Would you recommend a Testarossa?

Yes................

 

I would recommend you sit in and drive one, and then research the service costs, before you buy a TR. They have their virtues, but if you're new to Ferrari you need to know what you're getting into with regard to parts and service pricing. You can learn about the common issues just by poking around this section.

If you like this body style, I would recommend a 1993/94 512 TR, budget permitting, for numerous reasons, although they are all expensive to service.

I think you'll find the gearbox and clutch typical Ferrari -- very good to use, not too heavy. You may find the handling on the 'heavy' side -- TRs have always felt big to me, but then I haven't owned one so never really got used to it. If you're not used to a gated shifter, that may slow you down at first, but soon you'll be more assertive and that actually works better (it's not a Honda stick shift...)

Also, there's something about 'meeting your childhood heroes'. My dorm room poster car was the 308/328. When the time came that I could afford a nice one, I actually drove a 328 and in some ways it was not what I expected. It was an incredible feeling, actually driving it, and the sound, etc., is as visceral as everyone says. It was drop dead gorgeous. But these are all now old cars, with 1980s brakes, 'interesting' ergonomics, and not as much performance as you'd get from a 2009 BMW M3, for example. You have to decide if the looks, mystique and driving experience are enough to make you overlook the imperfections. For me, the answer is a loud yes.

 

I've had the opp'y to drive a few TR's, and it's always been awesome. I think they're great cars, and the looks are ok'd by ferrari, and there's very little design wise stuff I don't find beautiful.

One thing to consider is will you do your own service work, or have it done. Ferrari's are not terribly hard to work on, but I would say time consuming. Oil in my bimmer: 20 - 30 minutes, oil in Ferrari, about an hour when moving efficiently. Major service including water pump. Almost a whole weekend on the bimmer, 2 weeks min on the Ferrari.

But on the bimmer the attitude is I gotta get to work come Monday. The Ferrari, you admire and appreciate all the engineering, and hand workmanship of the hardware as you go.

Best of luck in your hunt.

BTW: Clutch, gearbox, handling.. Oh yes!

 

Yes . Mine is my 4th Ferrari and my favorite. I have found that the TR is the same as the 348, the majority of the people who complain about the lack of reliability and costs have never actually driven let alone owned one

 

TRs are great cars. If properly maintained they are very reliable. If you have some mechanical aptitude you can work on many things yourself. Plus there is wealth of information on this forum, as well as GREAT people who freely give advice about these cars. TRs are a bit heavy at slow speeds, but once your rolling they drive very nicely. The sound of the flat-12 is addictive - and you may find yourself just looking for opportunities to open her up - just be responsible about it. The looks are very radical even today....the car has great road "presence". As for true permance, the Testarossa will surprise many! You quoted the 0-60 time of 6 seconds and I think it will do better than that. You must remember this is a car that can hit 180mph, so it is geared for the highway and not drag race acceleration. But despite this....once over 4k rpms the TR will accelerate quite briskly. It is so smooth you don't realize just how much ground your covering until you glance at the speedo - and realize your at 100mph and the car is just starting to catch it's wind! I think you could get to 60 in around 5 seconds if you wanted to abuse your clutch and differential - but that's a big NO-NO...!!! It takes bit of time to get really smooth when going through the gears, by this I mean getting the revs to match from one gear to another so that the shift is "seemless". Also starting off from a stop - give the car no gas...just ease out on the clutch, the less slip the better - this isn't the time to show off. If you drive the car properly, the clutch will last a very long time.

Once you drive a TR I think you'll be surprised and impressed....they are great cars!

 

Chris,
I highly recomend the TR.I have owned one for about three years now and I love it.If it's the car you've always wanted,you should buy one as there has never been a better time to aquire one.They are very well made,and the driving experience is second to none.There's nothing like twelve cylinders!They are very easy to drive and fairly easy to see out of for an exotic.
Firstly,buy a good one.Avoid examples that appear to be worn-out or have the appearence of a car that was neglected.Usually cars that are presented clean and neat have been taken good care of thier whole life.If you settle for a ratty one you will either get buried in the costs of improving it or you will simply live with the fact that it is ratty and that can sour the ownership experience.Better off to spend a little more for a clean and neat example,something that you can be proud of.
Try to buy one that all the service records included with the car.This will show you what kind of service it had required during its lifetime.Quite often Ferrari owners will take them in every year for check-ups and/or simple fluid changes.Look for proof of that.
It is my understanding that the 1988.5 or newer TR's had upgrades which make them superior to the earlier cars.Others on this site could correct me or elaborate on this subject.One big difference is the "center lock" wheels VS the more conventional 5 "lug nuts" wheels.The center locks look cool but are a pain the a$$ if you have to deal with them.
As far as the service costs go,well knock on wood but I have not been victimzed by this.Lets consider this scenario:you buy a TR that is in great condition but needed the "engine out belt service".Let's say you take it your dealer(or whatever)for the job and let's say it costs you $10,000.00.You should be good to go for at least five years.If you spread that cost over the five years we are not talking about that much money and you should be able to drive the car with confidence during that period and perhaps beyond.If you feel confident doing the service work yourself,then those service costs come down dramaticaly.
Good luck in your search-If you buy a good one I'm sure you will love it.

