I would be proud & happy to drive any Porsche or Ferrari. However, this one may just be a tad flashy to take to the supermarket.

 

Wow, now that is what I call excellent support for your case. We get one example of a 355 having troubles and one 360 (with the F1 primarily reversing - anyone bonehead who knows how the F1 works in conjunction with the clutch wouldn't do that reverse stuff) to prove Ferraris are unreliable. Good going but some would argue using the exception as the rule is a logical fallacy.

"but I assume a 'driven' Ferrari owner is going to take it in the shorts for maintenance AND depreciation."

Didn't anyone ever tell you how stupid assuming can be? Most would correctly argue many of the problems that 355 had can be attributed to NOT driving it enough. Contrary to popular belief, the more an Fcar is driven, the more reliable it is. And, I'm not talking about poseur type driving.

 

> Didn't anyone ever tell you how stupid assuming can be? Most would correctly argue many of the problems that 355 had can be attributed to NOT driving it enough. Contrary to popular belief, the more an Fcar is driven, the more reliable it is. And, I'm not talking about poseur type driving.

Do I know you? Try to be polite, would you. Honey...vinegar...you know the rest.

Anyway, funny, there isn't ANYTHING I can do within normal driving parameters in my cars that would cause smoke to fill the freaking cabin. Yes, I consider this an illustrative point of how fragile / unreliable a Ferrari can be. This does not seem to be outside the realm of reason.

The other post describes what appears to be typically outrageous repair / service costs. No one in the thread posted that these were atypical expenses. How many examples does it take to make a point? Should I have combed through the site looking for hundreds of references to cite? Should I also list examples shared with me directly by owners?

So, mosts Ferrari service visits AREN'T in the thousands of dollars? My 15k / 30k services have all been sub $800.

And are you telling me high mile Ferrari's AREN'T seriously impacted in resale price?

 

I am the most unbiased Ferrari owner in the world, i hate my 355. I do however beat the **** out of it, and its never given me a problem. In 1 1/2 years of owneship, my total running costs have been a few oil changes.

 

How many miles does that represent? What about regular services?

I would love to own a 355 Spyder, but just am scared of the maintenance costs.

I was at a Ferrari dealer one time talking to him about tracking a 355 and he said "Oh no problem, just bring it in for a chassis service after every weekend at the track and it shouldn't have any problems". Huh? Ummm, no. Maybe that was just an unscrupulous dealer trying to make extra dough...?

Another thing that bothers me...why are Ferrari interiors SO fragile? It always seems with minimal use, they show extraordinary wear. There was an F50...looked pristine...at the Concorso Italiano a few years back...but the cloth portions of the seats were "pilling" like crazy. Okay...MINOR thing, but come ON! This IS a bazillion dollar car here! Dashes crack. Leather ages inordinately fast. Interior door handles wear. Control surfaces bubble. Why is that?

 

in general, Italians aren't known for their engineering, quality, reliability, etc. -- not only about cars, but across all industries.

But they are known for style. looks. etc.

now lambo is getting interesting ... combining the best of Italy with the engineering precision of Germany ... this may turn out to be a winning strategy.

jmo

 

Then you're one lucky SOB with a 355. All 3 of my 355 friends who baby their car report having to spend $5000 per year for regular checkup.

Who's telling the truth?

 

Don't compare the leather work in a Ferrari to a Porsche. Oh yeah, I forgot, that's not leather in the Porsche, it's vinyl! Nice sunvisors.

Don't compare the aluminum parts in the Ferrari to a Porsche. Oh, that's right, the Porsche parts are painted plastic!

And, don't tell me a Ferrari costs a "bazillion" dollars more than a Porsche because the last time a I checked a GT2 costs as much or more than a 360 Modena or Spider.

 

I thought we were talking about Ferrari's. So you are saying Ferrari interiors AREN'T fragile? Hmmm, major disconnect from everything else I read/hear.

I believe the car I was describing was an F50. How much were they new?

 

First off, on some points i definately agree. Ferrari interiors are horrible. The plastic pieces are coated with some sort of rubber that with time melts. the leather shrinks, they detoriate very quickly. Ive brought this up to many Ferrari guys, as my Lambo interior is AS NEW, and i drive it much more often. The interior on my 348 and TR was also the same. The Ferrari also shakes and rattles, when my lambo does not. But mechanicly, the car has been fine. I have no reason to lie, because in truth, i wish it were not as reliable as it has been so i could rub that into the Ferrarichat guys faces.
Even though i prefer not to drive the 355, when i do, i drive it hard, many of you have seen the pics of it at the SCCA track, me doing donuts in it, racing the Z06 here etc etc. When i bought the car approx 1.6-1.8 years ago, it already had the 30K service completed. Ive done nothing to it but oil and filter changes.

As a whole the Ferrari definately feels more fragile than my lambo or a Porsche for that matter. A Porsche interior wears better because of the plastic and vinyls used, not soft leather that Ferrari uses.

I would personally prefer a modded 996TT to the 355, but in the long run, the Fcar will definately retain its value more. Id stick with the 355 over a stock 996TT though.