550 Marranello vs. 360 Modena

[Bavarian Motorist]

Originally Posted by wantanelise

Unless the lowest price car is perfectly fine. I cant see paying more just to pay more. I understand lower priced cars are usually closer to having to be serviced.

As far as the maintainace costs. Mid engined cars are more expensive to work on than front, while V12's are more costly to maintain than 8's. So I would guess you would have pretty similar costs between the two cars.

The lowest priced cars are almost always the crappy ones, but a PPI should be standard on all used purchases.




BTW, as an aside to you guys wanting used Ferraris: You can apply a warranty to any Ferrari that is under 9 years old and has under 56000 miles. The type of warranty you can apply depends upon how old it is, but if you're worried about something catastrophic happening, it's good to have. Also helps resale. It's renewable every year.


Must get the car checked out at an authorized Ferrari service center and they must approve it.

[dakotan50sw]

550 can be had in the mid 80's and up. The 575 was produced in fewer #'s, was raced etc., the 575 was replaced by the 599 which is currently in production, again produced in few #, but time will tell. It has no race history. The 550 and 575 styling is conservative as was the 275 which now is a multi million dollar Ferrari. 12 cylinder Ferrari's are not more expensive to maintain than 8 cylinder and front engine ferrari's are considerably less expensive to work on than the current 360 and 430.

Currently 575 is a better investment than 550 as # prod. are far less, F1 tranny is almost universal in the 575 I have not seen a 550 F1. 550 is I believe 480 hp. whereas 575 is 515. Both are rather heavy cars , but will do almost everything you would want it to includeing driving on a rough road and feel safe and comfortable at speed. Suspension is great on both cars, but 575 had many improvements as to handling etc. I have been watching these two models closely along with Lambo Gallardo , but not quite ready to pull the trigger as the economy continue's to deteriate. I don't want to sell my Elise as it reminds me so much of the 246 GTS that I used to own a long time ago.

[Simba]

I'd take a 550 over a 360 in a heartbeat. If you really want a mid-engined V8 Ferrari, get a 355. For the price of a beater 360, you can pick up a very nice 355, which is a much better car both visually and viscerally.

[NMRJock]

Originally Posted by Simba

I'd take a 550 over a 360 in a heartbeat. If you really want a mid-engined V8 Ferrari, get a 355. For the price of a beater 360, you can pick up a very nice 355, which is a much better car both visually and viscerally.

Just to show that opinions vary, I wouldn't be interested in a 355. I'd love to have a 360 (Or better, a 430). The interior of the 355 ruins it for me.

[wantanelise]

i dont care for the entire "wedge era" 308 through 355.

[Charlie Lunsford]

The F1 gearbox in the Modena is a safer bet then the 355F1. I recently did 170 mph in an 01 F1 Modena! That was a blast!!

[Chris D.]

Originally Posted by kgalgas

The big service is the timing belt change, which Ferrari recommends every 15k miles or 3 years.

That plus replacing the clutch is a big expense.

[NMRJock]

Originally Posted by Chris D.

That plus replacing the clutch is a big expense.

For a 360 or 430, what is the approximate clutch life in the F1 gearbox vs. the manual tranny? What are the relative costs for replacement?

[Dmbrown34]

I heard the F1 gear box was a nightmare to service...and thats part of the reason the Maserati spyder can be bought for only 40 grand now.

[PhlypSide]

Originally Posted by Tracktimeplz

IMO the 360 looks better than the 550, and probably handles better too due to its mid engine layout and lower weight(the 360 is 500lbs lighter!)

Straight line speed the 550 wins, but If i wanted straight line speed I could spend 20k on a used c5 zo6 and put a blower on it

The 360 is a car I wish to one day own, regardless of newer faster cars.

I agree wholeheartedly. I want an F360 + a Kreissieg F1 valvetronic exhaust and then I'd be *done* :P

I like the F550/575 styling, but the sound does nothing for me.

[Bane]

This is my vote in terms of used F-cars:

575 > 355 > 360

I'd take an F430 Scuderia over the 599 if we're talking new though

[PhlypSide]

If I were ever shopping for a Lambo, I'd never buy an E-Gear equipped car. If I were ever shopping for a Ferrari, I'd never buy an F1 equipped car.


No man pedal, no care.

[Dmbrown34]

But how much fun would it be to get the brake petal positioned where the clutch usually goes...requiring you to use left foot braking?!

Then you would have a true F1 style setup.

[def]

Keep the elise, save your monies for the new Esprit

That's what I'm doing. The next step in my plan is to hit the lottery.....

[wantanelise]

I'm just glad Elise's are FINALLY going into their 5th year. Thats the time to buy, 5th yr in.

[JWA]

Originally Posted by NMRJock

Just to show that opinions vary, I wouldn't be interested in a 355. I'd love to have a 360 (Or better, a 430). The interior of the 355 ruins it for me.

I'm the exact opposite. The fish-faced exterior of the 360 and 430 ruin them for me, and the F355 GTS is one of my favorite Ferrari's ever.

[NMRJock]

Originally Posted by JWA

I'm the exact opposite. The fish-faced exterior of the 360 and 430 ruin them for me, and the F355 GTS is one of my favorite Ferrari's ever.

If we're ever hanging out and some rich nut-job offers us one of each we'll know hot to split them up.

[azmurciev12]

i'd take the 575M

[CK_lotus]

Originally Posted by Bavarian Motorist

The V12s are supposed to be more costly to maintain.






575 gets a better engine and some minor styling changes. Not sure what other changes came out.






As someone on Ferrarichat so rightfully said, "If you can't afford a good Ferrari, you sure as hell can't afford a bad one." In other words...don't cheap out and get the lowest priced car out there.

I was gonna say that... if you're buying a Ferrari V12, remember the $20K scheduled service fee at about every 20-25K miles. It's probably easier/cheaper to keep a Cessna Skylane airworthy!!

[Simba]

Originally Posted by PhlypSide

No man pedal, no care.

Never met a F1 box I didn't hate, 430 Scud included.

To answer a few other questions:

Belt services in the 355 and down are every 30k with the engine-out major, not 15k.

F1 gearboxes eat clutches for breakfast, especially in any kind of traffic as it's always floating in some degree of slip. F1 boxes are great for the track, visceral experience not withstanding, but they are complete, utter crap on the street and in the real world.

Most F1/eGear clutches are done between 10-20k miles, depending on use, launches, driving habits, etc. I've seen them burnt up in as little as 5k with demo/rental cars.

V12's are not more expensive to maintain than V8's. The 15k and 30k services for, say, a 355 versus a 550, are within a few hundred bucks of each other-- about $7,000 for Ferrari-authorized service, or about 3/4 of that at an independent exotic/Ferrari shop. 360 vs. 575, et al, is about the same. The F1 box adds quite a bit to the service costs, as well.

If someone is paying 20 grand for a 30k service on any Ferrari short of an Enzo, I hope they got a "happy ending" massage or six with it.