Can Maint Really Be THAT Bad?

Best I can say is drive them both and you decide. I love my 348 but really had decided before I drove it. I wanted a car I could work on and the latest model, so I knew I could get parts. The guy I bought my car from told me there was no comparing the 2. But the price difference and simplicity made it not an issue. I love the styling of my car and think it makes it look very exotic! There are good and bad with both. personally, I've owned mine for 1.5 years and it has been bulletproof. The only real problem I've had was the alternator and that is a common issue with both of them. I live about as South as you can get and drive my car year round, not a seasonal car for me. But ultimately you have to make that decision on your own. I figured the extra 20k was better spent on upgrades (not many) and to keep in the bank.

 

No power steering is a plus because it give the car a raw visceral feel. If I had it to do again , I would've kept my 348 and with the extra money bought the vintage vehicle that I've been longing for .

I had test pipes and X ost and it sounded incredible . Received many compliments from other owner with much newer Ferraris


When I bought my 360. I still had the 348 and was very close to returning the 360 because I didn't like it. It had to grow on me.

 

In one year of ownership I've had one problem that I fixed for a $5 bearing. I put probably $2k into the car doing stuff I wanted to but not needed. That includes buying a DA polisher. Today I bought a $150 battery. I can't comprehend how some spent $20K in two years....problem cars I guess.

 

The depreciation is the key when looking old vs new. I've spent a fair bit on getting my 355 the way I want it, but I went into it with eyes open. Even with all of the money I spent on it (some of which was spent on matters of preference rather than necessity), it was still less than the depreciation on a 458 over the same period (at least at UK depreciation rates, which IMO are steeper than in the US). Keep both cars for 5 years, and the difference will be even more pronounced. I didn't make my decision between the two on that basis (I did it on looks, sound, and gated shifter), but knowing that did take the maintenance cost point out of the decision-making process. I haven't had the F355 for long (10months) but I've been running the nuts off it since I got the last mechanical bits sorted (1200 miles in the last month!) and it has been spotless. As everyone says, get them sorted and drive them regularly and they are great cars.

 

Thats just what a few of my friends with 360s call the panel behind the passenger seat that gives access to the belts.... in no way official...

 

Getting the car sorted was a bit of a pain for me. One little thing after the next broke. The new owner will probably have no problems, since the last few months of ownership I have had no problems. I sold the car in excellent shape. This was the shortest time I ever kept a car. About a year and 4 months. I even took out a 4 year 40,000 mile after market warrantee. Back to a Porsche Twin Turbo with a six speed manuel. Just more fun to drive for me.

 

You can get a good version or a bad version of ANY car out there regardless of make and price. Buy smart, focus on proper maintenance records and servicing and you should be fine. Spend more on a well taken care of car, continue to take care of it and MOST importantly (IMO) DRIVE IT and you will be fine. These cars were NEVER designed to sit in a garage so it should come as no surprise that many of them were neglected and not seeing the use that they need to continually operate normally. These cars were designed with one purpose in mind, driving, and it needs to be done to keep them working properly. You can't buy a car that has been sitting for extended periods of time and then ask it to perform flawlessly after being brought out to light, it's like a well oiled machine, you don't oil it and ask it to start one day after sitting, it's going to be pissed! If it had been oiled and operating all along and properly taken care of, it wont blink at doing whatever job is at hand because that's all that it knows to do.

Just my opinion and thoughts.. FWIW

 

to the OP, it looks like you live in Dallas...if this is the case, you have quite possibly THE best indy shop here in town - Norwood. those guys are tip top and very reasonable by F-car standards, imho. we're very fortunate to have them here in town.

I've had my car for almost seven years and maintenance expenses have been in-line with my expectations. as long as you go in understanding that you'll need to do a major every 5-years or so along w/ the annual service and the odd expense here or there, you'll be fine...assuming you get a good car to begin with!

case in point - I did my annual service a couple months back and they found I had a bad steering fluid leak that required a rebuild of my rack. can't recall the exact amount but I think ballpark it was like $2,300 added to the normal annual service. that was my first negative surprise in about three years and frankly I've had NO negative surprises that have come close to that amount in my years of ownership. that said, I've only put about 15k miles on my car since I bought it.

btw- a local FCA member here in town is thinking about selling his spider in case you're interested...think it is a '98, black/tan

 

is that right?

 

Depends on the year you buy. If it's a newer one, for sure. 2004's are in the $85k range right now with 2014's at $185k. Maybe a 2004 doesn't quite see 50%, but I bet it won't be far off. They made a ton of Gallardo's and made them for over 10 years...

 

Well said!! That was my logic I didn't want a 360 I can't afford a 458 it was a 355 and nothing else fitted the bill. Did I consider maintainance before the purchase hell no! 3 years and 10000 km later I'm still in love. It's driven hard every weekend and no problems to date! It's not perfect but it's good enough for me !

