All, I've been lurking for years and am getting closer to buying a 360. I've done a lot of reading, but can't find anything about systemic issues with these cars. It appears that while they are higher-maintenance when compared to a 430, they are pretty solid. What should I know before buying one and what should I look for? Any and all responses would be sincerely appreciated. TIA, Bill Shaw
There is a sticky called 360 buyers guide at the top of the 360/430 section. Pop in there and read that thread. It is very complete
The 360 seems to be pretty spanner friendly and there's heaps of useful threads for all the common problems, all of which seem to be capable of being resolved by a DIY enthusiast with a little time on their hands. Obviously some jobs, such as timing belt changes might be best left to professionals but outside of that, if you like to get to know your car, I'd say jump right in and enjoy the experience!
The 360 is a good car. Obviously every car year+model has issues. For the 360 two issues that pop up are the fuel tank/vent under the convertible top and old pre-cats grenading the motor. Couple of recalls or service bulletins/campaigns are worth verifying work done, of course. Minor issues are things like battery drain and its related "rough running when first started cold" issue that a new battery (not a trickle charger) seems to reliably fix.
Thanks for the replies and I'll read the sticky later today (in all my searching, I don't know how I missed that). I know the 430 is less maintenance intensive, but I'm having a hard time justifying (or, rather, asking "what's-her-name") for the extra $$$$.
After reading the sticky, it seems the biggest potential problem is the variator issues. Which leads me to wonder aloud if this is hype and I should continue with my quest, or wait a year for the 430's price to drop to a more affordable (for me) area. Comments?
If you wish to talk yourself out of a Ferrari - you can keep that up for years. Buy one. Everything & anything can break. FEW do MANY do not, find the color you like, get a PPI for a warm fuzzy feeling & buy it. Only one keeping you from ownership is yourself... Rare occurence something breaks- you fix it. Hell if you going to live worse case scenarios do not drive a car period, chance a driver can come out of the blue & hit you at any given time... Probably alot higher chance of that than a catastrophic 360 failure. Period. My 2 cents- go buy one.
