What repairs have you done to your Ferrari? Introspection time.

Sorry to hear about the car Jim.

I enjoyed reading your rant. Makes me wonder why we all do this..... At the end of the day - I just love the car. There are so few things in life that can make you truly happy. The F-car just happens to be one of them for me. I suspect it is the same for you.

 

Last week it was Tillman and this week it is you. And the 328 is supposed to be the "reliable" one out of the bunch!

 

Actually, you can add Brian's CS and my 360 to the "this week" list....

 

.. & you wonder why I didn't sell you that rare framed poster? Save all the money you can, Jim.

 

Hmm, let me think. I'm almost 2 years in and right at 20,000 miles (minus the speedo error that's always present on Ferraris)

Distributor cap -- car wouldn't run right after I washed it the first time, so it got towed. Early learning experience for me

Clutch cable -- towed again, at least it broke in the garage

I spent $800 to not get my AC fixed. It still needs a $500 temperature control.

Electrical fire, related to the AC above, that was repaired under warranty. I was looking at several hundred for a wiring loom in the console

In addition, I spent several hundred chasing a stumble that simply went away

Other than that, it's been just basic consumables.

That's not to say that there's not things wrong with the car. Right now, it could use paint, an interior refinish, new suspension bushings, and I'm chasing an intermittent coolant leak. The oil cooler is leaking a little bit, and will have to be replaced eventually.

I'll have to drag out my receipts, but I think that repair costs (not including normal consumables like tranny flushes and oil changes) are probably under 3K. I'll add it up this weekend. If that 3K is right, I'm spending $0.15/mile on it in repair costs.

Of course, it's almost due for the major, which will change the equations....

 

Next month will be one full year for me, about 2500 miles, and absolutely nothing broken (see thread title). I have refreshed the entire ignition system, changed fluids, fiddled with the carbs, replaced some 25 yr old rubber pieces, etc. to the tune of about $400-$500 total. Next year it will be time for a major though.

Ferraris are like mechanical versions of children - they are a complete pain sometimes, cost lots of money, but the rewards can't be matched.

Or something like that...

 

Sounds like with all the work you've already done, you are due for a moratorium on repairs and a stretch of maintenance free driving enjoyment. Hopefully it will be a lengthy one (fingers crossed).

 

I think when you drive older cars, things just have a tendency to break. It may not even have that many miles, but time will age things on it's own. I think you take any car 10+ years old, and this is a factor. It's often hard to tell just how well an owner took care of a car too, regardless of how many receipts they have.

Trying to judge whether the maintenance costs are worth it, is a personal thing. For me, it's the reason I can't afford to get a Ferrari (and I really want a 308/328)--maintenance costs. Driving a 30yr old Pantera is bad enough (really, it's not that bad), but the parts are pretty cheap, and I've been able to do repairs on my own, something I could never do on a Ferrari. For anything else I want to have a mechanic look at, it's still cheap in comparrison.

Hope things will get better for ya Jim, I love the 328...

 

well what about me and my stupid daily cars? BMW....put about $1000 worth of tires on it, dent in trunk will cost $1400 to fix per Jano and it needs brakes and an oil change of $100.

The honda I just spent $1641 on a new tranny, about $400 on tires for it too, $319 for a tuneup and it needs a new windshield and the brakes are starting to squeak.

I'd shoot myself if I had a broken ferrari on my poor mans wages.

 

Yes, but then you'd be spending that money on depreciation.
There's a reason why cars depreciate so fast at first... because
that free maintenance period is going away.

Now, if you're often driving across country or out in the middle
of nowhere, then reliability would dominate your priorities.
If, instead, you drive it on the track regularly such that you're
wearing out parts in any case... then low cost of maintenance
would dominate your priorities.

The right trade-offs for YOU depends upon YOUR priorities.
And if you still love the car that much despite the pains, I suspect
you aren't too far off for YOUR desired use of the car.

 

Matt,
If you can do your own maintenance on your Pantera, then I would be willing to bet that you could do your own on a 308, at least a carbed one. The cost of parts is another story of course.

 

Well, I'm no mechanic really, all I know I've learned from the Pantera. It's basic enough that it has been a good education for me. The most difficult thing I've had to do is pull the heads, machine them, install a new roller rocker setup, and put the heads back on. I'd be scared to death to try that with a Ferrari engine.

 

I bought an 81 308 in 1982, it had 4000 miles on it and was in 'as new' condition. I had the car for 3 1/2 years and put 2000 miles on it. I worked for Bob Norwood almost the whole time I had it so I did all the service myself. During that time I skipped one toothe on a cambelt and ended up doing a major service, repaired the A/C a time or two, put new brake pads on it trying to get it to stop, about four batteries, and a water pump. Anytime the car would hiccup I was working on it. I loved the car so much that I was compelled to keep it in the best mechanical condition I could manage, as it should be. Since I know a lot of the respondents on this thread I know you are all the same way about your cars, and being that way with a Ferrari is not inexpensive. But there is another type of Ferrari owner who you may not know exist. Our shop services many cars that are driven with only required service, and when I say required I mean do it or the car is not driveable. Those cars are driven often times for 10's of thousands of miles with very little money spent on service. Everytime that type of car is in the shop we add to the notes on the invoice what the car needs (in our opinion) and year by year these notes get longer and longer. We have cars with 10 plus year old cambelts that will fail eventually but the owners are reluctant to change despite the horror stories we tell of belt failure. It seems to breakdown that there are Ferrari owners that look at there car as a good friend or famliy member and put the highest priority on it's health, and others who look at it as a mode of transportation - just another car. You probably would not spend the time to enjoy the fellowship of other Ferrari owners if you where not in the first catagory. So my answer to Jim's question of 'WHY?' is - your a catagory 1 Ferrari owner, but you already know this.

 

Thanks for your insight James.

 

Well, you could always ask

 

Jim,

Sounds like a great excuse to get together for lunch or drinks! Let me know.

Nick

 

Great..................I've been reading your posts and own a number of classic cars, but finally made the leap this year and bought a 50,000 mile platinuim award level 1978 (Weber Carbs) 308 GTS at Concours Italiano in Monterey Ca. this year. (in red/tan of course). I've heard the horror stories of the injected 308s burning oil and engine problems, but this car has a known history since new and underwent a complete (receipts) 25K restoration, engine, bare metal respray, new interior, etc,etc. Based on the love/hate relationship the Ferrari ownership will bring, I plan to have a "contribution box' in the garage, and eveyday when I walk by the car in the garage on the way to the office, I'll throw some money in it......................the only question now is what is an appropriate daily amount?

 

You know, after reading this post, I was right there with you and Tillman. Ironically Tillman is experiencing some of what I went through even though I thought the car was perfect when I sold it. I feel he has gotten more out of the car given the mileage he put on it. However, I truly feel that the 348 has been much more reliable and I have not had the feeling that all three of us once shared. Maybe with a newer Ferrari comes more reliability. At this pace by 2020 they will be where Honda is today...