Robin 993DX

Found the F355 that I have been looking for, it is located in Summerfield, NC

Anyone care to ck out the car in person for me?

Thanks

carcommander

Hi Robin,

Go on Ferrari Chat and check out the issues on a 355. Among them are valve guides and cracked exhaust manifolds. a 360 is a better bet if you can swing it.
I own a 360 and love it.

Porssche4563

Robin,

I have been to this dealership before looking for Porsches. I do not live far from there and I will be going near this area again next week. Let me know if you would like my help. PM or post a reply and we can talk....

David

Robin 993DX

Jim,

I can't swing the price with the 360, as it is with the 355 I have to comply with much restrictions. I know the 360 is a better car but it is just too much money for me at this time.

I have been reading and posting questions on Ferrarichat, it seems that if I stay away from a 95 F355 I should be alright with valve guide, and also I am not to much worried about the exhaust manifold, it is the intake that I worry about, again I can weld. so........

The maintenance is not as bad as I thought, the timing belt is 30k miles or 5 years, and the cost is about $5k, which makes it about $1k a year, and I can do all the fluid changes myself. For some reason all the Ferrari guys are changing their coolant, brake fluid, oil, gear oil once a year regardless of miles, which I think is a little over doing it.

I think the whole 355 reliability thing is blown way out of control, of course the internet does not help either. In some ways I really feel like breaking that meth, so buying a F355 for myself would help solve that mystery. And of course the F355 as they say is one of the best sports car in the last 50 years... as they say.... Which goes right along with our 993.

allill

Robin,

Good luck. I know you're the man when it comes to fixes and maintenance. If you don't mind, pm me with what one of these 355's is gonna cost you.

chris walrod

I had looked into a 355 some time back and aside from the noted [potential] issues above, have a close look for rear quarter panel rust or separation from the tub.

You'll have to bring it by my place sometime

Father of 3

I'd like to see/ride in it too. Good luck Robin.

ChicagoFX(993)

F355 is still the best Ferrari out there, so excited for you man. I love the exhaust note!

md11plt

Robin,

I got to spend a day with a 360 before I bought my TT. I live at 7000Ft so some of what I’m about to tell you is based on that.

I had a 997 S and sold it. It was not a Porsche to me. It did not make that sound when you closed the door. In fact, it made very little sound at all, anywhere at any time. It was a nice car, but not my idea of what a Porsche was supposed to be.

We went to the Ferrari dealer and he let us have a 360 for the day. Man oh man! It is beautiful and it makes ALL the right noises! I get in the car and start driving it around. First thing, instant celebrity. Everyone wants to see it and will all but crash into you to get a look. Made me a bit self conscious. Next thing, EVERY dip, pot hole, dump truck, piece of gravel, entrance way, spinning wheel, bird, rain drop, bug, cigarette butt, piece of trash in the back of a pickup truck and soccer mom on the cell phone is out to destroy your car. I dare say that a Ferrari will suffer more from body rash than even the nicest P car. I was paranoid like Paris Hilton is self absorbed! Porsches are made to be driven. Ferraris are made to be stared at. One of the things my 997 was lacking in was power (remember 7000 ft) and it was no different in the 360. It made glorious sounds that sent chills down my spine until I thought about how many times I could do that before it got WAY expensive. Then I started thinking about expensive. I was looking around the car and thought I couldn’t do a thing to it. Maybe replace some stuff with CF, but how much is that gonna cost? When we got back, we toured the garage and spoke to some of the mechanics. All really nice guys. One thing struck me though. Almost every car that was in there for “routine” maintenance had other stuff being done to it. One guy’s belt service was now in excess of $15,000 dollars because of “other stuff”. I got a brochure and went home to think about that.

Later that week, I drove a rather beat “96 TT. HOLLY CRAP!!!!!!!!!!! That thing just plain moved. It felt right, I could afford to make it mine and there are a lot of shops that can work on it.

Really try to get hold of a Ferrari and spend a day with it. To me, the luster wore off pretty fast. The switchgear, shrinking leather and depreciation with every mile was too much for me. My TT however, I will own till the day I die.

Tom

Robin 993DX

Tom,

Thanks for sharing your experience, I am so appreciative of everyone talking me out of owning a "super model, high maintenance" Ferrari.

BTW, IMHO I think where you live you are "required" to have a turbo charged car to feel anything. :P

The F355 is not going to be an everyday driver for me, I expect to drive it less than 7000 miles a year which is high for a Ferrari. But I want to drive it.

I have heard and read many horror stories about a Ferrari's service charge, and interestingly I want to challenge myself to break that meth (watched too many episode of Meth buster?", I think most Ferrari owners are not DIYers, they only know to wear matching Ferrari **** and hat and drop the car off at the slightest twitch of the car and have everything replaced. I think the Ferrari F355 are as good and maybe even less issues than of a 993 from what I have been reading, I think people are making them out to be a big thing. But I don't know yet, what do I know, I don't even own one yet. But either way, you guys will hear from me about the experience and it will be good enough for anyone else out there who wants to step foot on the "dark" side.... :P

md11plt

I certainly was NOT trying to talk you out of a Ferrari. I guess in retrospect it did seem that way. I was merely pointing out my experience. If I hadn’t spent the day with that car and gotten a firsthand account of what it was like, I most likely would have purchased one. Heck, if I lived somewhere closer to sea level I might have purchased one! The TT just did it for me.

You have been an invaluable source of great info for many of us here. I was just trying to repay the favor.

Good luck and let us no how you make out.

Tom

Howdy993

I believe it is myth - unless you have a really bad drug habit you are trying to kick Good luck with the search!

dbf73

first a Range Rover and now this? a real glutton for punishment good luck

Phil

Just ran across this. Any updates Robin?

Robin 993DX

Got someone going there on Thursday on already, thanks