Looking at buying 1st Ferrari

sounds like it's $75k overpriced to me.

 

lol...this poor guy just wanted some advice on buying a ferrari

 

took about 3 minutes

 

There ya go it took 3 minutes on a quiet day, I should have laid some bets.
In defence of the Mon. it is one of the most stable cars I have driven on a highway, it is also great on the twisties even with ****ty tyres, I think the wheelbase helps as my 355 on the open road was not as stable.

 

* When in Rome - do as the Romans do

* Familiarity breeds contempt

* If the cap fits - wear it

* It's an ill wind that blows no good

....etc, etc.

After all - it is the Aussie F-Chat site

* No rest for the wicked

* et al

 

there was probably something wrong with your 355 then.

 

I haven't read all the posts - too many recommending their own model for the advice to be useful - but I wouldn't buy a used Ferrari if you aren't sure if you can afford the upkeep.

It's a sports car - for fun, in other words - and where's the fun in being financially stressesd? I'd buy a Golf GTI and keep saving....

 

excellent advice.

 

Wise words!

That's why I have a modified Skyline to give that healthy combination of driving smiles and stressless $.

In the meantime valuable lifetime experiences and adventures can be had worldwide for just a few monthly finance amounts of a top end car. if you can do both comfortably, pay cash for your stuff.. well go for it

(end philosophical rant lol)

 

Not to push this point too much but out of interest I have just looked at the Ferrari factory workshop manual for the 355, I do not know what document you are looking at where Ferrari state the timing belts can be changed via removal of the fuel tank but the official workshop manual I have does not have that information. It does have the time guide line for removal and replacement of timing belt cover, perhaps this is where your confusion is?

The limiting factor is the removal of the harmonic balancer, this needs to be removed to replace the timing belts. With the cross-member in the posistion it is in it is not possible to remove the harmonic balancer. It is possible to remove the timing belt covers and timing belt tensioner bearings, no where in the book does it state that it is possible to remove the timing belts without first removing the engine.
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Not sure in your neck of the woods but my last major was ~10k, it was a lot more that simply replacing timing belts though, I had new front discs rotors and pads plus many more little bits. If you call around a few local service places and ask the right questions you should be able to give yourself an idea of annual costs.

I would also recommend having a look around the model specific sections as these will give you insight to known problem areas for any of the cars you are looking at. Remember this is the Internet and it has a way of blowing some issues way out of proportion, use it as a guide rather than a rule. Become familiar with the models you would like to look at purchasing, see if you can drive more than one example and when you find one you like get a PPI done with someone that is very familiar with the model you are looking at.

 

you're from NZ, so I forgive you for having problems with comprehension.

 

weird hey?

European versus US servicing schedules


For an unknown reason, US F355's have a different servicing schedule to European F355's. The main difference centres around the cambelt change frequency. For US 355's it is stated as every 5 years, whereas in Europe it is stated as every 3 years (both must be done at the same mileage if this is reached before time). For later cars, Ferrari changed to follow the European recommendations but this has left F355 owners unsure as to what is required; after all there is nothing different between the materials used between US and EU cars. If in doubt, do what it says in your user manual.

 

Get a VW Polo GTI

 

fixed price servicing.

http://www.verdi-ferrari.com/ferrari_servicing.php

http://www.dkeng.com/servicing/ferrari-fixed-price-servicing.aspx

http://www.grimaldiengineering.co.uk/service.asp

The top two are very well known. I haven't actually heard of the 3rd, but that doesn't mean much.

 

Pics of engine out for 355 belt change. Engine out, car on the hoist.

Pics of engine in 360 belt change. Seats are removed and access panel removed to change belts.

Just to show how they get done all the time on the 360 and possibly 99% of the time in the 355. I dont know of too many 355 owners here on Ferrari Chat that admit to having belts done with the engine in.
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Not only do the Pom's have cheap Ferraris, their service costs are dirt cheap as well!

I wouldnt even work on my own Ferrari if I lived there. Id just pay someone at those prices.

 

gee those engines look good.

 

Looks like a boat anchor to me.

 

nice pics pappy

 

Cheers mate, ive got plenty more.

Off to work, may post some 355 engine in pics tomorrow.

 

You will get a very, very good 308 within your budget IF you can find one for sale. They are anything up to 35 years old and finding one that peach of a car is extremely difficult. They are out there; but very rarely come up for sale. If you found one of those cars it would cost very little to run. I agree the 308's are better than the 328's; but the 328 is an easier ownership proposition in my experience (I own a 308 and had a 328 years ago).

Any V12 is out of the question. If something goes wrong in that V12 it can cost more than the car is worth to fix.

A really nice manual 360 will be problem free. About the worst that can happen with the electronics is ECU failure. That happened with mine under warranty and way back in 2001 I believe each of them was $5k. Unfortunately I think a nice example is out of your budget.
FWIW, I never really bonded with my 360. It just lacked personality compared with the 355 Challenge that came before it. The 355 Challenge was a ripper and average ones are just outside your budget unfortunately.
I love 355's; but there are very few nice cars around. They were the first really user friendly Ferrari. The earliest cars are now 15 years and many owners old. As the number of owners increase, the care and maintenance tends to decrease. Speedo's are easily clocked/disconnected and the ECU's don't store the cars actual mileage like the later cars.
In other words you need service records and know what you are looking at. If you find a great example, they are not cheap to run; but not silly either.

Personally I would avoid the 4 seater V8's, particularly the injected models. Maybe it's just me; but if you want a 4 seater, buy a Mercedes/BMW as they do a better job!

Whatever you decide on, it is essential that you pay for a proper PPI inspection by a specialist. It will pay dividends every time.


Shame you live in Adelaide. There are any number of Ducati specialists in the larger states that would provide a great Ducati experience. A Ducati really is just as special as a Ferrari IMO.