| Author | Message | ||
| Jim E (Jimpo1)
Intermediate Member Username: Jimpo1 Post Number: 1359 Registered: 7-2001 |
DES, you've GOT to learn your Ferraris. The guy in New Orleans drives his F50 to work! It's a black one and gets driven rain or shine. | ||
| Matt Lemus (Mlemus)
Intermediate Member Username: Mlemus Post Number: 2475 Registered: 8-2002 |
Ben, I agree. When my car sits for more then a day it does not seem right. | ||
| Ben Cannon (Artherd)
Junior Member Username: Artherd Post Number: 183 Registered: 6-2002 |
In general, I have observed that F-cars run and brought up to temp once a day last longer than every-other-weekend cars. Regardless of actual mileage. If you have covered parking at the office, and don't live in snow/salt (or just drive the Audi S4 then), I say GO for it! Best! Ben. | ||
| Frank K Lipinski (Kaz)
Junior Member Username: Kaz Post Number: 150 Registered: 11-2002 |
I drive my 97 355 daily and it performs perfectly - no reliability or mechanical issues and is similar to my 911 Turbo with the exception of no pesky oil leaks. LOL | ||
| Russ Turner (Snj5)
New member Username: Snj5 Post Number: 1 Registered: 2-2003 |
For 5 years my Mondial 3.2 was my daily driver, with 3 years while stationed in Germany; did not drive on salted roads - rented a Ford Ka (rental cars are the best in winter!)The Mondial was fine - quit a total 4 times in 5 years: 3 single bank ignition coil failures (fixing that now with Mr Millermon) and one Kjet FI fuse in the trunk. Always dealer maintained. I will say once you have had a Ferrari in Europe, especially the B roads and Autobahns, it gives you a whole new appreciation for the car. Sometimes it can be a bit demanding if you are not in the mood, but what fun for a 130 mph squirt on the way home to put a smile on your face! Used to go on family road trips with 5 year old in back seat through rural Germany - what fun. As an aside, to make a good daily driver the best daily modification you can make is TIRE change. The original gatorbacks are crap. Loud and ride like they are made of wood. I really like Pirelli P-6000 - great everyday and quite tossable fun. Hope this helps. | ||
| TAKO (Tako)
Junior Member Username: Tako Post Number: 152 Registered: 4-2002 |
I do! | ||
| DES (Sickspeed)
Intermediate Member Username: Sickspeed Post Number: 2438 Registered: 8-2002 |
Mark, there's some guy out in New Orleans who drives his F40 to work, everyday... In some cases, it's so much a question of the car as it is, the driver...  | ||
| jeff ryerson (Atheyg)
Junior Member Username: Atheyg Post Number: 175 Registered: 8-2002 |
I have had just as many little mechanical issues with my 2 previous 911s as my Ferrari, the 911 has a great rep as a solid well built car but a Ferrari is just as well built in my opinion The 911 series has always had a major flaw or 2 in all years, from pulling head studs, failing tensioners causing major engine damage, a crappy designed 915 transmission, soft valve guides 3.2s, etc, the latest of the classic 88-89 where probably the most solid, then POrsche followed with the C2 which had many expensive engine issues, and I agree with Terry the 996s are unworthy of the 911 name/heritage | ||
| acw (Acw)
Junior Member Username: Acw Post Number: 138 Registered: 2-2002 |
I do use both a 360 and a 996 TT as daily drivers. They are both quite reliable and provide me with a great daily dose of fun. This said I'm in california with a great mountain road reverse commute. I would not take either car daily for a few miles of slow moving highway. ACW | ||
| JRV (Jrvall)
Intermediate Member Username: Jrvall Post Number: 1013 Registered: 11-2002 |
>>>I have owned many 911's and have many friends with them. I have also extensively tracked my 911's and done lots of modifications to them <<< All those mods just fell on the car? You never took it in? it never broke? Huhhh???? What???? To track a 911 (you might want to visit my website to see how many I've built and raced)...you basically gut the car and start over with Mod/Track parts...they've had case stud issues from the early 70's..SC's had tensioner issues, Carraeras had valve guide issues....on and on and on...TSB's up the ying yang!! Read Excelence sometime..even Bruce Anderson diss's 2.7's every chance he gets... Sooooo PUUULLLEEEAAASSSEEEEEE!!!! Let's not live in a fantasy world. Heck..I own 3 Porsches right this moment 1)-944T Track Car 2)-1-944 Street car & a 3) 5sp-928..yes 5 speed! and they darn sure aren't gods gifts to man that's for sure...fun yes or I wouldn't own them...or the half dozen 911's I've owned..and the only one I would own twice would be my 914-6...yes a real one. | ||
