Gang, As you guys may recall I was looking hard at 355 and got scared off by maintenance. I then went shopping LP560 6spd which really got me interested. Then drove a Mclaren 12C... What a marvel of a car. And I like underdogs (had 3 NSX's afterall). I'm now almost done with grad school and itching to replace my XKR in a gift to myself. As I contemplate a $200k 12C or even LP 560 6spd the idea of a mint 348 or 355 for the price of my downpayment and no car note sounds awesome as well. Granted it won't be nearly as fast or capable but will it be as nice to look at, drive, own - perhaps. How many of you own 348 or 355 AND a modern supercar like 12C, Gallardo, 458, R8 and the like - or have previously owned and can offer some ownership perspective. Fun is fun and I don't necessarily believe that because I can spend $200k that I SHOULD or MUST.
Used to have a SLS and F355. Ended up driving more the F355. It all depends on your driving style, whether you are able to reach high speeds or not, and how each car makes you feel. 348 and 355 are slow cars nowadays that can easily be smoked by a GOLF GTI with some basic mods such as downpipe, ECU tuning and intake. But we all know that is not the point. Whenever I am out with the F355 or 360, it feels special, like an event. It isn't about the speed itself, but how the noise, the way people react at it, the smeel and sensation of the older car, faulty ergonomics etc. I ended up selling the SLS, and purchased another classic, a Porsche 930 Turbo with a few mods. Now that has ticked the "performance" box, and is scary as hell above 7/10ths, but gives me an undescribable feeling. I understand you crave the "vintage" Ferrari thing, but also want something more modern, reliable, usable? Get a 355, 6spd B. if you can, and get a 997 Turbo PDK. Both will tick all your boxes for a snitch under 200K (considering top condition on both cars) PS: The F355 isn't scary at all regarding maintenance. as long as you plan your majors every 3/4 years, and choose a car that has all the common problems sorted out already. If you follow those steps, you'll be fine.
Let me get this straight... You're not quite done with grad school yet, already drive a 2011 Jaguar XKR, have previously owned 85 cars including three examples of the NSX, can now spend $200k on your next car purchase as a gift to yourself, yet were scared off by the expense of maintenance prospects on a 355 (that you've been thinking about alongside many other exotics since 2012), and are still cross shopping a Ferrari 348 or 355 with a McLaren MP4-12C or Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4? That's quite an extraordinary briefing. All the best, Andrew.
I own a 348 spider and a 430 spider. Love them both. Two different types of cars that I use for different types of driving. I love having a manual car with no power steering but. Also like having a newer model with all the new technology which makes it much faster as well.
Yeh right. Pull somebody elses plonk Scared off by maintenance Just out of school. Go play with a Fiat
Pull somebody else's plonk? I'm 37 yrs old, now doing an MBA. Why is that pulling your plonk? My XKR is an 11. I've been thinking about my next toy for a while yes. Just been head down with school and house projects. Will have an nice 2014 and I'm approaching the final stretch of school hence the plan to jump in next 2 months. And I suppose you're right about cost. The 12c is roughly 2k per 10k or annually. I guess I'm thinking downtime too. I don't want a shop car that is down every other weekend.
2 very different cars. The F355 is a Sony Betamax and the 12C is a BlueRay. I own an F355 and have extensively driven a 12C back to back with my car. The difference in technology and performance is quite large. If I had the maximum limitation of 200k to spend in order to save my wife's life by getting under a certain lap time, I don't see any other choice than the 12C. However, I don't have that problem and I continue to be "in love" with my F355...Life is good!
LOL. Having done so much seat time in both here's a question for you... If $ no object and pure joy of driving owning were the criteria (means you can't count depreciation or what you could sell 12c for and capitalize) which would you have in your garage? The techno thrust tour de force 12C or the 355?
37 & MBA isn't relevant. A $140,000 note is. Other than a house, I never in my life borrowed to buy anything that I could not pay cash for. My advise as a retired old fart is to go with the Ferrari and stay debt free unless you can cut a check in the amount of the note and remain financially viable.
Don't worry. I can write a check. I would rather not tie that much up when I can invest and in several ventures and earn better than 4%. People choose a levered or unlevered philosophy which also varies by project. Btw, many would take issue with tying up that much $ not only when you can earn at a better clip than your loan rate of you have good credit but tibia also depreciating (which you cannot avoid either way). For that reason many, myself included, would rather allocate the $ to stronger NPV endeavors. But that is neither here more there - I didn't come here to discuss fiscal strategies. Butcher, what say ye regarding my previous question above.
