When is enough enough???

Forgive me purists, but there is money to be made in swapping a reliable drivetrain into these beautiful bodies. I wouldn't advocate scrapping a running car, but if it is going to scrap otherwise...

 

Uh ... no, thanks.

 

Ouch. Sorry to hear this. Those are some crazy numbers!

 

It's part of owning a Ferrari. I sold my 308 after 4 years , 40,000 miles, and $10K in various repairs & maintennance. I knew eventually at the rate I was driving I'd have an engine rebuild,and parts are getting harder to find.That's why now I'm considering the new Vette or a classic one in a couple of years.

 

You could buy a driver-level 308 for what DrewH spent fixing his 355.

 

MONEY PIT!!!!

 

I looked at several 355's before buying my 360. That kind of repair history was typical if not somewhat less than a few. Never mind a car needing a big ticket item like headers or valves, or worse, deferred maintenance.I'm not surprised that the dealer won't consign it without a recent major. Too bad as I really like the 355 but am glad I went with a 360.

 

I put 10k miles on my CS over a 3 year period and did nothing but one major service, an oil service and a new set of tires..about 5k

 

Dump the thing. There are plenty of other cars out there to experience, and thy won't cost you thousands of dollars to keep on the road.

I go back through service histories on cars that come into the shop, and look at the running totals on these cars. You are the norm, not the acception. I have a customer with a 355 that is at 60k in maintenance in 8 years of ownership. Another is at 20k..not even 2 years of ownership..

I try tried to talk them out of it..but they didnt care, but complain every time I hand them a bill. I just say.."I told ya so"

 

Drew, sounds like my BMW. Every month it seems, the car is in the shop having more work done to it because something else breaks. I don't even know how much I've spent on it in the last 2 years. One more year and I'm OUT. Sorry to hear of your problems.

 

Funny you mention the BMW. I have a customer who has spent over 30k on his over the last 5 years. But he has put rims, dinan exhaust, basicly a stage 2 set-up.. So minus 10k from that total to be fair.

 

Forgive my ignorance, and this isn't taking a shot at Ferrari at all, but why are they so expensive? When you hear a Ferrari owner mentioning how high the price it, that says something LOL

Are they poorly built or are the fixes to them simple, yet extremely expensive?

 

It's both.

 

I wouldn't generalize. The 328 and F430 (manual box) seem to be well built cars. The 355 introduced a lot of new (for 1995...) technology and complicated engineering that can cause significant wallet degradation.

 

Makes perfect sense. It's just a little disappointing that it had to be that car, or any Ferrari really. I saw a black 355 Spyder parked outside of starbucks yesterday. Nearly broke my neck turning to see it.

 

Goon:

It may break your wallet (and your heart) if you own one.

 

Those numbers are insane.

Would be interested to hear which modern F-car is the LEAST expensive to run.

 

The one that's still on warranty....

 

So far it's been the 360's and 599's for us.

 

How much of that is down to their relative youth?
There's been much speculation that when the electronics go the costs will skyrocket.

 

My 360 is 14 years old. Not sure if youth I the term I'd use... It's usually not the ECU, its usually the sensor that goes. F1 systems are the only component on the 360 I'd expect to give issues with age IMHO, seals go, pumps wear out, etc. Though if the electronics do become an issue, you can find alternatives. The systems on the 360 all use the CAN bus like many other Bosch systems.. I don't think he electro-apocalypse is going to happen. Not understanding it doesn't mean it can't be worked on by someone who does..

 

The 355 is a heartbreaker for me. I was sooooo close to buying the most gorgeous GTB but it's stories like these that scared me away.

As a regular joe there is no way I could afford those bills. I have a good friend who is a tech at a dealer and everytime I got the itch he'd scare the hell out of me.

 

Thanks.
A lot will depend on factory support.

 

Yes, my 512TR race car convinced me to buy a Corvette Z06

Corvette is just as fast if not faster for a lot less $

Corvettes can be just as sexy as Ferraris

Most women really have no clue how much a Ferrari cost, they just know they cost more than a Vette

 

Well.... VERY debatable!