Enyar wrote: What about the 355? Those are starting to get cheaper and that was my favorite car as a kid.
From what I've seen the 355 is the biggest maintinance nightmare of the lot. Go 348 or save up for a 360.
Enyar wrote: What about the 355? Those are starting to get cheaper and that was my favorite car as a kid.
From what I've seen the 355 is the biggest maintinance nightmare of the lot. Go 348 or save up for a 360.
I would never consider owning a car that I cannot afford to reliably drive 12K miles a year or more.
That being said, I'm surprised that there are some Ferraris that are reliable enough to be daily-driven.
A few years ago I was involved in a tire test out at Michelin's proving ground in SC. They had a very impressive fleet of test cars that they used (hard) regularly. There was a Viper, a E36 M3 Lightweight, a 911, Corvettes, and also a Ferrari 328GTS. After speaking with one of the test drivers he told me the Ferrari was his favorite. He said they'd been trashing the Hell out of the car, but it was incredibly tough and robust. He said the more they drove it the more it wanted to be driven.
You hear that alot about F-cars. If you want them to run right, you need to drive them, and drive them enthusiastically. I'd have no problem with this! 
In reply to Sky_Render:
Hell, I can't get 1200 miles out of my E30 before something breaks, much less 12k. If I'm going to be working on some pita Euro car all the time, an old Ferrari sounds better than a BMW...
Realistically, I need to get away from project cars entirely for awhile...
Ian F wrote: In reply to Sky_Render: Hell, I can't get 1200 miles out of my E30 before something breaks, much less 12k. If I'm going to be working on some pita Euro car all the time, an old Ferrari sounds better than a BMW... Realistically, I need to get away from project cars entirely for awhile...
Note that I said afford to drive over 12K a year. If I had a seven-figure salary, I would daily-drive a Ferrari FF.
Sky_Render wrote: I would never consider owning a car that I cannot afford to reliably drive 12K miles a year or more. That being said, I'm surprised that there are some Ferraris that are reliable enough to be daily-driven.
Why would that surprise you? Well built, forged internals with most having a tie-in to race proven designs-never had even the slightest issue with jumping in an F-car and driving it wherever I wanted to go(except for a 89 Mondial that had a tendacy to drain its battery)
In reply to Sky_Render:
True... I was day dreaming the other day about how the perfect garage would be a 458 for most days and an FF for snow days or when I needed to move more than two people. Sadly, not gonna happen on my electrical designer salary.
However, $1000/yr or so for maintenance is within financial reason for me. Maybe even double that. Unfortunately, my biggest project killer is a lack of time.
Adrian_Thompson wrote:Enyar wrote: What about the 355? Those are starting to get cheaper and that was my favorite car as a kid.From what I've seen the 355 is the biggest maintinance nightmare of the lot. Go 348 or save up for a 360.
I believe you have it backwards-348s are the worst by far for a number of reasons
forzav12 wrote:Adrian_Thompson wrote:I believe you have it backwards-348s are the worst by far for a number of reasonsEnyar wrote: What about the 355? Those are starting to get cheaper and that was my favorite car as a kid.From what I've seen the 355 is the biggest maintinance nightmare of the lot. Go 348 or save up for a 360.
348 are definitely worse but the 355 parts pricing makes them seem like are worse then they are.
If I could get my hands on another 330gt that is what I would pick. Provided the motor had a good history and the body and paint were driver quality.
Shame that the 348s are such bastards, I love the mini-512TR look.
Sounds like the Mondial/308 platforms are good starters. What about the FR cars? Anything else worth pursuing? I've heard that the 400i lump is the last of the old-school chain driven V12s, and isn't that bad to keep up as a result - but it doesn't sound too inspiring to own one.
In reply to SlickDizzy:
How tall are you? Tall driver's need not apply with the 400i.
6'3" 
SlickDizzy wrote: Shame that the 348s are such bastards, I love the mini-512TR look. Sounds like the Mondial/308 platforms are good starters. What about the FR cars? Anything else worth pursuing? I've heard that the 400i lump is the last of the old-school chain driven V12s, and isn't that bad to keep up as a result - but it doesn't sound too inspiring to own one.
