Boxer or 512 TR

Very nice BB. I dont know anything about that dealer

The 512TR is essentially a more modern BB or vice versa.

So the 512TR is everything the BB is but more, better, faster, newer, more reliable, etc

It comes down to choice of body style & they are both gorgeous so not much on downside

My biggest worry RE the BB would be finding parts for that beast. FNA never imported the BB so its a grey market car. You have to make sure you have the DOT/EPA releases when you buy it. Also 1) its a no older car so parts are more bound to fail 2) its a BB so parts will be hard to come by & expensive

Where do you live in NY ? I have an excellent mechanic you can speak to about the 2 cars.

Bill Pollard in Gaylordsville CT. He services my 512TR & another customer has a BB

Good luck

 

Robbin

I keep my boxer in NW CT. There are several differences between a boxer and a testarossa, one of the biggest being the looks. On the open road the power feels very simlar with a well tuned boxer feeling faster to about 150. The boxer feels like you imagine that 170's can am racer to be, its all a bit raw and exotic, whereas a testaroossa is far more civilised.

If weekend blasts are your thing then a boxer is the way to go, its not a car for valet parkers and the ac struggles to keep up with midsummer sun comming through the greenhouse windsheild. A boxer is also far more subtle and will not attraxt the attention of every citizen or cop ar its roll or blasts by. Its hard to slip through town in a testarossa.

I have never had problems with parts, but the right mechanic is a necessity. After 20 or so yaers certain things need going over, apart from belts all hoses coolant and brake need replacing, but the same holds true for a testarossa. The biggest barrier seems to be boxer knowledge, if your close to bill pollard then there are no problems, he is a boxer artist.

One last thing, Boxers have absolutly crap tires for the track, If youre planning on pushing it on the track then you will need some non metric wheels and more modern rubber.

If you really want to play on the track hard then maybee a 355 or a 512tr is the way to go. For me the boxer is all about fun, its a great open road car, rt7 suits it perfectly, and can be an absolute blast on the track, it is sensitive to drive and requires tlc, but mine has run like a clock for 11 years.

There are only issues drawbacks, you need someone who understands the car, its not a commuter type car, and tires are crap for the track.

I would say unless you are going for a 512tr or m forget the testarossa, its softer bigger not really faster and astheticaly challenged. The tr and M though are in a different performance category and can look quite menacing in black.

Let us know how it turns out and if youre in the neighbourhood lets try do sme runs over the summer.

One last thing a boxer is definatly not a car to take anywhere near nyc, it would be tortuyre for you and the car, in a testarossa it can be done.

 

Sean, Robbin, where do you guys live in CT ? Sean I think we might have met once on the highway down near the Danbury mall, I was in the black 512TR, was that your grigio BB ?
My parents live on Candlewood lake in Brookfield & I go visit in the summer.

Robbin to get to Bill's shop you drive N on 7 its the next town N of New Milford about 15 minutes N of the bridge in NM

I'll be up in CT in May, Maybe we can all take the Ferraris to DOWN THE SNATCH on the Lake

 

William, yes I have the grigio BB, interesting that it was you that time we met on 84, I remember how your tr peeled down7 and took the mall offramp, it was the last time wife was in the car, so down the snatch is in..

I built a house last year on lake lillinonah about 10mi east of candlewood and have been 'exploring' some of the roads. As soon as the sand and salt clears the boxer will be back in action, I am up there most weekends over the summer so we can have a few good drives.

Recently bought an M3 so i can do some more track events "drive" through the winter and commute from ct to my office in weschester over the summer.

Fortunatly I spend a good deal of time in South Africa where the roads are like the autobahn without traffic. Kinda kills me to hold back in the boxer, but if we can get the right group together, as you know there are some great roads in ct.

 

DOWN THE SNATCH is really DOWN THE HATCH Its a restaurant on the Brookfield side of Candlewood. Its the only restaurant on Candlewood that I know of where you can arrive by car or boat. Its usually packed

Sean, I grew up on Lake Lillinoah, The roads were a lot more fun 20 years ago w less traffic

Rte 7 N of New Milford up to Mass is awesome when there little traffic. There are few cops around there too.

I used to carve 7 up in my 308.

Heres a funny story about 7.

