I got this from an article in the UK Times... "....No Ferrari, including the 355, is cheap to run. Regardless of how many miles you cover it will require an annual check-up to change oils and fluids, which will cost £700. A proper service, due every 12,500 miles, will cost about £1,200. You will also need to change the cam belts every three years, regardless of mileage, and that costs an extra £1,200. Thats not all. Exhaust catalysts (and there are two) cost about £1,000 each and the two exhaust manifolds can be prone to cracks, which will cost £2,000 per side. You will also need a new set of tyres every 6,000 miles at £1,000 a set and that lovely Italian leather upholstery could do with being spruced up every 12 months at a cost of about £200." Is it fair comment? I'm thinking 6,000 miles a year in Houston would cost around $4500 for servicing and tires. Am I close??
The general guide is about $1 per mile. but if you cover that much (6k per year is well above average) the cost could be much less. $4500 per year is probably a little high for just maintenance items. BT
seems high - but does depend if you're doing the work yourself, with an independent, or with a franchised dealer, or something inbetween. I've had my 348 for just over a year and outside some clutch work after I first got her, she's been very reliable. It's the "worst case" scenario's that I worry about - the stories of $20k engine jobs or transaxles.
How about "No Ferrari, especially the 355, is cheap to run." If you follow Ferrari's tech bulletin and do the engine-out belt service every 3 years, and drive it 6000 miles annually, I don't think $6000/year is too much to budget, but I haven't owned one so I'll defer to the guys here that do. You might budget for a clutch in that time span, and if yours is a spider you wouldn't need too many issues with the power top to add to the total. If you get a GTB, the body shop repairs for the common stress cracks at the base of the buttresses on the rear deck -- which reappear periodically due to the design -- may be a 3 year item. You might search a bit here, but I believe the manifolds can be replaced with a superior aftermarket part to solve the problem and in fact many cars may have already had this done. That wasn't what kept me from buying one. If you're in the States, servicing costs will be much higher, due to some arcane combination of labor costs and parts distribution. For example a Ferrari independent in LA charges $5500 or thereabouts for the major service. I loved the F355 -- looks, performance, sounds -- but passed based on the likely after-purchase costs.
If you know you have any mechanical ability anyone should consider doing the service work themselves. These cars are definitly not rocket science. In fact the clutch change on a 348/355 is probably the easiest I have ever done on a car. Fluid changes are an afternoons work and beats mowin' the grass. I finished the engine out service this winter on my 355 and total cost was 1200.00 and I even changed my belt tensioners(something you wouldn't normally need to do).Regards, Vern
