456GT vs 355 vs TR Maintenance cost

There is a big difference in the build philosphy of the 2 cars. The 355 is driveable for sure but most owners use them as weekend toys. Just not the sort of car that you will sit in traffic on the M2 at 8 am on a Monday morning even though you can. Its not restful to drive, has poor visibility, requires more attention and is short on clearance. With that said its a simpler car than the 456 and its maitenance costs (given similar previous care) should be less. It is also a car that begs to be given a whirl at Kyalami or wherever you can get track time whereas the 456 is really a heavy car to do that type of exercise.

Both cars have a number of known weaknesses which you need to be sure have been sorted before you buy as the cost of repair is substantial and should be factored into the purchase price. On the 456 its the seats, window/dorr handle interconnect switches and the engine mounts. The 355 has gearbox issues and ECU electrics. I think these have been sorted out more "reatively" then the 456 because of the Challenge program which ensured a level of reliability. Lastly the 456 is very heavy on gas getting as little as 50 l per 100 which I think is about 10 mp US g. I think the 355 (and even the TR) is about 60 or 70% better than that.

On the other hand you can get in that 456 make Cape Town in 10 hours and spend the night on the town (assuming you are not in tjoekkie somewhere) - its a real Grand Tourer in the European tradition. Many of its European owners use them for long distance driving with a good climate control and wonderful road manners. Its also very fast and I have tested mine above 180 (did not want to take my eyes off the road) where its quite stable. And as you said a really wonderful understated look that shows design and class and none of the boy-racer image of the 3 series cars (beautiful though they may be) - and looks terrific IMO in dark metallic blue.

So there is one perspective, jaundiced maar ek stem saam, both are uitsteekende!

 

Well I actually own both of these cars. In regards to gas I get 15 miles a gallon in the 456 as an average. Here are the big differences for me.

1) I live in colorado we have a lot of twisty canyons to race up.. in the 355 this is great as the 456 is heavy in the front and you can feel it around the corners.

2) The 355 is great on the race track but the 456 is a better daily driver... as I can actually get over speed bumps and don't have to worry about which street I go
down with the 456 as I do with the 355. The 355 is so low that you have to be
really careful on the streets.

3) I don't garage queen my cars.. I have 32k on the 355 and 25k on the 456. So I do routine fluid changes.. The maintenance on the 355 is the belt change because they have to pull the engine.. this costs around 6k in the US every 5 years. On the other hand for 6k on the 456 I can have every hose and belt and bunch of other stuff done.

4) The 456 has a smooth power band and the 355 you have to have it at 5k rpms to really feel the snap.

5) The 355 has a real rigid ride to it.. so you feel every bump.. on the 456 you feel like you are in a mercedes with a lot of horse power!!

6) For long trips the 456 is a joy.. the 355 you start to feel stiff after sitting for 5 hours.

Also I have a tubi on both and they both sound great.. in fact the tubi on the 456 sets off car alarms in the parking car and the tubi on the 355 does not.. the tubi on 355 has more of the f1 whine.. but the 456 sound is no wimp!

Once you drive the 456 and get in the 355 you definately feel the 355 is stripped down and built for racing not cruising!

They are both great cars.. you just need to figure out if the car is for racing around
get the 355.. if the car is for enjoying a ferrari I would get the 456.

 

I was born there and lived in SA on and off for 30 yrs. Maar nie tweetalig nie!

Yup I have both and they look just like the pics you see in any decent F-car book so I wont post pics. The 456 is silver and the 512 red just like the Pair on the cover of the R & T V12 book!

VSNqust said it right - different cars and some different cost. The 512s are known for gearbox issues if you high torque them in 1st and 2nd gears, so not good dragsters. Most 'Mericans have a problem with that because in the US its all about point and squirt, preferably from a light, whereas the F-car is generally designed and engineered for the canyons described by VSN qust or the autostrada. But the 456 makes a decent traffic crawler too, or at least as good as any of the 2+2 GT cars. One point to note however is like I said you are talking about 50 lts per 100 in petrol. The 512 brakes are better than the TR but not as good as the 355 because of its higher weight and it also does not have anti-skid unless you buy one of the rare 93/94 models. I believe all the 355s do and so does the 456. I forgot to mention that the 456 has a hose under the cylinder head that needs to be replaced with a silicone version. To do so needs the head to be removed. It cannot be seen from a photo and cannot be reached by any other means - so its an important thing to check on pre 1998/M series cars.

 

I have had the TR and now have the 456. The maintenance is really the same with these two cars but the TR can blow a differential and seems to be less reliable than the 456. While I know this isn't the basis of your question, The 456 is far more useable than the TR but is less flashy. The 456 will age well because the design is fairly innocuous, the TR is trapped in the 80s forever. The power of the 456 is very, very deceiving because you don't feel the speed due to the high comfort level. Bigger wheels with good tires help the 456 go around corners very well.