355 questions

Steve,

My 355 is for sale and I have completed the things you mentioned in your e-mail. Here is some insight..and this is No B.S. from an owner who has been through 2 Ferrari F-355's.

Headers - if not already replaced will need to be replaced. I did mine when the engine out service was completed in March. $3400 each side or $2200 for a set from QV Ferrari.

Cats - if not already replaced will need to be replaced. I did mine in August..luckily under warranty.

Center Console Bubbles - Most have them if the cars has been in the sun. My console is perfect.

Dash Board - Most have some sort of shrinkage...most can survive with nursing or just replace the dash. My car has had the dash replaced.

30K engine out service - All cars will need it. This is the big debate !!! Sellers don't want to pay for it but price thier cars high. Some owners have paid for the service but buyers don't want to pay the high price. There is a happy medium.

I spent the time in my ownership paying for everything to be done. My car is now a no brainer for whoever purchases it. Not every Ferrari is !!! If you don't pay for it now...you will likely at some time in the near future.

Happy Hunting.

Mario
97 355 Spider
18K Miles
Poster Child Ferrari For Sale

 

lawwdog, didnt you just buy this thing about 6 months ago? Whats the deal moving on to a 360 or something?

 

yes i am also at the point of getting a F355, but i've heard just tooooo many stories that tends to worry me a lot.

please advise!

so far i've heard
manifold to cat failure
low cylinder compression
computer to throttle problem

TIA!

regards,

freshyip

 

Steve it looks like you've done some homework and Mr Doody will not kill another kitten..

The 355 is an excellent car. There are some issues, but they are all a "one time" event, that when taken care of are good for the life of the car..

Manifolds have had problems. Usually, the problem is in 2 areas. Walls are too thin and burn through or the air line will crack (can be fixed by welding). Around 2000 or 01 Ferrari came out with a new manifold when replacing under Fed warranty. The design is slightly different and I don't know if they are any better, I have them on my car with 25K and they still are holding up. Bottom line is, replace them with aftermarket or QV in the UK and you are done with it for life.

Cats - All cat's will go sooner or latter. Stock cats are expensive and seem to wear faster. Again, do an aftermarket like Hyperflow and you're done with it... Plus less back pressure and better sound!

Miles - Many threads. Avoid garage queens. Min mileage should be at least 5K per year... (Long thread by Mitch on this in Old F Chat)

F1 - Well, I usually stay away from the first year of anything until the bugs are out. It has been reported, however, that the 355 F1 has a longer clutch life than a 360 F1. I'm 6 speed, but have a freind with an F1 with 20K and all is well so far.

Interior - 2 issues. One is "melting" dash. Ferrari used rubber in the flat black paint to reduce glare. The rubber starts to surface and things soon become a mess. Early signs are the knobs and black areas feel "sticky" as though you spilled a soda on it, later signs are you can see the rubber peel of the paint. This is an easy fix. You can remove the old paint and repaint with regular flat back spray paint. Many here have done it and I did it about 2 weeks ago. Takes one weekend from start to finish. The other issue is "shrinking" dash - this pertains to the leather. Usually the first to go is the air bag cover on the shot gun side. It has been reported the problem is due to the glue they were using at the factory. At any rate, after you upholster it with fresh leather, your done with it for the life of the car. BTW the dealer re-did my air bag cover for about $140...not a big deal.

So, as you can see, once these items are addressed your done with it. While looking for a car let these issues be considered in your selection and price your willing to pay.

The only downside, IMHO, is the belt change that needs engine out. Every car you look at (including 99) should have had it done by now. An independent can change belts and put in new plugs and call it a 30K service, but if it's done at a dealer the receipt should be 4-5 pages long showing all the parts used and I would be willing to pay more for a car that had the service at the dealer.

Good Luck.

 

Don't be too obsessed with this 'Garage Queen' thing...

Last year i bought a 1997 (yep, another one ) 355 GTS with 7000 miles (1000 miles per year) and, until now, it has been absolutely flawless...

If the car is beautiful, it has been serviced regularly, it has all the papers, and the test drive is o.k., forget about how many miles it did per year and go for it!

