Porsche guy going to F (part II)

360 Spider, And i'm not quite sure what the price range for an older 550 Barchetta is but that's another option. Or of course there is the lovely 355 Spider if you don't mind something a little older (Just as hot though).

 

I would suggest a 355 Spider with your choice of 6 speed or F1 transmission. You should be well below your price range w/money to use if you have any problems. Also, it will tan your head quite nicely..........

 

If you find a gd cond. 360 Spider below $120K let me know........

 

355 Spider with the 6 speed manual gb should be right for you.

 

I'm a long time porsche fan....have had

Boxster S
911 coupe
911 cab
911 turbo with X50 (2003) (wow...what a car!)

And currently have a 2004 C2 cab along with a new (to me) 1997 355 spider 6 speed.

I LOVE the ferrari. It has a certain "soul" that the Porsche lacks...and the sound as you approach 8k RPM's...well, it gives me goose bumps. The Ferrari is the PERFECT weekend/nice weather/stress reliever.

I will say, that getting the Ferrari has made me appreciate the Porsche more...though. With the Porsche, I get about 80% of the "experience" or soul of the Ferrari, and yet...I drive it EVERYDAY. They're bulletprood, reliable, and I can put however many miles I need to on it.

The Porsche is like having a very attractive "good" girlfriend that you can bring home to mom...the Ferrari is like having a secret hot/intense affair with a gorgeous supermodel who's high maintenance! Both can be incredible satisfying...yet both are very different!

The performance of the car (355) you can buy in your price range will not really be much faster than your C4...a bit, but not that noticeable. It feels faster because of the sound and you are a bit lower to the ground. I'm not so sure about that 10k miles a year. With the Porsche, you can have it as your only car...if something goes wrong, drop it off at the dealer, get a loaner, pick up the fixed car the next day...could be a bit more complicated with the Ferrari!

Good luck!
Steve

Good luck!

 

I'd suggest either a 355 GTS or Spider. The GTS has a removable 'targa' roof which I love.

I've been surprised by how useable the 355 is, even with a Tubi sports exhaust. Refinement at high speed cruise is impressive, the air-con works well, and it is comfortable. The ride quality is especially remarkable.

That said, don't expect a 355 to be usable like the Carrera- it will cost you a lot more to run, and will, I suspect, spend more time being repaired. And you won't feel right about just parking up and leaving it like you might do the 911.

The Ferrari will thrill in a way that the Carrera will not. But then, a Carrera is a car of huge all-round ability.

Robert.

 

Just wait until you experience Ferrari NA!

 

Man, some people, lets not resort to personal attacks, that was completely uncalled for.

And to show that i'm a better person:

I think the optimal car in your range,

if you must have a convertible, it looks like the F355 Spider is the only car in that range that is fairly late model

otherwise, you may be able to afford a 1999-2000 slightly higher mileage 360 modena.

the 550 barachetta as some people mentioned is way out of your range, it is going for the high 200s.

 

that is true 355 spider all the way

 

Definitely get a 355 spider. They are beutiful and a ton of fun. You will find that many Ferraristi think the 355 also has the best engine note of any modern Ferrari.

These were produced from 1995-1999. At the end of the model production they introduced the paddle F1 transmission with this car, though you can still find 6-speed 1999s. That said, there is nothing wrong with a 1995 - in fact, they had slightly more power than the later model year cars - so don't feel that you have to get one from the end of the 355 production cycle. Also of note are the 355 Fiorano spiders. 100 were made for the U.S., 4 for Europe. Of the U.S. models, 90 were F1 trans and 10 were 6 speed. They have a bunch of extra stuff as standard, including Fiorano handling pack, carbon fiber interior bits, rear challenge grille, etc.

The 355 is well within your price range. An early spider, depending on mileage, can be down to $80K, and late models are between 100 and 110. Add about 10-15 for a Fiorano.

Get one! Oh, and welcome.

