NEWBIE here...I need a 360 mentor/guide please!

Welcome Sam. You come from good blood.

Your choice of a 360 is a good one. I don't own one myself but one of our local members drives his '99 Modena (F1 shifted) very regularly. He has over 30k miles on it now and just last year had the clutch done on it along with the 30k service.

The engines are tough and the only real issue I have heard about these cars is the F1 pump goes out on occasion on the early cars. The biggest gripe about Ferraris is the requirement to change the timing belts often, 30k or 5 (?)years, what ever comes first. (You'll hear HUNDREDS of opinions about this.)

Those stories about 10k clutches are the guys in the videos doing donuts and burnouts.

Being a car guy I am sure you know that if you do good to your car it will do good to you.

Being the owner of a lowly 308 I am no expert on 360's so the best thing you can do is make use of one of the largest and most comprehensive sources of Ferrari information in the world, Ferrarichat!.

Take some time to fill out your profile (user controls) so everyone can get to know you then go up to "search" in the blue tool bar with your questions. Many can be answered quickly and easily this way.

One of the most common suggestions to those looking for a Ferrari is shop for one with complete service records, get a Pre-Purchase Inspection, do a Carfax, and don't buy any that have ever been licensed in Louisiana (during Katrina).

You might want to subscribe to the site so you can take advantage of special access to the Silver & Rossa forums, live chatroom and the ability to post ads in Ferrariads

DJ

 

Sam,
Check your email.

 

sam, he is drunk, don't listen . But seriously, welcome. You have come to the right place. So many great people are here, and they bring tons and tons of knowledge about cars.

 

I have owned several 911s and now have a 930 as well as a 328 and 512BB.

You'll find Ferrari is a much more exciting and envolving car to drive but you will also find it has negatives such as attention factor which gets to you after a while unless you like a crowd watching and following you drive down the street, some Ferraris are more extreme than others for this, my 512BB causes such a hysteria at times I don't want to drive it in or near traffic, then you get concerns with leaving it parked as some people are jealous types and get off damaging them, so you'll find it gets to be a bit of a stress and hassle to drive them or leave them alone so I don't think you would want to drive some models daily due to this.

But the positive aspects far outweigh the negatives, they are basically fairly reliable but the bodies are a bit fragile as well the same with interiors vs a German car, maintenance and parts can be a expensive as well, in reality I would call them a toy for fun drives and events.

 

Welcome aboard Sam...you've come to the right place if you're a Ferrari fan. I bought my 308 about a year ago and I've come to the conclusion that I would not have been able to maintain my toy let alone enjoy it if it wasn't for this Chat Line. Stay tuned..

 

Pretty much on the mark, DJ. Except for the '99 part (it's a 2001).

Sam: The relay is the weak point on the F1 pumps. Have it checked or replaced with a better one.

 

Welcome! I’m a fan of your dad’s work.

There was a thread a while back entitled Buying, owning and selling a 360 and can be found by clicking on this title:


http://ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=80335&highlight=buying+owning+selling+360

The reason I remember it is - because I started it!

If you use the ‘search’ function you will find lots of like threads with a ton of info about running cars of this make - and it would help others if you could put the information you wrote at the end of your post in your profile.

Good luck in finding a great car if you go the Ferrari route,

Kram

 

1992 isn't a bad NSX year...Partially within the snapring range, but aside from that and maybe the falling/failing windows, not really bad year...

 

I owned one (01 360 manual tranny) for over 3 years and will be glad to help you anyway I can!!

 

My personal advice is to go with a 2001 or newer. If you search the archives you'll find complaints regarding shifting. Ferrari made updates to the throwout bearing in the early years. I remember reading that there was a further update later on as well but a recent clutch change would probably have replaced the bearing with the latest version, so you can cross-check the service records with the parts manual to confirm. For the F1 there were updates to the ECU as well which is rather expensive. It is best to get a later car that gets you past these issues.

There is also a reported issue with cam variators. See the lengthy thread at http://ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=24509 for discussion of it. Within that thread is the following regarding the range of 360s affected:
"This campaign involves all 360 models with engine numbers below 60796 only (vin range; 114015 to 123399). I believe it covers Model year from 1999 through early 2001."
I can confirm that my 2001 is outside this range of VINs, but I don't have any direct experience with the issue.

For a Spider, the early ones did not allow access to two of the transmission bolts without removing the convertible top from the car (this info was from the dealer that did my clutch work). Afterward Ferrari added access holes within the rear convertible tray to avoid this extra work. I don't have a parts book for the spider, so I can't confirm this.

Sorry to not have more definitive data, but this is the info I collected when searching for my car. I imagine there were updates beyond 2001 as with the throwout bearing mentioned above, but prices seemed to jump rather quickly for the newer models, so in the end it was a compromise between price and risk-avoidance.


Lou

 

Biggest problem with Euros is typically resale...other than that, nice way to shave a few bucks...some here will tell you that there are mechanics that won't work on the car if its a Euro, but never substantiated.

 

Sam:

The early 360s are the fastest. However, there are several problems with them: 1. For the F1, the shifting computer should be replaced, the latest unit are much, much better than the earlier ones. However on a good many of them, they have been updated, a good mechanic can tell you if that has been done. 2. The variators need to be replaced. Usually when that occurs, they also replace the cam belts, which is a good thing.

The service interal is 30k/3 years on the 360, not 5 years as everyone says. The major service retails for about 5k, but if you are a careful shopper, you can get it done for about 3k. In the 360, the engine doesn't have to be removed unlike the eariler cars.

The F1 makes for a quicker car in the twisties, but a good many people like the stick shift. I've got the F1, but will go back to the manual for the 430.

I use mine pretty regularly, have about 26k on it, and have replaced the clutch at 22k. The throwout bearing assembly was replaced at that time with the updated unit.

I'd get the Euro is you can get a good price on it. Generally they are worth about 10% less, so if you pay less on the way in, you'll get less on the way out.

The earlier cars are quicker because they don't have all of the emissions equpment on them, such as the pre-cats, etc. You might want to get an after market exhaust, such as a Tubi, etc. to make it sound a little better.

Art

 

Euro's have 1 major issue when you want to sell no-one will buy unless you are giving it away. a 99 euro with 30 k is worth 75-80k resale to a dealer. I wouldnt pay more than 85k for it. assuming it is perfect. you can find a low mileage8-15k miles 1999 us car for 110k. If you plan on keeping it and driving it buy the euro.. As far as service no one will turn you away. Only issue was when they were new US Ferrari dealers wouldnt work on them under warranty. but now there is no warranty they love the all mighty dollar.

 

I also am the owner of a lowly 308, but last week in Vegas I rented a 360 for 3 days. I suggest you might want to do that also.

The car had 25,000 miles the owner said they just put a clutch in (he didn't say if was the first or not) but I can't even imagine the abuse a rental car must see. The car was 6 speed stickshift not F1.

The car very very fast, handles well, accelerates like a rocket. I found it to be very twitchy in traffic but when I returned it they told me I should have experimented more with the traction control.

Funny thing I discovered; I like my 308 better. The 360 was like driving a car, whereas driving the 308 is more like driving a race car. I probably feel that way somewhat because the 308 has so many less frills, switches, lights, and electronics. I like the grass roots racing feel of the 308.