'Shocking' Reliability: 20 Years of Invoices for my 97 F355 Spider

seen that vid long ago...

makes my bones cringe..

not only was the driver a dumb idiot...
the guy filming should be shot. filming on, taking time to move to each side of the car not seeing any tire spin while the car is burning up inside..

and then only when the driver stops.. the guy filming says " that wasn't the tires?". therefore confirming he saw no tire spin the whole time, but let him keep going
it would be simple common sense, even for the non car person.. that something was not right..

he could have easily said Stop Stop.. but he just kept filming, while the guy driving was thinking he was pulling a smoke show..

 

I'll add that the smell of tires burning is much different than a clutch

 

Ebrake works!

 

Apologies for chiming in here - i am a 550 man.

Surely parts have to be looked at based on age and use ? A shock that has essentially sat in a garage doing nothing (800 miles a year) shouldn't fail - noted that seals drying out is a potential issue.

 

I never had a shock last more then 2-3 years in anything I owned including countless toyotas.

 

Rear shocks on my 95 355 were replace due to leaking in 2002 at 9800 miles. 15 years and 15k miles later the replacements are fine. A 99 I looked at in 2012 with 6800 miles on it had leaking rear shocks. Shocks on my 308 are 32 years old, 32k miles and just fine.

 

It's sort of an odd statement to make: "This car has been very reliable, if you ignore the $40,000 spent on repairs".

Not on a 24K mile car.

Rubber hoses degrade over 20 years, sure. Some other parts do too, that's natural. But a clutch plate doesn't wear out just sitting in the garage.

 

So you are in disagreement that this was likely from the PO's driving style and it's a case of Ferrari's clutch is sub-standard???

 

bought a 2009 BMW 328Xi sedan with 100,000kms on it 4 months ago.
at inspection all checked out ok..

2 weeks ago, right rear shock complete failure, oil dripping to the ground..
at least new oem replacements were only $100 per corner..
unlike the $600 per corner to rebuild a 355 shock..

 

Factor back in the shock, alternator and clutch...those should not be expected to wear out in 24k miles on any other car.

I owned my 97 355 spider for 10 years. I bought it with 27k miles and sold it with 64k miles. I had a binder of receipts about 2.5" thick....it was a doozy.... lol. I had most of the records since new. I did a clutch (its first) at around 45k miles...due to the throwout bearing housing cracking and leaking out the fluid...replaced with Hill Engineering from Ricambi America (thanks Daniel!) If the housing had not cracked, the clutch would have lasted to 60k probably.

I still LOVE The 355, but they are truly maintenance hogs, and random stuff does break...frequently. I'm pretty OCD so it kept me constantly busy keeping the cosmetics and mechanicals up to my standards.

In spite of all that....I will likely get another one...probably a berlinetta...possibly an F1. Convertibles just get way too much sun fading and wear in the interiors...even in Seattle. Berlinettas look more purposeful as well.

 

There's another thread somewhere in here about a one year update on a 355... A little over 2000 miles driven in that timeframe with well over $3000 in repairs, and everyone seems pumped on how reliable the car has been. The 355 certainly has a unique ability to adjust expectations of what's considered normal, reliable, and trouble-free for a car.

 

I am still on my first set of shocks, my first clutch, and my first alternator at 66K miles, 5K of which took place on race tracks.

 

An alternator failure after 20 years is to be expected. Sorry. it just is.

Clutch... well... I am sure it was done during an engine out... and it was a well... we might as well do it.

Shocks... Go pull over a 2008 charger or 2010 pick up or whatever... i garuntee the shocks are leaking somewhat.

Regular cars do not go through the amount of scrutiny that f cars go through for maintenance.

Seals are seals and they eventually go out... a shock is no different. Also, a shock gets EXTREMELY hot... the seals are designed to swell. If the car sits... the seals essentially wear/shrink... then when it gets hot they don't expand enough.

Honestly a shocks are no different than radiator hoses.

 

I agree with the scrutiny comment for sure.

These clutches are dry and unlike wet clutches they do not like drag racing much.

Only shock problem i have had on originals is the top portion and I fixed them all years ago.

Just r cently the motor on one burnt out.

 

My mother kept her Subaru for 24 years and never replaced timing belt.

 

Or having lots of fun dragging stop light to stop light.

 

I think that the emphasis is that if you really love the car, and enjoy all that the ownership experiences, then you just have to deal with some of those repairs, maintenance items and such. After all , Ferrari's are low production and rarely driven daily. And other brands from the same period had similar issues. Camaros, corvettes, and others that were manufactured in the mid to late 90's had shock actuator issues, electrical problems, and in the onset of OBD2 countless CEL's. GM even had valve guides with premature failure on their tried and true 5.0 and 5.7 smallblocks. And that was due to improper alignment at installation.
As all cars are designed and built as days go on, the technology is getting better and reliability gets better. We (I), fell in love with this particular car, and have to accept what comes with it. John