Ferrari 355 F1 for 4 Years - Ownership Cost

"Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever" (superchan7)
08/25/2018 at 19:43 • Filed to: Ferrari, F355, 355F1, Ownership costs

I’ve finally sat down and added up all of the costs of the F355 that I incurred over my ownership period which lasted 3 years and 10 months, and drove for a total of about 10,000 miles.

Maintenance and repairs: US$26,283.92
(for the curious, the largest single cost was the major service at $13,716.64)

Optional items, upgrades, cosmetic restoration work: US$5,241.20

Sale price “gain”: US$11,000.00

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Ownership Cost (Excluding optional items): US$15,283.92
(Approximate Average Annual Cost: $3821)

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Yes, it can be ruinously expensive if not carefully budgeted for. No, it was not wildly different from my expectation.

F355 Experience Rating: 9/10
Doable and absolutely worth it, but not for the faint of heart or the unprepared. And don’t expect a car’s price to climb reliably—mine was certainly a fluke.

Besides, how do you put a price tag on a childhood dream?

DISCUSSION (35)

Steve in Manhattan > Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever
08/25/2018 at 19:53

I’ll take “Engine Has to Come Out” for $10,000 Alex!

fintail > Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever
08/25/2018 at 20:15

Makes me feel better about any fintail expenses. Not as flashy, but enough pleasure for me.

Goggles Pizzano > Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever
08/25/2018 at 20:15

In hindsight, how much more would have you paid for a car that had already had the major service done? How would buying a car that had it already done a ffect your sale price gain with growing market values? Would you do it the same again?

Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever > Goggles Pizzano
08/25/2018 at 20:25

It depends on how thoroughly the major service was documented. The headers leaking only hastened my major service by a month or two, so it was convenient for me . Honestly, you won’t get all of the cost of a major service back—how much of it exactly shows in the final agreed s ale price is anyone’s guess. IMO there aren’t enough cars to reliably assess this.

Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever > fintail
08/25/2018 at 20:26

Each type of car gives a distinctly unique pleasure—motor on!!

Goggles Pizzano > Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever
08/25/2018 at 20:28

G razie.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever
08/25/2018 at 21:13

That's not bad at all.

WilliamsSW > Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever
08/25/2018 at 21:16

Not bad really, I think - boosted by the value increase.

So, I’m guessing the “ would you do it all over again?” Is a resounding yes?

Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever > WilliamsSW
08/25/2018 at 21:25

Yes, although I doubt I would be able to swing that $11,000 value increase again. Values are steady and distress sales are both risky and hard to find these days. A more realistic cost of ownership, if bought and sold at roughly the same steady market value, is on the order of $18k -30k over the 4 years, or $45 00-7500/yr.

PS9 > Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever
08/25/2018 at 21:56

I’m about to work an 80 hour week. The usual is 65. I drive a Corolla made roughly around the time the Chic x ulub crater formed. I think I could get a Ferrari if I did the 80 hours like 50 times or so... nah, not even then.

Whoever said hard work pays off lied. A lot. Shame on them.

Tohru > Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever
08/25/2018 at 22:52

oof. the most expensive vehicle I’ve ever owned was $4500.

Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever > PS9
08/25/2018 at 22:57

The only true statement is “NOT working hard will definitely NOT pay off.”

No guarantees in life, especially not with a quantity of work hours—it takes work and luck. One less-emphasised secret is, hard/smart work tends to bring more luck than for people who put in less effort.

Keep it up and, perhaps just as importantly, keep your eyes open for some of the opportunities that your hard work may open. But regardless of the reason, there’s no reason to stop working hard and being grateful for what we have every step of the way. That’s helped keep me going from when I had nothing (relatively speaking) and it still does today as I live comfortably (relatively speaking).

The other secret is, a $60,000 car is not ten times as fun as a $6000 car. The marginal utility on luxury is abso-fxxking-lutely terrible.

Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever > Tohru
08/25/2018 at 23:10

Y our cars are not at risk of depreciation . That’s the cost-effective way to go if it’s just going to be used for commuting!

M.T. Blake > Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever
08/25/2018 at 23:18

Now would you buy it again and do the work or rather be the guy who just bought it - if you had to do it again?

Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever > M.T. Blake
08/26/2018 at 00:02

I would rather do it my way all over again. Much more involving and feels like my project, my baby, my precious, etc. But being an old exotic, the new owner won’t get too far away from the gritty details :)

At least he won’t have to deal with the headers-cats double punch.

M.T. Blake > Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever
08/26/2018 at 00:20

Good to know. And good to hear you came through it just fine. I’m convinced the last Ferrari anyone could work on easily is the 308. I’d be tempted to do too much to the newer cars and break something I’d seriously regret.

Blunion05 drives a pink S2000 (USER WAS BANNED FOR THIS POST) > M.T. Blake
08/26/2018 at 03:19

A friend of mine bought an F355 with a bad cylinder or something, fixed it all on his own. Got it at a clear deep discount since the engine was having issues, so he’s got a massive profit awaiting him when he sells.

