Ferrari Mailing List: Re: Ferraris and Barrett-Jackson

[Britt2Asa (Britt2Asa]

While we  are talking about the 456GT, I think there have been some folks on 
this list  who have advised to stay away from that car no matter what.  Isn't 
it the  same engine and chassis as the 550?  Take a look at this interesting 
page  on the long term cost of ownership of a  550:



http://www.sportscarmarket.com/articles/archives/939


>>>> Personally I believe some people just beat the heck out of  a car and 
others don't. I see it all the time. Driving style makes a lot of  difference 
whether you are going to the bank for money to fix your car every  week. I put 
35k miles on a 328GTS I bought used with a used clutch. Never did  replace the 
clutch even with me doing track days. Other people go thru a clutch  every 20k 
or so.... You are probably just light on your car.
 
>>>>> I believe the 550 is a very robust design but like all  V12s there is a 
lot more to go wrong. I would absolutely buy one though. I know  guys here in 
the UK that run them to 70-80k miles (sort of the Clydes of the  UK!) You 
have to fix the coolant hose problem in the V of the engine but that's  a 
one-time fix.
 
>>>>>> 456's however are a mess and very expensive to  repair. The window 
issue has never been properly fixed by the factory so there  is no fix for it. 
I 
know one guy in our club whos' 456 breaks a window winder  every year and its 
a cost of 1300.00 (UK) to repair every time. The auto  transmission is also a 
problem cause when it goes you cannot repair it. here in  the UK its much 
cheaper to get parts machined for replacement than to try to get  Ferrari to 
repair it because Ferrari will not sell parts for the tranny, just  replacement.
 
>>>>> My 400i has cost me 200.00 in the last year and that  was for an oil 
change. Not bad for a 27 year old car. If you are looking at cost  of ownership 
you are better off with the old cars. The reason 456s are selling  for 30k 
here in the UK is not because they are a poor car to drive (they are  great to 
drive), or a bad looker but because they cost a fortune everytime  something 
goes wrong and they do go wrong often. I believe even if you are a  sympathetic 
driver your odds of expensive repairs is much higher than with a 550  or a 355.
 
>>> Lastly 355 ownership seems to be hit and miss among friends  regarding 
ownership costs. The valve guide and exhaust manifold issues and the  cracking 
buttress issues (on the GTS) withstanding the car is pretty good but  you do 
have to think its highly stressed as an engine. I think people like to  rev the 
nuts off them and thus will have more issues than a "sympathetic"  driver. 
Also I would stay away from the first generation F1 system. Still would  be 
happy 
with a 355 because the issues are pretty well known and the fix for  these 
issues has been developed which makes repairs cheaper.
 
Britt



What amazes me is the frequency and types of problems the 550  went through.  
The author makes a comment that the cost of ownership was  approaching that 
of an M1 tank!  As an F355 owner I have to disagree with  some of the comments 
like "the F355 has more service bulletins than the space  shuttle" or "the 
F355 is a heap".  My one year cost of ownership having  done only about 5,000 
miles was a bank breaking $97.00 to replace a worn  coolant hose clamp in the 
front of the car.  I can't say I consider the  F355 or 456 any worse than a 
550, 
and I don't know if the 550 is a better car,  despite several folks having an 
opinion that is far  superior.



If anyone has any comments (or some real data) that  support why the 550 is a 
better Ferrari than the F355 or 456, I would like to  hear your opinions 
please.  I am considering a 2+2 Ferrari and have  narrowed it down to either a 
456 
or 365 GT 2+2, with "newness" being the  reason for the 456, and styling the 
reason for the 365 GT.



And  finally, a 1989 Ferrari 328 GTB (haven't seen a 328 GTB come up for sale 
in a  long time) will be auctioned off next month in Hawaii if anyone is  
interested.  Can you think of a better way to have a winter holiday than  in 
Hawaii driving a newly purchased 328 GTB?  I bet a GTB in Hawaii will  bring in 
far less than a comparable year/mileage GTS in Hawaii at auction even  though 
the GTBs are considerably rarer.  Again, I don't think the owner  is a Ferrari 
expert - they have the car advertised as a "1989 Ferrari 328 GTB  Spyder".  The 
pictures show it is definitely a Berlinetta.  Who  knows, maybe it's another 
one off by Pininfarina for the North American  market!



Peace to everyone,

Naweed.




BR in the  UK
1986 328GTS (LHD 89,940km) Died August 19, 2006 Shrewsbury UK
1980 400i  (RHD 72,000 miles)
Searching for the right 512TR
2003 BMW 530d
1991  Alfa Spider S4