Just don't expect the reliability to be similar to a Porsche. My '95 F355GTB has been running fine since my engine out service. Love every minute of every drive. You are a long time dead so embrace life dearly and drive a Ferrari! Image Unavailable, Please Login
My daily driver wouldn't start yesterday, took the Ferrari to work, had a bad day, (it's just too busy, daily not starting...) drove the commute home in the 355 and by the time I was in my drive way I was as happy as could be, spent the night pulling apart my daily to find the problem, might be cam angle sensor. The daily is German and I had to use the 355 to get to work, take from that what you like. If you defer maintenance on ANY car it WILL have problems.
I had a 97 355 Spyder several years back and unfortunately, your experience brought back some memories. My car was not a rental, but a 2 owner low mileage car that was maintained at authorized dealers and had 2 major services before 25k. Originally, when I picked the car up, the top would only work with the "over-ride switch", then not at all. I first had the regulators replaced for a grand or so and it worked for another few weeks. When it broke the next time, I had the entire piston mechanism was replaced for several more thousand dollars. It worked for a few more weeks, then another minor repair. Next, I was driving down the highway with the top closed and the latch let go and the top violently ripped back at an angle. At this point the dealer said I probably needed a new top frame ($30,0000), but luckily, all that had happened was the frame had pulled out from the rear mount. I had it fixed again, and traded it on another Porsche. Throughout this experience, the "Slow Down" light would also constantly turn on, no matter how much money was spent at both authorized and independent repair shops. I recently purchased a 348TS and it has been more liveable (mainly due to the lack of convertible top.) I know that I have run into people whose 355 tops do work, but for each of these, I have met 3 for whom this is a major issue.
How true! I will attest to that. When I bought my ride in March/08, I had no idea that it was so neglected even though it had the engine out service just 4,000 Km ago. Lots of things were not replaced or repaired properly by supposedly reputable Ferrari shop in Alberta. As a consequence, I had to do it all over again! That was a very painful experience. I also relied on the dealer who had it inspected at a Ferrari dealer - Lots of issues missed. The upside is I have learned a great deal working along side my mechanic.