 

I think it's worth pointing out the link between garage queens and cambelt services. The true definition of a garage queen in my eyes is a car that sits inside never being used, and just basically being polished. These are the ones to avoid. The issue is, if the car isn't started up and run regularly then the cambelt will sit in the same place for a long period of time. It'll tend to take on the shape it is sitting in. Then, when you start the engine after a long time the belt will jump off because it is deformed, and it is goodbye engine.

Anything that has had *regular* use, even if the miles are low (1000 miles is 80ish miles per week) isn't going to have this problem in my opinion. So 80 miles once a week every week is good, but 1000 miles in January and no more miles for the rest of the year is bad.

Ric.

 

Vref,

I have had it for 1 year. Great car..I want a Red/Tan...355B or a 360. My wife is nudging me on spending more money though !!!!

Mario

 

This is an AWESOME thread. Thanks for the effort and thoughts.

Im going to be using this also.

 

I won't give it away Steve. Enjoy in good health.

Mario

 

Completely agreed

 

Who ever said you dont need to remove the engine for cam belts is smoking crack, yes, it can be done, however it is the half ass way of doing it. There are numerous hoses, water pump, tensioners, electronic sensors, exhaust manifolds, cats, CV joint boots, that should be inspected during a 30K.

This is an expensive car, why would a mechanic risk getting oil on a camshaft belt that would soften the rubber belt to the point of possible failure. After all the engine will probably be turning around 8000 rpm when the belt fails. Then it will bend about 12 of the 20 valves on that side of the engine.

Bottom line is call any Ferrari dealer, ask for the service manager and ask him if they would do a 30K by removing the gas tank, instead of the engine.

 

Congrats on finding the car and thanks for the kind words - A few comments.

1. Take the car to an authorized dealer for a PPI. You can have the car serviced after purchase by an independent, but for the PPI, a dealer is a must. F-Cars have a propriatery computer system and they can read out all the faults and history. Dealer has most recent service bulletins and recalls. The 355 has about 7 recalls (like the alarm) which the dealer will fix for free. The dealer can tell you status of manifolds and cats. Also - perform a leakdown test to check valve guides.

2. Ferrari says belts need to be changed every 5 years or 30K, whichever comes first. Much debate/discussion here on previous threads. Some say they can last 10 years, but don't take the chance...a belt failure will cost you over 25K to fix.

3. Yes, some have changed belts by dropping the tank...shotty workmanship. As VREF mentioned, while the engine is out you inspect other critical areas.... a perfect example is the water pump. It can be checked to see if it's "going bad" during engine out. If you don't do this and the pump fails latter, you'll be looking at a 3K water pump because you'll have to pull the motor. Penny wise and dollar foolish.

The car sounds pristine, and if you want to keep it that way, do it right.

If you have any specific Q's...drop me a PM anytime.

 

Sadly, that's wrong. I know one '98 that has had two failures of the headers. Why do I only know of one? Because I only know of one '98! My '96 has had just as many!

 

Any mechnic who told you the 355 30K does not need an "engine out" should not be certified. I am sure he does NOT work for an authorized dealer. It can be done after removing the tank and cutting access holes from the cabin, but if you own a Ferrari treat it like a Ferrari, talk to another mechenic...please.

 

does this mean a 1997 355 spyder does not have an issue with valve guides or exhaust manifold or is it AFTER 1997. i'm a step away from buying a 1997 spyder with 11 k miles and no 15 k service done....

 

Hey Michael--

I think the original poster forgot to mention...

The valve guide issue!

 

Steve R - BTW what did you find? Color/year/model?

Valve Guides - I mentioned that in my post to him about the PPI.

The "soft" valve guides were originally used in 95 cars. Important not to get hysterical over it because many of these cars have no issues. Some have the problem and some don't.... perhaps a bad "batch" of guides from the manufacturer. None the less, some guides experienced premature wear.

Ferrari recognized the problem in 96, but did not just stop production. I'm guessing that they wanted to deplete their inventory of the older guides. For example my 97 has a build date of Sept 96 and had the old guides. I purchased my car from the dealer with an extended warranty and the leak down at PPI required them to replace the guides. Even some early 98's will have the old guides.

That's another point on mileage. The problem will not be noticed until about 20K on the clock.

 

For the entire valve guide issue, go here.

And embrace my personal point of view while you're at it

http://ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=38548