about to buy 2004 360...do i spend the 5k for power cube warrnanty or roll the dice??

as the title says....

i am a bit worried about buying a car like this without a warranty. i can fully afford the car and incidental expenses of ownership but the salesman made a commnet about an engine replacement could be 40k????? that just worries me...i guess in my budget ( 110-140k ) maybe i should stick with newer cars or am i just being paranoid.

the market right now is really a buyers market and i can get this car in my mind for a REALLY good price and i guess another 5k isnt gonna kill me but i just wonder if i am throwing money away for a car that everyone is telling me is pretty bullet proof if not abused.


i just bought a 2010 gt3 and it is an amazing car!! BUT...i have as most people that end up with a Ferrari just always have wanted one and love the sound, feel and styling or them. i do track my cars so the earlier cars never really interested me but the 360 is truly a drivers car.

thanks for your input...

regards
george

 

Spend the 5K if it covers anything/everything. Otherwise, look for a 430 (it's well within your budget).

My two cents,
James

 

I say 360 and keep the cash in the bank. If the motor were $40K (not sure if it's that much to fix what could break with the rare variator failure) if you have <25% chance of it completely blowing up you are still ahead statistically by not getting the power cube...I think you have much less than a 25% of that happening during the warranty period...probably <.05% in fact. But some people like the warm and fuzzie of a warranty and that I understand. They are by far the biggest profit margin thing a dealer has.

Everyone has their preference (that's what makes the world go around) but for me the lower price plus the looks of the 360 and more than enough performance for me makes the 360 the hands down winner. Now that said, there are people on here that prefer the 430 styling, and are definitely some for which the 430 is still too slow

 

I would say this fully depends on the service records and the extent of the services done.
I agree that the chance of an engine blowing up on a well serviced and campaigned 360 would be slim but not out of the realm of possibilities.

If its piece of mind your looking for.........do it.

 

You're spending 110K and you're worried about spending another 5? Does that make any sense?

If it puts you at ease, spend the money. After a year, you can get an idea if you think it's worth it.

If you think you're better off putting the 5K in a "repair" bank for possible repairs, then do that. Either way, you are going to put 5K somewhere.

I see this all the time. People seem to worry more about buying the warranty than buying the car itself.

A classic line from a racing movie is: If any driver actually imagined what it would be like to drive straight into the wall at 180 mph, they would never get in the car.

The same goes for Ferrari repairs....

 

I bought an extended warranty with my last Porsche and it was a waste of money. They don't cover lots of things and I didn't recoup the extra $$$ in repairs. But that is a Porsche which generally are more reliable than Ferraris.

I would make a decision after a thorough PPI and after reading the fine print. How long is the warranty period? If only a year, I would say no.

 

guys it's a waste of money..

a well maintained 360 will not blow it's engine.. under 1% just like any other car.. and if it does.. it likely will not require a new engine. just engine work.. which would likely be under 20k if happens..

I mean ask rifledriver.. most high mileage 360's with 100k miles + have had practically no compression loss let alone failures..

they are good cars..

I wouldn't bother to be honest.. keep the 5k.. that **** is all profit for the dealer..

 

What about just doing a Power Warranty? It's half the money, yet it covers most of the major stuff. I believe the car's eligible for a Power till six years from original sale.

 

Yes it does make sense. I don't buy the thought process that because someone is spending $100K or whatever on a car they shouldn't ask if a $5K warranty or upgrade or service or whatever is worth it...$5K is $5K...money is money. To his defense he didn't say he was worried about spending the $5K he was worried about buying the car without the warranty and wanted to know our thoughts....this is the typical pressure sales tactics of the salesman passing some comment like a new motor is $40K, then offering an extra cost warranty.

I'd put the $5K somewhere else instead of the dealers pocket and save it for future repairs/service

 

I agree 100% with the 430 idea. They can easily be had fro less than 140. You ought to be ok with the 360 as long as the PPI is ok. The way it goes, you'll get the warranty and the day after it expires the engine will blow up! If you are getting it from a dealer, insist that they throw it in. When you get a pre-owned car from Ferrari Long Island, they include it. Naturally , I am sure you pay for it in a clandestine manner. Just make sure that it has been maintained and that the belt service is up to date. I think (IMO) that Ferrari engines are just as prone as other cars (?Porsches) to blow. They just get more attention because they are more high profile and more expensive. For that much money, it should not blow up, right? Admittedly, it is quite a bit cheaper to rebuild a Porsche engine than a Ferrari engine.
Get a 430.

 

Not as easily as you may expect..

just because 10 or so are listed at under 140.. or can be purchased for that doesn't mean it's the SPEC 430 he wants..

when people say "a car can be had for xxx" it doesn't help the buyer, the buyer is usually looking for options, or a color combo.. then he can either wait or pony up

I waited 6 months for a 360 in my options to come available at a low price couldn't find it had to eventually pay a higher price for the car I want..

he can wait.. or get the 360 he specifically wants.. let me tell you.. the 430 is wonderful but so is a 360.. i'm sure he will be smiling ear to ear in either..