400's are cruisers. Think sporty Italian Cadillac or a Jag XJS V12. They have recirculating ball steering and lots of cushy leather seats. The engines sound very nice and the cars will move along fairly well, but they are better suited to pulling up at a black tie gala event than ripping around the track.
SlickDizzy wrote: 6'3"
I was looking at a 365 GT4 2+2 and it wouldn't be an easy fit for me (6' 2") and talking to racerdave600 who has driven a 400, it sounds like the 400 isn't much better (he is a few inches shorter then me).
In reply to Adrian_Thompson:
Way to wreck my childhood dreams!
Enyar wrote: In reply to Adrian_Thompson: Way to wreck my childhood dreams!
Child hood dreams and 355 doesn't comput!!!!!! Dang whipersnappers. You are allowed to say 308, Magnum P.I. and childhood dreams, but no later. O.k.
I'm just sad to hear that the 400 doesn't perform the way it did in my childhood dreams. I love the way they look, I thought it would be a 4-seat 365 Daytona. I worked a corner a few times with a guy who had a grey market 5-speed, but he didn't offer a drive--so I didn't ask. There is a certain amount of etiquette involved with that kind of thing, even among the worker tribe. 
friedgreencorrado wrote: I'm just sad to hear that the 400 doesn't perform the way it did in my childhood dreams. I love the way they look, I thought it would be a 4-seat 365 Daytona. I worked a corner a few times with a guy who had a grey market 5-speed, but he didn't offer a drive--so I didn't ask. There is a certain amount of etiquette involved with that kind of thing, even among the worker tribe.
They are a different animal with the 5 speed. Still, wear your big boy pants when its time for repairs.
The 400 i drove was an automatic. What i remember most was the horrid headliner...pleated like it went in a coffin...very odd. And my head almost rubbed, very similar to a delorean in that respect. But it made glorious sounds if nothing else.
I'm starting to not like you guys much any more. A Ferrari has always been on my bucket list, and this isn't the first time I've read they're affordable and DIY-able. But this is the first time I've scoured Craigslist to find out.
Looks like prices range from $20-$45k on quick glance, so a decent one is still out of my price range for now, but certainly doesn't seem unobtainable.
petegossett wrote: I'm starting to not like you guys much any more. A Ferrari has always been on my bucket list, and this isn't the first time I've read they're affordable and DIY-able. But this is the first time I've scoured Craigslist to find out.
Pete, IIRC you're not far from my neck of the woods, and I can tell you this - if you search thoroughly and frequently, you'll find them cheaper...I saw a driver 308 GT4 in Madison for $13k that showed up as deleted when I refreshed the page...also a manual 400i in Chicago for something like $10k.
Still a little rich for my blood, but it's good to know they're out there. 
You're not helping!!! 
Does anyone know how some of the other cars similar to the cheaper Ferraris compare as far as parts and maintenance, etc? I have seen Maseratis (Merak, Kyalami, Khamsin, etc) and Lamborghinis (Espada, Urraco, Jalpa) in the $25k-$50k range too, but I have a feeling they might be even more of a terrible idea than a Ferrari for people who dont have far more extra money than that to spend on them.
Travis_K wrote: Does anyone know how some of the other cars similar to the cheaper Ferraris compare as far as parts and maintenance, etc? I have seen Maseratis (Merak, Kyalami, Khamsin, etc) and Lamborghinis (Espada, Urraco, Jalpa) in the $25k-$50k range too, but I have a feeling they might be even more of a terrible idea than a Ferrari for people who dont have far more extra money than that to spend on them.
These will be MUCH more then a Ferrari to maintain and 10x times harder to find parts for it.
Travis_K wrote: Does anyone know how some of the other cars similar to the cheaper Ferraris compare as far as parts and maintenance, etc? I have seen Maseratis (Merak, Kyalami, Khamsin, etc) and Lamborghinis (Espada, Urraco, Jalpa) in the $25k-$50k range too, but I have a feeling they might be even more of a terrible idea than a Ferrari for people who dont have far more extra money than that to spend on them.
Parts are extremely difficult to source for many of those cars. My Jarama S sounded glorious but the parts situation was grim. Try about 40k for a rebuild at a shop! Build quality more more in line with a kit car in some areas as well. I also had a 400GT-wonderful car and at least as good as contemporary Ferraris-again, parts pricier and more difficult to locate. Masers not as bad.
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