Ferrari: Help, me again. Thinking about buying a 355

<Nikola Tesla> wrote:
 

Indeed. Spiders are more expensive, but it's a 1995 car.
 

Nor am I, but still I've been able to own and maintain an F355 for 3 1/2
years now.
 

An arm and a leg. The 40,000 km (I'm in continental Europe) service cost
me 7,500 euros. This included the "normal" service (changing cam belts),
but also replacing part of the clutch.
 

Yearly oil change, and minor service every 10,000 km. These cost around
1,000 euros. 

Never had any major problem with mine, only some small but costly
glitches, like this A/C control panel I must change for 800 euros
(remember that any part is Ferrari branded, which means it's friggin
expensive).

I know a guy who blew his engine, due to rod supports which broke. It
happened on the road, but I know he had been using his car on quite a
lot of club events / track days. The garage told me they had heard of
similar problems with other F355s.

The F355 engine is obviously pushed to its limits: 5-valve/cylinder, red
line at 8,700 rpm, max power at 8,500 rpm... This is where the pleasure
comes from, but also where the risks come from.
 

Kind of compulsive, isn't it?
 

Every dollar/euro/rupee is worth it. I still quiver every time I start
and rev this engine, and drive this beauty.

An investment you should consider is a new exhaust (e.g. Tubistyle). An
F355 makes a wonderful sound, but with a sports exhaust it becomes
totally addictive.

--
J.C.

On Thu, 23 Jun 2005 03:36:08 -0400, <Nikola Tesla> wrote: 

The fires appear to be related to improper reconnection or replacement
of the fuel lines after a belt service.
 

Heard of that, don't know of that.

Someone hear mentioned cracked headers, but that may be ass apocryphal
as substantive as well.


-

The difference between stupidity and genius is
that genius has its limits. - Albert Einstein

"Fred Garvin" <com> wrote in message
news:com... 

More likely blown headers - and they do. In order to make the headers run
nice & hot to improve the gas flow Ferrari manufactured the headers out of
quite light weight tubing & then encased them in a heatshield stuffed with
some kind of wadding. Seems they made the tubing just a tad too light cos it
has a habit of blowing through - particularly on the middle two pipes on
each bank.

Early signs of a blown header are a fine white dust all over the engine bay
as the wadding gets blown out from within the heatshield.

Price of one new header is (I believe) about £1200 (call it $2100). Our
friends at QV London are repairing & remanufacturing 355 headers with
slightly heavier guage tube faster than you can say boo to a goose. Last
time I was in there they were just loading another 5 pairs onto the van to
go off & get the treatment. I believe they then sell them for around £450 a
side (call it $800).

There have been other issues of 355 engines with head problems and a few
that have thrown rods etc but these have mostly beeen "well used & abused".

I.

I've owned & maintained my '95 F355 for 5.5yrs now. I've been thru annual
oil changes (~$300 USD), brakes (~$800 for rear only), rear wheel bearing
(~$1100 including installation), 15K service (~$6K), new catalyst due to
cracked header (~$1500 -- Ferrari covered the new header), a set of tires
(~$1100), rear shocks & CV boot covers (~$4K), etc. All of that being said,
I consider the $/mile driven that I've spent to be a bargain. If properly
maintained, 355's are fairly bullet-proof. I've tracked mine many times &
never had any issues (maybe I'm just not pushing it enough!).

The 328's a beautiful car & would make an excellent choice. Personally, I'd
go ahead & spring for the 355. Just be sure & verify the maintenance
records.

Oh yeah, the toolkit is simply that -- a toolkit that comes in the "trunk".
Not much to it really, but important to have.

Good luck with your quest/purchase.

Regards,
James

<Nikola Tesla> wrote in message news:com... 
$55,000. 
I 
and 
car. 
the 
this 
? 

thanks for taking the time to reply

"Iain Miller" <me> wrote in message
news:dQHue.1958$ntli.net... 

Thanks for the info.
Tires and oil change prices are kindof expected. Brakes high but I
understand.

But 15K over 5 years sounds quite expensive.

Wheel bearing
Catalyst
Header
Shocks
CV boot covers

Is this normal for Ferrari upkeep ? Perhaps the 328 does make more sense for
me now.

How many miles per year are you putting on your 355 ?

Thanks Again

Jeff


"James" <rr.com> wrote in message
news:8vIue.73325$texas.rr.com... 

Back in the 1960s - '70s, car magazines reported that most Ferrari owners
did their own work on the cars. I owned a Sunbeam Talbot convertible (drop
head) coupe, a very souped up Triumph TR3, and two Jaguars in that time. I
did everything except crankshaft grinding on them. As a result, maintenance
costs were no more than an ordinary family car. I'm surprised that no one on
this group seems to be doing this. I am almost 65 years old now, and still
do not think in terms of having dealers, or service garages work on my
vehicles!

Steve R.


"James" <rr.com> wrote in message
news:8vIue.73325$texas.rr.com... 

On Fri, 24 Jun 2005 16:52:13 -0700, "Steve R." <tc.ca>
wrote:
 

Well, not quite the same thing but a one-man dealer who I've known for
a while and who counts about a third of his turnover as Ferraris had
an F40 in his warehouse a while back that I was drooling over. He
showed me that he had pulled the camshafts out of the engine because
he wasn't happy that the new cam belt seemed to be wearing more on one
side than the other. I'm not sure why he had pulled the camshafts
out, as I can't see what that would have to do with it, but in any
event, he's certainly a braver man than I am.
--
Dan.