Buying a Ferrari 360 on a budget: my experiences, the myths and the pitfalls

At this point just sell the car, accept your losses and move on.
I had a Lamborghini Diablo VT Roadster that had no problems and put 75k miles on it in 10 years.
I then went to a Murcielago Roadster that lived in the shop in the 4 years of ownership and lost $72k on it.
All the while my 91 Testarossa just soldiers on and nothing goes wrong with it except for age and mileage (73k miles on it now) related issues.

There's no point in frustrating yourself with the car and venting here. We get it...just sell it.

Shamile

Freeze....Miami Vice!

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lol...I meant repair it one last time and.....run!!


Shamile

Freeze....Miami Vice!

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Wow car won't start. Wah wah wah.. surprise surprise. Sell it.

Mine always started every time I turned the key for the last 9 years of ownership. Never. Missed. A. Beat.

I hope it was replaced and the alternator isn't toast. Usually people keep the battery in the car and then charge it when it won't start after sitting for 6 months. This of course kills the alternator when the alternator (or connection wire in back ages) tries to overwork to keep the battery charged. Can afford to buy a Ferrari but won't replace a battery every 3 years prophylactically (yes I do it in all my cars and for last 15 years haven't had an alternator go bad).
I'd bet alternator is bad, line to alternator is fried at the alternator connection, maybe connection at the starter. Most likely if it was at the shop getting any work done, they screwed something up.

 

It can be a love/hate relationship. Don’t throw in the towel just yet.

 

Is the engine ticking over? more details?

 

More interesting is why was it at the dealer getting “a clean bill of health”? The OP hadn’t posted any issued in months but apparently took it to the dealer for something, then it broke. There is clearly a LOT more to this story than is in the thread and I suspect it would shed light on the alleged lemon. Oh well, good luck.


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Fess up, what happened?

 

Some may cringe, but have you thought about running Seafoam to assist in the gumming issue you mentioned with the oil from long period of non-use? Some may cringe, but I run it on ALL of my cars to alleviate this issue and clean out the oil system. It works well, and may be worth a shot.

 

I've just spent some time in a boring teleconference catching up with this thread..... I've never really chimed in before but of note 360Trev has given you some really sound advice......

In the NW, Adam at AE is superb with the F360 and will actually save you a load of money in the long run. His hourly rate is 1/2 what BMW will charge and he will only do work that is required now. If it can wait, he'll advise to wait. I would not use anyone else.
I typically spend about £2k per year on mine for servicing and the ad-hoc stuff I do and in 7 years it's been super reliable.
Basically it's had 7 indy services (all at AE), CS TCU fitted, an F1 pump (just getting tired), engine mounts and an AC compressor (used).
I've replaced the silencer with a refurb'd one, fitted goodridge hoses, front and rear disks/pads (disks are £65 each here), tyres, 4 ball joints, track rod ends, a DIY suspension refresh inc drop links, springs, rubbers and bits of hardware, some minor leather repair to the drivers seat, tranny mount and a clutch release bearing all DIY.
I had my first F1 issue recently which was the clutch solenoid. I sourced one from China and resolved it DIY for £70.
Mileage is now approaching 49k miles..... it was on 28k when I bought it.

Sure there is always something that needs doing.... it's approaching 20 years old and I have a list of prophylactic jobs with fuel pumps and the rear suspension refresh on..... It also needs a bumper repaint.

My advice is find a good tech and build a relationship. Practically I'd look no further than Adam. The parts guys at Stratstones in Wilmslow are really helpful and will sort anything you need quickly and relatively cheaply.
Many of the issues come up time and time again. Electrics! keep it on a battery conditioner as many are related to voltage.

Good luck resolving the latest issue......and use this place for your benefit

 

As Mike eludes to, Adam at AE is very good. I used him for the first time this just this year. He's very knowledgeable on 360's and very honest.
I have regularly used R&D Automotive in Eccles as well. Ferrari, Porsche, Lamborghini and Aston Martin Specialist. Nick is Ferrari trained and Nigel Porsche trained.