| Matt Lemus (Mlemus)
Intermediate Member Username: Mlemus Post Number: 2423 Registered: 8-2002 |
Terry, you are so missing out. The 308 is a great daily car. Try it for a two weeks. Trust me. M | ||
| Terry Springer (Tspringer)
Member Username: Tspringer Post Number: 392 Registered: 4-2002 |
My '77 308GTB was purchased with the intention of driving it dailey. So far, I do not. Its simply not a dailey driver type car. I go into the garage and given a choice of hopping into the 308 or my '69 Porsche 911S... the P car usually gets the nod. I have owned many 911's and have many friends with them. I have also extensively tracked my 911's and done lots of modifications to them (my 911S has a 2.7RS MFI engine in it). I disagree with JRV on this issue totally. It has been my personal experience with 911's that you can literally flog the crap out of them and the cars never hiccup. I had an '88 3.2 Carrera that I put 150K miles on, autocross, track, I drove that car HARD all the time. When I sold it the car drove perfectly, was tight and the engine compression was spot on. In 150K miles it needed 1 clutch and it did not have a single squeek or rattle anywhere in it. Those cars are built like tanks. I also had a '95 993. I drove the piss out of it as well including on the track. Actually rolled that one off turn 3 at road atlanta.... I can tell you the 993's are great cars but they dont have the build quality of the earlier cars. Still the performance for the $$$ is hard to beat. The 996 Porsches are junk. Stay away. The factory does not race them.... and the engines are simply not built to the quality and standards that Porsche used to stand for. I would not own one if given to me (would sell it... im not stupid!). Ferrari's are great and a 348 or 355 or even 328 dailey driver is a great idea. However if your looking to spend under $40K and want a rock solid reliable car that is fast and fun... get a 993. | ||
| Martin - Cavallino Motors (Miami348ts)
Advanced Member Username: Miami348ts Post Number: 3880 Registered: 5-2001 |
I use mine as a daily. 20,000 Miles in 3 years is not a whole lot but then my odometer was diconnected for the other 50K MIles. LOL just kidding. No worries. Actuially the car drives better when driven daily then when stored and driven every now and then. My cost is not more than a friend of mine pays for his P 911. He went through 3 clutches, since they appear to slip from the factory setting, gearbox replacement, various other sh*t. I had none of that so far and my car is 12 years old, vs a 3 year old P. Go figure! | ||
| Steven R. Rochlin (Enjoythemusic)
Junior Member Username: Enjoythemusic Post Number: 171 Registered: 4-2002 |
Mark, While not a F355, 360 or 550/575, my Florida Fcar mechanic friend has two 308s. Both are daily drivers with one reaching 105k miles and the other with 125k miles. Plan on daily driving mine as well... In the end what REALLY matters is that YOU... Enjoy the Drive, Steven R. Rochlin | ||
| Charles Barton (Airbarton)
Member Username: Airbarton Post Number: 317 Registered: 11-2002 |
My 348 is the only car I have. I drive it to work everyday rain or shine and let me tell you I drive it the way Enzo intended, I don't baby it. I have put close to 12K miles on it since last july. It has been just as dependable as my I30T was. These cars were not built to sit in a garage they were built to be driven. They are also suprisingly easy to work on. With prices as cheap as they are why not drive it everyday. It only cost 10K more than my Infiniti so why should I worry about breaking it! | ||
| Dennis (Bighead)
New member Username: Bighead Post Number: 11 Registered: 2-2003 |
