355 Cost of Ownership

Per Ferrari: Every 3 years

Per the consensus among owners and most shops: Every 5 years

 

Technically, mileage is not the determining factor, time is. As Dave said 3 years if you like your Ferrari mechanic. 5 years if you don't.

I have done my belts twice now. When I bought it and then again last year. They "looked" brand new after 5 years and 15,500 miles. Were they? Dunno, but I had some other issues so the engine had to come out anyway so I swapped the belts.

Personally, If I drove my car 300 miles a year, unless something else blew up, I would change the belts every 10 years or 3,000 miles. Probably right before I sold it.

The belts are not the problem. Everything else is!

Another timing belt thread!

 

at 300miles per year..

just buy a car that is already well sorted and had the engine out done within 1-2 years.. and then don't even think about it while you own it.
I probably average 3000kms per season.. had my engine out done March 2016, im not touching it again until minimum 6-7years.

 

Why bother buying a Ferrari to drive a mere 300 miles per year?! You are actually damaging the car with this token mileage. Unless it's all track miles, I guess. to answer your question, with great pain, 5 years or 6 if you are a risk taker. Ferrari is too conservative with the 3 year quote. Remember it's not about the belts - you have bearings, hoses, water pump and the alternator (bearing) to look at as well. Personally, I feel you should increase your seasonal 355 driving to 1000 miles at a minimum and make sure they are, ahem, animated.

 

This. There's very little reason a well-cared for car wouldn't last 6-7 years. Maybe longer. Then again you'll still need maintenance and things will break if it's sitting for 11 mos a year. To date I'm at about $0.58 per mile in service and repair, but only because I've done a lot of miles in 18 mos.

 

Well, I only drove my car 300 miles or so this season and I don't feel deprived. I have a Maserati GT as a daily driver so that works. I guess some feel you can't enjoy a car unless you drive it thousands of miles. I disagree.

 

I like referring to Michael Sheehan's article on the subject here:

https://www.ferraris-online.com/pages/article.php?reqart=SCM_200702_SS

Here are the interesting parts, which I'm sure have been debated ad-nauseam on this site:

"BELT INSPECTION AT 52,500 MILES
Engines had changed to cam belts from chains, and belt replacement became a regular part of servicing. But through the 1990s, Ferrari never had an official policy mandating cam belt replacement. Indeed, the factory warranty book for the 355 recommended a cam belt inspection at 52,500 miles. The reality is that cam belts virtually never break. And even if one loses a single tooth, because the cam sprockets are multi-toothed, the loss of a single or even several separate teeth on the same belt would not cause the cam timing to slip.

In 2002, Ferrari instituted the “certified pre-owned program”. To be “certified” a Ferrari had to have cam belts replaced within two and a half years or less. While the 355/360/456 and 550 did not have cam belt problems, they did have tensioner problems, and the early 360 had cam variator problems. Ferrari found the most efficient way to have the tensioners and variators checked was to insist on a mandatory three-year belt replacement. The good news was that the 360, 456, 550, and 575 could be serviced with the engine in, and so costs were not as crippling.

NOT YOUR DAUGHTER’S TOYOTA
While your daughter’s Toyota may go 100,000 miles on a cam belt, a Toyota doesn’t put out over 400 hp, doesn’t rev to 7,500 rpm, and doesn’t have radical cam timing and stiff valve springs. Under these circumstances, cam belts can wear and stretch, not to mention the onset of leaking seals and worn-out tensioners.

So did Ferrari build cars with cam belts from 1974 to 2002—some 28 years—and then suddenly decide belts need to be replaced every three years? Fellow SCM writer Steve Ahlgrim of T. Rutlands, the Atlanta Ferrari experts, interviewed a Gates belt engineer who said Gates recommended changing belts every nine years.

Today’s obsessive-compulsive mandate that cam belts need to be replaced on the twelfth month of the fifth year is simply silly. For example we bought and sold 1983 512 BB S/N 35411 in November, with 30,000 miles and it had never had cam belts changed. When the cam belts were finally replaced after 25 years and 30,000 miles, they showed no unusual wear or deterioration.

Here’s the bottom line on belt replacement. You’ve got the following choices.

1. Every nine years, as Gates recommends.
2. Every 52,500 miles, as Ferrari used to recommend for the 355 and earlier cars.
3. Every five years, as is the common recommendation today.
4. Every three years, as Ferrari has now decided needs to be done for a car to be “certified.”
5. Every three months, if you want to keep your mechanic busy.

Personally, I get by with an annual visual inspection of the cam belt and tensioners, and with a replacement every five to nine years, unless my car spends time at the track."

 

I had never seen that line before. Interesting to say the least. Probably too far for time, but does make a guy feel better.

The last sentence is exactly how I approach the belts (and tensioners)...and I have not dropped my car on a track, yet.

 

My 92 348 had its first major service at 14 years. Just had the next one done recently at 11 years. It always ran great, however I definitely noticed,upon driving home after picking it up that it was running really noticeably better. I’ve owned the car for 16 years so I’m acutely aware of all the sounds. It sounded better and pulled better all through the rev range. Ferrari of Vancouver talked me into getting it done, and I’m glad I did.

 

To answer the original question which I may answer differantly this year vs last year but as the years go by it seems to be less and less.
My Guess is about 500 per year once sorted not including majors or services. Both of these are subjective so the years will vary.