-raptr

 

Speaking from personal experience, do it if that is what you want. My first and only Ferrari is the TR. Buy a good one, do a PPI, invest in a proper major service and enjoy it. There is nothing like a TR in my book.

CC

 

Chris,
To answer your questions,yes Tr's handle great.My car seems very stable with very little perceptable body roll in corners.I was once on a local expressway cruising at about 100mph.I came upon a sweeper which at the same time traversed through a fairly significanr rise in the terrain.As I crested the rise,essentially still in the curve I came upon nearly stopped traffic.I had to nail the bakes hard braking down from about 100mph,in the middle of a sweeper while cresting a rise.The car was dead stable.I will forever be convinced of the cars qualities after that episode.The car seems to like to be driven at about 100 mph,you can almost feel the aerodynamics pushing the car down to the pavement which translates to a very positive feeling.
The gearbox is a no-brainer.Nothing tricky there at all.Remember,it's a Ferrari and must be driven with some level of precision,care and respect.
The clutch is as carguy describes.You can in fact pull off from a stop,even on a slight rise,without touching the gas.The key to it,like all Ferraris(and basically all cars)is to not slip the clutch much.If you concentrate on not slipping the clutch much,you will be fine and it will last a good long time.
Carguy is also right-on about the acceleration figures.This is not a drag car.If you buy one and treat it like a drag car my feeling is that 1) you will not be happy with the performance and 2)you will not be happy with the enormous bills you will have to pay replacing very expensive driveline parts.

Good luck in your purchase
-raptr

 

This is a great car. This is a car that you have to work alittle to drive (but that is why I bought one) no power steering, no honda silky smooth shifter, not very comfortable after a couple of hours if your 6 ft or larger. But the sound of those 12 cylinders (X-ost is HIGHLY recommended) behind you is intoxicating. Dont think you will be able to drive around with any sense of privacy in this car. You will feel like your in a bird cage in a pet store (everyone will look and take pictures) Buy the nicest one you can afford, it is cheaper in the long run. Get the car checked out before you buy it. I have no second thoughts about my purchase.

 

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=112201

Start reading here. This is admittedly the worst case scenario, but you need to go into this well informed.

We all love our cars, but's not all sunshine and cherries.

 

The TR sucks, its an awful car, its worth nothing now and will never be worth anything, it breaks constantly, its styling is dated, it is too wide and handles poorly around turns, the gearbox is weak and the second gear syncro is a joke, they made too many of them, the diff will almost assurdly blow up on you, the fuse box will be guaranteed to have a melt down, the cost of maintenance is astronomical........have I forgotten anything? I am sure some of the optimists here will chime in and add to the list.

Sorry TR bretheren but I couldn't help myself...this in a nutshell sums up the feelings of the TR as found here on F-chat on a fairly regular basis. Just look at the above post-that alone would make anyone run away.

Chris- welcome to F-chat and if you have made it this far down my post and have not thrown up yet, I would be happy to show you mine(you are pretty close by) and take you for a ride and tell you personally about the truths in owning one, I think they will differ greatly from some of the negative comments I have posted above, which is a quick summary of what is found here, about the TR, on f-chat.

 

I would recommend a TR, but I would also strongly advocate that you do your due diligence and fully know what you are getting into. TR's aren't cheap to maintain/repair, so don't expect jiffy lube repair bills, be ready for yellow pages sized repair invoices .

I would say it like this... TR's are like having a bi-polar, nymphomaniac, supermodel girlfriend. When it is good, it is F**KING GREAT !!! But when it's bad, you just wish for a bullet to the head, quick, easy and painless.

 

LOL!! Doesn't this describe all of our beloved cars?

 

Well put.

 

TR's.... you have got to love it.

 

Top 10 ways to tell that the testarossa is cool...

