328 to 355 ??

As well as a TR i ownedd and sold last year, i also owned a 328 gts and a 355 together for this year. I bought the 355 this jan and the 328 feb 2003. In all the time that i had the 328 i drove it 8000 miles in the time that i used it and at times drove it hard.I have drove the 355 for 6000 miles. The only money spent on the 328 was for a new clutch and belts that all together cost me less than £900. The car was totaly reliable and never let me down ever. Now its sold i do miss its lines and at times i would chose the 328 over driving the 355. As for the 355 the belts alone will cost more than £1000, and the clutch that is now due will cost £800. Last month i had to replace the alternator belt and tensioner, and five months ago the left hand airflow meter broke and cost me £400 to replace. Also the shocker activator went and cost me £400 to have it fixed. And this year i had the starter replaced, i think it cost me nearly a grand.
Tyres for both cars are alot but the 355s costs around £50 more than a 328s.
Do i regreat getting a 355 as opposed to keeping the 328?.......sometimes. But the 355 is a more modern car but that does not make it a better one IMO.I dread the day that the electronics start going bad on my 355, becourse computers run every thing, as opposed to the 328s simplicity. There is no way in my expereance that a 355 can cost as much as a 328 to maintain. Enjoy the beauty of the 328 as well as the ease of maintenance, there both great cars in there own ways.

 

From my limited seat time in a 355 Spider (drove one once) I can tell you that the biggest difference for me was the refinement. The 355 made the 328 feel very old. The feel of all of the controls was more of a German car nature. Also, the 355 is a lot faster. That said, I'd still take a 328 for now. I love the shape and the servicing is a breeze.

 

I just had a 355 for the weekend(one of many). These car make wonderful a sound when they are running in top tune. They are quite fast,and handel really well. The 6 speed gearbox is great fro the highway and a joy to operate. The look of the car is IMHO much better then the 360. The car is very nimble and the engine loves to rev...Tubi is the only way to go on these cars. The stock exhaust is just too damn quite.

Having said that..The car is an expensive peice to maintaine. Engine must come out for the belt service,parts are almost 3x the amout of 328 parts,things tend to fall apart with regularity on these cars, center console,window switchs, the windows themsleves like to cause problems, the spiders roof has issues (mostly the seat position switch on the drivers side). And as mentioned about 10 million times, the manifolds crack and they are bad for valve guides. I have an up and comming solution to the header problem..but I will wait until I become a sponsor of the board to go any further into details. There are a few other weak points on the cars but I can't think of them right now.

You will miss your 328. I can garentee you that.

 

The 328 is a great car, solid and classic, and it doesn't cost too much to maintain. My uncle had one for years and still regrets the day he sold it.

The 355 is incredibly different in comparison: it is a racecar in contrast, much quicker, more poised and more fun to drive. Although not true for every owner, the 355 is a maintenance nightmare for many owners. I've owned a 355 for 4 years now, and have already spent $35k in maintenance within 11k miles - this is not usual, but not uncommon either. That said, it has had two new manifolds, 3 new shocks, and a complete engine rebuild (due to poor engine assembly at the factory), and it has under 23k on the odometer.

On looks, the choice is yours, but on maintenance, the 328 wins hands down. On the other hand, from a driver's standpoint, the 355 is far superior in every way.

Had I known then what I know now, I would have bought a 328 or even a 360 and skipped the 355 altogether (although it looks and sounds better than the other two) - IMHO.

David

P.S. After completely fixing my 355, it is up for sale out of complete disillusionment and frustration

 

I did just that; bought a 355 last year after 4 yrs of happy 328 ownership.

Costs? the answer is it will depend on the cars in question. I know people who have spent fortunes on their 355, but then I also know people who have spent nothing except routine servicing. Similarly, there are people who have spent fortunes on their 328s

Like for like, assuming perfect cars, the running costs are theoretically similar-the 328 needs belts every other year, the 355 needs belts every three years.

That said, there are things which you point out which do go wrong with 355s frequently which will cost a lot to fix. Assume therefore that at some stage such costs may happen to you.

The problem is that the bad news is reported on this site. The majority of owners I suspect will have a few things go wrong, but not a lot.

Conclusion; expect to pay more to run a 355.

Is it worth it? In my view, YES.

But if the costs are likely to annoy you, then you probably won't enjoy it as much.

Robert.

 

Not to get too far into the belt battle, buy my US manual shows 52500 miles between changes and does not specify a time period. Even the most aggressive schedule I've heard advocated is 5 yrs/30,000 miles.

 

Crawford,

I'm in the same boat. I had a 87 328 for a few years. I had to sell it back in Feb due to my wife getting sick. Boy do I miss it!

Anyway, I have been watching the 355 market for some time. I am planning on buying a 355 spider sometime next spring. While I have not driven one yet, I have seen and sat in some. I, like you, am worried about the maintenance of a 355. I am not handy with a wrench so I would need to bring any issues to the shop. While the 328 was relatively inexpensive (relative to other Ferraris), you do have to factor in maintenance costs and the time it's in the shop. After all I know of the 355 at this time, I must admit I am a little apprehensive of pulling the trigger. But life is short and you should live it to its fullness.


my 2 cents anyway.

