If Ferrari did revise the headers, they certainly didn't solve the problem of melting gigantic holes in them, as my '99 did. As for this thread, I honestly can't believe that successful adults are getting upset about people making comments about their car, or spending so much time worrying about how much it's worth. I think it's important for owners and buyers to be aware that absurdly expensive maintenance issues are a common occurrence. Meanwhile, beating up on guys for simply sharing their experiences and trying to enforce a "positive comments only" zone is probably the most ridiculous thing I've seen in my 12 or so years here. This would be followed closely by the assertion that there's a conspiracy at work trying to reduce the value of these cars. I think it was a highly respected, long time Ferrari mechanic who said early in the thread that the 355 cemented its reputation shortly after being released, which was one of the few sensible things said in 25 pages of mostly nonsense. Enjoy the ride guys, and quit worrying so much.
Please elaborate. From everything I have read the air injector rail was revised slightly to change the angle the rails met the runners. That was done during the production run early on, prior to 97-98, and has nothing to do with the headers melting. What was changed in 97-98? It has been discussed recently on Fchat that the headers have been improved in the very recent past. The source of this information has been dealers/shops according to the Fchat member(s) that have heard this. Yet we don't know exactly what was changed. Some speculated or insinuated that the quality of metal was changed but nothing has been confirmed.
Steve, you are exactly right. There have been no details on what was improved. Again what I have heard is the new ones will still melt but they will last a little longer. I got this information from a very reputable source. Robin has just confirmed this.
They were improved back in 97 or 98. Ancient news. Heavier gauge. Fix it....no. Make it better.....big time Just because you don't know it doesn't mean it isn't so.
Yes. Total waste of time and bandwidth. The internet experts are yet one more time spreading ignorance and faulty information.
I kinda disagree. It's good to bring out the bad information so the good can debunk it and replace it. There's so many myths. Facts should replace them and this is a great way to do it --- and you're just the young man to do it.
Thanks for volunteering me. To paraphrase Colonel Jessup, too many people can't handle the truth. Just starts fights. Like telling a new mom her baby is ugly. I was once asked why 348's got such a bad reputation when they were still being built. It got really ugly and all I did was answer his question.
Thanks Brian for the info on the headers. When these supposedly new OEM headers were being discussed I contacted two Ferrari Dealers. I asked how the headers were improved but neither dealership had any idea. In fact one of the dealers thought Ferrari changed vendors, which I thought was interesting because the shields still say Ansa on them. Getting correct information helps dispel some of the inaccuracies that can happen.
One way to prove new verse old would be to dissect one of each, compare and measure wall thickness. As far as the thread being closed...I've never understood this. Just because people disagree, that's not grounds to close the thread...for that matter, just close the forum.. People will always disagree...
Very few people in most of the dealers were around in 97. I spent a lot of years in dealers. All you really care about is this years car. That dealer is an idiot and illustrates the Ferrari mind set. It is simply not possible to say "I don't know". They will make up whatever comes to mind before saying that. Their institutionalized ego will not allow it. It made it very difficult to get good information out of FNA or the factory. They are as responsible as anyone for all the bad information out there.
I'm just going to leave this here..maybe it'll spur on another 28 pages. Buying A Ferrari Is Harder Than You Might Think [VIDEO!]
This guy brings up something I've always wondered about... that being whether or not there's any evidence that the valve guide fix really does cure the problem. He says he had a car PPI'd that already had the valves done, but they needed to be fixed again. Just wondering if there's any data from the mechanics on board who have seen cars come in with repeat valve guide issues, or cars that have had them done and went on for another 30k+ miles without any sign of problems.
This was a good read, thanks, though I did feel the guy was a little bitter due to his experience. Which reflected upon his writing style. I don't know why the author would say that he stopped short of calling the 355 the most unreliable car, because he said that title belongs to the Jaguar XJS. Strange thing to say because although the 355 may have problems, and by now most are fixed. But this does not make the car unreliable, does it? I think that was a little harsh. But interesting reading never the less. Maybe we have destroyed the 355s reputation, or to be more accurate maybe owner forums have.
To me it seems that the guy was in a hurry to buy a Ferrari and not willing to make the effort to find the right car for him. He wanted a 355 a, looked at a few, then jumped to a 550 and ended up with a 360 after 2 month and 2 weeks. It took me longer to close the deal on the 355 I bought and a lot longer to find it. I wonder how long it would take to find an 18 year old Honda Civic in really good condition. I would bet that even the best, by the standards discussed around here, would need all new hoses, new suspension bushings, interior refurbish, a major service (timing belt/water pump).....
Worst case scenario? Headers: $3k Cats: 3-5K?, depending on brand etc... Valve seats: 6k Stickies:1k bad ECU via CEL and SDL dash-lights 2K streched dash 2k Buy a bad 355 and you are in for 20k in repairs. Find one for a great price and you still have the most beautiful car ever made, and it will keep going up in value, making a 20K repair bill look like chump change in 2030 when these cars are worth 250k, 300 if you have a stick--shift. If I am wrong, then I still will own the hottest car ever assembled, and I paid what it is worth, even if you have a 20K repair bill on top of what I paid. Luckily mine was reasonable... and is now well-sorted. Scuderia Ferrari!!!!!!
Don't forget to add in 15 years of maintenance. And compared to the value of a dollar today and return on a "real" investment that $250k to $300k in 15 years will look like chump change too. Take a look at that $55k I "invested" in my 308 back in '85. Average market return for the past 30 years was 10.5%. That $55k would be worth almost a cool million today if invested. These cars are not good investments.
