Should I Kill my F355 Dreams?

How about a 308/328? Should be about half the purchase price if you are worried about the maintenance.

As an owner of 2 Ferraris that had deferred maintenance issues when I got them, my comment is this:

If you can't afford the maintenance, don't get in the pool. You'll only piss off the guy that ends up buying it later or get frustrated about having a Ferrari that doesn't work.

 

Don't expect to drop 10k a year on maintenance on a good 355. The engines are pretty much bullet proof. Obviously things like tyres are more expensive as are normal services but still not in the 10k bracket. Also, there will be hardly any depreciation on a 96-97 manual, red F355 Berlinetta. The Masser on the other hand still has plenty to lose. If you can afford the 75k as you put it, plus maybe 5k per year in maintenance, insurance and stuff, then go for it. you'll never regret it once it's parked in your garage...

 

Couple quick comments! first off a porsche 996 TT is not out of your price range. For 75k you can get a nice 01 and maybe even an 02, add an extended warranty and you are set. No worries. However, if it is a ferrari your heart desires then no one can blame you and a ferrari is what you need. The maserati is a wonderful machine, but like tony stated they depreciate hard, meaning that the little money you may spend on repairing the small things on the 355 will probably be equal to or less than the hit you take on the maserati. both are great cars and you will be happy, but if in fact it is your "dream" to get one, then go for it man. All the power to you. Just do not forget to post pics when you get it

 

Tough question to answer, F-cars are more expensive than other cars to just do normal maintenance, when something goes wrong unexpectedly, it could be a real problem. Even if money is not an issue, getting parts, getting shop time, hell even having a near by shop to go to could be a problem. I have a 99 355B, drive it everyday rain or shine. So far, just oil changes. People have attemtped to describe the joy one gets from F-car ownership, but I have not read one that comes close yet. My wife swears that I go to work when I am sick or on weekends just so I can drive the 355. It really is like that, I look forward to the drive to work, back home, to the store when my 6 year old wants ice cream, etc....

I recommend get a PPI done, try to get a warranty if possible, take your time in choosing a good one, spend extra money to get a no problem car, rather than a less expensive one that you will "fix". The known 355 problems are well documented in this forum. Good luck, I spent months searching!

 

i think your approach of thinking about a large bill is prudent. the cars are quite bullet proof but if they do encounter a problem gearbox or driveline related...15 k can rack up quickly...trust me!

 

Sorry I forgot to mention, my left cat, started rattling after a few months of ownership when the car was cold. I am sure it is a warranty item, but I wanted hyper-flow cats anyway and did not want to lose the car for a few days . So I purchased the hyper-flows and just have the original ones sitting in a box in my garage. This was a few thousand dollars that I did not have to spend but thats part of the Ferrari ownership experience. --tony

 

Sorry to Hijack the thread but how much have ya'll guys spent on maintenence so far on the Fcar? I'd like to get a Ferrari in the near future but the cost of owning a Ferrari just scares me.

 

17k on my boxer...still climbing! the cost of ownership, but still cheaper to maintain than a yacht.

 

Good for you ferraripete! cost/mile sure goes down (not including gas) the more you drive but more important, the enjoyment per mile "gain" is always realized --tony

 

tony, i was actually pointing out money spent in the last year on maint.

$17k and climbing. could always be worse.

 

This whole Ferrari ownership is a strange thing,there is a real uniqueness to owning a fcar,if you are caught buy it ,you can turn your head to huge repair bills!
Let me give you my 355 experience ,it might explain what I just wrote
MY 95 355 went through a good ppi at a f dealer ,it had a major ,engine out ,at a f dealer 2 months prior to my ppi.Car had 12,300 miles on it and everything checked out perfect,one teck said in the ppi that this car was the cleanest 95 355 he had ever seen!Ok ship it to me ,and what a great car it was when it got to me it was better than I had expected.Two months later the exhaust manifolds went south ,6grand and a set of tubi's and 30 days later the car was back on the road!!! 3 months after that a strange noise starts ,I think it is the alternator ,a trip to the dealer and it is not the alternator that they know ,but they will need to get the motor out to find the problem!!12,000$$$$ later the 355 is back ,an $8.00 bearing failed took the timing belt pulley drive gears with it and ,the rest is history!!!!
Now some of you out there would sell this car or would shoot it or just start to hate the f----ng thing giving it the finger every time you passed it in the garage,but that is what I mean about this Ferrari ownership being a unique experience,I still love my 355 no fingers to it in the garage ,just a loving smile and an effort to find more time to drive her.
NOTE TO ALL the cam belt drive pulley bearing failed From WATER,the only way to get water in to where this bearing is ,is from condensation ,and that came from the other owner starting the car And not driving it .Don't think you are doing a good thing buy starting up your cars to warm them up and put some juice it the battery ,if you don't drive them for 20 minutes you are doing more damage than good!
DAVID ,,,,, HOLD ON IT'S A FUN RIDE THIS Fcar THING

 

If you love the car and the history and everything that goes with these cars, then don't think about the money....think about the total experience.

