Robin 993DX

I have always wanted a Ferrari, now that I have a 996 for a daily driver the 993 is barely used which falls under the Ferrari "Garage queen" catagory.

So I have been thinking if I should sell the 993 and get a Ferrari F355.

I am aware of the service cost and service nightmares, but figures since this is an rarely used vechicle I can keep the cost down, the insurance would not be an issue, only adds $1000/year

What do you guys think?

FLA997

Hmmmm...Range Rover and an F-car in the garage...not bad! What ever moves you...its that simple.

jimq

what happened to the TT you were looking at?

993inNC

Robin, check out FerrariChat.com then ask that question Thats what I did when I THOUGHT I wanted a 348

Kigiin

I have been thinking the same thing, except I will never part with my 993 - too much financial and emotion capital tied up in it. So, I will augment it someday with a F-car, however decided to hold off until I can afford a 360 due to the maintenance horror stories associated with the 355. I am really hoping that when I can finally afford a 360 (I am on the two year plan), I will actually be able to afford a 430. Doubtful, but a guy has to have dreams!

Rob

Chuck W.

Robin.. a couple of weeks ago you were considering a 996TT. Now it's a Ferrari F355. You need help; and we're here for you. Keep the 993, buy the Ferrari F355 and reconsider the 996TT. See, that was easy. This car addition thing is easy as long as you recognize it and accept it. Now, I've been considering dumping my 530I for a M5.....

jainbaby

Get rid of the 996. Keep the 993, drive the 993 and buy the ferrari or want until you can get a 360. Much better car...

2ndof2

If you get the F-car will you be wearing wide collared shirts, white leather shoes, gold chains, and have lots of grease in your hair when you drive it?

Just kidding you, but seriously, I wouldn't buy a Ferarri unless I had a very large repair fund and a qualified F-car mechanic nearby. Seems like a weekend toy that is prone to expensive breakdowns.

I've heard the 360s were far more forgiving in terms of maintenance. Maybe go for one of those instead?

FLYT993

+3

Keep the 993 man! What are you doing Sat. am? You can take me for a spin so she can get some exercise, and I can hear those RSRs!!!!

Father of 3

If anyone can pull off a 355, you can Robin. Aren't these the cars you need to pull the motor to do any type of routine major maintenance items? That being said, I have always loved 355s and F-cars in general. The ultimate garage queens IMO.

Mike in Chi

Hi Robin

Long time no talk.

I have a friend here with a major collection of F-cars.

His advice to me was not to buy anything prior to the 360 series. Too many maitenance and upkeep costs. (he would know he had one or two 355s)

Robin 993DX

The 996 TT idea was to replace the 996 daily driver, wasn't even thinking about the 996TT until I saw the price.

The Ferrari was a long term goal (started back in the Magnum PI days), can't afford a 360 yet, still way over my budget. Was thinking more realistic range for me like $70k range for a F355 Berlinetta.

I did go on ferrarichat already and have not read anything that could really help me, it seems that the biggest issue with the F355 is the exhaust header and intake cracking, and F1 issues. Which I am going to avoid with the manual transmission, and I can fix any cracking headers myself..... then there is the drop the motor at 30k miles to replace the belts. That I still don't know what to do...

So the idea for me was the keep the 996 as a daily driver (better gas mileage and less maintenance) and have a F355 as a weekend car. I did look at the 348s since they were a lot cheaper, but after talking to several people and looking at the car I think the F355 is a better choice and looks better.

Anyways..... don't know what to do yet.

Oh here is what I know so far:

I have been told if you can't afford a 360 don't buy a Ferrari
360 is the most reliable Ferrari yet
360 have the lowest maintenance cost of any Ferrari


Well, I do have an option B. A very close friend whom is also dying to buy a Ferrari also can't quit afford a 360 was thinking maybe we can go in together and buy one and do a time share for both of us. We will share the usage and all expense associated with owing a 360, this way we can both afford a 360 and able to own one.... What do you guys think? Neither one of us have the time to put too many miles on the car anyways, so it wouldn't be a problem.

Terry Adams

I went through all this research 9 years ago before I bought my 993. Forza magazine then quoted the F355 maintenance costs at 2.5X the 993. I did more research for the past 3 months before settling on a 997 TT. It only makes sense if it is a 360 in addition to the 993, if you have an extra garage space, big bucks set aside for maintenance, and only drive it 1-2K miles per year.

For the price of a slightly used 360 just going out of waranty, I got a brand new TT just starting warranty, with performance close to the F430 at half the price.

Bob Rouleau

Robin - I suggest you spend somoe time on Ferrarichat.com

The 355 was an improvement over the 348 which had a number of nasty problems.

The 360 was a big improvement over the 355 since it was a new design. On the other hand expect a major service every 15-20,000 miles for new belts and expect to pay many thousands.

The 430 is a big improvement over the 360 in terms of maintenance - chain drives instead of the belts and you can do a lot of the work without having to drop the engine a fault which is common to the 355 as well.

From my experience, I would consider the 360 as a fairly reliable car and the 430 nearly the equal of a Porsche. Mine had zero issues from day one. be wary of the F1 transmission - bad on the 355, and still a problem on the 360. The 430 is far better. replacing a clutch on a 360 F1 is not uncommon at 25K miles at a cost which would pay for a decent car! Find a manual if you can.


Best,

jainbaby

Honestly, I looked at the 996 over and over and I really think the 993 is a better, more passion inspiring car than a 99 996. Not to beat you over the head, but I think until you get to 2001 or newer you are better with a 993.

So the more I think about this, the 996 is what you should drop, regardless of what other car you buy...