The price difference is about $50k, of course options are different, but I am looking for a Spider for my wife. I like the sound of the 458,havent heard a 488 in person, but not sure if ill get a 15 Spider or just get a 488 Spider. Anyone traded a 458 to 488 spider? I would appreciate some thoughts.
I traded my 458 spider after a 3 year ~ 20,000 miles for a brand new ( my spec ) 488 spider. The difference in power was significant. It’s very driver friendly and for an extra 50-75k it’s a no brainer. Drive both an then decide. I did. Best ,Kirk.
Hey Kirk How are you doing? Do you remember you looked at a turbo s for me. For the 488 spider, dont you feel the interior looks like a 458 still? Is the sound still like a NA ferrari?
Kirk is just as crazy as ever. Yes No There are 6,000 threads about sound differences so I'll distill it down for you: they sound different, some like 458 better, some like 488 better.
Don't like the looks of 488 and don't like the sound of the 488. 458 is plenty fast for me. I love my 458 spider. Why would I spend $50K more?
While you speak for yourself, one could want to spend more for the performance, more updated tech, arguably more solid feeling build quality (expected with each new generation), greater ease of extracting performance in the case of a daily, apparently less cowl shake/more rigidity for the spiders, ability to put the top or or down while moving, warranty, greater length for maintenance with the service pack, more planted feeling in the car, far easier tender access with the point in the rear bumper, ability to get CarPlay as an option which I value greatly, hell even better MPG if one cares, the list can go own.. and I say that as someone who went from 488 to 458 Up to each individual to decide what's most important or what they prioritize, the 458 is not a better car than the 488 and conversely the 488 is not a better car than the 458. Just different flavors with appreciable differences
Ive started to do some serious research on both and I think I found the car already. Having owned a Speciale, I was not impressed with the electronic component of the car. And looking at the 488, seems like the interior is similar in looks with the 458. I just want to have a Spider, havent owned one. Im my research, 0-60 is thesame, top speed is 458. I dont care about carplay. Half of my cars have it and dont really need it. Although I like the vents on the 488, makes me think its like the old ferraris.
The vents are angled better in the 488 than the 458. Also a lot of the stitching surrounding those vents and the dash have been removed in the 488. Being a convertible that actually better ( sun , dust etc ). Also add in warrantee and free service. And I dare say better selection and condition.
There are a lot of 488 spiders in the market already. I would say higher optioned than 458. If its a 458, I am only looking at 2015 which still has service plan and needs to be CPO. I am hoping before spring I can find the right car. I hope Santa is listening. I will ask him to look for me a properly optioned car.
You need to just drive both, preferably the same day, same visit (i did this for my spider/coupe decision) Im in the same boat and know what i want, but its a very personal decision. Performance is better in 488 no question, but if you are going spider thats not necessarily the top priority i imagine. Financially, i think the 458 will prove better given the amount of depreciation, but selection for the 488 is way way better right now with many very low mileage examples out there and thats likely to incease alot by spring. Those intangible esthetic points are up to you. Post pics when you get it! Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk
I have probably said this many times before, but for someone like me it is a fairly simple decision. I just bought a 458 spider, which will probably be my last Ferrari (though I said that 4 Ferrari's ago), why well even if no one asks I will tell you anyway. . I use the car on the road and where I live the 458 has way too much power. I like the sound of the 458 better and I think it looks better too. I don't care about infotainment as long as I can get the dead to play loud (I am have the audio system upgraded on Monday), that is all that matters to me. I find the power band of the 458 better suited to the way I drive (I am going to get a tune to remove the touchy throttle). Unlike most people (which is why I am closing in on 500 cars) I just get a notion to buy a car and I buy it, I have no patience to shop for months, I have already spec'd my next car (Porsche Taycan # 44 Porsche), and am test driving the Turbo S in the next week or so. I always ask what is your purpose for a car, and usually the answer someone gives tells them what car to buy. Good luck.
As others have said, it's all about your personal priorities. I was about to pull the trigger on a new 488 that my wife and I spec'ed but, due to work-related timing issues, I bought a '14 458 Spider instead. After having driven the 458 for several months, I rented a 488 Spider in Italy for a couple of days for my Maranello factory visit. The level of refinement and power difference is noticeable in the 488's favor. That said, at the end of our two days in the 488, I found myself lusting for being back in the 458. The nosies it makes, the character it exudes, the modern day classic looks it possesses...all of that stuff has turned out to be more important to me than the extra 100hp that I don't really need. It was a rare "the newer, more expensive thing isn't better" moment for me So, all I can suggest is: drive both, and let your soul make the call.
For one who is not interested in performance, why not consider a 430? it's already modern and got rid of the cambelts in favour of the less maintenance-addict chains. And even the robotised F1 gearbox has a more mechanical feel than the DCT. For the price of a plain 458 a really mint, low-miled 430 Spider should be possible to find...
