Hi all, In a year or so, I plan to splurge on an exotic, either a 360 Spyder or a Diablo. It seems they're changing hands at similar prices, plus or minus. One thing that frightens me about Ferraris is how fragile they are and how when they break, you are out thousands or perhaps tens of thousands of dollars. For those of you who own a Diablo, has it been reliable? How many miles have you put on it? How often does it needs to be serviced? Cheers!
I dont want to jinx myself by quoting reliability info but I will say that my F-cars generated more flat-bed experiences than my diablo! I also wouldnt say the ferraris were fragile but the lambo definitely feels more solid. either way you will be plagued by italian electronics and other components (climate control, lights, etc) and those, at least in my experience, are the bulk of the repairs you will end up with for the later model cars. either way you're not getting out of the shop for less than the 1-10's of thousands of dollars! comes with the territory. answering your original questions: has it been reliable - as far as transportation, yes. how many miles - several thousand in last 6 months. service - seems to be about twice a year. one normal fluids and stuff, and something will probably break during the year. I've found that something will always be broken on these cars - when you find something small broken that you can live with stay with it and dont get it fixed! as soon as you do you something else will break and it may be more significant!! (joke).
Reuben, Thanks for the response! What about mechanicals? Blowing gaskets, ripping belts, damaging auxiliary parts, like alternator, starter, etc., that sort of a thing? Also, is it possible to service these cars oneself, let's say when it comes to fluids, etc.? Some owners of older Ferraris engage in this practice. Is there room (literally and otherwise) to even attempt things of that sort without major disassembly of surrounding parts? Are parts readily available through authorized dealers? And on the side, what's the highest-mileage Diablo that you guys have ever seen? I'm a guy who thrives on details, thus my questions! Cheers!
My 01 Diablo has been awsome, just yearly fluids. Only a "clock spring" I think they call it (Airbag Issue) has gone bad. Only have 5800 miles though.
I just broke 20K on my 6.0 SE.......NEVER NEVER a issue, well maybe one..... Only can fit 2 ELFS in it, one on the other.......
ELFS? *confused* Thanks guys! What about stuff like ac and heater? Stereo? Are they useful at all or just there as extras that hardly function as they should?
We have a 97 roadster and it is great, but it seems to not like to be below sea level. We have been to death valley twice and both times, as soon as we pass the sign telling us that we are 200ft below sea level, the radio will only work when the lights are on and the climate control system will only work when the lights are off. As soon as we climb out of the valley everything reverts back to normal--go figure...that said, I don't think you would be dissapointed in a Diablo!!
One thing to take into consideration is that Ferrari's prior to the F430 have cam BELTS and they need to be serviced every 5 years or so and the Lambo has a chain. So the lambo has a leg up in that respect. I haven't put very many miles on my Diablo, so it is tough to make a direct comparison. But I will tell you this; in the sort time that I have driven it I have not found an acceleration ramp it would not easily negotiate. It is an awesome vehicle.
If I'm not mistaken, Diablos have a front suspension that can go up to accomodate driveways, correct? Good call about the belt, did not know that. Surprised they only recently switched to chains. Cheers!
murcis have it as well. as much as i love ferraris i think you guys are starting to make me want a lambo. -Nashville
so far (knock on wood) I havent had gasket/belt problems on either F or L cars with the exception of some tensioner issues on a F355. I have had alternators and other stuff replaced but that was mainly on an old (1973) ferrari. I've never done any real service work myself but I've heard of a lot of people that do. guess it comes down to your knowledge, comfort level, and how much time you have on your hands. It does seem that lamborghini parts take a little longer to get than ferrari parts for the same year and the older you go the harder they are to find. I've definitely run into the "we have to order it from italy" on numerous occasions. ... and my 99 diablo has the nose lift although they are notorious for breaking. I've never really used mine. my car has gone through many areas just fine where my 355 would scrape like hell.
I remember reading that their are issues with the front shocks going out prematurely very often with that adj susp. That's the only bad thing I've read about them.
Diablos are nice cars. Much more user friendly than the Countach. All Murcielagos, Diablos, Countachs and on back to the very first 350GT have chain drive camshafts, no belts. Early Diablos have issues with self adjusting timing chains that stop self adjusting. It's a fairly easy fix. From the mid nineties on up all diablos have hydraulic lift on the front suspension. Probably the worst feature on the later cars are the shocks. The dampening-control-electronics inside the shocks go bad and the front shocks blow out the seals and start leaking. I'm convinced that most of the blown seals are caused by driving over speed bumps too fast with the front in the up position. In order to raise the car, the oil pressure from the power steering pump is raised signifigantly. The combination of the elevated pressure and the jolt from the speed bump is what I feel is causing most of the seal failures. Replacement shocks are $2000.00 each and there are 6 of them. For several owners weve installed affordable non-electronic racing type shocks that are manually adjustable for ride height and dampening. We've also installed air shocks on the front, to raise the car, for way less than a new set of OEM shocks and are very happy with the ride quality. The later Diablo you get, the better car you get in terms of power and sophistication. 98 and later Diablos have the big brakes too. The perfect car isn't made. If you want one, buy one. You'll love it. Wil
Replacement shocks are $2000.00 each and there are 6 of them. For several owners weve installed affordable non-electronic racing type shocks that are manually adjustable for ride height and dampening. They can be rebuilt, we do it in the shop. Matter of fact we have an entire crate from Italy for spare parts...
Wil - can you elaborate on the tensioner's? Who makes the replacement upgrade or do you use OEM from later models?
If you can rebuild them we would be very interested. We had a Koni rebuilder make two unsuccessful attempts at it. This story has been gone over in many places but the problem is that Koni makes the shocks exclusively for Lamborghini and is by contract not allowed to sell parts for them. Lamborghini is only willing to sell whole shocks, not the repair parts. If you have a secret stash of rebuild parts for Diablo shocks please let everyone know where they can send their shocks for rebuilding! Wil
Frank, Did you ever get the hesitation problem with your Diablo's engine figured out? We just modify the existing tensioners to a manually adjustable type. The lower timing-chain tensioner has the same problem and we give it the same fix. Wil
