Buying a Ferrari 360 on a budget: my experiences, the myths and the pitfalls

Thanks for that. Yeah I heard a lot left the UK but that's interesting to know!

It feels like all 600 are on eBay at the mo a ton have just been listed this weekend, probably because the weather is threatening to actually be summer like for a few days... (he says with rain falling on the windows again..)

Cheers for the tip, I haven't heard of AE before

Have to give a shout out to AV Engineering down south. Aldous has been an excellent beacon of advice and support this past few months. Just a pity he's bloody miles away!

 

Sorry AE Performance... Adam Eyre. I've used him in the past and I was very impressed. He was an honest guy and very knowledgeable.
http://ferrariservicingcheshire.co.uk/6.html

Aldous and Eddie are some of the most experienced Ferrari 360 tech's you can find outside of the factory but sadly yes from the North West its a real trek!

 

By the way, when you talk about 'overpriced'... My 360 has an agreed value of 180k so not all 360's are the same, what I am really trying to say is buy the best condition you can find. It will save you money in the longer term. Don't be tempted to buy at the cheapest end of the scale, look at the median price and start from there. Cheap for a reason is really true here!

 

Kinda agree, but for me it was always about weighing up my options. If I were to spend the best part of 70 grand, that's 997 GT3 money or even face-lift R8 and I think both are tempting options up against the 360 and its tendency to give you problems

I like the 360 at lower numbers. It just makes more sense to me given its age and performance, its MPG and the fact that I'd like an Oh **** fund with it

Plus I think selling on a cheaper one would be easier, ultimately

 

Have you driven a 360 yet ? Sorry but the R8 just isn't the same gravy and while the Porsche is interesting its a bit boring and clinical in comparison to the Italian stallion. I wouldn't even consider them as a rival. If I where to consider anything it would have to be a McLaren 12C which start at 70k+ in the uk. If you want outright bang for buck they monster a 458 and with some mods can even beat a 488 but hey its not a Ferrari and you've got to scratch that it...

On keeping costs reasonable, in the uk the vast majority of parts to fix 360's are still available (search for Prosport Ferrari or Eurospares for example), the great news is that the full workshop manuals are out there too and the lack of complexity (vs newer cars) makes it refreshingly straight forward for a DIY-er to save a tonne of cash and do servicing themselves.

 

I sympathize with you and agree with some of your points.
I consciously attempted to minimize my risk of failures by getting a manual Modena.

My experience is as follows:
Didn’t get a PPI.
In 3 years of ownership, have done the following:
New brakes [DIY)
Belt change and All new fluids,
Sticky interior [DIY]
Battery [DIY]
New stereo and rear cam(optional)
Ball joint
Rear vertical sensor [DIY]
Spark plugs and coils [DIY]
Some interior mods [CF hydrodip] (optional)
Challenge wheels and Grille [DIY](optional)
A couple light bulbs and a disconnected door lock cable.
New battery (DIY)

Upcoming- A\C service as this month it doesn’t seem to blow cold anymore. I really enjoy driving this car with the windows open and my new stereo, though.

Overall I can’t complain really. I expected some work when I bought it due to age. I think/hope it’s oretty close to being “well sorted “.

 

I loved my 911 until I drove my 360. Just simply in a league of it's own. And to add... even though my 911 was a three pedal car!

The 360 is a monster. And I love it! I drove the 3 pedal Modena and I didn't like it at all. The F1 is my first paddle shift ever and I can't see me going back to "rowing" through the gears-- with any other sports car. Time to embrace the future on that one.

 

The only time I envy a 911 is when I wish I could share my drive with more than 1 other person.
In hindsight I also wish I got a spider...but no regrets on the manual trans, although after I watch an f1 race I feel like it would be fun to drive a paddle shift. The negatives won’t make up for that though for me.

 

My saying is....There is a lot of people who can afford to buy a 360...very few who can afford to own one.

 

It's all very simple
buy the best car you can afford
find a good trustworthy mechanic

 

Yup, had a Rosso 360 for two months. Love the car, no denying

The R8 and Porsche are different but it's very rose-tinted to suggest they aren't great cars in their own right

At 55 grand though, if you can find a good one, the 360 is hard to beat

 

Isn't that just a glossier way of saying they break a lot?

 

Working on it....

 

I agree actually.. Always kinda felt the manual stick almost looks a little incongruous sat in a 360 but that's mainly aesthetics

Though it's clear they pushed the idea of the F1 via this car. When I think 355, I think manual. When I think 360 I think F1

 

100% agree. I have owned both a manual and F1 360’s and personally, the F1 suits the car dynamics better. I do have a CS TCU though - that was a must..



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.. and I beg to differ. Its a subjective thing so nobody is wrong, its just about what you enjoy more.

Sadly I think the F1 is the defining thing that dates the 360 driving experience these days. Step out of any modern dual clutch supercar and it feels clunky and slow in comparison, the weak link whereas the gated shift if set up correctly and with the Hills Engineering bushes feels solid and wonderfully tactile. Admittedly the CS TCU does make a big difference its still not perfect. It took until the 430 Scuderia to get the AMT shift before it felt fast enough and even then I'd prefer the gated over flappy paddles.

