Best used exotic for 100k and under

Personally not a fan of the DB9. I'd go for a Vantage. Just test drove one today and it was wonderful. Not too powerful, but great pricepoint (used) and has all the attention to details I love.

Gallardo - yes, very reliable. Find the best one you can, the latest year you can, and just bite the bullet. They hold their values very well.

Bentley - while great, I wouldn't touch one due to maintenance and parts. But that's me personally.

360 - yes. Very doable at this range. Plenty out on the market too. Just do your research and get a PPI.

For your Sunday driver, figure out what you want out of it. Speed, fast/semi-fast/luxury/looker/attention grabbing rocket/or something you can drive peacefully without all the attention. You'll soon figure it out. Drive each if you can. Take your time.

 

360 for sure

 

360 has all the attributes of a weekend car, but the cam belts still worried me when I had one, but in my experience maintenance wasn't so bad. If you can push it, 430 is better as havent heard too many scary stories or mechanical failures, and a timing chain! I found Aston vantage a great car, but not a 'special weekend' car, more a daily driver to show you have arrived!

Gallardo is a great car, all weather performance is a great addition, maybe a bit too 'Audi' in drive and feel to be a special weekend car for someone with a capable car like m3 in the week?

If you had something standard, like a diesel powered merc or BMW as a daily car, Gallardo would work better, so I think I'd go for the 360 or 430

For me, I'm currently considering getting out of the 599 and going for a Gallardo or 430 spider again, as I get so little seat time in my special cars, and during the week have the c63 so I get pretty high performance in my every day car which bleeds away the 'need for speed' at weekends, so I get the extra draw of taking the roof down to make me make more time for fun miles.

It does scare me though to lose the 599, maybe for the first time in 12 years, to not have a Ferrari at all even maybe..... People are wrong, it's not 'just a car'!

 

Agree. I would get a 2008 Gran Turismo and a Lotus Exige. No way would I buy one car for $100k!

 

The big discussion in the 348/355 section: http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/348-355-sponsored-bradan/257634-according-montezemolo-348-worst-ferrari-ever-made.html

Rehashed from post 54 here: http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/f1/457140-montezemolo-quitting-ferrari-2.html#post143302544

Luca di Montazemolo was making a name for himself as he began his tenure at Ferrari's helm. He was stating the case for the reformations in the company's ethos that he felt were necessary for long-term survival as the company was about to be modernised. At the time, he needed political credit to shake things up as he restructured the company's finances and got it onto a sustainable business plan. Arguably, the shock tactics of disparaging your own current product soon after release worked, though I suspect he could have turned things around without that particular comment.

At the 458's launch, he was reminding people of his own personal importance in the company's history - again at the expense of a car that was developed under Enzo Ferrari, but not released in his lifetime. That latter aspect of the 348 made it a convenient and ideal scapegoat because there is some dissociation in the minds of the car enthusiast public between Enzo and the 348 because it was launched in the difficult time just after his death. Luca could attack the 348 without being perceived as attacking the company's legendary founder, so... he did. The implication is: Enzo knew what he was doing because he was a visionary, in between Enzo and me there were non-visionaries who brought us crap cars, and then I came as a visionary to restore the company's health and prestige.

The differences between Enzo and Luca are pretty well illustrated between the 348 and 355, in my view. The 348 was a performance car only and the 355 was a performance-luxury car with better fit and finish - obviously, you'd expect the successor to be faster and more capable. It just depends on what sort of feel you want as to whether you go for a raw Enzo era car or a polished Luca era car. The modern day 458 is reportedly very comfortable indeed (note: I've never been in one that was moving).

Many people who trash the handling of the 348 have either never driven one, never ridden in one, or have used poorly maintained examples still running with the original 20 year old suspension bushings or worn shock absorbers to form their opinion. It's also a very sensitive car to alignment specifications, so these must be done correctly. People who drive sorted examples say that the handling is fine - certainly, many in the 348/355 section have reported triple digit 348 speeds on either autobahn or track that felt very solid. The terribleness of the 348 is a popular myth often reported by journalists who want to appear to know what they're talking about our who want to look like they have long-term experience with critiquing the Ferrari marque. It has little basis in fact when examining a properly maintained car.

