I would like to share my experience as a new Ferrari owner. Five months ago I bought my first Ferrari. It is a red 360 spider, 2003, with only 20K Km on the clock. I bought it from a reputable dealer here in Switzerland, part owned by Kimi Räikkönen (the F1 driver). The dealer is a small shop but has a garage in the back, and Lambos, Ferraris and Koenisegg in the show room (only about 6 cars total and a Ducati). It was a candy store and I was 8 years old with pockets full of money The 360 spider was red, low mileage, with red stitching, scuderia badges, and looked pretty much perfect. It came with a 12 month guarantee, so I bought it for USD 80K. I did not get a PPI (not common here in Switzerland) and the car had very little documentation. It had only been serviced 4 times in its 12 years. Always by Ferrari, and the most recent one a few months ago where they changed the time belt and clutch. I figured I would just have it serviced and checked out at Ferrari Switzerland (Foitek Urdorf) and drive the hell out of it over the next 12 months (while the guarantee lasted). So, now I have the car, and enjoy it immensely. Ferrari Switzerland serviced and checked out the car. No problems reported (cost USD 2,000.00). So far so good. I drive every weekend in the Swiss Alps, the Black Forrest, Autobahn, everywhere. I put 2K km on the car in a month. Klink, klink, klink. What is that noise? Sounds like it is coming from the wheels. I take it to Ferrari and it is a bad wheel bearing. USD 1,500.00 to fix. Ok, no problem, car is under guarantee - but no, guarantee does not cover wheel bearings. No big deal, just fix it so I can drive it some more... Now I am USD 3,500.00 down in just a month (not to mention the 2,500.00 it costs to insure the thing) but no big deal. I budgeted for this. More Swiss Alps, Black Forrest, Autobahn. Meet Ferrari owners, go to meets and meet interesting people. Finally figure out I should drive the car like a Fiat 500 to really enjoy it. Now I love the car even more and put 2K km on the odometer. Doink, doink, doink. Is that noise coming from the engine? I take it to Ferrari and they listen to the engine and ground the car. Not good, sounds bad. I take a taxi home (USD 200.00) and leave the car with them (no replacement car available). A week later Ferrari figures out what was wrong (a valve somewhere in the engine) and fix it. USD 2,500.00, and this time it is covered by the guarantee... thank god. I also get a long lecture from the two Italian Ferrari experts on how low mileage cars are the worst, and that these cars need to be serviced every year by professionals - even the oil change is complicated. I agree with everything they say and buy a Ferrari hat for my wife at a cost of USD 40.00 The moral of the story? Do not buy a Ferrari in a candy store, the guarantee does not cover everything, things will go wrong, the running cost is crazy, and if you understand this and drive it like a Fiat 500 then you will feel the full Ferrari experience
Thanks for sharing. When you get it back continue to drive it like a fiat 500... safely and post a few pics!
Enjoy your Ferrari. Use it and pay the bills and forget them. Otherwise your ownership will be destroyed. Enjoy every kilometer and welcome to Ferrari Owners Club Andalucia in Spain and Marbella. It is just 2000 kilometers on good motorways. Peter
Interesting story First, there is no wrong way to buy a Ferrari as long as one buys one and ends up in the Garage at the end of the day! The problems that you had would have occurred if you had a PPI or had a special factory team from Maranello fly over and inspect the car before you purchased it. Would have happened regardless! IMHO the best way possible to buy a Ferrari is to go for a night out with the lady friend or wife, get a little tipsy and then on a whim pass the store and just buy it! This is by and large the BEST way to buy a Ferrari... if you have the money to just fix whatever goes wrong. I had the pleasure of being stuck in NYC for an extra day when my flight got cancelled a few weeks ago. it was really sweet going out and buying the next days clothes and spending an unexpected day in the city. A frivolous purchase like a Ferrari or Lamborghini would be even sweeter... if only our wallets would support this frivolity!