 

Gatarz, I think everyone has given you pretty much the same idea. I have a highly modded 3.4 conversion boxster. It is, hands down, the most fun car I have ever driven and will outcorner any street car I have known AND its topless AND I don't have to worry about mileage. All that said, even on nice days, when I go out to the garage to go for a spirited drive it is often the ferrari that gets the nod. It is not faster, does not handle with the same aplomb as the lighter boxster, but like Steve said, it just has more soul....
and the sound is a full experience in and of itself.
I have people I hardly know come up and tell me "Oh, I heard your car last night, wow i love that sound" or "were you out driving yesterday afternoon, I thought i heard your car"!!
Amazing, even non car people recognize and appreciate the 355 sound as the pinnacle of automotive music.
Good luck in your search. Don't hesitate to ask people on board about a particular car, chances are very good someone will have firsthand knowledge about it. John

 

You want max ZOWIE for the buck and drivability (between Porsche and Ferrari)...get the turbo cab, chip it, aftermarket exhaust, PSS9 suspension, X73 motor mounts, B&M shift kit...then suck the paint off pretty much any car you run into (including 99.999999% of Ferrari's), and drive it every day. There is a reason Evo (UK car mag) had the 911 Turbo as the #1 car in the world for months on end (for the life of that review actually, which wasn't that long).

But I am not sure you could get a decent turbo cab for $120,000.

But then you said "It ain't a Ferrari". That says a lot. So buy one. I toy with the idea from time to time...but I just can't get past the fact they require lots of frequent expensive maintenance and are relatively fragile.

I take my Boxster or Turbo to the track, run the hell out of them, maybe change the oil and the brakes/fluid...and I am good to go. The ability to do that, and drive these same cars every day, hasn't convinced me yet that the ultimate exhaust note and the Ferrari cache are worth the extra $$$s. If I had money to burn and a barn full of cars, it would be a different story.

Maybe some day.

But then the Z06 guys think both the Porsche and the Ferrari guys are posing weenies for dropping so much cash on these cars, so...

Also, Porsche NA has been great to me, at least with respect to warranty repairs.

 

I'm glad to see you're a realist! What threw me off was the in your original post you stated you want to put 10k a year on the Ferrari with little maintence. That's not going to happen. At that rate you're getting a 30k service in 3 years, to the tune of $6k. That's $2k/year before you buy tires, brakes, or anything breaks!

Now that you have made clear that you have other cars, I wholeheartedly agree a 355 spider would be a great car. It has 90-95% of the 360's performance, 120% of the porsche's soul, and probably 110% of your C4cab's performance. But it won't be cheap to put 10k/year on it.

 

I'll throw in a curve ball. Shop a Daytona (at the upper reaches of your budget, and spend every cent on the best car you can find: a price differential of, say 5k, upfront will get vaporized if you have to do anything major), or shop 512BBi (which is below your budget, but will leave you room to fettle and take a few nice trips to Europe and still have change in your pocket).
Both cars are fabulous period pieces, will still deliver astounding levels of performance for their age, and if bought well, and maintained properly, should hold value. The 355 will continue to depreciate for a while, particularly if it has some heavy miles on it. (And, in Ferrariland, it seems that the market regards anything more than 2k miles per year as a car with "mileage"; not saying its right, but you will see more garage queens than you thought possible once you start shopping these cars).
It would be an entirely different driving experience than a 355 spider (which is a terrific car) and will carry with it a bit more rawness that many (including me) think is missing from the more modern ferrari experience. What comes with the vintage experience is also virtually nonexistent air conditioning and compromised comfort, but for the pure buzz of driving, either of those cars is very hard to beat. Granted, you won't get the sun on your head, but there will be other trade-offs that make it worth exploring. Part of the enjoyment is the process of selecting and researching; there are many good books to read, and much valuable advice here, too.

 

There are a number out there. I haven't been taking the Ferrari Market Letter for the last couple months, but NNO or another subscriber here could probably tell you how many are on the market in the US right now. I bought mine (and sadly sold it, believe it or not, for a 550 Maranello which was a great, great car, but almost the exact opposite of the boxer) from a broker in Philadelphia who specializes in pristine cars for which you will pay; I don't want to dis Newport AutoSport, but i wonder if you will anyone here who will say great things about them, let's see....
The boxer is very torquey, and because it runs on outdated rubber, you will find it more interesting to drive at relatively high speed than the more modern cars, which tend to be less challenging to drive. I'm glad i struck a soft spot for you. They are great cars, but definitely do your research and shopping before you buy, since buying one with needs will be no fun at all.

 

Sounds a lot like my 360.

Gary