I think the 458 will feel more of a sports car involving experience, the 488 will be a bit more GT. The 458 Spider suffers a pretty significant amount of cowl shake; whereas this is improved (but not eliminated) with the 488 Spider. The 488 much better transmission and easier access to the power and speed and just much more modern. I think it lends itself better to being a spider, and the 458 better to being a coupe- but that is just my mind. Sent from my iPad using FerrariChat.com mobile app
Based on my experience which is roughly 7-8k km between them, I can think of one very specific reason why I will always reccomend the 488 Spider. We can of course debate whether or not the 458 is fast enough, or the sound and design, but one thing I feel makes a difference that cannot be overlooked, is the difference in stiffness. The 488 simply feels decades ahead in this regard. I am a drop top guy, and I will accept many flaws for the open top experience. But the scuffle and cowl shake of the 458 Spider simply ruins the car for me. I didn't like it when the car debuted, and I don't like it now. Not sure exactly why it is so noticable in a bad way for the 458. I have driven and enjoyed cars that were softer and flexed a lot more. I suppose it's because of the fact that the car is still trying to be an agile and nimble corner carver. It would bother me less had the whole chassis been softer and the car even more GT like. But it's at a weird middle ground where suspension is stiff enough and the steering is fast enough for it to become a real bother, but at the same time one can sense that they have made the car soft to cope better with the flex. So it's sort of not really working as a midengined sportscar, but it's too firm to be a GT cruiser. So for this reason, I think the 488 is a much more interesting, engaging and fun car to drive. As for the power difference. I like it. The thing with power and accelleration is that you get used to it. While a 458 or Porsche GT3RS is great fun in many ways, I can't say the accelleration still really thrills me - something's missing. I hear the engine make a lot of noise but I don't get the tickle in my stomach and my mind is sort of going "is that all you got". So far, the 488 and 812 still thrills me like a kid on a roller coaster in this regard - they make me laugh. I guess within a year or two, the SF90 will mess with my mind again. So, there's the looks and the sound, which are 100% subjective. But as a drivers car in terms of fairly tangible things, I will say that the 488 is well worth the extra coin and if the driving experience is more important than the 458 sound and a Pininfarina badge, the 488 is in a league way above.
I'v asked the same question to many Ferrari owners who are my neighbors in real life and not in the internet, as I'm choosing between the two like u, and all of them advised me to go for the 488! but of course there are other things which are important too, like how many KMs/miles and the price difference of course, the choice at the end will be up to u , regards
After having owned/tested both I personally subscribe "majority opinion": there is no discussion the 488 Spider is a better car than the 458 in overall engineering terms, but it is different in some subjective factors that you might like more or less. After having sold my first 458 and extensively tested the 488 I ended up with going for another 458, as to me it wins on the subjective factors, and I guess it is a better value for money, which unfortunately matters to me. I admit my decision is based on subjective factors and a guess, no numbers here. Having said that I am really interested in the others' opinions as I believe they help me better understand my own car, so I would like to kindly ask the Co-pilota to better clarify what he mean by this terrible "scuffle and cowl shake ... that ruins the car". The reason why I ask is because yes, I can hear some occasional squeak here and there, and it doesn't bother me so much, but really this is almost not-existing to me and for sure it doesn't affect the driving experience. So my question is: is your issue related to "cheap noises" that you don't like to hear, or do you really feel a difference in handling/roadholding compared e.g. to the Italia in normal use? Because based on my experience, understanding and physics, a hell of forces is needed to make a difference in performance between the 458 closed and open chassis, which I believe(d) only a professional driver on a fast track with racing tires can generate... so I am curious to better understand your point. Thanks for clarifying!
458 vs 488 coupe or spider has been discussed ad nauseam in multiple threads. None of these opinions is new. Some like 458 some like 488. My suggestion test drive both and decide for yourself. No reason to keep re-enacting this civil war.
Better yet, drop the “4” and just go for the 88. Gets the same mileage, sounds wicked, turns heads, etc...... https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.hemmings.com%2Fblog%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F%2F2018%2F09%2F64012045-770-0%402X.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.hemmings.com%2Fblog%2F2018%2F10%2F22%2Fhemmings-find-of-the-day-1957-oldsmobile-golden-rocket-88-convertible%2F&docid=mdiWrueQVbS8UM&tbnid=Tl7xHyBObAzyAM%3A&vet=10ahUKEwjP-7u2wKPmAhVGJzQIHb_WB34QMwhnKBowGg..i&w=1200&h=800&hl=en-us&client=safari&bih=722&biw=1112&q=oldsmobile%2088%20convertible%201957&ved=0ahUKEwjP-7u2wKPmAhVGJzQIHb_WB34QMwhnKBowGg&iact=mrc&uact=8
I drove a 488 spider and a 458 spider back to back before I decided. This entire notion about cowl shake is debatable. I have never had cowl shake in my 458 spider. The only rattling I hear is the seat belt banging against the carbon fiber seat and that is an easy fix. Yesterday I drove the F8 more on that in a later post, but I wanted to drive it back to back with a 458 spider. I had to go to work in the morning so I took my daily but one of my friends was at the dealership in his 458. I immediately noticed a difference in the way the car was pulling and this “cowl shake.” I asked him about it and we asked if the service folks could take a look. They told him his alignment was off and affecting his ride quality. Further they said that the alignment on these cars are incredibly sensitive to potholes, curbs, etc and so if you accidentally hit one you need to have the car re-aligned. So while I agree there is some cowl shake in any car that is not a CF tub, I would argue that maintaining the car is a huge factor.
