355 maintenance not as bad as recent threads make it out to be

Dollar cost averaging of Ferrari's. Interesting.

 

Hands down the 360 (on average, individual cars will vary greatly) will be less expensive to own and maintain in the long run.

I know several people will chime in with how low THEIR 355 was to maintain, or someone has a horror story about some 360...but on AVERAGE, the 360 will invariably be less.

 

Getting close to 50k miles on my 1995 F355. I think everything but the transmission & brakes needs to be rebuilt. How's that for your maintenance estimates?

 

If it isn't dripping, it's probably dry.
If it isn't making noise, it's probably not working

 

I don't follow the loginc of this statement. We don't know how maintenance demanding the techno gizmos on this car are going to be. A mechanic I know hates working on the engine and trans due to the undertray and crap down there.

 

When I was F shopping, I did zero research on maintenance costs for a specific model. All cars need 'maintenance', some need more than others. If something breaks or needs replacing, then that is an opportunity for an upgrade .

The 355's looks, HP and sound were reason enough to buy one. Its looks are not 'over the top', the size is 'just right', HP is fairly 'adjustable' ....... and its sound ....... euphoric !!!

I for one, am actually happy the 355 scares 'some' people away ....... with its 'bad reputation' .............. !!!!

 

If you drive both of them long enough(around 50k) you will replace or fix 50% of everything on both cars. And of that 50% of things that you fix it won't be minor. You should look at the thread for the P4/5 having the wheel bearings replaced after 4000mi. $18k just in parts so far.

 

What about the cost of a clutch on the 360 at $6K? That seems to offset some of the things on the 355.

 

I'm just waiting for someone to start quoting dealer prices and factory parts as reason to avoid a 355

It's by no means cheap, but if you're smart there's plenty of 'reasonable' cost solutions for the known problems. Headers? aftermarket, done forever. guides in an early model year car? do them same time as the engine out, done forever. F1 pump that rarely fails anyway? with some creativity a 360 pump can fit.

I've had 3+ years of enjoyment, no surprises...just a DIY belt service with headers and lots more, maybe $5k total (including replacing my own clutch too).

 

A 360 can chew up 10k easy, so can a 355, so can a 348, so can an F430, the 458 will be able to do the same once out of warranty, a 512TR could burn through 20k without much trouble.

Buy the car you like the most, enjoy the ownership experence, use the thing as much as possible and if something breaks or needs fixing, fix it and drive on.

Any car that is as rewarding to drive as those mentioned above is going to cost money to maintain correctly, all mechanical objects can and will at some stage break, Ferrari parts are not cheap, but that's the cost to play.

The moral of the story, once you fall in love the cost becomes irrelevant.

 

I can rebuild a 355 or 360 clutch for about 50 bucks. I can change belts on any car for under 200. I'll buy a tensioner bearing for 300. My cost to run these cars from 308carb to QV to 348 to 550 has been very similar to the cost of my truck or wife's benz. DIY is very fun and part of the hobby. Start small and save the big things to the pros until you get your skills up. It takes time to learn enjoy the ride.

 

Yes, buying a Ferrari is kinda like marriage. Personal involvement is necessary for long term happiness.

 

What? The oldest 360s are now 11 years old...I think we have a pretty good idea. Gauge panel lighting, F1 pumps, Cam variators and exhaust manifolds are a few of the issues...but seem to be more "occasional" in failure rate, than items on the 355 that are pretty much sure to happen...

I have passed 54k miles, I have seen MORE than my share of crap fail....about the only thing I have not seen (knock wood) is the valve guide or cylinder liner failure.

Cats?...yup, replaced four so far
Manifolds? Sure but on the second replacements, I went with QV London
Throw out bearing housing cracked? Yup, lost all the clutch fluid...Hill Engineering now
Engine/trans mounts...yup, got new now.
CV joint boots cooked from manifold heat and split....been there, done that
Leaking shocks? Yup, rears replaced twice, at least rebuilds are cheap from Bilstein.
Failed cat ECUs? Replaced multiple times by previous owner until new green upgraded ones available...only replace one green one since
Squeeky front steering? Yes, finaly fixed, needed new steering rack bushings, and then alignment
Rotten rubber boots on all the Bosch electrical connectors? Yup, upgraded to the Dave Helms boot kit.
Blowing radiator fan fuses? Yup, replaced both Spal fans a couple months ago.


Most recent? Muffler baffles failed and rattling...installed like new oem muffler (take off from someone else getting a Tubi I'm sure ).

Car runs and drives wonderfully, but certainly requires deep pockets and patience if you are as "anal" as me on wanting the car running tip top.

 

Here is a reply from Mike Sheehan on the 348/355 models.



"348s and 355s are maintenance whores.

You just reinforced that,...not that I needed reinforcement.

We sold our last 355 Spyder for $50k almost two years ago.

We no longer sell them, too much brain damage for too little money.

With 360 coupes at $60k and up and 360 spyders at $75k and up, how can a 355 be worth $75k?

A cam belt service on a 360 is $3k!

Why would anyone want a 355 with it's 10k cam-belt service?

As for anyone asking $75k for a 355, they are simply delusional....

My regards.

Mike."

the above was in reference to Ferrari of Seattle asking $75K for a 9,000 mile 99 355 spider.

 

So its time for all of us to admit the situation we are now in. The maintenance costs have out-valued the purchase price of our 348/355's. Unless we have the expertise & resources to do all the work ourselves. Most owners do not fall in that category.

Hi, my name is Josh and I'm a Ferrari-o-holic.

 

Since 5 years owner of a 355 and couldn't agree more!

 

................... when it comes down to it, there is really nothing better than a sorted 355 ..........

 

A 348 and a 355 are not in the same league in regards to maintenance costs and inherent expensive problems. I am not sure why Shehan would lump those 2 cars together.

 

Let's not take things out of context = my point being that ALL Ferrari's are maintenance whores.

 

Who's Mike Sheehan?

 

Hmm, because they want one?

Lets take it a step further and say who would want to spend all the money maintaining a 360 when they could just lease a Camry?

Or who would want a Daytona and be bothered with all those carburetors? A Miata is so much more reliable.

With this marque especially, I see no reason to rationalize your purchase based off of service costs. None of them are going to be cheap so why not just buy the car you want?

Do you want to open up your garage and see the car you are passionate about or would you rather open the garage and say "yeah I really wanted xxxx but I bought this because it will save me a few grand".

Seems like missing the point completely.

 

Sheehan isn't really a fair judge of any of these 'common people' Ferrari's. I see him as more of a supercar and high end guy. His opinions regarding these lower $$$ Ferrari's at times leave me wondering if he likes Ferrari's at all. Not all the time, but definitely there are times......

 

If you have not owned or wrenched a 360 you have no idea how user friendly the car is to service. Period. As fatbillybob said- its easy to maintain once you learn. Do not buy a F1 if you want less stress about failures.. get a 6-speed.

My first Ferrari was a 348, second a 328 now a 360 spider... until you actually get one in your garage & on a lift to examine it- you can rave all you want. There is literally no comparison from the 355 to a 360.
Flame all you want. Seriously, get a 360 for the weekend...examine it. Come back & debate which is the more user friendly of the two.

Yes the exhaust manifolds & pre cats suck- can be replaced to aftermarket & reflash ECU (mine were both replaced 5 years out under warranty from Ferrari- emissions related)
Variator failures are rare, part was updated under recall- still not 100% failproof but failures are extremely rare and some were traced to improper installations..
Belts can be done w/motor in the car through access panel in 4 hours + or -
Put on a lift, remove the lower panel & everything under is exposed.