dwrights - 1999 360M F1

[Club Scuderia]

Ferrari 360 Modena F1

Registered 11/99
Date of purchase 30-03-2006
Purchased from Graypauls- Nottingham
Mileage 13750
12 Months warranty Incl.

Well it was a week before my 39th birthday and I had been thinking of getting myself a Ferrari for quite a while. Was originally looking at 550's but on the particular day I decided to p/ex my very thirsty Range Rover 4.4 HSE at Graypauls I decided on a 360 Modena F1 in Rosso Corsa with Daytona seats and wing Shields. I just wanted to buy a Ferrari that day and the 360 fitted the bill and I also got a good trade in price for my very unloved Range Rover. I paid 67K for the car with 12 months warranty.

I haven't felt this excited about collecting a car for a very long time, I couldn't sleep the night before collection day and I had butterflies in my stomach. The last time I had felt like this is when I collected my first Integrale about 10 years ago!

So it was time to pick up my new toy. I collected it from Graypauls on the Friday and went for an hours drive to get used to the F1 box and soak up the whole Ferrari experience. I was very pleased , these cars are fantastic and sound great.

I didn't get time to use it much over the weekend because of Friends visiting and work so I put Monday morning aside for a good drive out. It was lovely and sunny, perfect day for a drive. Jumped into the car and it wouldn't start......the battery had gone flat over the weekend. Quick phone call to Graypauls, told them about the battery and also mentioned a knocking noise from the front of the car going over bumps. They asked me to use the AA card they had supplied with the warranty to ask the AA to collect the Ferrari and deliver it to Graypauls because it would be two days before they could collect it.

I thought this was to much of a merry go round so I proposed that I could jump start my new car and drive it down to them and they could give me a lift back, I only live four miles from Graypaul. They agreed and off it went.

The next day I get a call to say my car is ready, fantastic because we have had some lovely sunny days since purchase.
They had fitted a new battery and fitted a new suspension ball joint. I was very pleased that they could return my car the next day....job well done.

Collected the car, starts first time now but still has the knocking noise. Thought I will mention it again in a week or so because I just want to drive my new toy.

 

[Club Scuderia]

9th April 2006.

9th April 2006.

Mileage:13992 miles

Well it was my birthday yesterday and the Ferrari was my present to myself. I did this on my 36th birthday I treated myself to an M5 which was a great car to own over the three years of ownership. Anyway back to Ferrari's......

As you can work out from the mileage I have covered less than 250 miles in 10 days! This is because of work, weather and not being able to use the car because I couldn't start it. Although Graypauls were very quick to repair and return...many thanks.

So it's Sunday morning the sun is shining down on Nottingham........time for a drive. Open the garage door, look at my pride and joy, big smile on my face. But ohh no........there is a large puddle of blue coolant on my garage floor. No it's not from the old Integrale but from my new Ferrari. Oh dear best give Graypauls a call on Monday morning.

 

[Club Scuderia]

14th May 2006.

14th May 2006.

15142 miles recorded.
Costs = Nil.

My last running report ended with me telling you about a puddle of blue coolant appearing underneath my pride and joy. I'm happy to report that it was just a loose coolant return pipe on the header tank, and all is well now.

I have covered over a thousand miles this month mostly because the weather has been great and also I have had a bit more spare time to myself this month because I've been quite lazy!

The 360 has been into Graypauls last week to check on the front suspension rattle which has always been there since I purchased it. They told me that they had regreased some parts of the front suspension, but the noise is still there. I feel that they don't really want to sort out the problem if it is going to cost them money. I might be wrong but it,s been in twice now for the same problem and they just seem to be giving me lip service. If I was a fully trained Ferrari tech I'm sure I would be able to pin point the problem and sort it. I might try them one more time, if they fail to find a fault I will take it to an indepedant. Anyway this is just a very small niggle and it dosn't make the experience of driving a Ferrari any less exciting and Graypauls have been great in lots of other ways.

Costs this month are nill. I even think the 360 is quite economical compared to the Range Rover I part exchanged at Graypauls. The only thing that might cost me a few quid is the exhaust is hanging lower on the drivers side since coming back home from Yorkshire down the M1. I've been looking for an excuse to change the exhaust to a Tubi so this might sway me to get my wallet out. A tubi will also sort out my white dust problem emitting from the standard exhaust.

I must confess that at one stage I considered running the 360 as a daily driver and selling my M3 SMG. I know I would of taken a huge hit because of the high miles but I thought what the hell. With hindsight and having run the 360 for two months I can honestly say that I couldn't use it as a daily driver. What I have found is that you really have to plan your journey and think about things like parking and what type of area are you visiting. It might be me being a bit anal but you cannot just get in and drive to see a friend without first thinking of parking and security. This might wear off as I have more ownership time under my belt.

One thing that has surprised me is how a Ferrari can make people become quite emotional to the point that they will openly shout out compliments from accross the other side of the street. I'm lucky that I have had no negative responses yet and I,m sure it will happen, but on the whole people seem to love the cars. Small boys to middle aged men and women praise the car, other cars have flashed there lights and waved and everybody wants to let you out of junctions and give you a big smile. When I drive the M3 I virtually have to halt the traffic with my bonnet to get out of side streets on busy roads.

I,m finally getting to grips with the cars handling now and I,m really enjoying the drives out. It's the first Ferrari I have owned and it makes you feel you can really drive fast. My driving skills are not good enough to push the car very hard but on the roads I know I,m quicker in the 360 than I am in the M3. I think it is quite easy to drive fast and gives you lots of feedback on the twisty country roads, it feels like a big go kart.

So another running report is coming to an end. I'm not great at writing things like this but if I can put across my thoughts and experiences about my 360 to other people who read it and who might be thinking of buying one, all the better.

Cheers,

David.