F355 off for engine out today

F355 off for engine out today

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geopetrolhead

Original Poster:

263 posts

97 months

Thursday 1st August 2019
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F355 went up for Engine out service today at my local Indy. It is the first one so I’m concerned how much it will all cost, I thought I’d replace both cooling fans while the engine is out, the CV boots need doing also.

I have a Capristo exhaust valve to put in, and I’m going to stance out the wheels a bit more with Hills Engineering wheel spacers. I still can’t afford to put in the Tubi Manifolds yet frown I think they may have to wait until next major service ?

Anybody else having a major engine out service being done ?

Evolved

3,565 posts

187 months

Thursday 1st August 2019
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Surely he’s advised on cost before you commit?

MDL111

6,932 posts

177 months

Friday 2nd August 2019
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Well no current data, but paid c 3.5k including engine bay detailing and some other stuff for mine about 9 years ago

W111AAM

649 posts

232 months

Friday 2nd August 2019
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Well if you believe the Car Guys on Youtube, an engine out service recently cost him £18k on his 355 spyder! Would be very interested to know what that involved.

geopetrolhead

Original Poster:

263 posts

97 months

Friday 2nd August 2019
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W111AAM said:
Well if you believe the Car Guys on Youtube, an engine out service recently cost him £18k on his 355 spyder! Would be very interested to know what that involved.
Yeah they are full of sh*^t, Also Jalopnik said loads of rubbish, one saying it cost 20,000 dollars a year to maintain or some crap, to be honest a lot of rubbish posted about F355 maintenance.

I was quoted £1750 for engine out with belts done ect,
I have few more bits and pieces that need doing, but I find the Indy quite reasonable, I have used them since I acquired the car.

geopetrolhead

Original Poster:

263 posts

97 months

Friday 2nd August 2019
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To be honest the only way you end up with huge astronomical bills is if you buy a bad car in first place for cheap money, that’s what all those YouTube guys did and then they wonder why the get their fingers burned or their car busts in to flames 🔥!!

It annoys me how the F355 always gets bad press, I guess that is what has kept the prices down?

NSC79

108 posts

77 months

Friday 2nd August 2019
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Are the prices down (or being kept down)?? Sure, they're down since the market put the crack pipe down, but they're still pretty high IMHO.

I agree that there's a lot of cobblers out there about the engine out side though...

MDL111

6,932 posts

177 months

Friday 2nd August 2019
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I think at a US main dealer the service prices are a lot higher than in the UK

As reference my German dealer charges 180 per hour (and an independent charges 150) while in the UK I paid 60 - so as a result my service would probably have cost a lot more in Germany. Can easily be a 5 figure bill without too much being wrong. Regularly see high bills quoted in ads for cars like the 355, 512TR

taz turbo

655 posts

250 months

Friday 2nd August 2019
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geopetrolhead said:
I was quoted £1750 for engine out with belts done ect,
I have few more bits and pieces that need doing, but I find the Indy quite reasonable, I have used them since I acquired the car.
Mine was at a highly respected Indy two years ago, he also did a few other bits at my request while it was there and also found a couple more minor items, final bill was something like £2200, I didn’t think this was unreasonable. The annual service is just under £400, again not unreasonable IMO

Interestingly when he did the belts he took the engine out, he found out one bank was one tooth out on the cam timing! Apparently not that uncommon! Like a different car now. The muppets I bought it from were clearly just that! They may of had ‘Rooms (full of) Supercars’ but still muppets!

The cars worth spending the money on IMO

Chris.

W111AAM

649 posts

232 months

MDL111

6,932 posts

177 months

Friday 2nd August 2019
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taz turbo said:
geopetrolhead said:
I was quoted £1750 for engine out with belts done ect,
I have few more bits and pieces that need doing, but I find the Indy quite reasonable, I have used them since I acquired the car.
Mine was at a highly respected Indy two years ago, he also did a few other bits at my request while it was there and also found a couple more minor items, final bill was something like £2200, I didn’t think this was unreasonable. The annual service is just under £400, again not unreasonable IMO

Interestingly when he did the belts he took the engine out, he found out one bank was one tooth out on the cam timing! Apparently not that uncommon! Like a different car now. The muppets I bought it from were clearly just that! They may of had ‘Rooms (full of) Supercars’ but still muppets!

The cars worth spending the money on IMO

Chris.
as alluded to before though, that is the UK - you have cheap servicing thanks to good independents and cheap insurance - both of those are not readily available in many other countries (as an example my FF insurance is 5.5k with a 10k deductible and my Scud is 3.5k with a 5k deductible, my Clio is 700ish Euros for third party and theft only) and I am pretty much tied to an official dealer for service/remedial work (and the few independents are not much cheaper). So the overall story holds up to a degree in many countries. UK owners are very lucky in that respect.

utgjon

713 posts

173 months

Saturday 3rd August 2019
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W111AAM said:
50k since 2003 in maintenance (guesstimate) for those who don't want to watch the vid.

geopetrolhead

Original Poster:

263 posts

97 months

Saturday 3rd August 2019
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utgjon said:
50k since 2003 in maintenance (guesstimate) for those who don't want to watch the vid.
You will spend same on maintenance on any supercar, be it Porsche, Lamborghini, McLaren ect ect ect

MDL111

6,932 posts

177 months

Saturday 3rd August 2019
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geopetrolhead said:
utgjon said:
50k since 2003 in maintenance (guesstimate) for those who don't want to watch the vid.
You will spend same on maintenance on any supercar, be it Porsche, Lamborghini, McLaren ect ect ect
I agree (maybe with the exception of a Porsche), 50k is actually not that much for 16 years

If you keep a newish Ferrari warrantied for the maximum years possible, you'd spend 12 x c. 4k for that alone (3 years I think factory warranty, so don't pay for that) plus annual service from year 7 onwards, probably at least 1x exhaust work, 1x brake discs, multiple times brake pads any other crap that is not covered by the warranty

355fiorano

430 posts

242 months

Saturday 3rd August 2019
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I also have mine since 2003
£50k sounds high but not ridiculous.
I would say it cost £2k a year on average but the last service and the one now cost me £4k each
Historically, I used the 355 all the time, and did euro trips and track days. Last few years I struggle to do 200-300miles but the bills have gone up. The main factors being when you don't drive them, things go wrong and also now parts and labour are very different to to 15 years ago i.e. a £2k service in 2003 is likely to be at least double that now.
Having had it for so long and enjoyed it, the sensible thing would be to sell given the low use and high cost but I just can't bring myself to even seriously think of parting with it.

utgjon

713 posts

173 months

Monday 5th August 2019
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geopetrolhead said:
You will spend same on maintenance on any supercar, be it Porsche, Lamborghini, McLaren ect ect ect
50k over 16 years means roughly 250-300 quid a month on maintenance. That seems pretty decent to me on 'the most expensive ferrari to maintain'...

I guess the trouble is when that 50k comes in 20k chunks!

Bispal

1,618 posts

151 months

Monday 5th August 2019
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Previous owner of mine paid £2,750 for engine out 2 weeks before I bought it. My subsequent services for next 2 years were also around £2,500 each, there was always something to sort! And on top of that there were bits in between to do. I think £4-5k pa is a reasonable amount to set aside as an average. Same as a warranty on a 5 year old McLaren. If you love the car its probably worth it. Some pay less, some pay more, cars are 20+ years old exotic, things go wrong. I sold mine after 2 years and £10k spent (not inc. engine out). To me the amount I spent wasn't worth what I got out of the car but I totally get some people love the F355 and for them its worth it. I ticked my F355 box and glad I did but I'm not going back.



355spiderguy

1,476 posts

171 months

Monday 5th August 2019
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Bispal said:
Previous owner of mine paid £2,750 for engine out 2 weeks before I bought it. My subsequent services for next 2 years were also around £2,500 each, there was always something to sort! And on top of that there were bits in between to do. I think £4-5k pa is a reasonable amount to set aside as an average. Same as a warranty on a 5 year old McLaren. If you love the car its probably worth it. Some pay less, some pay more, cars are 20+ years old exotic, things go wrong. I sold mine after 2 years and £10k spent (not inc. engine out). To me the amount I spent wasn't worth what I got out of the car but I totally get some people love the F355 and for them its worth it. I ticked my F355 box and glad I did but I'm not going back.
Agree completely with you Bispal.

Same but around 15yrs of ownership and bigger bills.

Box more than ticked. Loved it.

However, not missed it even for a second, and do not look at pics and wish i still had it...it's actually the opposite effect. They make me realise how lucky i was to sell at at current prices.

I don't feel as though the current prices are 'down'...my ownership was through the normal depreciation price, then the drop to the late £20k for a spider to super dizzy heights and now currently £70-80k.

Apologies for not sugarcoating it and drifting off main topic but all genuine very long term ownership view.


blueSL

614 posts

226 months

Monday 12th August 2019
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I’ve had my F355 since 1995 so it is now 24 years old. I have it serviced by an independent, 2 year minor service, 4 year belts but there is always something more to fix and some parts are becoming impossible to find. The heater control valve fails, it’s not available and a modified motor is £1000 + VAT fitted. The same part used to be fitted to Saab’s but that supply has dried up too.

I’ve had the buttresses done once, the cats but so far have been spared the manifolds. I had a scare earlier this year when the car said it was overheating but wasn’t, a faulty temp sensor. I’m considering replacing the water pump on the next engine out because you absolutely do not want an overheated engine and blown head gaskets.

Then there’s the failure which people talk about in lowered voices. Not absolutely sure what it is but maybe lubrication starvation to the top end and a top end rebuild which costs £20k.

I’m taking it to Scotland in a few weeks (the overheating problem occurred on a previous trip) and if it doesn’t behave, I won’t be keeping it.


tomtom

4,225 posts

230 months

Tuesday 13th August 2019
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On the subject of overheating, and if the OP is replacing the fans, it's worth replacing the thermostat too. Easy enough to do with the engine in, but when in Rome etc.