New to ferrari -amazed at all of their weak links

I just completely rebuilt the cooling systems on both of my premium German BMW 325s. All of the parts are plastic except for the radiator, which is plastic and aluminum. I replaced the plastic OEM water pump with stainless steel. The parts are amazingly cheap, though. That is, amazingly cheap when compared with parts that come in yellow boxes with horseys on them.

 

Uhm... Japanese products have had plenty of problems...Takata anyone?

 

I still feel a MB ( made in Germany) is superior to anything made in Japan. Plus anywhere else.

Yes, sadly the exceptional MB quality ended in 1993.
Just in my opinion, of course !

 

Hmmm....race cars use parts where lifespan is measured in hours. Their street cars use parts(apparently) that are useful for a smaller percentage of years than most cars.

 

Dr. Gee, why don't you take a few minutes filling out your PROFILE. Some of us like to know who we are talking with, and then again some could care less. Your call. Why did you pick a 360? What kind of Doc are you? What cars have you owned in the past? Tell us about your garage? We also love pictures (girls, girls, cars, stuff like that). Welcome.

 

+1

 

Uh, no - completely wrong, in fact. The "Ferrari beater" as claimed in the media was the Acura NSX, 1990 - 2012 iirc, and the value never dropped like stone. Most of them still work very well (Honda reliability is better than Ferrari reliability), I don't believe any of the first all-aluminum construction sports cars (9 years before Ferrari did the same with the 360) can turn into a baked beans can, and you better think again if you believe they cost almost nothing. Like the equivalent Ferrari 348, depreciation bottomed out several years ago and they're well on their way up also.

 

'Expensive fixes' for the owners not Ferrari. 'Spending a little more' =Ferrari costs. Cynical perhaps, but an enthusiastic owner group makes it 'pragmatic.

 

LMAO ROF!!!

 

Yes, Honda NSX. Sold quite a few in Scandinavia. You can buy a mint, low mileage one for around 30-35 K USD.

Built quality is subjective. A form pressed piece of plastic that is snapped in place fits and looks very well in the beginning, but starts rattling after a few years( vast majority of modern cars). Form pressed plastic that is screwed does not rattle so quickly, but starts cracking.
Hand stitched leather starts shrinking.

Not an easy choice, is it?

 

The Germans are world champions in lead to believe of perceived quality (look and feel, haptic). But the technology they use behind the scenes is in the meanwhile shameful. The German cars are no longer worth the money - overpaid commodity.

With an Italien (or British) car I buy at least emotion, style and soul.

 

If they were fixed under warranty, why does the problem still exist?

 

Sorry, I cannot agree with that, I owned an NSX for 7 years and 50,000 miles before I bought my F355. The NSX was put together much better than the Ferrari. The interior looked like new when I sold it. I had no issues with my NSX and exceeded my entire cost of ownership within the first year of buying the Ferrari. I love the Ferrari more than the NSX, but it certainly was not because of build quality, the NSX was miles ahead on that front. The passion, beauty and sound of the F355 give it the edge to me.

 

The headers and cats on the F355 are indeed a shame and the result of poor specs on parts. The water pump is also something that should have been designed with more thermal margin. The plasti-dip interior is also embarrassing. Ferraris do indeed have more head-scratcher problems than most cars, but then again they are relatively rare and carry a nearly mystical brand identity.

Everything else on our 355s and 360s is 15-20 years old. Rubber will become brittle, leather will shrink, plastic will warp and rub and rattle.

 

Sorry about you misunderstanding, the second paragraph in my post reflected on cars generally, not on the Honda.
Yes, they were very nice, but lacked what we refer to "soul". Like most run of the mill cars today. I owned a 95 model, bought one year old/used, for a couple if years, but sold it after about a year because if this.
But then I am weird, as I have owned 4 LR Defenders ...........

 

I currently own a 1993 NSX. I also have Mercedes, Ferrari, Lotus, Audi, Mazda, Volvo, Honda, Porsche and some domestics in the fleet. My NSX has over 200,000 kms, has never let me down, doesn't "rattle" and still looks modern today. In fact, I get more looks and stares driving the NSX than I do driving the 355 Challenge. On top of that I could get more for it today than when I bought it 10 years ago. It has to rank up there as one of my best automotive purchases. As for the new one, yuck - don't like it at all. Back in the day when the NSX came out Honda set the automotive world on their head sending a message to the exotic brands. More recently the R35 GTR did somewhat the same thing. The new NSX missed the boat in my opinion. Too little, too late. Performance will be OK but not ground breaking, looks are compromised by corporate clowns who insist the car have the beak and look of their SUV and will be priced way too high for what it is.

As for build quality, yes I too was shocked at the apparent quality flaws in the 355. I used to think paying a premium got you great quality. I paid more for clothes, watches and electronics. Only to find the more expensive brands didn't last any longer and in fact often broke down more frequently. On my 355 most of the problems I have are cosmetic - sticky interior, paint cracking at rear buttress, etc. However, as a former race car it's probably not had the easiest life. When you look at the car closely you start to notice all the little things that make the car interesting. Like the little hand made heat shields for the ball joints and ducts for the brakes. Then there is how it drives. Almost all my cars have modified suspensions and yet none feels as planted in a corner or gives the same feedback through the steering wheel as the 355 Challenge. Even though it's down on power compared to others it still is fun to run through the gears, make the engine bark and howl as you drive through a twisty back road.

About the only cars I have read about that have amazing quality, prestige, design and reliability are the ones built by Pagani. Truly a craftsman who takes great pride in building cars for a select few and not the masses.

 

True. Until you get out and notice the black goo all over your shirt cuff.

 

It's so funny listening to these comments. Ferrari has always been this way.

The car that is now a $400,000 Dino had a heater that could not be turned off, constantly leaked oil onto the headers from the side mounted distributor, smelled of raw gas from the carbs, headlights that were as effective as lighting a candle, electrics that blew the alternator when running in extended stop and go traffic, a gearbox which had second gear unusable if you drove it cold, a body that rusted if you sneezed on it, a luggage compartment that made a good pizza warmer, a turning signal switch that broke if you looked at it, and a trunk lid that didn't fit the body by 1/2 inch.

Yes... classics were so much better!

 

I remember when Dinos were cheap. Unloved, "not a real Ferrari" and so on. I looked on a few in the late 80's, but never bought one as they all looked so cheaply made and tatty.
Almost also bought a 328 GTB in 87, but the insurance was too high.

When I see the prices today I just shake my head!

 

To be really, really honest, All Ferraris, including the new ones, are really crappy cars when compared to other cars in similar or even lower price points.
Crappy finish, crappy materials and crappy engineering.
We still love them though and spend our hard earned $$ on them, put up with even crappier sales practices and line up when a new model comes up.

 

Back in 1998 I had a Yellow NSX and a Yellow F355 spider.Build quality on the NSX
was miles above the F355.But in terms of excitement the Ferrari was in another league.
Honda's worst decision was not to go V-8 on their car.They could have crushed Ferrari