Will the NSX be worth more than a Ferrari 355?

blue_myriddn

blue_myriddn

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The Ferrari 355 was Maranello's answer to the NSX and you have to admit it is a hell of an answer. It also provides a price benchmark as these cars move in to the collector car world. Personally, I believe that the Ferrari will always command around a 25% premium. So while around $65k will get you a nice NSX, another 25% (or about $80k) is what it takes to get behind a comparable F355. I am wondering if those tables will ever turn and figured it might make for a fun topic. Here are some Pros/Cons of the two cars:

Advantages of the Ferrari
  1. Badge. Ferrari remains the undisputed champion for brand snobbery. Everyone knows what a Ferrari is and the mere name carries worth with its racing heritage and history of producing performance centered vehicles. There are guys that dangle their Ferrari keys at the bar and sadly their are girls who come rushing over.
  2. V8. 2 more cylinders is 2 more cylinders.
  3. A bit faster. This is probably the weakest point as it is only a little bit faster than a NSX. Noticable? Sure. By now though both cars are so much slower than modern cars that this is a bit of wash.
  4. Better leather. The interior feels more high end. Of course it is also about as durable as a napkin in a 3 year old's hand - but when it is all done up, it is notably more impressive than the NSX's interior.
  5. Harder to drive. This one is a little funny and is going to get listed as both a Pro and a Con. Between the gated shifter, more sensitive clutch and other factors it is a trickier car to master and that is sort of a badge of honor that adds value.

Advantages of the NSX

  1. Maintenance. Between taxes and insurance cars lose money every year, but the Ferrari is in a whole other league with repair bills in the 5 figures to be expected. It encourages you to leave the car parked just so you don't break the damn thing and have to get it repaired.
  2. Ease of use. Between the spacious trunk, comfortable seats and the ability to "quiet" the car by driving it under 5,000 RPMs the NSX is amazingly easy to drive anywhere. It is an easy car to live with.
  3. Rarity. Oddly enough, it is much harder to find a really good NSX than a 355 as production was so low in the later years and the low price point consumed so many of the early model years. For the collector looking for a bone stock, low mileage vehicle they have plenty to choose from in the Ferrari (so many in fact that 30,000 miles is considered "high mileage) but will have a very hard time finding a similar NSX.

Ultimately I feel that the advantages of the NSX come in after you have made the purchase and will thus be less of a driving force for price.

Feel free to chime in - just thought it might be a fun discussion.
 
Good thread.

The 355 doesn't inspire me at all. Ferraris are difficult and expensive to live with on a daily basis. However, they generally make up for it being stunningly, achingly good looking. To me the 355 looks like the 348...just too much of a brick. Now the 360, that's another matter. It returned Ferrari to the "sexiness" it had with the 328. So that's the one I looked at when I was looking at an NSX.

Just one opinion.
 
I would trade my Nsx for a new 488 and a new 488 only... That car is freakin sexy. But as Bamafan stated, the 355 is a wonky square peg and in my opinion the 458 looks like a girls car. The 355 sounds marvelous though! I also love the F430.
But I am almost certain I would not love the maintenance, true cost of ownership, insurance costs and always feeling paranoid of my car catching on fire and burning to the ground.:smile:
So for the joy of the drive, I pick the 355. For actually owning the car I choose Japanese engineering. It's bulletproof. Just uglier. If only we could get a pinanfarina designed gtr. That would be something.
 
I agree with B2FiNiTY. I personally feel the F355 is the best sounding exhaust note of any road car ever produced. Is it worth a $20k premium? I think so.
 
I don't think the NSX will be worth more than a F355, but that doesn't mean that the F355 will be a better investment, as maintenance costs will kill the advantage that the "horse" on the badge will give you on appreciation...

Love the F355 but would never trade my NSX for it!

I'll just leave this here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BU4xD7-SUa4
 
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You forgot the chick magnet d*ck magnet deltas, which could flip flip from a pro to con depending upon your situation.
 
I don't think the NSX will be worth more than a 355 in the future.

I think nice examples of both will continue to rise (or fall based on the economy) in the future.
But, I think the Ferrari prestige will win out to keep the 355 price consistently higher than an NSX.
 
Good thread....the Biggest problem for the NSX, is the fact that we have People modifing these cars (not in a good way), which you will hardly ever see on a Ferrari.
This will reduce the overall pricing of the NSX in the long term.

Bram
 
I'm a member of FerrariChat as well as Prime and spent some time looking at Ferraris during the year I was searching for my NSX. I wanted an exotic I could drive without guilt and for which thhe cost of maintenance was reasonable. 355 vs. NSX....NSX wins for practicality every time. Don't get me wrong, I love Ferrari and everything automotive it stands for. Nothing sounds like a 430 with a Tubi exhaust. Maybe I'll eventually own one when my little guy is out of college. For now, though.....NSX wins.
 
Bram said:
Good thread....the Biggest problem for the NSX, is the fact that we have People modifing these cars (not in a good way), which you will hardly ever see on a Ferrari.
This will reduce the overall pricing of the NSX in the long term.