 

This will sound slightly counter-intuitive, but I actually quite like how agricultural the F1 changes are (when driving at speed.. In traffic it isn't great obviously)

You still get the kick in the back, you still get that slight pause in the frame, you still get the *feeling* of a manual, just without the burden of heel-toeing or the risk of a ham-fisted overrev

I think people slate the F1 too much, it's one of those tired industry platitudes

When I see modern dual clutches, I just see this over-perfecting of it. A total numbness. Just this continuous sound. Perfect for lap times, of course, but... I want some of that organic, mechanical drama. I love that.

 

I'm very interested to follow this thread, I'm in a similar boat to Rosso_United_1999, but maybe 12 months behind ! I'm planning to see which direction prices go between now & Christmas and then decide if I'm going to press ahead with it.

I've owned a 911 for nearly eight years now, and a Vantage for two years, and both have been good to own. I do as much DIY as possible; I don't have endless funds to throw at garages ! I also think it helps you "bond" with the car if you know in detail how it all works. The 360 looks quite manageable for the confident home mechanic.

Next year.... a silver F1 Modena with black interior & buckets

 

Cool! Let us know how you go!

I must say, the 911 will probably only go up in your estimations through this process

One other little point I wanted to make about buying a 360..

I've actually been in touch with traders, traders that have dramatically reduced the price of their car and I've told them about my story, about how I've had very a mixed experience so far with these cars.. And how I'm looking for a good one, and a company to honour its warranty and just be an honest trader..

..and then I would be told that the car has "sold" even though weeks later it is still clearly live for sale on every platform...

Again, it's the classic "it's a Ferrari? Cmon what do you expect??" mentality in full swing.....

 

..and the real truth is, a lot of these cars are not being thoroughly checked out by traders, they aren't even being plugged into SD2 for a clutch reading.. That **** is firmly on you to do (people can argue if that's right or not)

And I get the very real sense that the majority of traders are selling these cars on a wing and a prayer. They shop them out and pray to God they don't come back and / or the buyer is wealthy or stupid enough to not care

It's related to the falsely inflated valuations of these cars and how prohibitively expensive they can be to put right. So ignorance is bliss can be the prevailing philosophy at a lot of these dealerships.

Maybe nothing new, but potential to be way more damaging than the average Ford or Toyota.

 

If you want a solid 360 (you need to see 5 examples to find 1 good one in my view so technically there may only be 120 amazing condition cars left in the UK, so no wonder its a difficult task!).

You really need to get a specialist like AV Engineering to source you one that they have PPI'd and will sign their name to. Whatever that costs is what the real entrance price is to buying one with piece of mind that you haven't bought a 20 year old abused and neglected example.

Its not just the 360, at approaching 20 years old many older cars now are neglected. Not everyone who buys one can afford the maintenance and pro-actively replace parts to prevent knock on consequences of the dreaded cascade of failure into something much bigger and more expensive. Set aside 10k a year for maintenance and you will be ok. Even if you don't use that much it could end up costing that to fix some issues if you get unlucky. Learn how these cars work and do some research on here and you can save yourself a lot of that budget by doing stuff yourself. Also be wary of very low mileage as it was very easy to clock 360's and sadly some unscrupulous dealers did it a lot. Buy on today's condition and don't be anal about previous history, its the now condition that's important.

 

Not really. If you own any 15 to 20 year old exotic, it's going to cost you to keep it. It's not that they break a lot so much as when something needs repair or replacing, it's going to cost you. Even the small stuff gets expensive for any car that cost 150K new. Pick any exotic and it will be the same. And while the Porsche 911 and the Audi R8 are great cars, they are not "exotics". They are mass produced cars. And they break too after 15 or 20 years.

 

Including Ferrari themselves...

https://jalopnik.com/heres-what-ferraris-odometer-rollback-mess-could-mean-f-1823426375

Totally agree about buying on condition. I would never buy on mileage. I've seen some shockingly bad condition low mileage cars.

 

On this count, I feel ya brother. Of all the dealers I spoke to here in the USA, 3 out of the 4 treated me like they were selling me a used VW. They certainly didn't add to the enjoyment of the Ferrari experience. And yes, none were forthcoming with the truth about the cars I was considering. I flew to PA to look at one at a McLaren dealership that was so misrepresented that I didn't even bother to make and offer on the car. I was pissed. Seems like these dealers are your typical used car salesmen employing all the "tricks of the trade".

Even the car I bought, the dealer in California was just the same. Very disappointing. So yes, buyer beware for sure. Sadly it seems it's all about moving the car and getting the $$-- Ferrari or not.

 

Very true. I remember when I got into the 911s over 40 years ago when they were only 10 or 15 years old. They were getting cheap enough that a lot of average guys were driving them who had no interest in keeping them up. A lot of cars were severely neglected. And of course, the "good ones" seemed really expensive to me. But I learned...