Perlease Why even compare a 355 with a mcclaren? You have no clue what you are doing. And you can't type. Something fishy here. You're on ignore...if i can figure out how to do that.
The 12C is much easier to drive fast, at 4/10ths you will be running at 60 mph through a twisty, bumpy country road and it will feel as if you are just cruising...your hands will both be on the wheel when you downshift before the turn and you will fly into the turn(likely too hot) and the Traction control, stiffer carbon tub, wider wheels, stickier tires will save you as if you did nothing wrong and you will still be on paper fast, but you will not feel like you are trying. Next you will get into the F355 and note the lack of torque on the low end combined with the "sticky" accelerator pedal as the car struggles below 5000 rpm to get it going. You will be standing on the accelerator at 8/10ths as you approach the same turn at 45 mph. You will downshift with rev-matching, pick your line for appropriate apex, tap the break with your LEFT foot, settle the car and feel the weight transfer to the rear wheels, roll into the accelerator, purposefully but smoothly pick your turning radius on the wheel, and power through the turn...feeling every bump and sublet loss of adhesion near the apex. Here you will not lift despite your whole body telling you to do it...and you will continue to power out of the turn masterfully. All of your sensation will be heightened and you will do the sign of the cross after you have cleared that blind turn. But chances are you will be slower through the turn than the 12C, unless you did everything perfect...which is what some of us always strive to do. These are how you will feel in the same turn with both cars. One of the cars clearly has better performance numbers and is more "numb" to real speed. The other one offers quite an experience that requires much more skill to do the same thing.
Lotus, please do ignore. Mo suspect it's overly troll-suspicious folks like you that give Ferrari owners a bad rap. Typing on an iPhone. And plenty of real car guys can perfectly relate to looking at 2 totally different types of toys to be the single toy. I was so considering a DeTomaso Panteraas I haven't owned a true classic yet and it seems like a mix of Lambo and Viper. But wait - Oh NO! According to Lotus we better call Troll FBI to protect our beloved forum surfing eyes LOL. Btw, I am known as Evoking in several other forums and around Dallas. Butcher and others thanks for being cool. Hopefully I don't become a Ferrari snob if I get one ;-)
The only thing I don't understand is why would you be scared off of maintenance on a F355. It sounds like you have the finances to afford a McLaren at 200K. You could buy a very nice F355 and a 2007-08 911 Turbo or Pantera. Have extra money, and not suffer any major depreciation. Speaking of maintenance, I am not sure of the McLaren model, an recent article in one of my car magazine's(R&T exotic car issue, I believe) stated that it cost ~$8000 for an oil change. Given that you are worried about maintenance on a F355, you might want to look into that.
I regularly drive my F355 to my office in Uptown and I see more McLaren's in the parking garage and on the streets than F355s. I would venture to say I see at least one McLaren every day that I walk at least a few blocks for lunch. I bet my 15 year old Ferrari garners more looks than the McLarens, too. However, I don't drive an F355 to garner looks, I just love driving the damn thing.
Butcher, well said. I loved the same thing about my NSX's. It would understeer then snap oversteer. When you get it right you feel like Ayrton! No doubt the 355 must get more looks than 12C, R8 or the like. It is stunning and timeless with perfect proportions to my eye.
For less than the McC you can get both the 355 and Pantera. My best friend has a Pantera, the motor is easy to work on, no hassles in finding parts and no dealing with belt services, but you will need to upgrade the engine cooling system. The Pantera has a unique presence. I'm a Ford guy as well as Tifosi and the sound of the 351 is quite tasty, couple that with the F1 "urgent" sounding 355 you will have the best of two worlds. Plus the 355 is just perfect and the best car ever created.
They are super hard to find. I've wondered what they drive like and imagined like crap. But Smoking Tire drove one and said it was surprisingly quite nice. Tight steering, Italian handling and the 351 Cleveland felt more german than American in its delivery. Interesting prospect.
there are at any given time 20-30 pantera's for sale nationwide...people buy them thinking how great they are going to be then they drive them....
loosely translated it means "are you having fun, friend? you are too clever for your own good, friend. On my mother's honor I intend to correct this" it's a special dialect of leet speak. Fortunately, like that lady on "Airplane", I speak a little leet. Just don't call me Shirley.
