Used buying guide
Ferrari 360s from under £50k
Interested in having a Ferrari 360 in your garage? Consider for a moment the owner of a Modena F1, who last April lavished £9000 on servicing it. With such cars, the ticket price (the dealer selling this one-owner 53-reg car with 39,000 miles is asking £67,000) is only part of the story.
Not that we wish to put you off buying a 360. The model represented a new chapter in Maranello’s history, for the F360 – unlike Ferraris before it and in particular its immediate predecessor, the F355 – was a perfectly usable and reliable supercar, capable, even, of being a daily driver. It’s why so many have higher than usual mileages and why prices are less sensitive to the odometer reading than those of other Ferrari models. It was launched in 1999 and bowed out in 2005 when the F430 elbowed it aside, so you’ve only six years to choose from. There were just three versions: the Mondial coupé, Spider convertible and track-focused Challenge Stradale, a model that deserves its own guide.
The Mondial and Spider, both offered with a choice of six-speed manual or F1 flappy-paddle automated manual, use a 3.6-litre mid-mounted V8 making 390bhp at 8500rpm. Its flat-plane crank – a main contributor to the exhaust’s delicious howl – vibrates enough to crack engine mountings after around 20,000 miles. The same vibes also weaken the timing tensioner bearings, so those three-yearly belt replacements can’t be ignored.
But for a few issues, both gearboxes are strong and reliable. The F1 can feel a little jerky, so in 2003 Ferrari revised the gearbox control settings to smooth things out. The update is available for earlier cars.
The fully adjustable, double wishbone and coilover suspension system features Continuous Damper Control offering Normal and Sport modes. It’s a reliable set-up but the car does have an appetite for tie-rod ends and ball joints.
Ferrari’s first genuine daily driver was also its first production car with an all-aluminium body. It was light but immensely strong; more so in Spider form after Ferrari beefed up the sills and floorpan. Don’t think being aluminium makes it rust-free, though – you should still look for signs of bubbling under the paint.
The Spider’s folding roof is operated by powerful rams that can spring fluid leaks, so pause the roof halfway through its cycle and inspect the ram seals. There is a smart fix (visit ferrarichat.com), otherwise you’re looking at thousands to fix it.
Power windows and leather trim were standard. Desirable options were xenon lights (aftermarket ones don’t have washers), carbonfibre seats and Challenge rear grille. If Ferrari wing shields are fitted, they should be recessed; aftermarket ones sit proud. Must-haves are a fully stamped service book and the original Ferrari toolkit (a replacement costs £800). All present? Then get that garage spruced up.
Must-haves are a fully stamped service book and the original Ferrari toolkit