Sad Day?

Three answers, pick one:
1) You aren't a good candidate for owning any non-modern sportscar.
2) Plan on spending a lot of money, because you're going to need many hours of someone else's skilled labor.
3) If the idea of assembling that Ikea desk instead of buying something ready-made appealed to you enough to try it and then you actually managed to get the damn thing together... you already have the instincts and you can choose to put in the time and practice needed to be self-sufficient. A Ferrari will not be the most the cost-effective way of learning, but there's no law that says that an English Lit major cannot figure this stuff out if you decide that you want to go that way.

Probably the most important thing is being ruthlessly honest with yourself about what you want to do, what you can do, and what you're willing to pay someone else for the stuff you can't do or don't want to to do.

 

All outstanding advice. I agree and have a similar conversation with prospective buyers of older Ferrari's.

I follow it up with
Under these conditions a
328 will cost 1x annually
348 will cost 2x annually
355 will cost 3-4x annually

 

I'm now in full understanding of everything.

The secret order in their castle in Vienna are dictating these events.. and after overseeing subliminal Pepsi and Coke sponsorship of Alien abductions, they "directed" that piece in Forza.

I get it now.

 

After speaking with techs who had Ferraris and Lambos in their shops at the time, I found the gorgeous 355 considerably less desirable.
Techs who are familiar with a particular model's weaknesses remain the exclusive voice I hear when discussing a possible purchase. I loved the sound and initial reports on the 355, I'd never purchase one now.
The seller of a 355 Spider in panhandle Florida took pity on me when I showed interest and I remain eternally grateful. Techs are a godsend.

 

It seems this thread has run its course, no?

 

Yes it has...buy a second hand Gallardo

 

Not a fan of the gallardo, the wedge shape is nauseating to my eye. Looks like a child or a rapper designed it. Good to here that it's reliable though!

The murci I like though.

 

late night recap....Breaks out crayolas starts drawing... big stick figure leaves the sunshine goes into the dark cave to rescue small stick figure. Big stick figure says dont be afraid come with me to the light and sunshine. little stick figure says I'm scared I might get skin cancer. Big stick figure says thats not likely.... worst case scenario come to the sun and enjoy..... little stick figure says no I am afraid... Big stick figure scratches head and walks into the light... Fat lady sings

Now it has run its course

 

lol!! The end/

 

I keep dropping in on this thread, and it amazes me that people are still giving Drew a hard time about his frivolous purchases for his car. He makes it very clear that the excessive spending on the car EXCLUDES the paint work and stereo and interior.

Face it, he really spent that much on his car. I don't have any doubt about it myself because I spent at least that much on my car in 7+years of ownership. Still am, technically, because it's in the shop as we speak. Only thing I ever did that was frivolous in my car ownership was replace bubbled sill plates with carbon plates, and buy a leather key fob case. Everything else was maintenance or repair. Real stuff, not frippery. This sort of relationship only works when the pleasure/reward balances the cost/pain. I haven't driven my car since March, so forgive (and understand) my bitterness.

And yes, I did get a PPI before purchase. Good leakdown numbers, because I kept hearing about the valve guide issue. Headers were still evolving back then, not known then that ALL 355's would need new headers. But PPI's are just a snapshot of a car. I totally get why Brian and others won't do them anymore, because many folks who hold onto one of these cars for any decent amount of time would probably sue the mechanic who did the PPI as having been incompetent for not having a crystal ball as to what will go wrong with a car in the future. As if that is possible.

But PPI or not, if you own a 355 for a couple years and put 2000 miles per year on it, don't spout off about how trouble-free they are. I put 33,000 miles on my car in 7+ years. The valve guides have not been a problem, but just about everything else has.

The problem I have found (especially lately with my F1 shifting troubles) is that they just didn't make that many of these cars. I know we all talk about how Ferrari made too many modern cars, and that therefore they will not be collectable classics, blah blah blah, but the reality is that they are still extremely low production cars. Therefore we owners are serving as the beta testers for each model. So, as the cars put on some years and miles, we get to find out how robust they are.

This problem is made much worse by the fact that the factory doesn't give great info to the poor guys who fix these things for us beta testers, either. So some trial and error is unavoidable. I hate to see instances where parts get thrown at cars to diagnose problems, but sometimes that happens because the SD system won't pinpoint exactly which component is not working properly. My F1 is jumping to neutral when shifting. No faults found on the SD. So, what does the Shop Manual say? Jack. If you think about how many 355's were brought into this country, and how many have actually covered more than 40,000 miles, then you start to see the difficulty solving these sorts of problems. Not a lot of data for any mechanic to draw from. Not many colleagues he can discuss things with who may have seen a similar problem ( and if so, then they saw something "sort of like that" once, not hundreds of times like in other marques of cars).

So it's the hard way with Ferraris fixing. The expensive, hard way in the case of the 355. Maybe not so bad with other models, maybe worse. All I know is my own firsthand experience with my particular car. So when I hear Drew say he's had it, and cite less costs than I've faced, and then hear perhaps the most famous Ferrari mechanic in the country (based on his magazine role) completely support Drew's story, I have to laugh at anyone disputing the story. I'm sure there's good psychological dissonance theory sort of thing going on with these owners/critics, but the truth is the truth.