 

Save the money. If the ppi was clean, you should be good to go for at least the first year.

 

You miss my point entirely. 5K is 5K. Either you take the piece of mind and buy the warranty or put it in your account. Either way, consider that money SPENT.

Worrying over wasting 5K is nothing when considering buying one of these machines. You'll "waste" far more than that over the time you own the car.

If it makes you feel better about the purchase and gives you confidence to drive it without worry, then "wasting" 5K is well worth it given the expense you are already spending to buy the car.

If you don't think it matters, then keep the 5K in an account and consider it already spent when something pops up.

Either way, consider it GONE --and expect more to follow.

 

Spoken like the guy not writing the check...

 

We will have to agree to dis-agree- we think of money differently. If you spend $5K on the warranty you'll still wind up spending money on services-money that could have been saved by not getting the warranty (unless the unlikely happens and something >5K goes wrong). You get piece of mind at $5K, but what is it worth? Put another way, if the question was asked for the same car with the same exact warranty, but the original poster was quoted at $10K not $5K would you say the same thing? Where do you draw the line? I look at the probability of getting my money's worth- I'm not cheap (far from it as I did the non-sensical thing and bought a Ferrari), but I also try to be smart with money be it $50 or $5,000.

There is no right answer for each person to get the warranty or not- we all look at it differently, but the only thing I can't agree with you on is using the cost of the car to say the question of $5,000 shouldn't be analyzed..again maybe that's different for different people too (I'm not rich, so I would consider it a material amount of money)

 

thanks for the input guys i really appreciate it.

its also refreshing to see people disagree and still keep it civil and not turn into " well you're a prick and my dad can beat your dad's ass " like it goes on most forums.

some points i got from this that i will take with me next week....

i WILL track the car and i think the idea that it will give me peace of mind is worht the 5k even if its overkill.

i will try to negotiate them to throw it in with the deal or at least split it. i have bought over a hundred sports cars in my lifetime and know by now that on a 100k plus deal 2500 dollars is not gonna sour the deal one way or another.

i do realize the 430 is a better car all around but frankly i like the 360 better . not sure why just do. and if my budget is 140 i would rather buy a car in the 100-120 range and have that cushion than to buy at my limit right now.

and yes my specs are pretty particular. i have to have a coupe and it has to be a 6 speed manual no f1.

thanks again guys. hopefully i will have a decision next week.

george

 

oh and here are some pics of my 2010 gt3 if anyone is interested ...VERY nice car and handles amazingly!!! but ...well you know lol....


regards
george
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Huh?? The guy writing the check did not buy one for his 360 and never had a problem in the over 3 years with the car. So tell me how well spent my money would have been.

 

THAT car is sick!!!!
I'll trade you my '04 360 for it.

 

Insure against what you cannot afford. Anyone who sells insurance, including Ferrari, makes money, they pay out less than they take in, it is a good deal only for the person who would suffer hardship if the car cost too much for them to fix. You will not make a profit because you selected an optional warranty, you might avoid a devistating loss by sending in a premium but overall in the long run you will pay more than someone who self-insures. In other words, you may beat the house in a roll or two but the odds are against you overall.

If you can take the 20K or 30K hit if something really bad goes wrong, forget the insurance. You will pay on aggregrate more than your share of the repair cost under an insurance scheme. Maybe only 7K in a year, but the other side of that is over the next year you probably will have no claims against the insurance.

 

Do some research into how many ferrari 360's experience a 40k engine failure.. if it is well maintained it's just not likely..

your odds are small.. again most people will tell you the engine is good for well over 100k without any bottom (or top) end work for that matter..

Personally, I would not pay for it.. but I did my research and found the general consensus is that the 360 has a bulletproof engine.. doesn't mean it can't happen.. but you would be the exception, not the rule.

 

Well said, and this is true for all insurances.....you are always smarter playing the logical card...only insure what cant afford to cover if needed...

 

I think we are closer to agreeing than disagreeing. If I were to boil it down it would be this.

These things get expensive even if nothing goes wrong. My point is, if the expense of ownership is going to get in your way of enjoying the car, then either don't buy it, buy some insurance, or put enough in the kitty to not worry about it.

An extended warranty is just insurance. You have car insurance in case you have an accident. Would you feel better not having car insurance driving around but knowing that money is sitting in the bank? Would you drive any differently without insurance? I would. Maybe you wouldn't. I can't answer that. It's certain that most years you drive the car, you don't plow it into a fence. Is that a waste?

I totally agree that you will spend money on the car outside of the warranty. And, it may be a waste. That's not the issue. The issue is ... how do you FEEL when you get in it and turn the key. Only the OP can answer that. For a first time buyer, I can understand the nervousness.

To sum it up: Worrying about spending an extra 5K when considering a 110K car seems like it's worrying in the wrong direction. The money is already gone (aka: wasted).

 

details??

regards
george

 

Ive never rebult a ferrari engine, but have had astronomical prices to rebuild porsche engines... The only Ferrari engines I have seen the bills on that were rebuilt were 250 engines which is a completely different league... and had the top end of the motor rebuilt on a 456 which was pricey but not ridiculous.