 

Just curious.... Besides routine maintenance, what is everyone having issues with? Are these things that the Ferrari Dealer recommended you fix?

 

Quote of the day:

"It's not perfect but it's good enough for me ! "

me too!

 

Valve guides - $7-10k on top of normal major service cost
headers - $3k + labor
cats - $1500 + labor
throwout bearing - $800 + labor
sticky interior parts - depends
shock actuators/gears - $250 for rebuild and $50 for a new shock gear

Those are the main items that fail that wouldn't be considered routine maintenance. All are a fix it once - properly - and it's fixed type of deal, though. My car has had 5 out of the 6 done in it's now close to 20 years of operation and 52k miles. The valve guides were done in 2005 along with a major service, injector rebuild and a bunch of other stuff at a cost of $25k 2 owners ago. PO removed the cats (which were still good, I have them on a shelf) and most of the sticky interior parts. I did the clutch and TO bearing at a cost of around $1500, replaced one of the shock gears at $50, and the remaining sticky parts which cost me about $15 doing them myself.

There are also some model specific issues:

Spider top issues (seat potentiometers, hydraulics) - depends
F1 pump (replace with 360 pump retrofit kit) - $1100 + labor

If you had an f1 equipped spider and had to do every single one of those issues at a shop, it would be expensive. But spread out over 20 years? Not so bad.

I personally did not buy a low mileage car for that reason, one with 30-40k miles that has had most of the issues properly addressed should be fairly smooth sailing. Just be prepared to do what is left on that list at some point. I'm prepared to do headers if/when they go bad and address any other shock actuator issues. There's also the routine maintenance - timing belt every 5 years, clutch every 30-40k miles, brakes, tires, 10 quart oil changes, gearbox oil every couple of years, suspension bushings, shock rebuilds (none needed so far), seals that might leak, spark plugs etc. etc. There are also some rarer issues like broken input shafts on the trans, electrical connection issues, and other normal stuff for any 15-20 year old cars. These are not cheap or low maintenance cars. Neither is a Lambo. A Viper maybe, but you have to really want a Viper and only a Viper imo. I like the new ones but would not consider an older one.

 

20 year old hi performance car

Make any 20 year old car perfect and see how much it cost

 

Ok, mine has already had that stuff done or doesn't need it.

Those are the main issues?

 

The common ones, yes. If it hasn't had something done on that list, it's likely it will need it at some point. Could be this year, could be in ten years, could be never but I would be prepared.

 

The Kool Aid is strong here.

I got a funny feeling people won't like the next issue of Forza.

 

Oh this should be good!

This place was getting a little bit to PC anyway.

Rob must be licking his chops.

 

What's the next issue of Forza about?

 

whats a forza? does it go vroom?

 

You'll want to read it.


I can make more comments after it is out.

 

For those who don't know Brian Crall, aka rifle driver, a well respected, knowledgeable Ferrari tech, concours judge and all around Ferrari officienado , writes the tech column in Forza, the quarterly Ferrari Club of America (FCA) periodical distributed to all members of FCA.

I look forward to his comments.

 

Also add CV joints, radiator fans, engine mounts, radiator hoses, ebrake, air filter mounts, rheostats, tensioner assembly arm interfering with belts, cam cover leaks due to poor factory tolerances, muffler and plumbing melting, tranny seals, warped flyweel, air bag ecu, fuel pump, hard start issues and other electrical gremlins...

Going in to F355 with expectation of a normal car, it can become a source of never-ending headache and nuisance, combined at times with extremely expensive repairs. The flywheel was quoted at over $5K, a couple grand for air bag ECU. Less for used parts, but more a hassle to track them down and at the risk of installing malfunctioning/worn-out hardware.

Alleging that this cars fall apart in storage because owners do not drive them enough is absurd and misdirecting the blame.

Parts and components fail due to excessive vibration, overloading, overheating, oxidation from salt and moisture, poor choice of materials, bad design of electrical circuits, frequent cold-starts, freeze-thaw cycles, stress-cracking, excessive U/V and sun exposure.

A car should not fall apart from sitting in dry, dust free, climate controlled environment sheltered from the sun, elements and temperature swings. Gas does go bad after a year, and battery charge does need to be maintained, along with getting some fluids replaced. As long as that's done and as long as there are no rodents chewing up on the wiring - a car should not be falling apart.

Modern cars designed for regular use should not have that many problems all happening under 50k miles.

Ferrari makes cool cars (styling, brand image, sound, handling, performance). But F355 repair and maintenance needs are far in excess of what is commonly expected. I think that's just a fact that needs to be acknowledged and accepted. Making excuses and directing blame at greedy mechanics and lazy owners is not helpful.

 

Thanks but a small correction.

Forza is a regularly published commercial magazine and I am a regular contributor.

Prancing Horse is the FCA publication. While I have written for it I am not a regular contributor.