355 Rationale behind NOT "throwing parts at it"?

Okay, just a quick update. In sum, Dave / Jenny / Scuderia and I decided to part ways. I'll leave it at that, without the associated detail; suffice it to say that my philosophy and theirs differed mightily and our respective personalities did not do much to cover over our professional disagreement. As such, I moved the 355 F1 over to Blue Chip in Denver.

First off, I was amazed at the level of detail for the Blue Chip initial diagnostic. The inspections are loaded into a software called TekMetric, which seems reasonably good and I've seen it in use at other shops. There is a bit to be desired regarding the way the software organizes information, especially if you are used to looking at a black and white piece of paper with line items and numbers on it, but I do like the way the software integrates photos of the parts that are being referenced by the techs.

Just a quick recap before going into this:

• Bought the 355 F1 in February 2023 from Ferrari of Washington after they completed the major / 30k. Mileage was around 68k at the time.
• Drove it from VA to FL, performed reasonably well but would not properly downshift from 3rd to 1st when coming to a stop light. Contacted FoW and there was literally zero response (on the day of the sale!) I will never, ever recommend FoW to anyone, ever. Terrible customer service / aftercare.
• Finally figured out how to properly drive the F1 after roughly 60-90 days of ownership (leave it in SPORT mode, shift manually, operate the accelerator as you would when shifting a 3 pedal car).
• The check engine light would come on from time to time as explained earlier in the thread when the SDL would trigger.
• Scuderia replaced a single O2 sensor. Didn't help. (this is what started this thread) They also said that they saw a "dealership shorting harness" plugged into the F1 ECU. They never said really what this was or why it was there.
• Between the time I dropped it at Scuderia and the time I got it back (months) it developed a significant oil leak. I took it back to Scuderia and it was noted that two of the four oil lines were leaking and to have all four rebuilt and reinstalled.
• Here's where the argument began to heat up. I wanted them to replace the lines with OEM parts and they said the lines would be better to be rebuilt. I asked which of the four lines specifically needed to be rebuilt (who doesn't like specificity) and they told me to "come pick up the car" and gave me a "free" quart of oil to keep it topped up until I could find a new shop. Wow. Okay.
  
• Took it to Blue Chip and received the following diagnostic repairs needed as result from inspection:
  
  • Drivers Side Fog Light Inop
  • A/C working but weak, needs recharge
  • No coolant in the tank when cold
  • Low CCA for battery, replace
  • Front lid struts do not hold hood, replace
  • Driver rear wheel bearing has play, replace
  • Wheels have scratches and missing paint
  • Rear tires new but wrong size
  • Engine oil leaks from cam covers
  • F1 Actuator seeping
  • Exhaust Bypass Valve doesn't seem to be functioning "stuck open"
  • Oil tank to block and lower oil cooler lines are leaking "a lot"
  • Passenger tie rod end boot torn
  • Passenger side CV boot is torn
  • Engine mounts saggy and engine sitting low.
  • Coolant hoses are old and should be replaced, leaking coolant
  • Wheel lug shoulders are cracked, should be replaced
    
• Wow. Now you can see why I am pissed about Ferrari of Washington. Who among us would do a full engine out service and not replace motor mounts among other things. When buying an FCar from a franchise dealership, one assumes most of the above would have at least been checked under their "inspection". Nope. I get that the car is a very old car at this point, but Ferrari N.A. should know that their franchisees are not reconditioning used Ferraris for resale in the manner that their customers expect. This repair bill is five figures after a single year of ownership, most of which seems to be pre-existing.
  
  
• Okay, I now have a very, very thorough diagnostic from Blue Chip. All of which cost me literally ZERO dollars. They gave some additional detail too regarding condition of certain other cosmetic / structural aspects that I'll not comment on here because it's already a very long post. Suffice it to say, those should have been disclosed by FoW also.
  
  
• Blue Chip cannot get the new oil lines, even though they are advertised on a few sites. So... they send them to Dave at Scuderia for rebuild, which they do successfully. I still haven't driven the car but Blue Chip assures me they are good to go. I bought used ones off of Ebay and had them rebuilt, so now I have my old leaky ones that I can also have rebuilt and keep as spares.
  
