Hi All, I'm thinking of adding either an F430, F355, F360, or Gallardo to the stable [all preowned low mileage]. Any opinions as to their relative merits would be greatly appreciated. I'm most interested in their relative handling characteristics, and driving fun factor. Any opinions as to which car might be the best "value", in terms of purchase price and ongoing maintenance costs, would be immensely appreciated as well. Thanks. -RS
http://ferrarichat.com/forum/showpost.php?p=137220802&postcount=2 P.S. Please start only one thread, thanks.
For price of maintaining the car, nothing beats a car under warranty(430, Gallardo, some newer 360's) I personally would get a Gallardo. Mainly because the sound is AMAZING.
You just mentioned four cars that are in completely different price ranges. A 355 will go for $80k-100k A 360 will go from $110k-160k A Gallardo will go for $120k-$200k A 430 will go for $230k-300k+ with current markups. Just so you know!!! What do you drive for? Do you track or compete in motorsports? Do you want the quickest lap times? What do you enjoy about driving? They're all outstanding cars! Quite different, though.
I'm looking for a car that's involving to drive -- very tactile, lot's of feedback. I would probably track the car a few times with the focus on having fun and improving my driving skills. As of right now** , I'm not too interested in having the quickest lap times. It would also be nice to own a car that's unique/special enough to consider part of a collection [I may have considered the Lotus Exige if this wasn't important, and it wasn't too small]. As far as price, I'm OK with the prices for 360's and Gallardos; however, if the 430 was the real "value", I would step up. Purchase price is in some sense secondary to expected depreciation and maintenance costs if I kept the car for say 5 years. Part of what I do for a living involves value investing, so I'd feel great if I purchased an excellent car that might be overly discounted because, relative to newer models, it's less interesting. ** Who knows what I'll think in the future .
As far as involvement and handling goes.....the 360 Challenge Stradale or the Gallardo will keep you smiling!
Top Gear did a recent test side-by-side on the track of 430 and Gallardo 430 vs gallardo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zyzxz0Hinoo I found link in this thread http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=174132
Well you have to narrow your focus a little, IMO.... 355's have a known failure pattern now of overcooking the inner cylinders, despite the dreaded valve stem issue....so, figure purchase price PLUS a new engine if you are going long term ownership there..... The 360 is now Last Year's News for sure and will litter the car lots as the complicated computer systems see age and wear, a six speed might prevent heartache there, F1 not so much..as noted the Stradale closed out the line in typical Ferrari fashion, track car legal for the street...blah, blah, blah....BUT if they were looking for true driver involvment, why were they ALL F1 boxes? Not a one was made as a manual 6 speed. The 430 improves upon the 360 in almost every way technically, if you can forgive the Maserati engine block casting..... And the styling, the whole 360/430 thing is something that turns you 'on', or not. The 430 owners I have known are very happy with them, again in my crowd 6 speeds are common, although again the Challenge cars are all F1 boxes, so bring your wallet. The Gallardo is a very viable alternative, V10 over a V8, and the recent lightweight edition is badass! Seen it personally upon the introduction here at the dealership.........again, IMO ONLY, I'd avoid the EGear like the plague. I know a Murci owner here that gave it back, based upon constant problems with the system. HTH.
\ I'm impressed with the answers given to the orginal poster, particularly the two I've quoted here. All of the answers, when digested, will help this guy make a good decision. This is when FerrariChat really shines.
I forgot the 355 header issue, and I do know some happy Lambo guys with Egear......... It's like women there IS no RIGHT answer that fits everyone, it's a matter of subtle variations on a common theme.....
"Lamborghini wants you to believe the 5.0-liter V-10 engine is an all-new creation. Fact is, the V-10 is built alongside Audis 4.2-liter V-8 at the engine plant in Gyoýr, Hungary. Essentially, the V-10 is the all-aluminum V-8 with two extra cylinders. Both share the 90-degree angle (forcing engineers to offset the crankshaft pins of the V-10 by 18 degrees to ensure even firing at every 72 degrees of crankshaft rotation), the 88-millimeter bore centers, and the 92.8mm stroke, and the V-10s 82.5mm bore is just 2mm narrower than the V-8s. They even share the same chain drive to quad camshafts." Car & Driver 7/2003 "Thank the peoples-car people in Wolfsburg. [... ]To get Lamborghini to bleed black, Audi has leveraged the brains in its aluminum construction center in Neckarsulm, Germany, to supply the Gallardos alloy space frame." Car & Driver 2/2004 "[...] There's more than just Audi money in this car. There's an aluminum space-frame body built and painted in an Audi-owned factory. There's a V-10 version of the all-aluminum Audi V-8 nestling just behind the passenger compartment". Car & Driver, 9/2003 If any Ferrari's engine was designed and built by FIAT of Poland, and the body built and assembled in an disused AlfaSud factory in Naples, would you ever consider it a Ferrari?
Are you serious? Ferrari has outsourced all types of components for years, GM automatic trannys(412) Saab alternators, Audi window regulators, (in the 355) heck they even use Cadillac sourced magnetic ride suspension in the 599! Yet we all love and worship our Ferraris, whats the problem?