supergrass

I'm noticing Ferrari 355's getting close to being at a price point I can afford. I am wondering if any of you know much about them or have had any experience with them. Anyone know what maintenance costs are or reliability of Ferrari's? I plan to keep my 993 as it has always been my dream machine, even above ferrari, but as luxury car prices keep dropping, it gets real tempting to snag one while I have a chance. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks.

EricGT3

This question is asked quite often. You should check out www.ferrarichat.com. It seems the consensus is that 355's and older cars can be very expensive to maintain. The 360's are much better and more reliable.

Rob 97 993c2

A related question:
How do ferrari people view the 355 to 360? is it the same as the 993 to 996 where the older car has the hard core following and the new one is seen as less classic and more massproduced. Or, is it more like 964 to 993?

just curious?

Sam N

Good analogy Rob. I am friends with several of the "FChat" guys that live in the DC/No.VA area. From what I gather the 355 is akin to the 993, however, they tend to view the Testarossa and 512TR as the more hardcore version for the F car enthusiast. The 360 is viewed as the easier car to drive fast. One guy called it the "Honda Accord" of Ferraris! The older Testarossa, without boosted steering requires biceps. Its funny to hear them talk about these cars. I love all of them and especially the sound they make under acceleration. I was behind a friend in a F360 CS (Challenge Stradale) and it sounded like an F1 car when reving to high RPMs. One thing is clear, the track versions, 355 Challenge, 360 Challenge, etc. are all viewed equally. Would be very much akin to our Cup cars.

Monique

Investigated the Ferraris b4 going for the Porsche. My personal fav was the 512 (Testa Rossa) Modena. This derivative corrected deficiencies of the 512 TR, had more horses and a modernized look esp headlights. A brute of a car... not sure it was avail in the US.

But the Italians were too fragile for my liking; don't mind wrenching some but not every day.

Look here: http://www.mobile.de/SIDFNacfsEU5qjd...4&doSearch.y=9

ventoGT

Monique, I think that the Car you are talking about is the F512M....had the twist-like looking wheels with the bolt pattern all the way around [kinda like a mix b/t targa and twist wheels]...My co-worker has an F355 and he loves it--I think it is a beautiful car, but it's funny what seems to happen to people when they own Ferraris. Said co-worker used to have a 996, and he liked diving it, had fun with it, and just used it the way it was meant to. With the Ferrari, he can't bear to drive it anywhere for fear of a scratch, ding, or whatever else...

As far as the maintenance goes, from my understanding it is ludicrously expensive for major services...something to the tune of $5K for a major service. Hate to think of what happens when something goes wrong.

my $.02

mborkow

"But the Italians were too fragile for my liking"

from cars to coffee makers, i have yet to buy a well built, robust piece of italian machinery.

Alfie

FYI,
The M on the 512M stands for "modificata"

Rick Lee

I have a good friend with a fleet of Ferraris and I can't imagine what his monthly maint. budget is. I don't know much about the 355, but I know nothing on those cars is cheap to fix. Timing belt change is an engine-out job and can get to $5k pretty quickly. If you can DIY everything, then you're only on the hook for their ridiculous parts prices. But I would say there's almost no way to own one of those cars on a budget, unless you DIY everything. If you have unlimited budget, then the 355 is a gorgeous car. I've driven a 348 and a 512BB. The 348 is no faster than my 993. The 512BB is a beast to drive. It was so difficult, that I literally had to take a rest after doing a K-turn in a driveway. Clutch and steering were extremely stiff. No sound in the world is as cool as a 12-cyl. F-car at redline.

tdf360

My experience with Ferrari after many years of owning Porsches has been very positive. Bought a new 360 and it has been very reliable with 5k miles including 800 track miles. The 5k service was about 1k, the belt change is about 1.4k when that comes up (360 engine doesn't come out for this service). Overall I'd have to say the 360 is not put together to the same standards as a Porsche, but is 90% there, certainly doesn't feel fragile in any way. Those who don't drive them, IMO, have put themselves in a special kind of he11 owning a marvelous piece of machinery that they don't use. The "emotion quotient" of the 360 is several notches higher than any Porsche except the CGT, and the CS is beyond the 360. Everyone who loves cars should own a Ferrari at some point in their lives.

Gary

Monique

Thought it was the 512 Modena.. but we are talking about the same car...

Alfie

The headlights were precursors to the 550 maranello headlights, and don't those wheels look like a cross between a 94 911 turbo's wheels and the 96 993 Turbo wheels?
If you haven't already, do what you must to hear a 512 with full tubi's, no mufflers.. It really makes everything short of an F1 car sound dull

CAHRERA

I have a friend that has a 360 with 55K. The Ferrari mechanics love it because they don't see many F-cars with that kind of mileage on it. According to him he just brings it in for the regular maintenance. He enjoys the car so much he made it his daily driver and at one time he had (2)360 in his stable, Red and Silver.

Randy M

I've never owned anything Italian until I purchased my Ducati back in September. So far it's been a blast and am glad I bought it over the BMW R1150R I was looking at. It oozes passion and raises my heartrate. Japanese bikes can't come close to it. They may be faster but that not what it's all about imo.
A few months back I saw a 360 at PIR and just loved the way it looked and sounded. The Italians do something that can't be duplicated. I can't put my finger on it but most of the cars and bikes they produce have that WOW factor that even Porsche can't duplicate. With a Ferrari you pay for that dearly. Some day I'll probably have one but being only 34 there are a few goals that I need to achieve first.

wch

"05 Blue/White Ducati Monster S4R"

OK, you have to post a pic of this beast ... please