I want a 348/355 bit I am afraid

I think people are being too scared. You will enjoy it a great deal more if you have the skills and tools to do a lot yourself though, especially on the older cars. To me working on it is part of the fun, and it's great to show off to people you just did a valve adjustment on a 48 valve car.

All costs aside, don't dismiss the fun factor. Lots of respect from people and a very big plus is that the local Ferrari community are great people to hang out with.
It's very worthwhile in my book.

 

Sorry to say but yes those numbers can be and are real, in some cases even worse. That does not mean you can't find one and drive trouble free for years but one must not think that way.

If this scares you Ferrari is not for you, not trying to be a Debbie Downer but reality hurts sometimes.

As saying goes anyone can buy a Ferrari but only a few can afford to own one. Even though they are really affordable now the repair cost have come down little in price.

But if you do pull the trigger on one you will have the biggest smile on your face



Until repair then

 

I would take those prices as a starting point. That is where I just had my 355 major done, and the bill grew to 20k real fast. And this didn't even include headers or cats! But they did rebuild my cylinder heads with cast iron valve guides and 360 valve seats

 

Ouch!

If you don't mind me asking, what percentage of the total bill was due to the valve work?

 

about 50%

 

see attachment file for real costs of owning a 348 spider 1993
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LMAO!! If that were the case, I would just throw my car away and buy a whole nuther 348!!
Hell, I think I can get a brand new crate motor for less than half that!!

At those prices, and based on the current market values, my FERRARI just became "disposable"?!?

 

see attachment file for real costs of owning a 348 spider 1993

 

Sheesh...

 

think of maintenance costs from the perspective of a helicopter mechanic: sure, you don't need to do much preventative maintenance, but it could hurt if you missed something

I should of purchased my 348 spider many years earlier - love the car!

In the Ferrari world, there are very very few deals - you get what you pay for, and much cheaper to buy a great car up front. And there are a lot of shiny good looking Ferrari's around - not many are professionally maintained under the hood.

Picking a mechanic is more important than the car, imvho - sometimes feels like I've borrowed the car, but married the mechanic.

 

This is probalby the best statement on fchat - i agree, with 2 ferraris i am borrowing, my mechanic is now invited to weddings, weekends out for lunch

 

Didnt Enzo say "I make cars for young men that only old men can afford."?
so so true.

 

well i am younger and i can tell you that times are slow and shop mechanics are trained to find stuff that needs work and some are even wrong with there advise. I just fixed my shock light for $30 bucks on my own . how much would this cost me at the dealer after they take out the shocks rebuild them sell me new parts i do not need and extra labor that could be done in the car. trust me if you do not know cars stay away because you will be the person bashing our cars and lowering the resale value. or maybe i should thank you because i got a supercar for less than a lexus because of you. sorry but true

 

One point that I think hasn't been brought up is your comfort level for deciding what you can live without.

For example, if a button doesn't work - you are looking at $150 switch? A $500 repair to hunt down the issue (assuming you're not a hands-on owner) - worse?

I'll give you an example. On one of my Ferrari's, I know the fog lights work. Do I ever use them? Not a chance - I fear turning that button on/off on/off will eventually break, and I don't want to repair it. I don't need them, therefore I won't use them.

Erik

 

Good point. My left window is painfully slow, and my right door lock doesn't work. I haven't put the time into fixing these things yet because a) the window is merely a minor frustration and b) I never let the car out of my sight, ergo, I never lock it! If I need to, the left side locks the car just fine!

 

Are you calling me old ?

 

Nah, I wouldnt do that. expecially not knowing you, but I think the statement is true. Young excitement is usually tempered once the wallet of reality slaps you on the invoice.
Nd

 

Yep

Mitch is right! I had 2 355's at one time. We used to laugh and say that all 355's have herpes...Everything will seem fine then WHAM, a great big flare up... At the end of the day I have become so negative towards Ferrari because of my experience..

The funny thing is I used to say such things on the forum only to have a mob of Ferrari lovers tell me I'm full of it. Every now and then I check in here only to see the folks that claimed to not spend anything are going through a rebuild......

Trust me these cars cost buckets.....I've earned the right to say so....And when you are all done you can lick your wounds, list it for sale, have every doorknob on earth low ball you then whine because it broke down after they took delivery...

Ask me how I really feel.......Only buy one if you are comfortable enough to drop 20k at ANY given time.....That's the way to measure if it's for you....

 

Just for another datapoint if you become a diy'er much of the fun is in the hobby of diy on your ferrari. If you have other people work on the car the expenses are there. Becoming a diy'er is not easy or cheap because the early jobs you will have to farm out. So buy a good car so that your first job is not a major service or engine rebuild. In my own experience my 348 had terrible costly electronics. Car ran like cr@p then ran like a dream all in the same week with no more changes than putting the car in the garage and turning it off. But then I got so mad it was sell it or make a race car out of it. I gutted the car and welded in a cage and the car became ultimate reliable ferrari and very cheap to run. In fact the 348 never failed me on track. Finally I crashed it and race SCCA T1 in a C5Z06 Vette. The vette is more expensive to race than the ferrari. The ferrari after it wreck was sold off for parts and the cost of my racing was nil! These were the times before Dave Helms gold connector kits. Now I have a 550 ferrari with the SRI gold kit and the electronics is flawless and the car runs perfectly just like when I took out all the electronics in the 348. I think the gold kit is essential as part of ferrari ownership which will cut down massive ownership pain and $$$ chasing ghosts and niggling expesnsive problems that bleed your wallet. The 550 has cost me little more than my chevys to own and operate.

 

I own and love my 348.. Yes for the uneducated you will pay premium prices for every nut and bolt. The key is knowledge and contacts.
This goes for any exotic car you choose to own. Same applied for my Alfa Montreal previuosly I owned for 15 years, rebuilt ther motor updated trim etc and spent under 5-6k all those years !!
Learn from forums like this where to get the parts and seek out and get to know good 'reasonably price' mechanics. There are many privatiers out there that are top mechanics running their own shops out of their own passion for the brand who won't rip you off. If you are one to take it to the Ferrari dealer for every service and leak..... then be prepared to pay !!!

You can buy an MG a Ferrari or a T model Ford.. The same will apply !!!!

 

i just had the 30k service on my 1994 348 spyder and i paid close to 13000 at lamborghini of dallas texas

 

What did that $13,000 include? It was obviously more than "just" the routine major service (by that I mean anything above and beyond what the major service consists of).

 

I certainly hope so. Otherwise, it's a great example of why I won't go to a stealership for service!

 

I hope he responds...I am curious to know what he got for $13k besides a logo of a bull at the top of his invoice.