Theo

 

I owned a 328 for 7 years and loved the car.There were very few things that i had to do to it and really enjoyed the ownership experience. I bought my 355 over 2 years ago and i've got to tell you ,the 355 is that much better in just about every way.Believe me the 10 year difference in automotive technology makes a huge difference in many areas. Handling,sheer performance,driving fun ,etc.I've had little or no problems with my 355 spider and it hasn't been a costly experience. On the contrary,i've had so much fun with the 355,i certainly don't regret the purchase at all.As much as i enjoyed the 328 for the years i had it,in my opinion the 355 is that much more fun.Either way you can't go wrong. It becomes a question of how much technology do you need to make you happy.Both cars were state of the art Ferrari when they came out.The 360 and now the upcoming 430 raise the bar once again.The old adage "speed costs money, how fast do you want to go ?" could apply here.

 

Hm....the logical choise would be 348 if you ask me.

The 328 is old and has old handling, old AC, old everything. If you want to upgreade but not deal with headers $ 7000, valve guide issues $8000, active suspension failing $ 2000, why not go to the 348. 50HP more that you can feel like night and day compared to the 328 and all modern amenities except the power steering, which I personally hate on a Ferrari.

You can buy a 348 for the same price as a 328 (or close to it) and get the much better car without dealing with the problems of the 355.

 

I was hoping to keep away from this subject not to insult anyone, but having 1st hand experinace with both cars I feel the need to weigh in. I owned a 1986 328GTS (now owned by another f-caht member) it was about 9 years ago but I remember it well. It drove nicely, the maintence was expected, I had it about 2 years, and always looked foward to driving it. This year I got the urge to by another Fcar and saw a 328 locally for sale, I took it for a ride an remembered why I sold mine in the first place. It very cramped inside, the pedal seem more offset than other models, the exhaust sound was less than impressive, and the car itself was never really a performer. As I told the seller "thanks anyway" the dealer next door noticed me admiring a 355 Spider on the lot. He said he wasn't busy (although I explained I had no interest in spending 355 kind of money for a car) he offered to let me take a "joy" ride, I drove. 10 minutes later the only thing I could think was "how did I live my life this long without this car???" My mission in life became owning a 355 which I finally aquired in May 2004, I have thus far added 3500 miles to my original 12,100. I wake up every morning now, and the first thing I can think is "can I go for a ride today?", the car is a work of art, it's not the fastest car on the rode but I can keep up with them just fine. With my Hyper flow cat and tubi exhaust, I can't remember ever turning on the radio, do I even have one? I love this car, I'm not the kind of person who just bought his first cool car, I have had many, many, I'm up to about 30 last count. I have never driven a 360 so I'm not putting them down, I just dont have a educated opinion about them. My 355 has been very good to me, some volutary upgrades, minor repair issues (which I enjoy doing myself). The two cars can't be compared, as far as the 355, in Ferris Buellers own words "IF YOU HAVE THE MEANS I WOULD STRONGLY SUGGEST YOU PICK ONE UP".
328 owners please don't flame me, I like them also, and remember this is just MY opinion!

 

I took the same route, as my first Ferrari was 328GTS. Love the car! It is owned by another F-chatter now, and he's taking it to circuits. For the money, 328 cannot be beat w/ enjoyment of Ferrari sound! Only problem was that the car couldn't be driven during the daytime in Texas heat. I had to take a towel everytime!

355 is also very good car. I had 6-speed spider first, but it didn't fit my lifestyle, so switched to F-1 GTB, and I'm having heavenly time!! Tubi sound make you pee in your pants! (yes, I am exagerating)

If you are concerned for maintenance issue, make sure you have a good mechanic who can attend your car. I started searching my first F from maintenance view, too, and met couple F-mechanics & got their input before deciding each cars. You can find these mechanics in this archive by doing the search.

Enjoy your search as it is a part of your enjoyment!! Good Luck

 

I'll weigh in. I own an 89 GTB. Have not had a 355, but did own a 94 348 TB and put 14K miles on it.

I think of the 328 as the last of a closed set (206-246-308-328) These cars all had the same basic chassis and drivetrain layouts and all are noted for their great looks that are unique in the world of cars. They have a unique driving experience as well. I call them "cars you wear". Some people don't like the concept, but I do. All feel underpowered by today's standards and the steering feel is now classic compared to newer cars of any make. I also owned 3 308's and another 328. The one thing about them all is they are involving and fun to drive. You have to work the motor and gearbox to get the most out of them. On a twisty road where power is not that big a deal, they are great fun. At 7/10ths, they handle beautifully, pushed hard and body roll really takes a toll. 328's benefited from nearly 20 years of development and this, no doubt, is the main factor in their legendary reliability (by Ferrari standards). I like that you can easily see the hand crafted nature of these cars inside and out whereas the newer ones seem more cookie cutter.

Like you, I considered adding a 355 to the garage but the various "issues" I hear of has prevented me. I am especially concerned about the cracking headers, short lived cats and other exhaust issues that seem to plague all these cars. It seems to me Ferrari should come up with a solution to the exhaust problem. So far, 360's seem to have far fewer issues. I know the early ones had a few problems (mostly with the F1 trans) as expected. I like stick shifts anyway, so I have a 430 coming probably in 12-24 months. But the 328 will remain. I think of it as classic with a style and driving experience that will never be duplicated.

PS I also have an Elise coming in Feb-Mar. Perhaps the 328 and the "Totus" will be sports car nirvana.

DAve

 

Excellent thread...and clever too, by stradling the 328 and 355 models they're allowing you to stay in the "Not Model Specific" category. Well done!

As I have a 328 I find this interesting.

Sounds like:
A) I should keep mine for as long as possible.
B) If it's more power I want, turbo it!
C) If it's a different style I want, get a 348.
D) If I want it all, get a TestaRossa.

In any case, the future sure looks bright for me!

Best!
Wes