To be serious here for a moment. My wife has a Porsche 911 (996) as a quasi-daily driver, as well as a 355 Berlinetta. The 355 accumulated 19k miles in 18k months since purchase (lots of track time, vacation weekends, daily driving to work when the weather is nice). Prior to these two sports cars, we also had a 911 RS America, a 348ts and a 930. I'm telling you this because I think it's relevant to the basis for my opinion. Any modern Ferrari ***CAN BE*** a "daily driver". It totall depends on how thick your wallet is. Let's say that you drive 15k miles a year... assume that your annual maintenance cost is $5k (you'll need the 15k mile service, obviously, as well as tires, brakes, and a portion of the cost of a belt service). If you do 15k/year in a new Honda, your annual maintenance cost is, what, $400-700? So, if you want to use it as a daily driver, it's just a question of how much you want to pay. As for practicality, most modern Ferraris, although roomier than their predecessing models, still are greatly limited in their carrying capacity. The 911 has a lot more room than the 355, as one example. I drive a 740iL on a daily basis, simply because I can haul my very large dog with it, as well as groceries, stuff to the dump, golf bags, skis, etc. The other limiting factor is weather. A Ferrari is more likely to be used year-round in places like California and Florida; it's tough driving one in January in New England. All of this has been said before, surely, and isn't anything but common sense. There are lots of Ferrari owners who drive their cars "daily", either because they can do a lot of the work themselves or can afford to have it done, and don't need more space or practicality on a daily basis. It's a "duh" type answer. As for the Ferrari-Porsche question, other attributes aside, the Porsche is simply less expensive to maintain. Absolutely. Is it more expensive than, say, a Lexus? For sure, but still a lot cheaper than Ferrari. Given that the 911 has a fair amount of storage room in the rear seat area, as well as a small trunk, for a couple, it's surprisingly practical. And, whether or not it's AWD, slap some snow tires on it and drive intelligently, and the 911 isn't a bad winter car either. vty, --Dennis | ||
| JRV (Jrvall)
Intermediate Member Username: Jrvall Post Number: 1010 Registered: 11-2002 |
What model do you have Wayne? Maybe I can list the things others have go bad. Maybe you have'nt seen the TSB's on C2's-C4's, but it's 300 pages long. The one I see fairly often at around 40-50K miles is Case O-Ring leaks...engine out and teardown to the block to fix--$4K..yep...a $4K dollar oil leak...and the list goes on...Daul Mass Flywheel Problems, Leaking P/S Racks, Myriad of Coolant Leaks on the newer cars, Boxter Engines Blowing Up, Battery Drain Issues, Alarms going Haywire...on & on. One reason people don't hear alot about the problems is because most cars/owners have extended or aftermarket warranties. So because they're not coming out of pocket it's never made an issue like with Ferraris. | ||
| philip (Fanatic1)
New member Username: Fanatic1 Post Number: 2 Registered: 2-2003 |
I used to drive my 308 almost everyday. Now I have a 348 that I only drive 3 or 4 days a month. I enjoy it, but it does take a lot of maintenance. I have a friend that has a '90's Mondial with 125,000 miles on it!!! He does regular maintanence and it's kind of pricey but the car still looks and runs great!!! | ||
| L. Wayne Ausbrooks (Lwausbrooks)
Intermediate Member Username: Lwausbrooks Post Number: 1028 Registered: 8-2002 |
"I can tell you for a fact that the Porsches that are driven hard have every bit as many problems as people percieve Ferraris to have as just as many trips for repairs and service." JRV, not that I'm a Porsche-phile, because you all know I'm not, but this is not really true. Both Matt Lemus and Ron Shirley have seen my Porsche and its appearance alone reveals how hard I drive it and how little I care for it. 4 1/2 years and 53000 miles later, it has still been good to me, despite as much punishment as I can dish out on a daily basis. | ||
| Norman (Storminnormin)
Junior Member Username: Storminnormin Post Number: 64 Registered: 7-2002 |
A friend of mine drives his 456 every single day to work. I think he has put over 40,000 miles in 2 years. He's had no problems. Loves it. In fact, I think this is his second 456 daily driver. | ||
| Matt Lemus (Mlemus)
Intermediate Member Username: Mlemus Post Number: 2382 Registered: 8-2002 |
