Joys of 355 Maintenance

WOW, Get some friends here and start to turn some wrenches or I would start to look for a more reasonable shop. You show NYC in profile plenty of good independents who I'm sure need the work.

This and other stories exactly like yours are the main reason I started to do all the repairs and mait on my 308 either myself or with an another fchat buddy. They really are not that much of a black art. Just time and always allow more than you would expect.

If I ever own a 355 I would invest in a good lift. I have plenty of tools and enough wrenching experience from 30 years of owning sports cars.

 

Although I am a 348 owner, I am not so sure that the 355 is this heavy on maintenance on a constant basis. Perhaps other 355 owners can chime in here? I am sure you will get some responses from 355 owners here in the next few hours, or at the most by tomorrow.

 

I am not a 355 owner, but have spend a lot of time reading up on them because I plan on purchasing one within the year. From what I have read the main issues with these cars are the headers failing around 15,000 miles and on some cars the valve guides go bad. Since you have the exhaust taken care of, you are good in that department. Do you know if the valve guides have been replaced? As with any car that is 10-15 years old, things break or wear out, but overall if the car is maintained well moving forward by you, I don't see another $20k bill coming. If you have an F1 transmission, the clutches last about as half as long as on a regular 6 speed car, and they are a little fickle.

 

Mine had the 30K five years ago for around $6500 including water pump and goes in this winter for it's second. In between I had a clutch go and that's about it other than minor stuff like annual fluids, etc. The prices you're being quoted seem a little high. You might try getting another shop's opinion.

 

Now that's what I'm talkin' about

 

Wow, that is way too much. I had my engine out done 7 months ago for $7500 including the water pump rebuild. With only 10,XXX miles I didn't need headers and I haven't replaced the cats either. Mine has the F1 tranny and the clutch still had plenty of life left.

 

My 30k was in June and my car had almost 20k miles on it. I have thread I started in this section outlining it. However, I also needed new headers, cats, AND exhaust, along with brakes, clutch. The thermostat was already replaced and it had a 30k with new waterpump in 2005 with its previous owner.

This just goes to show that all of these people who are looking to get into 355 ownership would be much better off if they purchased a higher mileage well-sorted car. My QV rebuilt headers, Quicksilver exhaust, and Hyper-Flow cats will most likely never have to be replaced again. Car is a 99 so I don't worry about the valve guides. I hope the F1 tranny doesn't fail.

Other than those items, the car hasn't cost too much for maintentance/repairs. I have driven her 6k miles in 14 months of ownership. I knew she would need those big dollar items replaced. Knowing what I know now, I would buy a 355 that already had all of the problem issues addressed.

Just my $.02.

 

I have a 95 spider 355. Purchased in June of 2008 with 36,000 miles and a major done in summer of 2006. I have put over 6,000 miles on the car myself and all I've had to do was change the oil. The car now has 42,000 miles on it and still no problems with top, engine, or otherwise. Maybe I got one from a good batch who knows.

 

$2k for a friggen thermostat?

 

+1 ............ if one is planning on actually driving the car I would look into higher mile examples ...... low mile 355s IMO have higher odds of 'future' needs ........ still a thorough PPI should have seen some of this coming on a car with any amount of miles ......

+2 ........... the 355 is generally pretty dang solid ...... a 355 with higher miles ......... will have already revealed most issues ...... whether they were addressed properly is also very apparent with a good inspection .......... my 355 has had its share of repairs early in its life and has been 'very' reliable since ........ but I do stay on top of it and nip things in the bud before they potentially turn ugly ..........

.

 

Your getting charged too much.

I think the F355 is very high maintenance. I have replaced/rebuilt shocks, manifolds, cats, oil pressure regulator, power steering reservoir, A/C, alternator, plastic interior parts(sticky & broken lots of them), floor mat clips, various engine rubber hoses, clutch, ashtry, shift knob, water pump, unhook deviation, relays, seat belt, accelerator cable & probably 10 other things I have forgotten.

It's a perfect car for me. I love working on the car.

 

Oz is spot on. The cars that sit a lot seem to have the most little issues with big price tags. I've been averaging 3-4K/year and the car is well sorted and just works.

 

Sounds like its time to buy a 348!

 

Not saying that your headers arent bad, but just remember that a lot of places know the common problems with 355's and will try and gouge customers for them even if they arent needed. Are they making the classic failure sound?

 

........ or of equal performance and looks to a 348 ......... a moped .........

 

I don't think we have enough info to say the $17.5k is unjustified, depending on what was replaced parts add up quickly...especially if some of those interior cosmetics were replaced with new OEM.

That is a VERY steep bill for anyone, Ferrari or not. But I would think with what you've covered in this maintenance you should have a strong runner for a long time with minimal to no new costs.

Since doing the major (in my garage) my only expense was a very reasonable shock actuator repair and lots and lots of gas

 

One word... 3$$

 

.......... I can't think of a better place to put it ........ so get your 355 already ......

 

I spent $9k for an engine overhaul/rebuild on my nsx engine. $17k is extreme but it is a ferrari and depending on what parts were replaced and with what and whether it was Joe's shop or an fcar dealership, the amount would vary significantly.

 

You are so effin funny.
MRONY, I think that sometimes we forget that these are simply mechanical items that do break from time to time BUT things like hoses for power steering or in my case oil feed lines and clutch lines can be replaced by a hose / hydraulic expert for a fraction of the cost. eg an OEM oil line from the oil tank was weeping replacement cost OEM $600 aud, racing line cost 170.00 and was a better piece of equipment, never weeped again, clutch line from OEm was $400+ simple enzed fix $70.00
My general thought is that for a major get the dealer for little bits and pieces use an enthusiast who charges a reasonable price per hour.

 

Daayyyaaam!!!!Wow, hang on I feel we are experiencing a hurricane

 

Do you have an itemized receipt for all the labor and parts during the major? Posting that would allow a better idea of how much work was done compared with your charges.

The only thing that bothers me in your story is that the thermostat should have been checked and probably replaced during your major. Cost of the actual thermostat is minimal in view of overall costs. Hard to understand that you had a thermostat problem shortly after the major was completed, if the major was thorough. And I would think some of T/stat redo should be covered under major warranty. PS hose failure during T/stat redo starts sounding suspicious, but anything's possible. Just my 2c.

 

Agreed Rick...but online we're all armchair quarterbacks

for the PS line...I was ready to hack mine in half during the engine out. On the firewall side it was tight as a #$@%! and the angle wasn't good for getting a wrench in there. I was THIS close to just cutting it and buying a new one until I saw a new hose price of $400+. Then I just bent the line a bit and could get to that nut, but wasn't easy (again keep in mind I'm a DIY-er, not a seasoned F mechanic who probably have no problem with this step).