odurandina

all of the negative owner's stories just reinforce my beliefs that a transaxle porsche with a chevrolet LS1, LS2, ect... is a serious consideration for a daily running car. once built, it can be beat on for a very, VERY long time at a very reasonable cost... as there isn't a single technical issue that hasn't been solved.

i understand that purists hate even broaching this subject, but, i just don't like what i've been hearing about the 996/997s engines, i don't like corvettes very much save for their incredible, low-cost engines, and the 993s [my favorite of all time] are too precious for me to consider for the daily beat down. reading some of the forums the past few days = maybe no Ferrari for me after all.

rome

The 355 is not my favorite. Looks too much like a Toyota MR2.

I love the 360 and 430 though. It seems every week the prices are lower and lower.

10K mile 360 spiders are less than 100 buy in now price on EBAY. I actually measure my garage today to see if one would fit.

justin993

Are you looking for paddles or 6 speed manual?

justin993

interesting f360 pricing statistical analysis a college student just recently put together:

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/sho...d.php?t=265844

schmidtwerk

Love the 360, did'nt want to like it because of the red shoe'd, driving glove, ferrari hat typical crowd. I've given it serious thought, great car. Brakes kinda suck, is the only complaint, oh ha and must have a stick shift, the paddle is a joke!

tjangi

I hope no Ferrari fanatics are reading this thread

cavlino

Ah, ya one is and its the other way around the MR2 came out after the Ferrari.

Anyway I have had my 355 for 5 years now, its a great car but yes you do need to keep it serviced. The biggest bill to date has been the major service but I have only done it once so over 5 years that is not much more then the cost of maintaining our 993.

I started off using the 355 on the track and my wife drove our 968. Once we got more serious about track we added the 993 and made it our dedicated track car and the 355 just goes on the track to let her been driven the way she was intended by the creator. Most of what others have said here is good advice. Someone already corrected the belt service on the 360 that can be done without taking the engine out. Someone else suggested the 360 service costs less then the 355 and that I don't agree with, it can cost less (360 versus 355) but not always. One example is the clutch to replace that on a 360 requires taking half the car apart its like a $5000 job. On the 355 its simpler then a 993, remove the rear bumper and you have all the access you need, about $2,500 later the job is done.

Now the F430, that is a car worth waiting for, chains gotta love them, no more timing belt service, the service will be more like what you would be used to. Once the Italia (458) is out the F430, F360 and F355 will come down in price so as usual patience is your friend and a huge money saver.

bart1

Lsomebody needs to put more pics in this thread. I like looking at ferrari or having friends that have them. I'll keep my modern hotrodded beetle for driving.

vjd3

Here's an interesting tale ... guy bought a Ferrari intending to keep it for one year and try not to spend much on it, maybe break even. Shopped carefully, bought a car with a recent belt service and the major problems addressed ... was doing fairly well until one side of the motor had bad valve guides on one side ... the side the previous owner hadn't done. Gambled and lost on that one. He's coming out with a book, but his blog is interesting reading. He diverts back and forth between being in love with the thing, and fearing it.

http://www.oneyearwithaferrari.com

Something about the lines and the rawness of the 355 does it for me ... I have flirted many times with getting a 355 or a 348 ... usually get scared off. Reading ferrarichat is a great idea to quell your impulses.

It seems the cars are just too high-strung to be reliable, and the parts and labor rates are too astronomical to make them practical for anyone who can't fix the thing themselves or is suddenly "able" to afford one now that prices have slipped. Much like any Porsche, they have their known trouble spots ... catalytic converters that fail and can backwash particles into the engine, wreaking havoc, headers that tend to crack, valve guides or piston sleeves that wear out quickly. But while you can redo the top end of a 993 for $3500 (I did on mine), it's far more expensive on a Ferrari. The 993 and its predecessors have that hand-made feel to them, but the sheer numbers and engineering make them much more palatable to try to drive daily and maintain over the long haul.

Guy makes another good point ... a $20k rebuild on a $40k 355 seems ludicrous; an $85k rebuild on a $2 million Ferrari is a relative bargain. He also likens a Ferrari to a race car, in which rebuilding the motor after a race is standard practice.

And, he also opined that from a quality and longevity perspective, Ferrari itself is only concerned with the customer who buys the car new, and drives it throughout the warranty period. I would hope that isn't true, but perhaps it is.

He also owns a 964 cabriolet; at one point after driving both cars on the street he writes something like the Porsche handles like a bathtub full of pudding balanced on a waterbed compared to the 355, but he later retracts that statement after driving both cars on the track back to back, he was impressed with the Porsche's prowess.

vjd3

This was the author's car ... someone else just just bought it on impulse without driving it or knowing its history. Probably a good buy ... now.

vjd3

Color combo is pretty cool, too. Nothing you see very often.

Cactus

Took a drive in a 550 Barchetta ($326,000) a few months ago and it is a really nice car with a great interior but it made me appreciate my 993 SO much more. The 355 is just sexy but the 360 CS is composite sex!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BghVb...eature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3i1_KTeuLk

cavlino

Here are some pics for ya
To see a lot more pics go to this link: http://community.webshots.com/user/carm_scaffidi

fast_freddy

There's a variety of reasons for this with the following two being the major ones: Generally speaking Ferrari will only sell a new car to an existing owner . Buying a 458?, get rid of the 360/430. I think the biggest issue is that many people financed the F360/430 purchase through Helocs and their Helocs have been capped in the past year or so where they can't pull any more money out to continue to live beyond their means or the prospect of a expensive service looms.

Personally I wouldnt touch a Ferrari with a thirty nine and a half foot pole. Beyond the fact they are not my "taste", their unreliability record is legendary and I'd fear driving it for getting stuck somewhere. I like to drive my cars, not look at them. It has nothing to do with money. I've had all manner of exotics/semi exotics over the years in Jaguar, Aston Martin, Lotus, Alfa Romeo and was miserable in owning them for the most part. Never again...

David993S

It's like most Ferrari threads on the board......very little first hand knowledge posted by people that have probably never owned an f-car much less ever ridden in one, repeating unfounded rumors and inacurate "stories" about reliability, durability, quality, true cost of ownership, etc.

If you want some first hand experience from an acutal owner, do a search and read some of my previous posts whenever this topic comes up.

(BTW - I'm a Porsche fanatic too......I currently own both a 993 Carrera S and a Ferrari 360 F1 Modena)

Cheers.