Ferrari Buying advice?
Discussion
Buy the one you want. It's a Ferrari, they can all saddle you with a big bill.
I have a 355 that's had a couple of reasonably large bills, but is utterly reliable. Been to Italy and back a couple of times in it with no issues.
By the way, those large bills were both smaller than the yearly depreciation on some friends' more mundane cars.
I have a 355 that's had a couple of reasonably large bills, but is utterly reliable. Been to Italy and back a couple of times in it with no issues.
By the way, those large bills were both smaller than the yearly depreciation on some friends' more mundane cars.
Yipper said:
Not every car ever made breaks down, of course. But there is no doubt older (and some newer) Ferraris have a bad habit of being a pain. A neighbour has a 1980s 308 that spends ~80% of its time being fixed and ~20% being driven. Where I store a car, the guy next to it stores a 1990s F50 that always seems to have some suspension glitch going on. Next to that, there is a 2000s F430 that has neverending problems with the manifold. And a colleague at work has a 2010s 488 that he left at the airport for ~4 days while he flew with his wife on a long weekend, came back to a flat battery and haywire electronics, only to end up arguing with Ferrari about the repair bill who insisted he'd invalidated the warranty by letting the battery go flat (after just 4 days without a trickle charger).
Clearly I have been lucky too !! Would love to see one of those 2010 488's !!!! Must have been one of the pre pre pre production models
Hmmmmm
Phib
Not every car ever made breaks down, of course. But there is no doubt older (and some newer) Ferraris have a bad habit of being a pain. A neighbour has a 1980s 308 that spends ~80% of its time being fixed and ~20% being driven. Where I store a car, the guy next to it stores a 1990s F50 that always seems to have some suspension glitch going on. Next to that, there is a 2000s F430 that has neverending problems with the manifold. And a colleague at work has a 2010s 488 that he left at the airport for ~4 days while he flew with his wife on a long weekend, came back to a flat battery and haywire electronics, only to end up arguing with Ferrari about the repair bill who insisted he'd invalidated the warranty by letting the battery go flat (after just 4 days without a trickle charger).
Clearly I have been lucky too !! Would love to see one of those 2010 488's !!!! Must have been one of the pre pre pre production models
Hmmmmm
Phib
Edited by phib on Saturday 25th March 11:18
Edited by phib on Saturday 25th March 11:19
Don't let the engine out on the 355 put you off. Its designed to come out and it drops out quite easily.
As a result minor issues with seals, grot spots and general W&T are often tended too much earlier than similar issues on say a 360 or 430.
Yes the cost will be more as a result but having the engine dropped every 3 years is not a bad thing.
I would go with the one you want. The reliability issues can be mitigated in buying the right car. Of course its a lottery either way but you can make sure that you have good odds.
As a result minor issues with seals, grot spots and general W&T are often tended too much earlier than similar issues on say a 360 or 430.
Yes the cost will be more as a result but having the engine dropped every 3 years is not a bad thing.
I would go with the one you want. The reliability issues can be mitigated in buying the right car. Of course its a lottery either way but you can make sure that you have good odds.
I recently bought a California 30 with 13k on the clock. I had done 30 miles in it when the engine management failure - Go to dealer flashed up on the dash board then i lost all power and the car was kicking out all sorts. Recovered to the dealer and by the sound of it, it's going to need a new engine!
Thankfully as i bought it from a main Ferrari dealer it came with a 2 year warranty but god knows how much a new engine is!
So my advice would be get a warranty with any used Ferrari as some of the bills you could incur will make your eyes water.
Thankfully as i bought it from a main Ferrari dealer it came with a 2 year warranty but god knows how much a new engine is!
So my advice would be get a warranty with any used Ferrari as some of the bills you could incur will make your eyes water.
I have owned my 355 for nearly 10 years now.
Its an old car (20 years) so is going to have bits that need attending.
For value, rightly or wrongly, buy a low miler and park it in the garage.
For reliability, buy one that's had regular usage and maintenance and you won't go far wrong.
I've done countless trips O/S and the more you use them, the better they are.
Its being stood for long periods that causes issues (electrical corrosion, seals hardening, rubbers cracking etc).
Its an old car (20 years) so is going to have bits that need attending.
For value, rightly or wrongly, buy a low miler and park it in the garage.
For reliability, buy one that's had regular usage and maintenance and you won't go far wrong.
I've done countless trips O/S and the more you use them, the better they are.
Its being stood for long periods that causes issues (electrical corrosion, seals hardening, rubbers cracking etc).
I've had my 355 F1 GTS for over 4 years now. I've done over 14000 miles in that time, including two Euro trips. I've driven it around the streets of Monaco, the famous Alpine passes and of course the "Green Hell".