10) You look back at it in your garage everytime you pass it, just to admire the lines...
9) You occasionally enter your garage, for no other reason than to pop the hood and look at the motor...
8) Your nephews refer to you as "the uncle with the ferrari..."
7) You buy a lift just so you can admire the underside... (and occasionally fix stuff )
6) Your wife allows you to park next to her hallowed mini-van...
5) You sit in the car and imagine how many cows had to give up their lives, and get painted red so you could enjoy the interior of this car. Seems like every square inch of it is leather...
4) Car makes you feel like you are 15 years old, watching Miami Vice and reading Road and Track
3) People track you down the highway snapping pics... you tint your windows to compensate...
2) You get pulled over by the cops every other time you are on the highway... but never get a ticket
1) You just look at it! This was THE supercar of the 80's!

Ok, now the downside...

1) Not really a sports car. You will not be carving up roads with it. Its large, and really more of a cruiser.
2) Expensive to fix, maintain. This is all relative to your means.
3) If you are like the average fchatter, you will probably drive it once a month, in good weather. Its more of an "event" car that a frequent driver

Good luck!

 

I guess I am not average, I drive mine as much as I can, it helps that Enzo likes for me to pick him up from school in his "toastara" and if he behaves at school he gets a ride the net day. THis past weekend we put 250 miles on it going to run errands in New Orleans and then a round trip to Baton Rouge to go see Mike The Tiger at LSU in the rain.

 

You got it wet?! NOOOOooooo

 

To answer your questions:
Does it handle well? I'd say really well until it breaks loose, then it handles you well. On crummy tire or unevenly inflated tires, you're putting your life (or more importantly the Car's life) in God's hands. But, if you're like 75% of TR owners I've seen, and you plan on driving it like a girl, then it'll never be a problem

How's the gearbox? Stiff when cold, but quite rewarding when you get that perfect shift.

How's the clutch? In my ex-TR, the double plate never really liked disengaging fully or predictably (it seemed), and made getting that perfect shift all the more challenging.

All in all, every time I took it out (2-3 times a week), it simply made my day... and that's what it's all about, isn't it?

Go ahead,

Sebastien

 

Chris,
Let's thank Sebastien for his input.As he rightly points out,if a TR breaks loose in a corner you are in for the ride of your life.This is probably true but this scenario is no different than any other rear or mid engined car.When the rear breaks loose it's going to be tough.
Based on his comments,it sounds like Sebastien may have had an episode while driving on "crummy" or "unevenly inflated tires",and his testimonial serves as a lesson for all.Use good tires and stay on top of them.This isn't a Chevy Impala which is engineered to be idiot proof,afterall.
As Sebastien points out,shifting is stiff when cold.See "Chevy Impala" above.
As far as clutch actuation,I've personally never experienced any inconsistancies whatsoever.It sounds like Sebastien owned a TR which was not properly cared for.
Avoid crappy,neglected examples.Buy a good one and you won't be dissapointed.
-raptr

 

Don't get me wrong RAPTR, I loved my TR, but a car that can rarely recovers after breaking loose can hardly be called "great handling".

My TR was certainly not a museum example, but your comment is most presumptuous.

You have to tell me more about those Impalas, maybe I should buy one of those.

Love your TR for what it is.

Sebastien

 

I know I was visited by the ghost of the Old Man that night .

 

Sebastien,
I seems rear and mid-engined cars all suffer from the inherent unfortunate affliction of "snap oversteer".The pendulum effect will prevail if pushed too hard.This is the prime rationale which prevents American car manufacturers from producing said products. I think the trick is to approach that limit with respect.If you are the type that likes to drive on the street at the absolute limit,then I would recomend attending a professional driving school.You will learn all about vehicle dynamics,how to recognize problems before they occur and what to do when serious events unfold.The TR is not particularly unpredictable. I'm getting old,I've done all the hard racing I care to,and at this point in my life I enjoy running street cars rather than race cars, on the road,at about "seven tenths".The TR is the perfect car for such activity.In my opinion,the TR handles great for a road car.It telegraphs to me all the information I need to know to drive at speed.Let it be known that the TR is a high speed luxury GT,accepting that you will not be dissapointed.

As far as the clutch.....I don't know.My car is a 1989.It works perfectly.

Sorry,I didn't mean to slander your car.Your TR experience completely contradicts mine,and I suppose that I made an assumption about your car that may have not been accurate and if that's the case I appologize.

All I know about Impalas is that they are inexpensive, idiot proof and come with a 100,000 mile warrantee....the complete opposite of any Ferrari!

-raptr

 

There you go, Raptr! It's a great 7/10 GTL.

Did I mention that I loved the car, and I will more than likely buy another one soon?

Sebastien