Do the repairs taper off at some point?

I'm not sure what this means. I have owned and driven some of the most legendary Porsches ever and I would never say what you just said.

Jana, the GT3 is a great car. It's a speed appliance like no other. It's very well built and engineered and you now own a car near the limits of what the 911's rear engined platform is capable. And I really love the color. I think you will really enjoy it. Congratulations.

 

I was complementing porsches... why, what did you think I said? You don't agree that porsches are a "hell of a lot" of fun to drive?

 

Of course they're fun but I wouldn't say that "Ferraris are pretty to look at" but "Porsches are a hell of a lot of fun to drive."

That directly implies that not only are Ferraris not fun to drive but that they're not meant to be driven and driven properly at that. I don't know what kind of delicate garage queen you have but I have watched guys in their 360s and F430s (and 458s and 488s) run for hours at the track without letting up on those cars and the cars are completely unfazed. If you compare a track oriented Porsche like the 991 GT3 to the equivalent one from Ferrari (like the Speciale), there's not going to be a whole lot of difference what the cars are capable of. They're meant for the same thing.

If you want to know what Porsche does better than Ferrari in that respect is that they use parts that wear much better under track use and are cheaper to replace than Ferraris stuff. But I'm not talking about performance or reliability here, nor am I talking about a track day here or there. I'm talking about doing 25 or 30 track days a year. The Porsche will be cheaper to run over that time and that is something Ferrari needs to remedy, especially if they continue to make cars that are such high hp monsters that the only place to let them use is in a controlled environment.

I will say it again: I love Porsches but I would never say what you said. It's just a nonsensical statement in my world. You'll find lots of guys here with strong, well-maintained, reliable cars that can take all kinds of driving and are anything but just "pretty to look at."

 

I don't get it. You barely drive. So now you bought 2 cars that you'll barely ever drive. Whats the point?

 

car is passion for lots of us. If not, we would all be driving tesla, or Nissan Leaf!

 

cool, enjoy. Hope this one is more reliable for you.

 

Back when I owned Ferraris and someone asked why, I always answered by saying because I could.


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BTW Jana, nobody likes to talk about this, but Ferrari does build lemons. Take a salesman out for a few adult beverages and you'll hear some stories.

BTW, congrats on the GT3. It is a lot of things, but one thing it is not, is an appliance.


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Ferraris don't have the durability of porsches... never heard anyone argue otherwise...

A Porsche 911sc at 200k miles is "low mileage." A Ferrari 308 at 200k miles is unheard of...

Ferrari's are fun to drive, but I don't think they are near as durable (maintenance free) as a Porsche. And, if (when) they break, it will be silly expensive.

Most every guy/neighbor etc I know drives their Ferrari occasionally. Usually when its not raining. Usually on side streets, and its never parked anywhere for fear of damage. On the flip side, an equivalent cost GT3 gets thrashed on the track...

Love both brands. But I would never ever drive my Ferrari the way I drive my porche... Not unless I had really really deep pockets and a masochistic streak...

Maybe I am wrong... Our local track has dozens of Porsche track days. 1 Ferrari track day... but lots of Ferrari car shows...

 

Well, a couple of things but in not the right order:

1) You're talking more to the culture of the two respective car ownership experiences than to the cars themselves. I'm not saying that you're summing up those cultures incorrectly but I'm just making clear as to what you're speaking.

2) "Maintenance free" and "durability" are two different things but I think that when you talk apples to apples, i.e. equivalent model to equivalent model, they're not all that different. Remember also that Porsche makes many times more cars than Ferrari does and I know that there are some things related to that that give them an advantage over Ferrari in terms of parts selection and pricing.

3) You're playing to stereotypes with your P/F comparison. Here's a real world response: I had a 308 with possibly 100k on the odo (it was TMU so, you know) and when the person who bought it from me sold it, I was told that a mechanic took covers off and took a detailed look inside the motor and it was one of the best looking motors he'd seen, of any mileage. Now the car was maintained fastidiously for its life which is why I say that "maintenance free" and "durability" are not the same. Anyways, I had an aircooled 964 with similar miles and it needed a top end rebuild at 100k, like most air cooled Porsches do. I think that if you talk to someone like Brian Crall, he can give you stories of well maintained Ferraris owned by properly committed owners with tons of miles.

The issue is not with the cars but with the owners and how they use the cars. And let's face it, a Ferrari isn't built for all days, all places, all conditions like a Porsche 911 is. They have more clearance, more cabin room, etc. and they usually attract much less attention than a Ferrari. That's part of what makes them great. But that's not what you said. You said that "Ferraris are only pretty to look at" but "Porsches are a hell of a lot of fun to drive." Now if you said something like Porsches are more useful at driving in the snow and rain, carrying things home from the hardware store, and being a better all around driver that's also a great sports car, I would agree. I will also say that the 911 has to be the single most successful car model in all of motorsport so it's not like it doesn't perform, either. But it's not that Ferraris are only for show, it's that they're not used as much as they should be for other things.

As I said, if you compare and do apples to apples of equivalent models, you will see they're pretty close although depending on the era, the maintenance needed for the Ferrari can be more.

 

There's a long time member here, professional Ferrari mechanic, who has often said "if I can't hop in the car and trust it enough to drive across the country, that car will never be in my garage." And he has multiple Italians in his personal garage.

So Jana, I don't blame you one bit. As others have said, perhaps you got a lemon. Very sorry it worked out that way for you, but please do stick around. Your insights and perspective are very refreshing to have here.

Oh, and if you need a break from watersports this summer, take a run down to Sebring with the GT3. I guarantee, it is the most fun you can have in a car without getting in the back seat. . Hope to see you there one of these days!

Beautiful looking car, BTW...

 

Fair enough.

But consider this an open invitation to hop in the passenger seat for a few laps if we're ever there at the same time. It's likely to be the Lotus, though...

 

Shoot, I was going to try and trick you into a trade, I need a new challenge, 308's are to easy.

 

Sorry to see you ditch the 360, but I can't blame you. Life is too short to not drive your car because it's always needing repair (not to mention the cost of same). Hopefully your GT3 isn't one of those recalled ones.

 

I don't blame you one iota for pushing that 360 away. I assumed it might just be low oil but for it to spring a leak on the way home, I'd have thought the thing was alive and laughing at me and like you I'd have had the last laugh and would have swapped it too.

I had similar experiences with a VW daily many years ago. VW's are good cars but I got a bad one. I believe a part from the odd design flaw that most bad cars are down to previous bad owners or where they had the car maintained. Lack of use plays a part too I'm sure.

That VW I had, had not been maintained properly but I recall thinking at the time never again. I did buy an Audi A4 after it, which is basically the same car. It was not perfect but was fine.

Loved the Porsche BTW. I would like a 911 (amongst a list of several other cars) for a daily.