F355 Parts Prices

[blueSL]

I’ve had my F355 for 26 years now so am well used to high maintenance costs. Leaving aside the engine-out cam belt change every 3 years (yes I know some can do it by removing the fuel tank instead), non-service parts prices are rising rapidly.

Four examples:

Aircon ECU - > £5k, if you can get one
Window switch - £150
Driver’s Window switch frame - £4 for left hand drive; right hand drive? £145
Door window rear guide - £450.

Takes some of the shine away…

Edited by blueSL on Saturday 21st August 07:14

[EliseS2]

Can the aircon ECUs not be repaired, for 5k I think I would have someone dismantle the and check the PCB?

The 355 is and has been my dream car.

[blueSL]

Yes, that’s what I had done. There are some driver chips which control the various devices in the air con and they are prone to failure if the device itself fails. One is the heater control valve which seized and caused the driver chip operating it to fail in turn.

I was lucky to be able to get a replacement valve (itself difficult to find) and the aircon ecu repaired though I’ve been left with the recirculation flap not working. Still over £1000. Other repairs to the ecu - failed microprocessor for example - would be much more difficult.

Parts prices are inevitably being affected by limited supply - that left hand drive/right hand drive variant being an example. I’ve clarified my original post.

[doggydog33]

As prices of parts rise, there will be people who start 3D printing parts, making pattern parts or repairing existing electronics rather than just swapping out the unit.

This happens for most cars that have a following.
Because there are more 355’s in the U.S. than over here, that appears to be where a lot of the ‘specialists’ seem to be.

Ferrari specialists in the U.K. will have come across most of the problems people face and have a network of companies who will fix stuff, they just don’t seem to be as well advertised as our friends across the pond!

Normally a phone call to a specialist will give you a couple of leads to try.

Regards, doggydog.

[348jeff]

Never heard of eBay...????

Aircon ECU - > £5k, if you can get one - repair as suggested

Window switch - £150
£130 new https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/154290949603?hash=item2...
£95 used https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/223634648910?epid=18512...

Driver’s Window switch frame - £4 for left hand drive; right hand drive? £145

I'd be tempted to try the Left hand drive one and adapt it - part# 63963700 doe bout £35


Door window rear guide - £450.
£163.93 https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/382089086557?hash=item5...


Check on here too - a parts cross reference for the same part from different manufacturers

https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/f355-355...

[blueSL]

Yes, yes, I have my own solutions for these issues including 3-D printing but I was just highlighting my experience of the parts situation not being great which should be borne in mind by those who still think of an F355 as a dream car.