 

Only just spotted this thread. Rosso_United's didactic and wordy post does seem to come over as a bit of a whinge. He might think that modern dealers can be dodgy, but if he'd bought his first Ferrari in 1972 - as I did - he'd very quickly realise that by comparison they're not that dodgy at all.
If you don't know the car or the person selling it then it's entirely sensible to have it checked; it pays to be careful where high performance cars are involved.
I've had my 360 Modena for 18 months, done nine thousand miles and nothing has gone wrong with it. Nothing. No flat battery, no broken door cables, no loose door mirrors, no knocking track rod ends or suspension parts and it doesn't leak in the rain. Or in the snow.
They're not cheap to run. Any one who owns one and uses it knows that, so sooner or later you're likely to face an eye-watering repair - just like I did in 1972.
You're going to need around £2000 a year just to keep it on the road. Around £1000 for road tax and decent insurance, £400 + parts + VAT (around £600) for the annual service and MOT, and around £12 a week if you only do about 50 miles a week - which is about half of what I do.
Buy the best and latest model you can afford and use it. Buy it from a really, really reputable dealer and find a good independent to service it.
Couples don't go down the isle on their wedding day thinking about divorce (not usually anyway) so don't worry about all the things that can go wrong with your Ferrari.
Simon

 

Whoops!. Didn't see the other 11 pages when I posted the above. Should've seen that. Now at least I can see that Rosso_United actually has a 360 which seems to be out to get him. Can't say much to help, really. If it's under warranty, leave it with the dealers whoever they are, and tell them you don't want to see it again until they've got it right.

 

I've had my 360 for a bit over a month now and have driven it daily, except when it's wet. The engine and gearbox have performed perfectly during this time. I've had some weird things happen but they have been easy to correct and haven't cost me anything.

I didn't look for a bargain basement car. I looked for the nicest example I could find, then had it completely checked out by an independent Ferrari expert prior to buying it.

I feel for you and realize I could have had similar problems (except for the F1 part, I have a gated). Anyone can. It's a 20 year old used car.

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For those out there looking to buy or thinking...
One of the keys with Ferrari ownership is knowing someone competent that can fix the car. I'm going to bet it's 90 percent responsible for "bad experiences" with Ferrari's.

What I did with my 360, is I learned as much about it as I could before I bought it. I downloaded the manual and read it (should be mandatory before you even get keys to the car), I downloaded the repair manuals and the wiring diagrams. I read and I read and I read. And a funny thing happened. I learned how the car works. I learned how to sniff out BS that a mechanic throws at me.

"Undiagnosed critical fault". This is a bull**** line. This means that person you're bringing the car to, dealership or whomever, has a person working on the car who has no clue what they're doing. They're going to say that the SD2 reading was "normal". That it doesn't pick up a fault is a key indicator. They probably have some 24 year old "tech" working on the car when a "mechanic" with some critical thinking skills are what's needed.

To the OP, sorry for your experience.

 

Which main agents are looking after your car, Rosso_United 1999?

 

I want to second this. I've had my 360 since September 2015. I have only maintained it and replaced worn parts. I'm going to jinx it now but never have I got into this car and it not started. Never has any light on the dashboard ever come on.

My previous F355 did have some emissions problems but like my 360 it never had any dash lights on, it never ever failed to start. Both the 360 and F355 never failed to start, never had any dash lights but the F355 did need attention to a faulty component in the same circuit as the lambdas.

I did have a 1983 Mondial in 2004 - 2010 and that did fail to start many, many times however you just had to let it stand for 20 minutes or swap the fuel pump fuse (which got very hot) and you were away.

Never have I ever called out and used breakdown services for any of my Ferraris owned. I once called them for that Mondial, but it just laughed at me after I phoned them and started. I cancelled the breakdown call out. Eventually three faulty circuits on the fuse board and an aftermarket immobiliser were corrected by two independent specialists and the problem ceased.

I have had French cars, British cars, German and other Italian cars (Alfa) where I have used breakdown services and some of them have failed to start and had dashboard lights. My BMW currently has an airbag light on that came on right after I booked my MOT test for next Tuesday (Ministry Of Transport). If I don't fix it, it will fail.

@Rosso_united 1999, take the car to R&D Automotive in Eccles or AE Performance in Knutsford. I wager one of those two independents would fix you car. Forget the main dealer I genuinely think the car is too old for the techs to really understand.