Yes, they are expensive to maintain. I just spent $860 for an oil change, a new oil pressure sensor and a new HVAC gasket (the one right under the bonnet). When I looked at the bill, I thought to myself, "Gee, that's less than I thought it would be." I raced 911's for a few years,and they are every bit as expensive to maintain if something breaks. The difference is that there are tons of aftermarket parts available that are as good as factory parts and way less expensive. That's not true for the most part with Ferrari's since they are not a commodity item like 911's.

There are significantly faster cars than a 355. There are better handling cars. There are cheaper cars. But that's not the point, is it.

I fell in love with Ferrari's when I saw my first 275GTB back when I was a kid. I started reading about the history and buying car magazines, etc. I also loved muscle cars (I wanted a 69 firebird). But I lusted after Ferrari's. I would love to eventually own a 1960's front engined v-12 (330GTC is my fantasy all around great vintage road car), but the 355 is a great car. They are generally bullet proof if you do the maintenance. And the rates mechanics charge is not that much more than an independent Porsche shop (maybe $10/hr or $15/hr more). I always wanted one, and when I found one I really liked at a price that was only a little ridiculous, I bought one. I do not regret it at all. Each time I get a bill for something related to the 355, I hand them my credit card and don't think twice about it. If you love the car, you'll figure out how to rationalize the expense.

And one more thought (something my wife keeps telling me which is what ultimately lead me to buying the 355) - you only go around once and you could be dead tomorrow so why not enjoy today!

My advice.....just do it!

 

These cars seem to have a slew of common issues. Knowing these repairs
are inevitable, I found a car that had most of these issues addressed...and
then some. Other than a few minor quirks, so far so good with my 95 355.

 

Sounds to me like you need to change the people doing the service on that 355. The bearings on the cam supports should have been changed with the belt service. Failure to do that is almost criminal, since it was apart, another 8 bucks was nothing. Same thing with the water pump, should have been changed. Smart service department would have insisted that you do that. Penny wise and pound foolish doesn't work with these cars. They require service, but if done right, they'll run for quite a while.

Art

 

trainsimple.........

If you really, really, really, want to do it....and you can open up your wallet and do it today "without materially risking your present lifestyle and finances".....then you should do it.....because one day you are going to be lying in a bed with wire on your chest and a monitor next to you going beep...beep...beep....and then it's too late.....the memories of the cash you accumulated and interest you saved by doing nothing will pale in comparison to the memories of an 8,000 rpm gear change under a tunnel on a hot summer day.

Buy an extended warranty from Bentasm.........

 

Look your not commited to an F-car so do your self a big favor and get a new Porche Boxter S, you will be so happy and you won't even have to change the oil for 15,000 miles let alone the spark plugs for 100,000 miles. It will carve up the tight turns better than most F-cars and drivability and dependability are second to none, oh! and no damed belts. Here's another thing there are so many after market performance parts that you can take this car to American hotrod status. Do this and you will thank me later. Gary

 

the "bearings on the cam supports" that you suggest should of been done during the major are the tensioner bearings?I have never heard of cam support bearings,at any rate the tensioner bearings were done at the Major the BEARING THAT FAILED is housed behind the front cover of the engine ,it holds the cam pulley shaft and there is an inner one that is fixed to the block and one that is fixed to the front cover ,It is a bearing that is checked at time of belt change ,but only checked visually and buy grabbing the belt pulley to see if there is any movement..All was well to feel and sight at the major ,there was no way to tell that this bearing was starting to fail short of removing the front of the engine and removing the bearing to check it out and that is just not done .It is very rare to have this problem in 355s,the 308's as they are getting on in age are having these bearings start to fail more regularly
SH---T HAPPENS THEN YOU FIX IT
DAVID

 

I just had almost the exact experience. Looked research got PPI 12,700miles 91 348ts, just had major three months ago, reputable ferrari dealer in Cal., and had to re-do the whole major and clutch. $12,000 later! It had cam seals put in wrong, wrong silicon, tentioners out of spec, ect., ect.

Point: Know the mechanic and his personal reputation. The workmanship counts. Not just that the major had been done.

Now that she's back at home, I can't get out of it. Still just go out to my garage and sit in it id the weather's bad. It is a fever, these cars. Luckily for me the first major is covered under warrenty though..Still out $6,000 for clutch and misc. items

Mike

 

Doh! Sorry! Hope you are still able to enjoy the car and that the
repairs are from lots of use. I think most F-Cars are beautiful and worth the money, the boxer is one of my favorites. Good luck!