Ferrari's Quality

No probs here. Try looking at the glass half full

 

Bummer, I would say if it's going to get you down like that to where you'll be worried about the next time you'll have a problem, you might as well just bask in the fantasy. It'll probably be cheaper for you in the long run.

 

Clearly, you've never owned a Ferrari.

 

you're basing this on the horror stories or first hand experience? Can come up with stories for Honda's and Toyota's too.

My 1st hand experience - after 3,000 km's and 3 months on my 348 I've got a quart of oil and fuel for operating expenses. I have to be careful, may have another quart needed and even an oil change later this year! Even the fuel-economy is better than I was expecting, at 16-19mpg in the city - clearly I'm not driving hard enough to brake it.

 

Don't base your opinion on horror stories. Happy owners are usually too busy enjoying ownership to stop to tell you how good it feels.

 

An emphatic: YES.

Dane

EDIT: Ferrari's aren't the only "exotics" that require special attention. Check this story out: A parrot diagnosed with diabetes....http://news.yahoo.com/s/usatoday/20050725/en_usatoday/exoticpetsarepopularbuttheresaproblem

 

You know, when I was a neophyte when it came to having knowledge on these vehicles(and I still am compared to some of you guys!), I thought many of the same thoughts without understanding some of the fundamental issues at play here.

You kind of gave one of the explanations right there yourself. These are LIMITED PRODUCTION cars. Think about how much testing GM will put into a car like the corvette(of which they make over 30,000/year). Yet typically in each new model's first year of production there can be problems on thousands of cars, if not recalls for every single one produced. And sometimes it takes 2+ years to shake out the problems.

Imagine what Ferrari is up against with only making a few thousand cars of a few different varieties each year. Being able to diagnose all of the problem areas is very cumbersome, and virtually unrealistic.

A couple more factors to consider here. Yes, the materials are for the most part the highest available. But comes with being on the cutting edge of new design will be the occasional headache. Remember this as well, most of the problem cars are the ones that are garage queens. These cars LOVE to be driven, and they hold up much better over time when used regularly. So if the car hasn't been used for 8 months and you goose it in the first mile of driving, yes, you will have problems.

Not so, with highly tuned cars with atypical specs(aka, the opposite of generic), maintence must be taken seriously. Attention to detail is crucial. So hourly maintence costs go up, as well as the cost of needing to replace a part that is only made in a small town in Italy as opposed to available at any Napa auto parts.

What defeats the purpose is not taking the car out period! These are driving sluts, that begged to be used! If not then you are asking for more complications than you would like to deal with.

I think possibly you are letting the few horror stories get to you. Heck, I know a person who blew an engine on a new M3 with only 2000 miles on it, and another fellow who blew the engine on an S2000 with only 1200 miles on it! So if you are looking for it, you can find specific instances to unnecessarily fill your head with the wrong impression of how these machines are built.

Now go forth, download the video of the F50 GT being filmed by the 355, and remember why you love Ferrari! I think I will do the same right now...

 

No prob. Just think about it like this as well. If people are having no problems with their F-cars it is highly unlikely for them to make a post saying "Hey, guess what all? No problems today!"

But the people who do have trouble will post here looking for advice and help. its just like watching the news, its 99% doom and gloom, 1% things are going ok!

 

Girls are fun, also.

 

You haven't been reading on here nearly enough, pal.
Every 2 months, in this very forum, it's discussed that Ferraris attract teenage boys more than anything else and most women don't even realize that red car you're driving is a Ferrari.

 

I have mixed emotions on this.

There are some things that are not of the quality one would expect from a vehicle costing so much.

Generally, the newer the Ferrari the more reliable since reliability did not seem to be a design factor in the earlier cars.

However, it is more fun to drive than any vehicle I know.

Of course, the status normally helps.

My first sports car was an Austin Healey 3000 Mk III. It required more maintenance than my '89 Mondial t Cab. One could feel the difference in performance when one used a different kind of gas in the Healey.

I bought my Ferrari from Atlanta while in NJ. Then had to go to Utah. Picked up the Ferrari in Atlanta. Knew it had a weak battery so I had carried a jumper box on the plane.

It ran very rough and I wandered about my sanity.

Drove it about 2,500 miles to Utah. At the end of the drive it was purring like a kitten.

These cars really do need to be driven.

After I became convinced of the reliability, I felt confident to drive it anywhere. I took no more percautions to drive it across country than I would take with a Honda.

Never let me down.

 

Maybe you should buy a Mercedes? Or Acura?

OTOH, any well maintained car will have a degree of reliability, even a Ferrari. If you keep after the things that pop up as opposed to letting them go, you'll not be stranded as much.

BTW, MY rear view mirror fell off one day too. I used gasket goo to reapply, and not only did I not break my arm holding it until it dried (it sticks fast right away), after 3 years it's still there even after getting knocked around a few times.

Ken

 

Buy a Viper...
My dream car is a Testarossa, but my Viper is rock solid. I can do most of my own maint. Insurance is a tiny sliver of an F-Cars...Not to mention it can eat almost any Ferrari on the road (in a straight line at least)
But alas it's not a Ferrari.
I don't think the Ferrari is as bad as you think. But you have choices if you want rock solid reliability.
NSX is another choice too.

Just buy the Ferrari and deal with it! I wish I did on many a Sunday drive...

 

the newer Ferrari's are pretty good looking (out and in). The only Ferrari i ever sat in was an 89 testarossa (red) and that was pretty sweet. I guess the car has soul..that's why its so aluring.

i'd love to see the interior of the Enzo (who wouldnt) and the 360cs. I hear there are alot of alcantra...(sp)

 

Now see! The glass is neither half empty or half full... rather, you have twice as much glass

 

Buy, buy, buy.....then DRIVE, DRIVE, DRIVE!!!

 

Actually, you have a few glasses in rapid succession.

 

Exactly! And the trick to keeping the glass full is simple, just re-pour!

 

My 0.02 $...
I bought my 328 in Nov 2004. I was in UK, car was in Italy... Car ws a Garage queen with 21.000 miles on the clock.
Came back to Italy in July 2005. After a full service I began to drive it almost daily. Net result is that on month ago, when I stored it again ude to relocation in Manila, the car had 8.000 more happy miles on her shoulder.
Fuel, new tires (it was still o the original, 18 year old ones) one minor service. This is all it costed. For sure less that my wife's Mercedes... (transaxle destroyed at less than 50000 miles).
Do not be scared, buy one, drive it and be happy.
Ciao
Eugenio

 

I think you have to realize that most people signing on to this web site are ferrari fanatics and no matter how much problems they have with thier cars, they will still love them and be cheerleaders for Ferrari.
I think you have to decide how much hassle you are willing to put up with regarding your car.
My wife's Lexus has been bullet proof and takes vitually none of my time with scheduling maintenance or arranging towing or worrying about some jealous person spitting on it or damaging it.
My Ferrari on the other hand costs me ten times in maintenance, worry that some ****** will damage it when I park it somewhere. It is pretty to look at when it is in the garage all waxed though.
The underlying problem with Ferrari's is that they are delicate. They are beautiful, fast but delicate and Italian. That means high maintenance.

 

Every exotic car is expensive to maintain. Their rare so theres not alot of parts, and high horsepower is hard on any car. Look at TVR who has terrible reliabilty but people buy them because their exclusive, fast and beautiful. I don't think people who buy exotic cars are looking for Honda Civic priced maintenance.