Perhaps.

Exactly.

All the best,
Andrew.

 

Neuro - thanks for taking the time to summarize the 348 debate.

Greatly Appreciated.

 

Any time.

All the best,
Andrew.

 

The "wives tale" isn't that Luca stated this, the wives tale is that the 348 is the worst Ferrari ever made.

 

And fast forward to today, and his beloved 355 at the start of his tenure, is proving to be the worst Ferrari ever made among owners. He is lucky he rebounded off that fiasco.

 

The valve guide fiasco with the 355 is well know. However, it is otherwise a very beautiful and exciting car to drive - especially on the track.

The fact that both cars (348 and 355) require complicated & expensive engine-out majors probably didn't help their cause either.

Regardless, the 360 really put Ferrari back on the map, and they made plenty of those. There is also a good percentage with gated shifters as well.

 

The 360 was a nice improvement and Luca had the right idea and was able to execute successfully....but slamming the 348 when the 355 he designed was not even on par was to much of a political move at the time. History is proving that this will be his blemish in Ferrari.

 

Manual 360 with a chunck of cash buffer on the side for maintenance. No brainer IMHO.

 

Stretch and get a 360CS. It will be collectable.

If 100K is the absolute limit get a 996GT2 NOW !

Always think sell side before thinking buy side. This way your cars are "free".

 

Better yet one of these...
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I don't own a 355, but say what you will about its reliability, the car is fricken epic!!!! Far and away my favorite ferrari V8 I have driven and the best exhaust sound for a regular production ferrari bar none. They could have put that
Car together with silly putty and it would still be among my favorite cars of all time. I am an old school guy and the 355 is the last ferrari I can relate to.

From those I know who have owned them and my personal interest in eventually acquiring one, I freely acknowledge that the reliability concerns are real, but come on....the car is just so very very good...

Fwiw, for 100k I would buy a testarossa and spend the rest of the money on an appropriate linen wardrobe... At least that's what I did

 

Bentley as a weekend car? Nah...
DB9 is exotic? Nah....

So you have the other two, and I'll throw out an early Diablo as WAY more exotic and special than both. Out of the two left on your list, I'd get the Gallardo.

 

Me thinks you should have included this key aspect in your original post.

 

Assuming you have an E90 M3, 360 will be a dead heat speed wise.

Still say Diablo looks to meet most of your wish list:

True Exotic..... check

Work of art.....God its pretty......check

Still modern performance (under 4.0 0-60).....check

Re-sell, with only 2,800 units worldwide (compared with 18k 360s) think future mini-Countach as those will all be $500k soon, no reason to think the Diablo will not be a $200k car in 5-7 years......check

Attention factor......redculous

Parts availability......will never be as good as a 360, just in different leagues rarity wise

Reliability......360 on this one, Diablos are special cars for special people, you have to keep up and budget $5-7k per year. But the appeciation will help offset some expeditures

Driving conditions.......its not nimble like a 355, so its not a track car, excels in every other aspect

 

Lots of recommendations for nice cars but if you only have a budget of $100K to spend I'd assume that maintenance costs would play a big factor? If so I would discount most of the recommendations that you have been given. If you could stretch your budget a little I would go for a 430 or a Gallardo for that reason.

 

If you think Maintenance on a 430 and or Gallardo will be lower you will be in for a surprise.

 

Definitely lower than some of the recommendations that were made. 430's don't have the regular expensive belt change needed like 355's and 360's. Gallardo's are always referred to as the least expensive exotic to maintain.

I spent $20K on my 355 last year and it needed another $13K when I just sold it. A business associate of mine has spent $30K on his Diablo over the past two years. It is all fun and games if you can afford it.

 

I suspect the electronics will be much more in 15 yrs for these new super cars, as well as the interior refreshes. Just so much more in them today.

 

caution - avoid buying to impress others, buy for what you want and enjoy.

there is no optimal balance of safe investment, wicked speed, and epic looks/exclusivity. I personally consider the 360/430 to be common and uninteresting, but I'm old and don't care

 

Aren't Gallardos still depreciating? That should be taken into account too - you don't feel like you're spending it, but it is an ongoing expense.

All the best,
Andrew.