Mark, Welcome. It may not be a 355/360/550/575 but I could not imagine having another car as a daily. I may be using the 512 as a temp daily soon however while the 308 gets some work in May. Go for it. You will not regret it. Your wallet may but you won't Matt | ||
| JRV (Jrvall)
Member Username: Jrvall Post Number: 1000 Registered: 11-2002 |
Ya here this 'daily driver' stuff a lot, Porsche vs Ferrari. Porsche learned to build fast 'beaters' because they had to, to sell 20K cars a year. Mass marketing of psuedo exotics for the average vanilla masses. Ferrari builds a completely different type of car and was never intended to be a 'beater'. However I think any modern Ferrari driven nice and easy like the vast majority of Porsches are driven would fair equally as well mile for mile shop vist for visit. I can tell you for a fact that the Porsches that are driven hard have every bit as many problems as people percieve Ferraris to have as just as many trips for repairs and service. Most years/models of Porsches TSB's read lke a phone book. You don't hear alot about it because most are driven like Toyatas. | ||
| Tom Bakowsky (Tbakowsky)
Junior Member Username: Tbakowsky Post Number: 230 Registered: 9-2002 |
I good customer of mine drives his Testarossa everyday in the summer and even in the winter when weather permits. The cold is not going to hurt the car(as long as the engine can get up to temp) but the salt and sand will. The car has stood up very well and he drives HARD!! He recently blew up the diff though. $$$$ | ||
| Christopher Byrne (Scuderia512)
New member Username: Scuderia512 Post Number: 6 Registered: 2-2003 |
There is no reason any of the Ferrari's mentioned by Mark could not be used as daily drivers. While I would not call my 550 a "daily driver" i have put 12k on in a year and a half. No problems thus far. | ||
| Mr. Doody (Doody)
Member Username: Doody Post Number: 803 Registered: 11-2001 |
mark - if you live in manhattan (as per your profile), then a ferrari isn't going to cut it as a total daily driver. the AWD on the 911 is great stuff (i drove my 996TT all last winter, admittedly a mild winter). the f-cars don't deal with northeast winters well. i'm sure there might be a hardcore or two who would argue the point, but it's my strong opinion. if by "daily driver" you aren't including new york winters, then my answer would be yes. do keep in mind that a, say, five year cost of ownership is going to be higher on the f-car than the p-car, just 'cuz service is a different exercise. doody. | ||
| Jay S. Morris (J_saber)
Junior Member Username: J_saber Post Number: 57 Registered: 12-2002 |
I figured an insult was coming. I use my Mondial as an almost daily driver. I live in the Chicagoland area though. If not for that, say I lived in no snow zone, I would drive the car everyday. In Chicago we salt our streets. I don't care what kind of car you have, it ain't salt proof. But, on the side of Ferrari, that turbo is going to be destroid in no time while our engines will still be leaving you behind. Hey, maybe that's just company pride. You are on a Ferrari Website. My advice is to stick with the 355. | ||
| Bruno (Originalsinner)
Member Username: Originalsinner Post Number: 964 Registered: 5-2002 |
arlie. lol | ||
| Horsefly (Arlie)
Member Username: Arlie Post Number: 793 Registered: 5-2002 |
Ferrari has not really made a car that resembles an overgrown Volkswagen with gaudy aerodynamic spoilers all over it. | ||
| Jean-Louis (Jlm348)
Member Username: Jlm348 Post Number: 398 Registered: 11-2002 |
Mark, Matt Lemus(he is an avid f-chatter)uses his 308 as a daily driver and loves it- | ||
| John A. Suarez (Futureowner)
Member Username: Futureowner Post Number: 503 Registered: 3-2002 |
Mark, There are several users here who use their cars as a daily driver. Even though Ferrari has not quite reached the reliability level of say the Porsche Turbo, these cars beg to be driven. Welcome to F-chat! | ||
| Bruno (Originalsinner)
Member Username: Originalsinner Post Number: 957 Registered: 5-2002 |
This is trouble. | ||
| Mark S G Murphy (Msgm1)
New member Username: Msgm1 Post Number: 1 Registered: 2-2003 |
Does anyone use their F355, 360 or 550/575 as a daily driver as one could use a Porsche Turbo as a daily driver. Or do our users think that Ferrari has not really made a car that can be used like that? |