  
• Replaced the leaking coolant lines, replaced coolant.
  
• Remanufactured and replaced leaking oil lines, replaced oil.
• Loose rear wheel bearing tightened, recommended to replace later.
  
• Replaced Battery.
  
• Replaced all 20 wheel shoulders and refinished wheels cosmetically.
• Replaced front hood struts.
• Replaced engine mounts.

Will do the following myself:

• Drivers Side Fog Light Inop (assuming this is a bulb or a harness)
• Rear tires new but wrong size (will replace with correct size when wear is significant enough)

Will defer the following until the winter (so I can drive for the summer months through October):

• Driver rear wheel bearing has play, replace (will see how well the tightening worked)
• Engine oil leaks from cam covers (these are minor, want to drive with remanufactured oil lines for a bit)
• F1 Actuator seeping (again, minor- contacted GTE Engineering, great guys, may push to next winter based on convo)
• Exhaust Bypass Valve doesn't seem to be functioning "stuck open" (this might be the reason for the CEL light, but not hurting anything)
• Passenger tie rod end boot torn (evidently an issue because dirt can get in and make steering less precise)
• Passenger side CV boot is torn (ditto)

So, now I have a much more thorough picture of what needs to be done to the 355 and when. I also get zero questions about replacing a part when I say "just replace it". Given that the parts for these are more and more difficult to come by, it only gives me additional incentive to "throw parts at it" when it is not performing optimally, because someday there may not be any available parts to throw.

My last thought is a stunning admission of ignorance that makes me laugh at myself a bit. When I sold my last F355 GTS (1996 3 pedal) back in 2007 (for a song to FoD, ugh) my brain froze in place the costs associated with the major service... and I've always thought of those as the "hard costs" associated with owning a 355. The most obvious faults with that line of reasoning is that: 1. In 2007 my 1996 F355 was still "only" 11 years old, and my 1999 355 F1 GTS is now an official "antique" at 25 years old. 2. Everything is far more expensive because of inflation (I'll keep politics out of it for purposes of this convo) including parts and labor.

All of this makes for an ownership experience that is frighteningly expensive for those who do not turn their own wrenches, and as I do not plan to sell this car, I feel like I should go and educate myself about how to go about working on it properly. To do this, I'll need a properly outfitted garage and a significant amount of downtime... I probably will not have either of these in the next five years due to professional committments and the need to be somewhat mobile personally as a result. As such, I'll continue to rely on a series of independent shops including those such as Blue Chip (and yes, SR as a subcontractor to them) to keep my 355 on the road.

Someday, I hope to have the highest mileage 355 in the world.

 

Agreed, though my opinion about buying from a franchised dealer stands.

SR did take a few photos of it. I'll attach them here. I'm curious as to what your thoughts are.

As for "running better without it" I asked them not to touch it as it was shifting fine after I "learned" how to drive it. I still haven't picked the 355 up yet from Blue Chip as the wheels are still being refinished and the new shoulders installed in them (shipping now). Should be end of next week or so if I can get it before my trip to CA, if not then I'll have to give the drivability update after I return on the 6th.
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Edit: Now that I think of it, the whole reason they went into the F1 ECU is because I bought the ScudIng Swiss eMT F1 relay and I wanted them to install it. The unit is still sitting in its box in my frunk.

 

Oh really Mitch? Out of my wallet? Huh. I guess after owning four Ferraris and countless other exotics over 20 years I didn’t get that part. Thanks!

And I’m not looking to make it “perfect” I’m looking to get a reasonable point-in-time snapshot of its condition so I can correct it. I was surprised at some of the findings.

I’m glad you drive your 355. I intend to drive mine (has over 70k miles now) and I write partially to remind my future self of what I’ve done, my children for when I’m gone if they choose to keep the car and as a tertiary priority, to help the community in case they have a similar issue.

I don’t appreciate the condescension. Take it somewhere else.