William So sad to hear! I started with my Maserati 3200 14 years back as my daily driver (I did about 18 000 km per year). Every 10 000 km I was visiting the shop for some unplanned incident. CHF 2 500 is quite common for fixing and sometimes it also was more. This was quite frustrating but its part of the game for Italian cars. 5 or 6 years back I bought my 575M and 2 years back my 512 TR (you know both cars). Usually all goes well but sometimes something goes wrong (I hope to take back my 512 TR tomorrow after fixing the A/C for more than 7 weeks ). 360 are very reliable cars (according to Ferrari standards, not by standards of German cars) and they have to be driven (not like a Fiat, I always drive my cars like Ferraris and not like Fiats). I agree with your mechanic that these cars have to be driven (what you obviously are doing!!). Letting a car sit is never good. So lets hope that this was the last time your beautiful car had a problem. Enjoy your car and hope to see you soon again! Markus PS: I have a separate bank account for my cars where I pay all the bills from. So you (and your wife) dont have to think you are paying the next bill for your Ferrari shop instead of going to holidays.
Thanks for sharing the story - it was a good read. Last weekend I was negotiating on a 430 and the sales manager asked "are you going to get the CPO one year warranty? I said no and he asked why? "Well it does not include wear and tear items (clutch, brakes etc.) and does not cover fluid leaks and for $3K it is not worth it". Then I looked at him and asked "if I start to pull out of your driveway and the clutch starts slipping I would think you would help me out on the cost"? The look on his face was priceless. Both the mechanic and I started laughing and I said "well maybe not". Your experience is not too bad. I would say it is just part of sorting out a car that probably sat for a while. The real fun starts when the dash shrinks, clutch goes or the convertible top needs to be replaced!!!
Im jealous reading where you are taking the car to. Oh the repair thing? I dont get your point. If thats all thats broken on a 10+ years old car it sounds like a pretty good car to me.
I started off looking at 360s after reading many stories like yours I moved to F430s. After hearing stories about them last month I bought a 458. I just told my wife I needed to spend the extra 120 grand so I can save on repair bills. Makes since to me. I also put 2,000miles on mine the first month. Keep driving.
Am I the only one that doesn't see any issue with his story? I think he did quite well! I fell in love with mine, saw the records, bought it. No PPI, no nothing, dive off a cliff. Have not spent one dime in repairs in 4k miles, just needs the yearly fluid change and install some part I bought to improve her.. Thank you Adam!
Sounds like a pretty good experience actually. You are enjoying the heck out of the car. Money well spent.
Great story William. Every time I take my Ferrari apart I find more things that I want to replace. Some people call it project creep but I just say, "hey, it's an old car."
I was waiting for the big problem....and nothing out of the ordinary here. We are so used to Ferraris of all ages on the road but forget the car as a whole. Remember, all the rubber seals, gaskets and other parts are 12 years old. To put it in perspective, there was no such thing as a smartphone when that car was new. Enjoy the heck out of it and know it's going to cost you some money. If love the sound of the engine at redline, it's worth it. Shamile Freeze....Miami Vice!
I believe that the whole point of the post is that it cost him $40 to buy a Ferrari hat for his wife. I know that feeling myself when something goes awry with the cars...placate the wife, first. 🙈 Sent via itty bitty electrons
+1. I was expecting to read another horror story. I enjoyed the post and the car sounds like its been performing well. Those few small ticket items are just par for the course. Consider yourself lucky. You could've titled the thread "how to buy a Ferrari" Many times the process is overdone...paralysis by analysis. Not to say you should buy an Fcar on a whim, but a binder of service records doesn't mean the car was not abused.
Great story Will. I rub a luck 100 Lira coin every time I start up my 360 hoping everything will be fine. She is a temperamental Itslian lady and sometimes she does and sometimes she doesn't like her hair pulled when driving her. It seems one out of 8 times I drive her something breaks. But for those 7 times when nothing happens... Woot woot!! Forza baby!
Also you got a hell of a deal finding a 2002 360 spider nicely optioned for only $80k! That is an awesome price! Have fun driving it! Those won't be the only expenses for this year!
Currently own a 2004 Ferrari 360 with 12,000 km's a Lamborghini Gallardo with 47,000 km's and a Porsche 930 with 67,000 km's but nothing is more expensive to own than my 28 ft Thunderjet fishing boat
Great story and I think you're taking Ferrari ownership with the right spirit! However... This is very true - not so much because the service itself is complicated, but because they'll be able to spot if anything is untowards It isn't! Ferrari 360 Annual Service | Aldous Voice Very true again! Sometimes I even drive mine like a Range Rover! (and I haven't got stuck yet, touch wood!)