Thank you for hearing my rant. Anyone interested in a sorted 355 (if any 355 can really be sorted), feel free to inquire. Not holding my breath though

 

I dont think anyone doubts Drews story or your expenses or frustration... Out of genuine curiosity when I hear stories like this it would be great to see a detailed description of parts replaced, labor costs and why the repairs were done.

 

Not enough bandwidth to list the 355 repair stories.... (j/k)

 

Years ago I was looking at a 2 owner 355. At the time I had a well-known Ferrari independent advising me. Even though the tech was telling me 355s are more trouble than they are worth, I wanted one. I was getting ready to send the 355 I was considering to him for a PPI. The second owner was showing me all the records. I made a point to remember the first owners name. I Googled him later on and found a phone number so I called him. His words were the dealbreaker for me. He had owned 11 Ferraris going back to the '60s, he told me the 355 was by far the worst one he ever owned. He told me "run, don't walk from the car." I did and am glad I did.

They're beautiful cars ant they and sound amazing but there is just too much evidence out there that 355s are horrible money pits.

 

So much irony that the F355 is considered crap, when it was supposed to better everything the 348 sucked at (especially the quality).

Edit: I'm putting my flamesuit on... To the owners: Good for you if you have a 355 that's been great and reasonable to own

 

I still would like to see an itemized list of the repairs that people are talking about just out of curiosity. One mentioned spending $15,000 to have primary cats replaced with new ones.. You could buy a whole fabspeed exhaust and solve the header problem for $10k..or like one guy on this forum did he bought magnaflows and welded the ends off the 355 cats on them. Cost $250. Even if you to pay to get them welded max would be $350. I tend to believe if you install prim and secondary bypass pipes less heat would build up and the headers wont crack. Even if they did you can buy aftermarket ones for $3k and install them yourself and have a lifetime warranty. Maybe every dime of the $60k someone spent was legitimate ...I dont know. I'm not saying the 355 is inexpensive or trying to prove it. I'm just curious where $60k went in repairs when you can buy a 355 posted on this forum for $44,350 to use as a parts car if you wanted. If the headlight motor goes out do you take it to the dealership and pay prime labor rates to have it replaced with brand new OEM? I would buy a quality used one from Ferrparts and put it in myself on a saturday.
thats why I want to see someones records that spent $60k on maint. I want to see if it all was entirely necessary and the best way to go at it. Until then i will remain somewhat skeptical...

 

Shootfighter, it is reasonable to ask for the accounting. However, you know there's going to be disagreement in how "necessary it is". For example cats get trashed and you need new ones. Owner says "I want only new OEM parts".. Ricambi has R+L cats for $7970 and $7976 respectively. That's $15-16,000 right there. OTOH there's what looks to be chinese 49 state cats on ebay for $400 each. Whether it is necessary to spend the other $14-15k is debatable isn't it. If the owner wants OEM.. and it's his car.. then its an expensive necessity. I'll wager if he sold it with chinese cats the posts on the 348/355 section would all say discount the offer $5-6 thousand because you'll have to replace them. Concours.. that savings would cost a trophy.

 

Not in California. OE cats only. I have had several calls in the last month alone from people caught with non OE cats.

 

Very valid points and I totally agree. I wanted to see the invoices to determine if all this expense is necessary or a choice. I felt and maybe I'm wrong that people are jumping in and going on about what a money pit their 355 is or was without showing if all that money was necessary or spent in the best way possible. Now people are jumping in that never have owned a 355 saying I heard this or that.
I agree some people may want to always have a dealership work on the car and replace everything thats wrong or sometimes worn and may fail with brand new OEM.
Thats where I put spending money is a choice sometimes not a necessity.
Without seeing the maint and work records I feel the story is being told from only one position.

 

It is being told from exactly the same position every story for every model of every make is ever told. You and others here expect a higher level of proof and a higher level of scrutinizing how dollars are spent when it comes to a 355 but have shown a willingness to jump on the band wagon whenever any other model is discussed.

 

I am curious like Randy as well. I am not doubting Drew and John did not spend what they did. Just wondering was it motor costs, transmission, suspension, cosmetics(interior/exterior), labor(service)? Most of us know as well that OEM parts are much more expensive than aftermarket solutions, many times with inferior quality. Switching to aftermarket parts could effect winning at shows.

 

Great post and great perspective from someone who has owned one for a significant period.

I'm sure in 1995 the 355 was the cat's meow. The design looks better without the cheese graters, but it was Ferrari's first attempt at F1, the 'cinquevalvole' heads, power convertible top (I believe), engine diagnostics, etc. It was a showcase of bleeding edge tech, and it took years before we had enough miles clocked and enough data to know how that was all going to play out. Now we know. Or ... most of us know.

 

Not true at all. This is possible being told by someone that only gets their 355 serviced by ferrari always replacing parts with new oem. I wont disagree that this might have been their only option or the way they wanted to do it. I want to see if this was my car would it have cost me the same amount. As I sit here thinking about keeping my car 10 more years I want to be able to look at maint costs for me.
I needed a oil pressure sending unit.. $161 plus $4.00 shipping 10 min in my garage...price being done at a dealership ?

Some gauges quit working... pulled dash in my drive way. cleaned connections tightened everything....$0 price at a dealership?

a person would have to be completely obtuse to believe the maint story can only be told from one position and its always the same and anyone that questions their methods or approach is the one thats not getting it