488 Spider to 296 GTB

All,

Considering trading in Murphy 2017 488 Spider for this 2023 296 GTB:

https://preowned.ferrari.com/en-US/a/north-america/used-ferrari/usa/ferrari-of-san-francisco/296-gtb/ZFF99SLA6P0294447-1760955458785

I have owned F430, 458 and 488 - all spiders. Never experienced mid engine Ferrari without some cowl Shake.

Question/concerns:

1. Will I miss the open air.
2. Closet dealership for service and repairs is 3.5 hours away in STL. Getting there for scheduled maintenance, no big deal. Repair issues could be more of a pain.
3. Any reliability issues? This car has under 1000 miles. 488 are pretty bullet proof.

 

1. No idea, but the experience is different leagues in performance
2. You'll be good, cars are quite reliable from what I've seen. Certainly mine has been.
3. See 2.

 

I came to a 296 GTB from a 488 Spider and don’t miss it one bit, granted I only drove it for 6000 miles and 2 years, but definitely drove it more than just a couple hundred miles a year.

The 296’s handling is on a completely different league. The engine itself is way racier and snappier, makes the 3.9 V8 feel ancient and lazy.

Zero regrets.

 

Did you abandon the Maserati already? Are you not happy with the 488 as just ready to move on to something else?

https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/maserati-mc-20-cielo.712120/

 

I would offer a different opinion. I am a big spider fan. While 296 is way better than a 488 to drive, open air is huge for me. In the perfect world I would have a gts, but I'm ok for now because I have two other convertibles, so I take the gtb when weather is too hot. If 488 is your only open top, I would have some reservations tbh. Hard to beats cruising on a nice night along the ocean after dinner.

 

That is my choice right now:

MC20 Cielo with a 4 year bumper to bumper warranty, dealership in KC to handle any issues with a free loaner, open top driving in stiff carbon fiber body, plus clearing around $30k in my favor on trade, OR

296 GTB with free maintenance for another four years, a little less than one year on bumper to bumper, no dealership in town if any issues come up, and about $75k out of pocket to close difference.

The 488 does not do a whole lot for me drive wise. Tired of cowl shake.

 

I traded my Pista Spider last year and severely regretted it immediately afterwards. I also have an 812 GTS. I recently purchased a Pista Coupe because the spider prices are now astronomical. I have to say, the coupe driving experience is significantly better but I do miss the open top every single drive. I live in SOCAL and did a 3 hour drive through the Angeles forest last night and was so upset I couldn’t pull the top down. It’s def a tough call. The drive is a significant step up but losing the open top is prob worse in my opinion. Why not a GTS? They are pretty reasonably priced at this point. You can get in one for $350K if you search and 350K for that car is an incredible price.