vjd3

I'm interested in Robin's thoughts on the 360 as well.

The Sports Car Market article was interesting, but not necessarily representative, because it included non-maintenance expenses like a Tubi exhaust, modified front fenders, unneccesary 30k service repeated, refinishing the front spoiler and rims (twice), clear bra, re-covering a steering wheel ... and we all know tires cost a fortune, right? Especially at the dealership.

A power steering pump replacement for $500 is not cheap, but neither is it out of the woods for doing the same thing on a 911.

The top end at 28k miles is scary ... but then again ... SAI, anyone?

It would have been better to break out the "what broke and what it cost to fix" portions.

I almost bought a 328 back in 2000 but the prospect of $5k for a belt service scared me into an 87 930, which was a wonderful car.

Overall, it sounds like the Ferrari is a more high-strung nervous sort of ownership experience, but then again, it's a Ferarri. Makes you appreciate how terrific a car the 993 is.

This is my all-time favorite description of owning a 355 ... cracks me up every time.

"It is like having a supermodel forgetting to flush the toilet.......every damn time she uses it. You learn to live with it."

http://www.nsxfiles.com/f355_update.htm

fast_freddy

There is a exotic car repair shop 30 miles south of me which specializes in Ferrari's and Maserati's. He candidly told me that if they were made just reasonably well he'd be out of business.

I think James May of Top Gear said it best when describing the Lamborghini Countach after "living" with one for a few days. "It's better left as a boyhood fantasy limited to a poster on your bedroom wall", or something along those lines.

Robert993TT

EVO used a 550 during 18 month. Read their long term test here.
http://www.evo.co.uk/carreviews/evol...rrari_550.html

Reddy Kilowatt

I would look good in one of these, but have never found that I fit in the Italian cars very well.

http://autosportint.com/details.html...218l1243636212

David993S

A long long time ago, when all I could afford was my '72 911 (wonderful car - wish I still had it), I too used to put down Ferraris without actually having facts. I suppose I did it because I couldn't afford one and wanted to justify to myself that owning a 911 was much better and anyone who bought a Ferrari was foolish as the p-car did everything just as well (or better) for much less money. I suspect that most p-car owners on this site (obviously Robin is an exception) have never owned a Ferrari and only comment on what they "hear" or cite the occasional exception to build their argument. Believe me, I could recite a list of p-car issues if I wanted to (....how about a bad ring & pinion on my '87 Carrera after only 19,000 miles.......). You see my point.....there are always exceptions.

Anyway, times have changed and I can now afford (and do indeed own) both. I love my 993S. It's my 6th 911 over the past 30 years and hope I never sell it. But I've also owned several Ferraris over the past 20 years. No question, Ferraris are expensive to maintain - more so than a 993. But take it from this actual owner......my 360 has been absolutely as reliable and trouble free as my 993 or any of my previous 911's. My previous Ferraris were also the same. I don't own garage queens that have only seen 2000 miles in the past 10 -12 years; I drive mine and maintain them properly. Any older car, including a 993, that has only seen a few thousand miles in its lifetime is going to have needs and maintenance issues. Just a mechanical fact of life.

If you can only afford to own one.......stick with the 993. it's a huge mistake to buy a "cheap" Ferrari that has been abused, had maintenance deferred or is a non-maintained garage queen - it's going to cost you way more than a regularly driven, regularly maintained, well loved example. (I would be interested to know the history of Robin's car and why he's having so much trouble with it - PM me Robin to discuss). What I don't understand is why there are so many Ferrari-bashers on this board (and who have probably never owned one) who think anything else besides a p-car is somehow inferior. I love Porsche....that's why I've been a PCA member for 30 years. But as a true "sports car guy" I enjoy and respect many marques, and currently enjoy several different marques now. I don't go around putting down Porsches on the Alfa or Ferrari boards, or any other marque boards. The 993 and the 360 are completely different experiences, but both great in their own way.

And Vic......who in the world quoted you $5K for a timing belt service on a 328?!. Someone was either trying to take you, trying to scare you away from a 328, or didn't know what they were talking about. When I had my 328, I had a full major service including timing belts done forjust over$2K at an authorized Ferrari dealer. While not the fastet Ferrari by any means, it was a beauty to behold, drove fantastically, sounded great, and was as reliable as a 911. I enjoyed putting many many miles on it.

BTW - I just put over 600 miles on my 993 this past weekend......what a great car!

Cheers.

DocTock993

This has certainly led to an interesting discussion. I really appreciate the "real world" experiences.

This 2003 Ferrari F550 Maranello is what triggered my interest level.

To be honest, I'm only passively looking for a different DD. My drive is too short (8-12 min of city streets <35mph) for my 993 to properly warm up in the morning. I'd ride a bicycle, but my hours are usually such that it's dark during travel time and there are no good/ safe pathways to work.

vjd3

It was the service manager at Ferrari of Dallas ... the closest dealer to where I lived at the time, in Wichita KS. Nobody local I would have trusted to work on a car like that. I was pretty serious about buying it, too; I called down there to get an idea of the costs on a 30k service. I wish I had known it wasn't that bad, as I might have bought it!

David993S

It may well have been "that bad" at that particular dealership.......but $5k for a 328 timing belt service is crazy. 328's are fairly straight forward to maintain and can be maintained quite reasonably. The other thing is timing belts on 328's don't have to be changed nearly as often as on the newer cars.

David993S

As was previously pointed out, an 03 is a 575 not a 550. This would be an indication the dealer/seller doesn't really know what they have. Would you consider buying a 993 from a dealer that only said he had a 911 for sale and didn't knwo it was a 993? In line with that, with 35,000 make sure it has recent, documented service records with receipts and service history. If it doesn't have service records, budget fot it and make your offer accordingly. Odds are if the seller doesn't know it's not a 550, he probably also doesn't know anything about service costs, the cost of Ferrari service, or if/when it needs it. If you consider it, get a PPI.....same cautions as with buying a used 993.

DocTock993

I purposely copied the info (as incorrect) from the listing.
As I stated before, the misrepresentation of the car is one of the main reasons I am walking rapidly away...

Quadcammer

can you please elaborate on your 360 experience, specifically what is subpar?

Thanks

zone5

Robin posted a while back some pretty shocking things about the car, such as mechanicals put together backwards at the factory, whole sections of the car not painted when they should have been, etc....

It makes you think that Ferrari is just building crap and selling off their good name. Like they don't take quality seriously like the Germans.

There's something to be said about the Germans being all uptight about engineering and quality control.

nile13

It's an interesting discussion (every time it comes up) that i read with particularly open eyes.

What gets me, however, are low expectation. David states that his car has been reliable for 39K miles. In my opinion it should be pretty much maintenance and repair-free in so few miles. I understand that this might not be realistic with an exotic car, but let's face it, we are in 21st century, manufacturing techniques and design techniques have somewhat improved from 1960s and F360 is not all that exotic or uncommon if you think back to 250 GTO days. However, they still make unreliably cars and owners are generally happy to live with that.

David, please do not take this personally. This is a side-glance observation from a person who wants to buy and Italian car (or a British one for that matter) pretty badly and is afraid to pull the trigger for aforementioned reason.

PS. Damn, I want a yellow 348.

David993S

Hey Mike. No problem - I don't take it personally. I'm thankful I own both of my favorite sports cars and have had such great experiences with both.

Cheers.

matt777

While I think Ferraris are wonderful cars, I figure they are for people who have the resources to dig deep for maintenance without regrets. I remember asking a turbo Porsche owner about the maintenance costs and he responded by saying "if you have to ask you can't afford it". A little cocky but perhaps this applies here. I would still like a 355.