Quadradeuce > Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever
08/26/2018 at 03:24

I’ve always said the ingredients to success are hard work, opportunity (luck, as you put it), and brains. Pick two and you will be successful. All three, and you will be rich.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever
08/26/2018 at 04:31

Of the maintenance, do you have a split for parts and labour?

LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com > Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever
08/26/2018 at 08:24

Even that isn’t too bad, when I estimate that over 2 years and 3 months my GTI has likely cost me $10k just in depreciation. But I’ve also put more than 3 times the miles on it while under warranty.

Tohru > Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever
08/26/2018 at 10:29

I mean, my current commuter was $850.

M.T. Blake > Blunion05 drives a pink S2000 (USER WAS BANNED FOR THIS POST)
08/26/2018 at 10:55

He is a brave man. I’ve heard horror stories about project Ferrari’s needing to go to the dealer, especially for wiring or computer issues.

Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
08/27/2018 at 00:22

Probably somewhere around 40/60. Haven’t calculated.

Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever > LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com
08/27/2018 at 00:24

Yeah, depreciation is a much tougher pill to swallow for a car that isn’t daily driven. I’m hopeful but a bit nervous about the 4C because it’s a sales flop even in the new car market—who knows if people will ever pick up on the super-raw steering feel and “ the only CF tub car you can buy under $100k.”

B_dol > Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever
08/27/2018 at 14:24

What about cost per mile...

I wager that is the real disheartening metric here - maintaining anything >10-15 years old is a love/hate affair with the wallet and brain. My 07' Z4M has been only slightly less expensive , but that includes about 2,000 track miles and 25,000 road miles in my ownership.

Keeping a spreadsheet of running costs has been painful, but it lets me see a true “comfortable” budget should I seek to replace the car with a new poison .

SPAMBot - Horse Doctor > Goggles Pizzano
08/27/2018 at 15:48

If I were to buy another one, I would go for one that needed a service. It is usually the more expensive way to go, but for that you get piece of mind knowing a shop you trust (or yourself) did the work properly. Even though mine had a very detailed service, I was always a little worried about if they missed anything. I did the service about a year and a half early and it turns out, the previous shop did really sloppy work, some that was costly to correct.

SPAMBot - Horse Doctor > Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever
08/27/2018 at 15:55

This is cool to see! I’m going to start doing some of that optional/cosmetic stuff this winter. Did Mitchel do your service? My resent service was actually a little more than that, so you did alright, especially since you replaced the cats/headers. I probably went a little overboard with “while you are in there stuff” plus fixing a few things the previous shop messed up.

Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever > B_dol
08/27/2018 at 17:27

Cost per mile is a pretty unreliable metric for a car that accrues so little mileage (< 3k/year) and is not relied on for actual transportation . I would posit that it’s a more useful stat for a DD.

Regardless, the miles and the dollars are there and will give you a fairly ugly number.

Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever > Blunion05 drives a pink S2000 (USER WAS BANNED FOR THIS POST)
08/27/2018 at 17:28

I’m guessing that with the cylinder rebuild he had to polish the heads, too.

Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever > SPAMBot - Horse Doctor
08/27/2018 at 18:03

Mitchell did some of the work, not all. He did do the major service.

It’ll be good to get all the mechanical stuff out of the way before doing the cosmetics. Also, do the interior before the exterior. Your car’s body looks like it’s in great shape, from what I could tell in your photos.

You’re overdue for an update!

SPAMBot - Horse Doctor > Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever
08/27/2018 at 18:11

I know. I need to write 3 car reviews too hahaha

The paint has some light swirls and other damage but you can’t tell when the car is clean bc it reflects light so well. It could use a buff and a coating though. I basically just need to do the stickies on the inside. I also want to rip out all the 90's electronics the original owner installed.

Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever > Tohru
08/28/2018 at 20:22

I don’t seem to find running cars for under $1000 anymore here in CA. $1500-2k appears to be the bottom line for a running car that isn’t falling apart.

Maybe it’s just the SF Bay Area.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever
08/29/2018 at 07:54

Any car that requires yanking the engine for a tune-up is above my pay grade. Glad you enjoyed yours, though

Tohru > Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever
09/02/2018 at 16:37

it was in the back lot at a used car dealership. because it had all the lot appeal of a dead cat.

Kinja'd!!!

Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever > M.T. Blake
09/17/2018 at 18:40

Computer issues require a Ferrari/Maserati SD (Sistema Diagnosi), which reputable independent specialists should also possess if they maintain Ferraris and Maseratis. It’s basically a super-OBD with more functionality and more parameters, especially for manufacturer-specific things like F1 clutch wear status and re-calibration.

The reason why your local import mechanic probably doesn’t have an SD2 or SD3 is because they cost > $20k each.