 years of age I decided to arrange a test drive.

My first impression was how good it still looked for a 9 year old car. When I turned the key and listened to the sound of that V8 jumping to life I was hooked.

Driving the car made the hairs on my neck stand up, the acceleration from 380 bhp in a car which weighs less than my wife was unbelievable. Driving through a tunnel with a tubi exhaust made me dribble uncontrollably. I now pray for sunny days to drive this ultimate boys toy.

Personally for me the F355 is king, or queen whichever way you want to put it. Its such a beautiful car to look at, it handles like a dream and after being in the passenger seat of a Gallardo, Murcielago, Enzo, SLR and GT that are far newer and more powerful cars, they just don't sound right, also styling is just not the same, they don't flow. Too many angles, not a smooth precise design from front to rear. The mucielago has a thunderous sound, the enzo a crackly sound, the F355 is just perfect, when you wind up the throttles it sounds like a tornado about to take off. Imagine a scary move when you get tingles and goosebumps, that's the sensation it gives, pure raw sensoral awakening.

Some of you are spot on and some of you just don't get it.

It is nothing to do with how much how reliable service costs etc. It is purely down to one thing and that is putting the keys in the ignition of your own ferrari and

driving off to anywhere.

My father has owned ferrari's since I was 4 and I could not pronounce the word at first.

I woulds run round the garden asking to go in the " Rari Rari" as near as I could get to it.

I have been lucky and spoilt to have sat and driven the mondial 308 328 348 355 testarossa f40 360 f430 and last week he purchased the Enzo which I have yet to see in the flesh.

To say I am excited is an understatement. I am 33 now and have a 3 year old boy who is obsessing like me about the day I get my first ferrari.

The enzo is a dream car and in all reality probably something I will only ever aspire to own as my wife brings me back to reality many times when looking at the value of a house or a car.

The enzo arrives next week and I will be there with a smile on my face almost as big as the day my children were born.

Wow. Just reading all those comment on the F355. After months of thinking and wondering we have decided it's time to enter the Ferrari ownership circle. I'm 30 in 5 months and since I was 4 years old have dreamed of owning a Ferrari.

So time to take the plunge. It's going to be either a F355 GTB or GTS - too many bad stories about the Spider plus in my opinion it just doesn't look as good.

Red, Cream leather, red carpets and Tubi exhaust, that's the dream ticket. I'm in Dublin, so a few trips to the UK will be in order before I find the right one, I'm sure.

I can't wait. I've been waiting for this for more than 25 years. My only fear... that in those 25 years I've built it up to be more than it really is. Only time will tell, and I can't wait to find out...

Well, I am forty four and bought an f355 spyder last year... driving this machine makes you realize that it was engineered to be a street race car... from the intense engine-exploding with power revolutions sound to the low-riding feeling and making quick tight turns on the roads, to the looks everyone gives you, even if you are next to the latest sweet car...

This car is worth every aggravation it can give you in repairs and upkeep.. the respect you get is priceless... and your investment does not go down... unless you take care of it crappily... love it..