Go spend a few minutes looking at Drews posts. I'd paste them in here but not worth the effort. In his own words he can't be bothered working on a car he hardly drives. 9200 for cats, 15000 on a new interior that was never installed, 9000 major , an anomaly on an immobilized issue that required a full lock set replacement that ended up being a wire behind the drivers seat???? Really. Go look at the posts yourself. Absolutely an anomaly. It was brought to the sellers attention when he was bleeding out that he may be getting hosed at the time.
DrewH is a 12 year 355 owner and basically never complained about it. A search will reveal that he has been a loyal Fchat member since 2003 (that's 11 years) and usually posts in the forum he last posted in. His post further reveal that he is a true Ferrari 3 pedal enthusiast. I hope someday he returns to Ferrari renewed and refreshed. Let me leave you with one of his posts that struck a cord with me as I read "this 355" thread. http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/142992086-post38.html "There is no need to be rude or an ass to anyone in this world even if you will never have anything to gain from them. I believe in Karma and have found that sometimes the person that you think is unimportant and will never impact your life in anyway will someday."
No derision of the owner on my part fbb. Having perused a number of his posts related to his most recent mechanical issues it is clear to me that he by his own words, did not care to wrench on his car in even the most basic way. I am speaking strictly from an owner/mechanical perspective here. On admittedly cursory review on my part, it appears as if this owner had deep pockets, was not inclined to get his hands dirty and possibly got bad or not the best advice on his repairs. It appears to be an anomaly to me.
I don't see paying a specialist to do the service work as a problem. It is paying for some of the extremely high prices for parts. Sometimes you have to do your homework and shop around. I am not knocking the owner but the cat and interior prices seem very high to me.
FBB, the last part of your post is great. Words to live by, although not always easy when somebody sets you off.
It is these type of posts that scare the crap out of most potential new owners if the thread is not read entirely. Don't TR's need a belt change as well? They must be pieces of crap as well and poorly engineered. I would have sold my car long before I paid 9200 for a set of cats. Was this car submerged in water that would require a new interior for 15000 that was never installed? How many owners are doing their belt services at the recommended Ferrari intervals? I have seen a lot of posts where owners extend them a few more years than what is recommended and talked to a few mechanics about this as well. As far as interiors go, there are other models with the sticky issue, not just the 355.
Haaaaa! A $15,000 interior and a $15,000 ghetto stereo as part of his complaint. You 360s guy are a joke! Next time spend your 30k on a decent 355 and maybe you will have better luck. These threads are laughable as some of the members.
Yes, last year I think most dealers were charging in the £40ks - maybe mid £50ks for exceptional cars at high end dealers. I wonder if they are actually selling them at this year's higher prices or if they're just trying their luck. Up to now, received wisdom amongst classic car pundits has been that 355s are just used cars, and will never go up in value because: (a) they made too many of them (b) people are put off by worries about future issues with the electronics But the classic car market is going crazy for Ferraris and the thing is, if you want to buy an iconic Ferrari and you're not a zillionaire, the options are now getting quite limited. The main drivers behind classic car values are usually rarity, beauty, and how a car was regarded by the public and enthusiasts when new. The 355 is OK on the last two points, and regarding rarity, although they made over 11,000 that is much less than later models, and as someone mentioned above, that total is spread over 6 different 355 models. For example, according to Ferrari UK, there were only 88 UK spec 355F1 Berlinettas (408 manuals), so if you want one in TDF blue with Beige leather - good luck... And I suspect a lot of 355s could have been written off in accidents. Regarding the electronics, I haven't heard of particular problems, and at least they were built before lead-free solder came in. I still have calculators from 40 years ago that work, so I'm not sure if ageing electronics are ever going to be an issue. If 355s become collectible, I suspect the F1s may be more valuable than manuals, because they're rarer and it was an industry first, which Ferrari pioneered in Formula 1. And I seem to remember some of the F1 parts are available rather cheaply from Alfa Romeo. I may be biased though I suppose I'm probably contributing to the problem with the 355's reputation. I have owned a 355F1 Spider for 9 years, and covered about 14,000 miles in it. The year I bought it I drove it down to Rome, then Monaco the following year. The only problems I've had have been a squeaking steering rack (replaced for free by the dealer I bought it from - Lovett Cardiff), a coolant hose came off (not very expensive), and two of the rear lights melted (replaced them myself - £56 each I think). So, because I haven't had many problems, I don't often post on this forum.
. Maybe when your next at your Lovvett ferrari dealership, you can ask them that very question regarding the £99,990 F355 spider they currently have for sale in there network. I would love to know my self. 1998 FERRARI F355 SPIDER ONE OWNER F1 CONVERTIBLE | eBay I do know that last year Graypauls sold two 355s at over £65, 000, and Tom Hartley also sold the red 355 he was asking another high price for. It is what it is, sale are sales. Cant argue with that. Though i can remember how the dino was regarded by the public and FERRARI enthusiasts back in the day when they were new, and for a few decades this was reflected in there ultra low prices.
I know a chap that was Quoted $32000 for a repaint on his car when all it needed was a light compound and some chips repaired. He was going to pay it until I fell over laughing!! He looked at my car and said ur paintwork is stunning to which I replied yep did it myself. $2000 and some late nights.
1) It's great to see some 355 owners finally fighting back against the utter crap that so pollutes this part of the website. 2) How odd it is that more often than not, threads which are dominated by whingeing are full of posts by people who do not own, or have never owned, a 355 Why do 348 and 360 owners feel the need to constantly rubbish the 355?
To draw attention away from the problems with those cars. Does a 348 not require an engine out major? Does a 360 not suffer cracked headers and sticky parts?
I've owned my 355 for 12 years. She's done 58,000 miles. Nothing major has failed. Normal stuff that happens to all cars.....driveshaft rubbers, etc....sticky interior...cost 1k to fix being the exception. Most amazing machine i've ever owned.
Why don't all 355 guys get together to split the 348/355 forum? The 355 is such a unique machine that surely it deserves its own forum.
Why? I don't see 355 owners going out of their way to bag 348s. The really weird thing is that it is often 360 owners who pollute this forum with their crap. Why aren't they on the 360/430 forum? Maybe they're just upset that the car which replaced the 355 is inferior in virtually every way?
Steve, FBB does not own a 360 either (to my knowledge). He just continues to come here and bash the 355 and offers no value. I thought that was considered trolling and against forum rules?