F355 Reliability Improves after key things upgraded?

Now that these cars are 30 years old, and there is so much data on them, I was looking for some insight from those in the know. I was an original owner of a 1998 355 Spider back in the day, and enjoyed it for years until moving on to a 360 / 430 /458 . etc...
Looking seriously at jumping back into one very soon, and even though its my favorite of the V8 cars, my logical mind is telling me to get another 430 instead, as a 28 year old 355 can be a maintenance nightmare based on its reputation.
So my question for the well informed and experienced long time owners is, once the key known issues are addressed, does the ongoing maintenance fall more in line with the other V8 360 / 430 / 458 etc.? Obviously it still needs an engine out for the belts, but that aside, is it possible to own one of these cars for the longer term without the persistent maintenance nightmare that the internet loves to scream about?
Any owner insight would be greatly appreciated, as I have two on my radar at the moment.
Cheers

 

F355 Owner.

The cars are old now, they have old car problems. Most things have a fix identified, some dealers are certified to restore the cars, so most things are possible.

The issues that I've run into that I didn't have an easy "new parts" way out of:
Dash
Instrument surrounds cracking
And some rattles never seem to go away.

Most everything else can be addressed and fixed.
Electronics had significantly less issues after doing the SRI kit
Hoses, mounts, and bushings (everything rubber) needs to have been replaced in the last decade or so
And you need a competent mechanic who understands these cars.

Now on your list... the 360 and F430 are also getting up in age, and likely need similar issues addressed at this point.

As far as ongoing maintenance, it's inverse order of when they came out. The one nice thing about the F355 engine out is that likely you address a lot of issues and therefore should have less unaddressed items than the 360 or F430. The downside is that every 5ish years the car will be down for a while.

 

Yep, pretty much everything major has fixes. They are 30 years old now so things like rubber bushings, plastics and the like are going to need to be replaced. I'm not sure what the latest is on rebuilding the shocks, that might be one that doesn't have a good solution.

 

Reliability was not the issue with most of the points mentioned. Longevity was. As said by others in most cases fixes are known and in many cases already attended to. The wiring harness, SRI kit or not remains a concern. The harness came from a relativley new supplier and its weaknesses were not just the connectors. The quality of the wire itself was not very good and an examination of almost any of the fleet will reveal wiring with insulation breaking down especially in the engine bay. An average 308 or TR has wire in much better condition so it is not simply age. There was a reduction in quality.

 

Great detailed insight, which is exactly what I was looking for, Thank You all !
I presently have a 488 GTB, and am on the fence about my romantic idea
of replacing it with something more analog and visceral.
Like anything in life, there are trade off which ever way you go.
Modern peace of mind VS The Classic experience.

 

I don’t qualify to comment as I bought a ‘96 F355-gated in Sept. I am just 2 months and 1000 miles into my journey.

My intention is to learn and do all maintenance myself but nothing has broken yet. I did a full ‘annual service’ to learn about the car and build out my skills and tool box.

I’ve had a blast so far.

I think the beauty of seeing one of these 30-year old cars on the road is not that someone could purchase one but that they have the diligence to keep it sorted and running like a top.



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A thing of beauty is a joy forever

 

She's a Beauty! Congrats

 

what “maintenance nightmare”?

they are a 30 year old car and have 30 year old car maintenance requirements; as any 30 year old car will.

had mine coming up 6 years; Ive done just over 20k miles in that time, no maintenance I would consider out of the ordinary! (touch wood!)

regular upto date maintenance being key as with any older car.

just remember whilst 355 engine out costs a bit, over a 5 year period 360/430 will try hard to make it up in rose joints.

 

Go to post #22 for a giggle .
Nice to read about another bitten by 360 suspension maintenance.
I had a 360 for 9 yrs FFSH and maybe only once it’s didn’t needs something suspension wise replacing at its annual + mot .
Ran it up from 18 k to 38 k miles . Maybe U.K.pot holed roads ?
Any how the bills for suspension totted up .
https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/what-are-the-top-three-bargain-ferrari-models-right-now.712125/

An engine drop every 5 yrs with 348/355 is actually a good thing in terms of reliability future proofing bcz stuff can be nipped in the bud easily . .

 

Not to be trite, but I just don’t care what the maintenance is or cost. It is the best driving best sounding, best looking car Ferrari has built and I love the fact that most are pretty sorted now. There are fixes for most items and having owned 10 in the last 5 years, I just never had a real problem that was not solvable for reasonable money. I much prefer owning a 30 year old Ferrari and find repair cost cheaper than most 360/430 items, and definitely cheaper than 458/488 items. Engine outs are 7-8 years when lightly driven. If you have concerns or needs before that, drop it at 3-5 years and reset the clock to 7. Rifledriver will disagree and I respect his decades of knowledge and views, but my view on engine outs has served me well and FoD agrees with my plan based on what we know about my cars. Ferrari of Dallas has been great to me. I have used Norwoods as well, but tackle a lot by myself. Best part of these cars is this forum and the diy stuff shared by many.

BUY ONE. Enjoy. Who cares what it cost. Cheaper than boats, country clubs and multiple marriages.