Buying a 355 or a 550...-any hints / tips ?

Hi,

as both cars are really very different, maybe you have your own preference.
You should go for that one. Any car you buy should be reliable by now, unless you buy a doomed one.
I guess that cambelts et al are more expensive on the 355, but then again, that's every 2 (or 3 years), if you don't drive that much...
For me the 550 is bulletproof.

 

Yeah, the 550 is more the GT. For pure sunday driving, you should maybe go for the 355, it might be slower, but in the end feels quicker.
No, add fuel, check oil, tires and drive.

 

With the 550 you can cruise at 180 to vegas and still party hard. The 355 will do it, but you'll feel it later.

Search for Doody's write-up (it's one of a few things he seems to have written coherently - which makes me suspect a ghost writer ). Two pretty dissimilar cars with different driving and ownership experiences.

--Dan

 

For the 550 these are the most common check items.
Any open recalls
Anti rollbar bushes
Engine mounts
Exhaust manifold
Shocks
Valve guide
Water hose under the fuel injectors
Bottom of radiator
Brakes
Clutch

 

Having both, and focusing on your question about reliability, my comments would be:
- the 355 is essentially an improved 348 so a revamped late 80's design. The Maranello is a mid 90's design. Ferrari went through major changes in that time period, with di Montezemolo taking over and driving the company against higher quality standards. The 550 is arguably a more modern engineering piece.
- more than 11000 355's were sold, compared to 3715 550's. These tiny volumes won't make a difference in terms of mass production experience, they just make potential horror stories 3x less likely in absolute terms (not in relative terms).
- with this disclaimer, there are no known seminal flaws on 550s, at least comparable in magnitude/frequency/severity to the 355. Exhaust manifolds were bad throughout the entire production range, I speculate that valve guides were corrected at some point, but have no proof or data on this.
- at comparable maintenance/care/status, a late 355 (98-99) will most likely be more reliable than an early 95 model. A pair of manifolds, if they were not changed, is IMO the biggest risk of non-maintenance-related large expense you run on any 355.
- don't assume however that a 550 will be without faults. There are annoying gremlins, window seal problems, O2 sensors, ECU faults, all sorts of usually minor issues with the front axle (geometry, ball joints), engine mounts, etc ... By Ferrari standards, it's not much. By modern car standards, it's a joke. Behind the fabulous driveability and all around performance, it is a 485hp low volume supercar exotic.
- my belief and experience so far is that maintenance costs of both cars even out in the long run. The 550 eats more rubber and brakes, has 50% more spark plugs, etc ... but the 355 has the famed timing belts service engine-out job. While the 550 labour hours will be shorter for most operations. Don't trust US maintenance costs you'll find on this board, they simply do not apply to Europe, at least not to where I live, and furtherless if you find a competetent independent mechanic. Gas consumption is about 20% higher on the 550.
- fixed ownership costs (insurance, taxes) are country dependent.

Both are fabulours cars in their own ways, not necessarily where I'd spend my money if I were living in Sweden, but that's none of my business ;-)

 

Don't think your the first to ponder this quandry. I did the same thing six months ago. Couldn't decide between the two models either. All I can say is the feedback I got from the forum was priceless.

In the end, I went F355 as a more user friendly "tossable" first time entry F-car. I thought I'd regret never experiencing this car's positive attributes (sound, quickness and lustful looks) before it really became dated, if ever. IN my opinion, the 550 is a logical 12 cyl. next generation car.

Good Luck you won't go wrong, just do both and stagger it!!!!!!

 

I haven't driven a 355 or any other Fcar except the 550 (I am going to drive a 360 soon as my friend is likely to buy one) but, I loved the 550 so much that after driving it the first time I knew I had to have one. I have driven several supercars but the 550 is crazy fast and incredibly powerful. Oh yeah, it is beautiful and, at least as Ferraris go, reliable. I don't think you can go wrong with it unless you want a track car (and I am not sure it wouldn't be fun on the track, I just haven't done it yet). Just get a PPI to avoid buying a problem car. Good luck!

 

Good question. I travel to Lund, Stockholm and a couple other places for business a few times a year, and my narrow perception was that the weather conditions and social environment did not make Sweden a very friendly place for supercars. I could be dead wrong, however. I could well see many people say the same about Switzerland, and I'd argue in the same way as you do.
So enjoy your new acquisition !

 

Hi Anders,

I've had a 355 and currently have a 550. They've both been pretty reliable.
I owned the 355 for just over six months and had an ECU problem which took out the air conditioning but that was put right free under warranty (dealer claimed £1,600 from the warranty) - I did about 5000 miles in the car and it was a dream to drive but not a car for long journeys I'd say. It handles like a go-cart and has to be the best looking modern Ferrari
I've had the 550 for coming on two years, done 7000 miles and apart from a service it has needed no attention at all. It is a true GT in every sense and not tiring on long hauls. The power and torque are awesome and make it much faster than a 355. I took the car to a track recently and it was consistently faster than any 355 - which surprised me as I thought they'd have me at the corners. It really was great fun to drive.
If I could afford it I'd have a V8 and a V12 Ferrari, they are such different cars and each lovable for different occasions.
Go with whichever you fancy, I don't think you'll regret it. Accept that if you drive Ferraris they're all fairly expensive to run and you could be unlucky with either. I guess I've been lucky so far.

Steve

 

Just my 2p but I've owned my 1999 550 for just over two months and we came back on Tuesday from 3 weeks in Europe in which we covered 3,500 miles. Didn't use a drop of oil. Nothing went wrong and it proved itself a true GT car.