Ferrari 360 Spider - Purchasing Advice, Thoughts?

Did you read the buyers guide at the top here yet ? There's also a more UK oriented one on Pistonheads or yet another at Voicey's excellent Ferrari site along with much more useful information

 

I have no idea what you are talking about with the butterfly valves sticking. Elastics on the top can be an issue but not too hard to replace. Door cables are also a known problem. Valve covers can leak a little oil. Alternators are a weak point and subject to heat damage from the exhaust. Other than that, very few issues that you haven't already listed.

I would say that you want to make sure you have the PIN code for the alarm. The whole 'red fob' thing doesn't matter because once programmed, you can't us them again anyway.

Clutch life varies and the reading may or may not mean anything. It is easy to change parameters and change the reading. My clutch was replaced; then a different mechanic put in the new TCU but didn't transfer the parameters so it now shows 100% wear, clearly not correct. I would just test drive the car and put a high load on the clutch. If it slips you need a clutch. If not, you are good. Cost for a clutch is about $5000 USD.

 

Hi Mike

My advice would be to look at a couple of cars at the top end of the 360 price range, then a couple at the bottom. Then you can decide where "your" car sits. Margins on these cars are pretty wide and there is a lot of difference between the different UK dealers in terms of the depth of sales preparation that goes into the cars.

You know this already as an existing exotic owner but £15k can be spent instantly if you buy the wrong car and at the end of it you are still left with a 37k mile car with 8 owners. I'm not saying the more expensive cars are guaranteed fault free but I think you'll get a feeling for where this one pegs in after you view a couple.

Best wishes Julian

 

Of course have a PPI done.

I recommend having a smoke test done on the evap system... the rollover valves are prone to cracking and replacement requires the convertible cassette to be pulled.... costly "repair" bill.

 

Hi Mike, see my reply below:

1) Clutch life on an F1 is between 10,000 miles to 18,000 miles average. Even though clutch life results may come back at 65%, just understand that transmission will start popping out of gear at around 70% wear and the clutch is usually replaced at around 80% wear.

2) Lots of things to watch out for electrically such as brake pedal swith, brake lights and parking lights gets hot so I suggest replace them with LED's from StefVan. Watch out for poor electrical contacts that can start an intermittent connection. The most important is battery. It has to be always fully charged or you will experience lots of weird electrical issues including gear shifting.

3) Great question. I will summarize with this. Italian makes awesome cars but they are not the most robust and the most reliable and they are expensive to repair so either save up for repairs or do the work yourself. Items such as F1 pump relay, Roof mechanism, Roll over valves, door hinge coming off, etc. Lots of threads here.

4) As you know, the 360 have timing belts so prepare for that expensive repair when it becomes due.

See my post here:

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/360-430-sponsored-yellow-compass-group/463215-my-experience-owning-ferrari-360-spider-f1-after-7-months-ownership.html

Despite it all - for money, owning a Ferrari is money well spent as the smile it puts on my face every time I drive it is priceless.

Hope that helps.

Dan

 

Dan made some good points but this is a VERY low number. IF the clutch is set up well and you drive it with the intention to get it engaged before going hard on the gas ... I would say you get 40K plus or minus some. I did my first clutch at 22K but that was because everything was already apart and I needed the starter ring upgraded (out with the 3 bolt). The clutch was only about 1/2 worn at that point. The new clutch has about 15K on it now and it is in good shape. By the way, I do a lot of things that others espouse as being SO BAD on clutches; I downshift coming to a stop because it sounds so good, I don't sit in N at lights, etc. IF you are only getting 10K on a clutch, your system is set up poorly and you aren't driving it correctly.

 

I agree.

I simply based my numbers on my own experience and reading lots of threads here but as John have mentioned here, the key is learning quickly how to drive an F1 transmission.

And that is to never feather the clutch. Tap the gas pedal to let the clutch grab and engage fully quickly before accelerating really hard.

Unfortunately others cant seem to master it.

On my 2003 360, the clutch was worn out at 18,000 miles (80% wear it started popping out of gear so I had it replaced at the stealer. And that was $9,100.00. I have the receipt.

On my new 2006 F430 Spider the service record showed the clutch was replaced last year at 21,000 miles.

But no worries - just learn quickly how to drive an F1 for many years of enjoyment!

Dan

 

Yes, a low number if you don't drive your car insanely. Have 34K miles on our clutch and indicated wear is 55%. In 15K of driving since we bought the car, wear has been 10%, so I would imagine we should easily get 40K. For info, the car has never been tracked, we do a lot of road trips, and maybe 20% of the mileage is very hard mountain driving. I also had the PIS adjusted twice in 15K miles and it shifts beautifully. Good luck.

 

Out of interest how did you know the clutch was worn out ?

 

Always get a PPI/Pre Purchase Inspection done. Its fairly expensive both worth the costs.

For reference:
I had PPI done from Ferrari of Seattle = $1,000.00
I had PPI done from Ferrari of Scottsdale, AZ = $510.00.

Cost varies widely from dealer to dealer.

Dan

 

My best advice is don't try to spec everything about the car. Inspect them and drive them and trust your judgment about what feels right. Having owned a couple exotics, you will (and clearly already have) discerned cars that have been beaten up or neglected from those that have been properly maintained and treated well regardless of mileage or other factors.

No matter what car you buy, there is a *chance* of unexpected problems/maintenance. and a very small chance that it's anything massive. You just need to accept that risk without obsessing over it...most of all, enjoy it!!