The only problem I have had (which thankfully occurred close to home) was a failing speedo sensor (£140 + self fit) which meant I couldn't get it above 2nd gear.
I've had the manifolds rebuilt too as they were showing the usual signs of failure.
Two engine out services (years 1 and 4 of ownership) plus regular servicing and repairs has cost me around £13K. The flip side being that it's doubled in value.
It's still the only car I've ever owned that makes me open the garage door just to look at it.
The only problem I have had (which thankfully occurred close to home) was a failing speedo sensor (£140 + self fit) which meant I couldn't get it above 2nd gear.
I've had the manifolds rebuilt too as they were showing the usual signs of failure.
Two engine out services (years 1 and 4 of ownership) plus regular servicing and repairs has cost me around £13K. The flip side being that it's doubled in value.
It's still the only car I've ever owned that makes me open the garage door just to look at it.
I've had the 355 14yrs, 20k miles and still counting ... 
Admittedly yearly mileage has dropped off to a shameful level as its been a while since I used it for a Euro trips which I did regularly. I still drive it round town at least once a month and go slightly longer trips a couple of times a year. Every time I get into it though I love it.
I have to admit that when I bought it there were a few things I didn't like (and in fairness is still don't but I've got use to them). The steering is way too light and even though the fiorano version has the quick rack, you need to grip the wheel very lightly to let all the feedback to come through. Also, you need to keep the revs high. If you are under 4k revs it feels very slow. This however is very easy to get use to. Also the front ovehang, and especially for me in the fiorano spec lower ride height, is a nightmare. Speed bumps, potholes, petrol station entrances and generally anything that has an angle greater than a few degrees will grate the underside of your bumper, so you just need to get use to the fact that this will happen however careful you may be if you live in London.
As for servicing, its been just standard stuff. The only things that I remember I had to do extra is manifolds, 3 or 4 times and also the cooling fans a couple of times. Others have been normal wear and tear items like discs and pads, cam belts etc.
Admittedly yearly mileage has dropped off to a shameful level as its been a while since I used it for a Euro trips which I did regularly. I still drive it round town at least once a month and go slightly longer trips a couple of times a year. Every time I get into it though I love it.
I have to admit that when I bought it there were a few things I didn't like (and in fairness is still don't but I've got use to them). The steering is way too light and even though the fiorano version has the quick rack, you need to grip the wheel very lightly to let all the feedback to come through. Also, you need to keep the revs high. If you are under 4k revs it feels very slow. This however is very easy to get use to. Also the front ovehang, and especially for me in the fiorano spec lower ride height, is a nightmare. Speed bumps, potholes, petrol station entrances and generally anything that has an angle greater than a few degrees will grate the underside of your bumper, so you just need to get use to the fact that this will happen however careful you may be if you live in London.
As for servicing, its been just standard stuff. The only things that I remember I had to do extra is manifolds, 3 or 4 times and also the cooling fans a couple of times. Others have been normal wear and tear items like discs and pads, cam belts etc.
Edited by 355fiorano on Wednesday 29th March 14:04
355fiorano said:
....... and especially for me in the fiorano spec lower ride height, is a nightmare. Speed bumps, potholes, petrol station entrances and generally anything that has an angle greater than a few degrees will grate the underside of your bumper, so you just need to get use to the fact that this will happen however careful you may be if you live in London.
This maybe the case with a Fiorano car but simply isn't the case with a standard F355.Driving my '95 F355 Berlinetta is way easier than any current Supercars simply because it isn't as low/vulnerable.
Whilst Fiorano cars may well be very different, there's no need to be concerned about standard F355's in the same way.
100 IAN said:
This maybe the case with a Fiorano car but simply isn't the case with a standard F355.
Driving my '95 F355 Berlinetta is way easier than any current Supercars simply because it isn't as low/vulnerable.
Whilst Fiorano cars may well be very different, there's no need to be concerned about standard F355's in the same way.
Interesting, mine I believe is a standard car and I have always had the issues with potholes, garages, speedbumps. I Have titanium skid plates but it still grounds out. Driving my '95 F355 Berlinetta is way easier than any current Supercars simply because it isn't as low/vulnerable.
Whilst Fiorano cars may well be very different, there's no need to be concerned about standard F355's in the same way.
Mine is way lower my 550 or lotus elise / exige. and its certainly lower than a Mclaren of Avendador
Maybe mine is not standard
Phib
Had my 355 for 5 years. In that time nothing major went wrong, but it was a brittle car and needed careful and regular maintenance to keep it reliable. I went through all the usual consumables plus dropped the engine for cam belt etc. Used independents the whole time. Biggest cost items were manifolds. Average yearly maintenance cost came out at about £3.5k. Clearly if you use main dealers, you can add a significant increase to that. Anyone claiming these cars are cheap to run is deluded, but they are reliable if looked after correctly.
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