355 versus 360 upkeep

It's an older car. Be careful of the CIS fuel injection. Parts are harder to come by. It's simpler and it will be easier to DIY.. but from my 928 experience CIS and electrical system (corrosion) will keep you on your toes..

 

have you owned a ferrari before? there are no cheap ones to work on and get parts for. if you are buying a pre 2010 ferrari i wld def budget 5k to 10k in the first year or two.

 

My first Ferrari a 308 was very well cared for. It needed a major when I bought it.
It was 6k. No bargains in Ferrariland. You can check and recheck and have a profession ppi and it will still need things...

 

A 360 is far more tolerant to differed maintenance then the 355. The 355 runs on the razors edge of meltdown. 360 avoided this with variable exhaust timing.Ferrari leaned the 355 way out to get the power..she is as close to an f1 engine you can get for the street.

The 360 honestly is the perfect modern entry level Ferrari. As long as it's a 3 pedal. A 360 f1 can remove cash from your wallet extremely fast. The 355 f1 even more so. I love the 355 such an awsome car. Wish I still had my berlinetta, tubi, test pipes..oh baby, she would sing to me..but the money leaving my wallet made me sell.

 

I should say that driving and aesthetics aside the 360 is the car I would choose. It, I think is likely to give you less worry but as many have said it really comes down to what and how well done the previous/s owner/s was/were.

 

308GT4s do not have fuel injection, they have four Weber carbs, just like the early 308GTB/GTS. The Mondial 8 and 308GTBi/GTSi that were the first with CIS.

 

I stand corrected. The Gt4 I saw must have been retrofitted or had a later engine in it..

 

355 owned for 7 years, $4854.69, $693/yr. That includes all fluid changes and unexpected repairs. I have don't all the work myself. I need to replace the headers at some point. Even adding that in it's around $1200/yr or $100/month, gas money.

 

I'll just say this. Everyone I know who bought a 355 5 years ago or more still owns it. Everyone I know who bought a 360 during the same time period has moved on.

 

The 355 will go down as a classic.
It’s small, fast, nimble, and beautiful.

All these issues are fixable and cost a fraction of what people once paid. Once fixed the problems are solved.

 

I've dynoed both of my F355's and a friends 348, both were similar air fuel ratio. Charts of 360's seem to be similar as well.

I do find it interesting that the variators you credit for 360 engine reliability have been the very cause of catastrophic engine failures.

 

Never said they were reliable, however failures are almost non existent now that most have been repaired. The failure was quite over blown in my eyes..

 

Just got my '97 F355 6 sp.back from it's 3rd engine out since I bought it in 2002. With the work and "other things while it's out" came to $16K, but did include a lot of things it did need.. alternator, A/C work, and a few other odds and sods ( repaint valve covers, oil tank..) Well worth it for the time I've owned it and going forward to keeping it a lot longer. Just under 30K miles. Headers were replaced in 2009. It's compression was perfect and my mechanic said no signs of valve guide wear.

 

I have to ask, if the header were done, the valve guides were good and compression was perfect, what the hell did you spend $16k on? A lot of things it needed since the last engine out, 5 or 6 years ago, like?

 

That could be said of most 355s as well. Most have had guides and headers replaced if needed

 

It’s been over 6 years since my last engine out. My car runs like a top: no lights, leaks, problems. I’ll probably do a engine out this year, for “peace of mind”. Also, since it will be out, I’ll probably to “everything” else also. I see it as a good investment, even though I’m keeping the car for mmm, maybe/probably “forever” (gifting it my son).

Ps: I drive it weekly, & on out of state trips. I’m on a overnighted now: Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login now:

 

alarm system, water pump alternator, shock actuator,a/c system, tires battery...all the gaskets and hoses, CV boots, O2 sensors and pesky little electronic "slow down" gadgets (3 of them) etc ... lot's of little stuff adds up if done all at once. $9k for the engine out service by itself. another $1.5 K here, another $1k there... lots of stuff that needed addressing after 17 years of ownership that didn't need doing during earlier service work.

 

A lot of that sound like deferred maintenance. I hate the term "deferred maintenance" but in this case it seems to fit. I mean, alarm system, alternator, A/C, tires, battery, CV boots, O2 sensors, TC ECUs are all things that I personally would take care of as they needed it. But if it works for you, it's ok with me. And all but the alarm system would be DIY for me and many more owners here. I think letting a shop do that work amplifies the cost. For example, if you have one weak or bad O2 sensor the shop probably replaced both (2.7) or all 4 (5.2) where as if one goes belly up I'll replace that one.

I'm not knocking you, just looking at it from a different perspective.

 

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Didn't defer ANYTHING..... those items did not need addressing before I brought it in. The tech was very thorough in looking over every system. It got what it needed when it needed. This service, it just needed more. I keep meticulous records and when the car needs something addressed, it gets addressed. This serve address what was needed, and nothing that was put off. I am anal when it comes to this car. nothing gets neglected no matter the cost or when it needs it. I just can't afford an SD2 in my tool kit. So unless you have done a PPI on my car, please don't put ANY judgement on it even tho it may be speculation. My car isn't perfect, but is is sorted