The best Ferrari ever made without major maintenance

Who would like to comment on the best all around Ferrari ever made that required little or no major maintenance issues. I am a newbe and have no clue what I am investing in. I have been to Modena. Italy and visited the factory and the restaurant across the street. Still I have no idea what to to go for. What can I do. Money is a factor. How much to spend, how much to allocate for miles per dollar pleasure. Daily driver or weekend warrior. What is the best Ferrari?
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The best in a still afordable realm is the Challenge Stradale

 

depends on your budget first of all. what are you looking to spend?

 

No personal experience, but from what I've read, ones that get driven on a regular basis.

 

50Gs to 80Gs

 

I daily drive my Ferrari F355, but a 360 would be more reasonable as maintenance costs are lower.

Oil change every 3,000 miles and the 30k service every 30,000 miles.

Clutch when it comes up I guess and then little things here and there (though there seems to be less of them when you ACTUALLY drive the car, imagine that)

Not bad at all

 

328

And should this not be in a Ferarri Discussion section with the other similar threads ?

 

The best Ferrari in this price range is a Maserati

 

good question, it will be necesary to have a file about some model of Ferrari concerning all services..
probably the low cost are 308/328 for me looks normal they are more reasonable models.

 

328 a Ferrari a lot of people can afford with no engine out service

 

So, you went to the Factory in Modena? What model did you see them building?
Did you just stroll by and decided to take a tour? I’d love to hear about it.

 

If you have $50k to $80k including money for repairs and upkeep, you'd better stick to a model you can maintain yourself. The Dino is a simple car but now out of the price range. 328s are in the range but wouldn't leave much left over. So it's basically down to either a 308 or 308gt4 or one of the lesser-loved 1960s-70s 2+2s (if they are still in that price range).

 

I guess you would like to know the basics or something? Ho Hum! How about the time I met Luca di Montezemelo who was giving a speech to the Rotary Club of Bologna. It was a cold February evening (circa late 90s) at a restaurant called Restoranta di Nonno located directly behind the Airport there. He was addressing 50 or so individuals of the Rotary club. We talked as he was leaving for his car outside with a driver dressed in a white dress shirt, no tie. The engine running at high revs, the car, a red PROTOTYPE Maserati Coupe with a Ferrari tuned engine. He jumped in and the music of ENZO played in the Emilia Romangna air. By the way the Ravioli alla Pina and the Nocino were excellent. Meeting Montezemelo and the Prototype Maserati PRICELESS!

 

One of the worst times in my life was the 1.5 years looking for what I thought was the "right F-car". It took me away from my daily routine...work, family, social activities...I bordered on obsessed with the search.

I have to say that the past 6 months have been one of the best of times. There are so few things in life that give you this kind of joy. Family, career, whatever it may be for you. If your biggest problem is which Ferrari to buy, then you have it better than most. Just figure out what you want, listen to your friends in this forum and start the rest of your life in a Ferrari. Buy it and you will know what I mean.

 

In your profile, you have owned a few high-performance Jaguars, so I assume when you are asking about low maintenance it is a relative term.

Of the modern cars, the F430 is similar to the 360 in overall reliability and has the added benefit of timing chains instead of belts. However, it is north of the $80k upper limit you've set.

I owned a 1988 328 GTS in the past. I agree that it was a good choice and was completely reliable for the 2.5 years I owned it. It has a very simple form of fuel injection on it and lots of European car mechanics can work on the car. They are typically $50k - $60k these days for a nice one. Go test drive one and see if it is right for you. Make sure you get the RPM's above 5000 - the car feels different in that mode.

Here is a 1989 328 in FerrariAds with 25k miles on it for $54.9k asking price (same car with more pics in 2nd link):
http://www.ferrarichat.com/ferrariads/showproduct.php?product=1269&cat=2
http://www.switchcars.com/inventory.asp?VIN=ZFFXA20A2K0080003

Good luck.

 

That looks like a nice car, I'm suprised it hasn't sold yet as it seems reasonably priced(no its not mine!) I'd get a 328 but I'm biased. Could probably get a 348/355 in that range but not good ones and maintenance costs for majors are almost double.

Jeff

 

YUP. Moved!

DM

 

The 328 is generally considered to be the most reliable Ferrari: fuel injection, electronic ignition, no engine-out service, not a lot of new-fangled electronic gizmos. But the problem is the cars' age; any 19 to 22-year-old car is going to need parts replaced. I don't consider my car unreliable, but I've still put nearly $20k into it in the last four years simply replacing worn-out parts.

 

The Best Ferrari Made without major service needs or costs is:

An Acura NSX!

 

Spoken like a true Honda owner. I bet your Civic is Slammin', yo!

 

Don't you dare go beyond a 328gtb or gts. You could buy a 355 or Testarossa or even a cheaper 348, but the 328 is the cheaper to run of all the sub $100k. If you don't want to spend over $5,000 on a major then the 328 model is the one. And if you could afford the $10,000 major then go for the Testarossa or 355, but then again the 360 Modena are getting into the $90k range. You have a lot to think about, and take into consideration the performance from a 328, 348, Testarossa or 355 if you're not mature enough to understand that drag racing is for another type of people.

 

Go for the 348. There is a thread here with averaged maintenance costs that run about $1-3 per mile. You can buy a good one for about $45k, leaving you $5-35k for maintenance and repairs. That should be good for around 2500-20,000 miles (in my experience). If you want to make the dollars go further you can do most repairs yourself with the help of other 348 owners. Plus, they are fairly modern, and look good (to me). Most people will recommend the 328 based on what they read, but I would take the advise of people who own the cars. I think you would find the 348 owners to be generally very pleased with the cars overall.
Good luck, the search is always fun!
BT

 

An estimate of a major for a 348, what's the typical range?

 

Best Ferrari for a modest budget and a lot of bang for the buck: 550 maranello. Period.

 

Never had a slammed Civic yo! I have had a few NSX's, and even though I am not being 100% serious, it does have some validity to it.