Bram
Click to expand...

Don't you think that if there are a bunch of modified NSXs out there that the stock examples will increase in value?
 
In my opinion the stock Nsx is ugly. The 91-94's that is. They are extremely dated. Good thing Honda did not change much at all and made all parts interchangeable. Thank you Honda. Sorry, but when I see a 91 in full stock it looks really retro. Retro is good sometimes though. But even the modified nsx's like my own always strike conversation at meets and everyone knows what car it is. Fortunately the Nsx is limited to mod's. I have seen some very bad ones. Especially those made in Japan by way of glass made body parts. I had them before. Never again. But I agree, when one man molests his car, another man profits.
 
I've always been a fan of the C2 Corvette (for those uninitiated that's the 63-67 years). I understand what you're saying about the modifications going bad. When I see a C-2 Vette with three tail lights on each side and fender flares I just cringe. When I see a totally stock Corvette it just looks right. I think the NSX falls into the same category. I've changed the exhaust on my NSX and put new wheels on it. Both of these things are easily reversible. I think that's the key to modifying these cars. Like a really pretty girl with a bunch of tattoos......messing with nature!
 
Aluminsx; Both of these things are easily reversible. I think that's the key to modifying these cars. [COLOR="#FF0000" said:
Like a really pretty girl with a bunch of tattoos......messing with nature[/COLOR]!
Click to expand...

Man you nailed it with this line!

Bram
 
Bram said:
Good thread....the Biggest problem for the NSX, is the fact that we have People modifying these cars (not in a good way), which you will hardly ever see on a Ferrari.
This will reduce the overall pricing of the NSX in the long term.Bram
Click to expand...

Agree with Bram on this.
Ferrari owners seem to be reluctant to modify their cars as it tends to cheapen them.
NSX owners don't seem to have the same view and modified NSX's seem more the norm, and like Bram says, many are not done well.
Perhaps the stock NSX's may hold their value well over time, but suspect the modified ones will tend to decrease in value.
 
The "modified ones" defines as........................what? For better, might be worth.

Most of NXS'ers modified the following and they are easy to convert them to OEM.

1. Hood replacement with DF hood.

2. Aftermarket exhaust.

3. CF on the car.

4. CTSC.

5. The rims.

Most of the Ferrari owners are older folks, who only can afford to buy them, and older folks don't like to modify them and I am one of them ( Oh, sh!t I am old). And owners of NSX's varies from all ages and the young ones tend to mod more than the older folks, like they are driving the Civics. Honda always makes room for easy mod. and Ferrari does not, but can be very expensive if they can mod.
 
Last edited:
gleibig said:
Haven't 355 #'s recently jumped from $45/50k ish to around 100?
Click to expand...
Not many seem to be changing hands for over $100k, but a few are (similar to NSXs). Plenty of dealers are pricing them over $100k (similar to NSXs) There was a fairly recent price jump though (again, similar to NSXs)
 
You guys may want to check out the latest valuation update on Hagerty, quite a jump for concours quality NSXs (~ +20k) putting it about 10k above the earliest F355. All other conditions are lower for the NSX. However, there's also a big asterisk on the F355 pricing indicating a 6 speed should add 30k to the value. Not sure if this is a reflection of popularity with the release of the new NSX and will die back down or if it will be a continuing trend. I believe the F355 will continue on to surpass the NSX over time, just a different group of income level that are interested in F cars and can afford maintenance, storage, etc.
 
who is the typical buyer for a 355:confused:
 
Thanks all for the replies.

There was one thing that I thought about including in the list and ultimately left it out because I had no first hand experience with the 355 - driving excitement. I get the impression from reviews and conversation that the 355 is like driving the NSX at the VTEC range all the time and that might make each driving moment a bit more exciting. While the NSX is brilliant when at the edge and can hold its own against the best you still need to GET to the edge, whereas I wonder if the Ferrari is just that much closer to the edge all the time and thus to a degree more thrilling, more magical more frequently.

That of course has pros and cons. If you have a garage with 5 or more cars in it, then you can bring your 355 out when the moment is right and get your thrills. Added bonus if you have a big house with quiet country roads and cops that know your name. If you are like most people though, that driving fantasy just isn't plausible and the "less exciting" parts of the NSX translate in to real benefits for real world ownership. I know that I personally barely find opportunities to let the NSX out to have fun between traffic, metropolitan life, police officers who just don't understand why I can't drive 55, and fear of drivers glued to their phones searching for Pokemon.

I also thought about commenting on the NSX community which is a bit of a magical blend of people that is hard for other brands to compare with. I know that the side perks I have gained from owning the car and thus meeting some amazing people and having some amazing experiences is right up at the top of the list in why I love my car and have zero regrets about the purchase. With the larger size of the Ferrari community and to put it bluntly the sheer arrogance of some of the members, it is tough to match that same experience. Again though, that is a tough thing to measure and is why I left it off the list.
 

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