 

Indeed, and for anyone who bothers to check the manual, Ferrari originally recommended 60km or 4 years for the 355. However, it was in the 308 QV manual (and perhaps other 308s as well) that Ferrari recommended T-belt inspections every 7500 miles and replacement at 52,000, no time limit. But the caveat was that, at least with my 308 QV, it came with an insert that said replace every 2 years, and on a separate maintenance schedule it said 3 years, and the dealer recommended 5. So WTF! Then again, the 308Qv/328 work shop manual says change at 25,000 miles. Personally I drove my 308 for 25 years, 27k miles before it suffered a belt failure, apparently due to a failing drive sprocket bearing which resulted in misalignment causing the belt to ride up on the pulley fence and then being cut by the fence. (Rodents dropping nut shells into that area may have contributed to the failure as well.) Still, the cost of pulling the head and replacing 4 barely bent valves and having a full major done at the time was significantly less than if I had the belts changed every 5 years. It was a couple of grand more that the 30k major which was due anyway. Currently the belts on the 308 are 7 years old and I'm not worried.

My 355 which I purchased in 213, has had 3 majors/belt swaps. The first was at 7 years, 10k miles by a Ferrari dealer, in preparation for sale as a used car. The second was 4 years later, 14k miles by a Ferrari dealer, in preparation for sale as a used car. The third was 7 years later, 19k miles by an independent shop, for an independent dealer, in preparation for sale (to me) as a used car. I'm seeing a them here. I'm at 4 1/2 years, 26k miles and not thing about a belt change. So far, the major costs for the 355 have been annual fluids changes which I do myself.

 

I really want to add a 599 as well but it's a totally different car than the 355. I've not drive a 599 but my DD is a Maserati GT which is the same (less awesome) platform and it's a heavy GT car but it's a great, comfortable car. The 355 is like a gokart - totally different experience

 

Sounds intense to drive a Camaro in the winter!

I'm in the same spot, only I started with the 355 Spider and now I want to add a V12 coupe. Other thought was a newer V8 - I was thinking F430 or Gallardo but have fizzled on that for now. I'm a bargain hunter, basically my current watch list includes 612, 599, DB9, Vanquish, V12 Vantage. The real catch is that you can get a DB9 or 03-04 Vanquish for less than half of a 612 or V12 Vantage, or 1/3 of a 599.

 

There has been a service bulletin to replace this. The manual reads what you wrote here, but Ferrari has amended that to 3-years or 30,000 miles.

 

Here it is.
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Yes, I know, and it's mentioned in Sheehan's article I posted above which he wrote in '07. Here is that exerpt, again:

"In 2002, Ferrari instituted the “certified pre-owned program”. To be “certified” a Ferrari had to have cam belts replaced within two and a half years or less. While the 355/360/456 and 550 did not have cam belt problems, they did have tensioner problems, and the early 360 had cam variator problems. Ferrari found the most efficient way to have the tensioners and variators checked was to insist on a mandatory three-year belt replacement."

Factory can recommend whatever they want. Do they care if they upset or scare off potential buyers of their 25 year old used cars? Leave it to the meticulous and OCD owners to treat this CYA afterthought as dogma. Look, this doesn't need to turn into another belt argument. Consider this as a differing point of view with its own "expert" support. In my point of view, you do what you're comfortable with. I just keep in mind that the service procedure itself is not benign. Many opportunities for things to go awry. The whole leave well enough alone, don't fix it if it isn't broken, cure is worse than the disease, and other related proverbs.

 

Here's what I've experienced across two Ferraris.

You either buy a car that just had the service done within the past 12 months, or you buy one that "will need belts done soon", which you use as a negotiating chip.

When you go to sell your car, you either sell it right after you've invested $6000-$12,000 in a major service, or you put it on the market 2-3 years after you spent that much, and hear, "Oh, man, that thing is going to need the belts done again soon..." from every buyer.

So if you're in the "buy and hold" category and you don't track the car, you can start to think about it at 5 years, let life happen and revisit at 6 and 7 years and either do it then, or add this new post (the Gates theory, above) to your bank of knowledge and hold out for the 7-9 year point.

 

Snapped belts are very rare, and often a result of something else than just being older than 3 years. Or 5 for that matter.
Most belt problems occur from services that are not done correctly, with wrong tensions and gaps. And occur within a few hundred miles after the service.

Apart from that, circumstances that shorten belt life and bearings are extreme heat, and probably oil spilled on them.
If the last service was done with HE bearings and fresh belts (not ones that had been stocked for 5 years already), and you have no unshielded headers (heat), than there is no real need to have them done again 3 years later. Better , as said before by others, inspect them and the rest of the front often for oil leaks etc.

 

I guess you could look at an '02-'03 Vanquish for half that of a 612 but looking at the same year of cars, an '05 - '06 AM looks to be around $65K+ and an '05 or '06 612 in decent condition can be picked up around the $80 - $90K mark. Of course the later model OTO's will be priced higher.

I have my '98 355 and sold my '86 328 basically straight across for an '06 612. I love the 599 and would have preferred that but my lifestyle now is enhanced with a back seat (10 year old daughter at home) and the 612 is a hell of a lot of car for the money. If you are looking for a V-12 bargain, look for an early 612.

BTW, when I purchase my 328, it haden't had a belt change for 12 years. When we replaced them, the belt looked hardly worn and the bearings appeared to be in great shape.