Lifelong Porsche guy considering GTS for 50th bday

Hi friends,

I turn 50 next year and have started to think about ordering myself a new car. I currently have a Lamborghini Urus (daily), a 992 GT3 Touring w/manual, and a McLaren GT. The Mac is 100% on the chopping block, and the GT3 Touring may be as well.

I will be test driving a 296 GTS on Tuesday to see how I like it. Candidly, I’d ignored the car for so long because of its hybrid V6. But after watching review after review, I’m finding it impossible to ignore how much people rave about it. Initially had thought about pursuing an F8, given the V8 and more familiar styling, lack of touch screen etc, but it seems like the 296 is a massive leap, and besides, who am I to be a purist — as I’m new new to the brand and don’t want to let dogma get in the way of enjoying an incredible machine.

Assuming I like the car, my next dilemma is whether to order new or find a lightly used example. To give you some context, I could afford any car Ferrari has for sale easily, but I’ve always been prideful about finding the sweet spot of very low miles and a good deal - preferring to avoid as much depreciation as I can so as to feel less guilty about making the purchase. Might be my middle-class-son-of- immigrants upbringing

For this 50th milestone present to myself however, I’m strongly considering just ordering exactly what I want and saying “screw it” to any concern about depreciation. If the car is a long term keep, it’s probably less relevant anyway. At the same time, I’m trying to assess exactly how much I’d save by buying a low mile, one year old GTS. My crude research reveals the savings aren’t huge.

I’d love your opinion on my champagne problem!

 

There may be new ones that people decided not to take possession.

Looks like you’ve been thinking about entering Ferrari world for a few years now!

 

op imo, you are over thinking it.

My purchases were about emotion , feel , cache, inclusion, and visual beauty. Depreciation , value was on the bottom of the list.

There's a saying, something to the effect , That owner's of the other brands all aspire to be in a Ferrari , however the reverse is not true.

My experience , get the Ferrari and at least be able to say , been there done that. You won't be disappointed.

Good luck.

 

Not sure you’d get a new one within a year if you ordered now (if that’s important to you).

 

You have to talk to the Ferrari dealer to really understand what they have in their inventory. The Ferrari North America doesn't let their dealerships advertise a new car that another client may have walked away from. The dealership typically advertises 1 year old cars or older. It is not unusual to see used Ferrari models with less than 100 miles on them. Some customers simply buy new Ferrari models to get access to more exclusive models that have limited availability. "Think 911 S/T" vs. a 911 Carrera T. Also finding an unusual paint color that you like may work to your advantage on price. Think "Aubergine" vs. "Guards Red". Finally don't limit yourself to just one Ferrari dealership if you are buying "used". Ferrari dealers can only order cars for clients who live in the dealer's geographic territory. The used Ferrari market is wide open.

 

Hope you can still order! We ordered our GTS in July and dealer told us it was one of the last ones Ferrari took for the US market. But maybe they have kept it open. Also- when we went to the dealer there were 3 brand new cars that were available that people had backed out of for various reasons.

 

Love the 296 gts. Drive one and a f8 and go from there a lot of brand new296 gts are available good luck

 

Gonna be hard to time an ordered Ferrari. Heck, they are sitting in the port now for 3+ months.

Best if you find a new one and buy it. Just hide it in storage till your birthday!!!

 

You only turn 50 once.

Order the car you want, buy it, drive it, and don't look back.

 

992 Turbo was too tame-sounding and perfect for me. 992.2 GTS T-Hybrid sounds more interesting, fast enough, would always take over 992.1 Turbo/S though not quite as fast (but pretty quick). Keeping Dakar as a better 992 and great city car to give 0 ****s about scraping driving around.

I have a GTB and had ordered a new one and Speciale. I'm disliking the lack of steering feel more and more and driving 4RS Manthey (fast enough for me when whomped on) and 620R more.

But the 296 is comfortable, super fast, sounds better than McLarens and all 992s, and feels more agile than any Porsche I've been in but 914 and Cayman track specials. Driving it in the wet or at high speeds still is creepy and adjusting the mirrors still invites inventive cursing but the look of the display with Carplay in the center is great.

 

I went from a GT3 to a Pista a few years ago and never looked back. GT3 is a phenomenal car. As precise as it gets and one of the best driving experiences you can have, but nothing matches the emotion of a Ferrari. I just came back from Corsa Pilota at Laguna Seca and spent 2 days tracking the 296. That cars capabilities is beyond shocking. It’s hard to believe how hard you can push that thing. The whole hybrid/V6 complaints are total nonsense. The drive is a 10/10 and it sounds great. What more do you need. Do it!

PS- There are new cars available. I just got offered a new 296 GTS that my dealer is holding this week. Would have to trade my 812 GTS for it and I’m not sure I’m down for that

 

Looks like you surface every few years with a similar post. Looking at your history you posted in 2022 with the same question and again in 2024 when you were 47 and looking at the 488. Why didn't you pull the trigger the last 2 times you were looking?

 

So true. I cannot get over how great a sports car the 296 is. It really is a 10. If I could only have one car I would unquestionably have a 296GTS over the 812 GTS. Note: I own both now.

 

Wow that’s a big statement. I do understand your love for it though. It’s an incredible car. 812 GTS scratches a bit of a different itch especially given it’s a convertible and I live in California, plus I have a Pista as well. It’s a really tough call that I can’t seem to make which leads me to just stay where I am since I love both the 812 and the Pista. Dealer offered me a 296 Speciale if I swap my 812 for one of his new 296 GTS. Ive been debating for weeks.

 

Because I bought other cars (as you can see from my original post). Didn’t realize there was a statute on how many times one could come to the altar and get cold feet

 

IMHO 296 is the best driving mid engine production Ferrari they ever made.

812 GTS is all about the engine. The handling is great too, but it's really about the engine. If you are someone who responds to that, and I think thats probably most traditional Ferrari lovers, the 812 is a serious dose of the good stuff.

 

Thanks everyone for the insight and feedback.

To the question of new vs used, what kind of discounts are folks seeing on a lightly used GTS?

If I decide on red or yellow, I think I’d have some variety of on-the-ground inventory to choose from next year. But I am leaning towards one of the green shades which seem tougher to find and may force me to order new and take the depreciation hit…

 

200k off but didn't sell. https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2024-ferrari-296-gts-5/

This one did sell. https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2024-ferrari-296-gts-6-2/

 

Happy 50th! I specced a 296 GTS for my 60th. Not the wisest financial decision of my life but it was a milestone and I am not likely to part with it any time soon. The drive experience, as I am guessing you may agree, is very good. You get used to the annoying haptics by setting everything up when you start off and then pretty much ignore them. I got the car in Sept 2024 and have covered 10k extraordinary miles in it in UK and EU. Hope you either find one you like (better value) or spec one to your exact taste (great experience) - if you can try to do Corsa Pilota in Italy. That too has Ferrari pricing but it’s a unique experience and they used the 296 GTB when I went last year. Even the Ferrari instructors agreed it’s one of their best driving cars recently. A picture of mine is here.


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Gorgeous! Is that Verde Masoni? One of the colors I’m strongly considering.

 

Thank you,verde minerale.

 

Id definitely buy used. You can get 150k off a lightly used one easily.

 

Wow!

 

And there’s some nice green ones for sale.

 

I purchased that one. WIfe had to have a white interior.