I was at a friends auto stereo store in NM w another car & met this guy. We started talking & I told him I had a black 308 he says " So Your'e the one " He told me at a town meeting a Cop stood up saying they were looking for a black Ferrari that was tearing up Rte 7. LOL

I told him those Cops couldnt catch a cold in a hospital & they still never caught me playing in any of the Ferraris

 

Yeah i know down the hatch, got your meaning. rt7 copos is why you want a subtle approach quiet exhaust etc or a few cooperative freinds with motorola, but then there rt8 for speed.

 

Evidently you havent heard my 512TR w Tubis & no cats, Shes anything but quiet

Which one is Rte 8 ? Cops are such a pain I just go to the track to really let her off her leash

 

I think the group has already captured the differences quite well, but here's my take on it. Essentially, a TR is all the impracticality of a Boxer (and more, considering the width) with none of the fun. To me, the TR and later 512 variants are just too civilized- Ferrari was going after a more mainstream market, and they achieved their goal, as MANY more TRs were sold than Boxers. I have a perfect Nero/Bordeaux '81 carb Boxer. It is an absolute blast to drive, with all the whoops and snarls of the old v-12 cars, but with more modern performance levels. The power and throttle response makes the carb cars more desirable to me, but even an injected Boxer is more fun than any TR, which feels alot like driving your living room around. Realistically, none of the cars we are talking about are quick by current standards, so you're buying for esthetics, not performance, and that's where the Boxer has it all over the TRs. The only possible reason I can imagine for buying a TR would be if you are really tall, as they do have more room than a Boxer. I have 10 other cars, including two other Ferraris, a Maserati, Mercedes AMG, etc and the Boxer is the last one I'd sell. I guess it and a '59 Alfa Spider Veloce I've had for 25+ years are my two favorites of the 150 or so cars I've owned. Boxers are just fantastic cars, and one of the all-time great buys at current price levels. How's that for owner enthusiasm?

 

Essentially, the BB and 512TR are nearly the same car, except the TR is faster and more reliable. In all reality it comes down to which body style you like best. They're both gorgeous so there isn't really a downside there. The biggest thing you would have to worry about when buying a BB is finding parts for it. the BB is a grey market car because Ferrari North America never imported it to the US.

Make sure you have the EPA/DOT releases when/if you buy the car. Some things you must concern yourself with are the BB is an older car so parts are bound to fail sometime, and parts can be extremely difficult to come by for the BB, and are very expensive. Good luck with whichever car you get, and just make sure to drive her.

 

I dont think I agree with you on this LOL
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Rt8 runs from waterbury to torrington two lanes both directions hardly any exits, a great place to really let the horses run and run. Think autobahn or autostrada, long flowind bends with plenty of forward view for the straights, not twisty track, the kind of place those big flat twelves werte designed for.
Rt 7 is a 3rd gear road rt8 is a 4th and fith gear road, know what I mean.

Have never been to watkins glenn but I hear that is also like a fast road.

 

Now I remember, I have a place up in Goshen. Never thought of ripping through Rt 8, Ive seen a few cops there.

Of course there is the super 7 connector AKA the Drag Strip which is conveniently only a few miles from the NY border

 

i guess its looking like a fast summer

 

I have both: an 83 Boxer (BBi), and an 88.5 TR.

I live in a beautiful cruising county, in WI........Door County!!!!!!!!!! I also have family in Chicago.

When I go to Chicago, I use the TR..........more relaxing, and easier to drive. When I cruise in Door County, I use the Boxer........great for short cruising trips.

If I where to sell one, it would be the TR.

BTW: I have the best Ferrari mechanic, in WI...........ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

There are good boxers and great boxers. A great boxer will have had a full engine out service within the last 5 years including distributor and water pump. Brake and coolant hoses will have been done in 10 years or less and shocks will have done too. To do the above work figure 10-15k.

A TR is getting on 10 years or more so will need the same bits in its history and will probably cost a little more to have done.

Both of these cars will have to have this stuff done if your playing at the track or just want it to drive properly. This is the price if youre starting with a good car to begin with.


Figure 70-75 for a good boxer needing the work and 80-90k for a great entusiast owned up to date car depending on the bits.

On top of all this if the tires are old they will need replacing.

I dont know tr prices but they seem above 100k maybee more for a good one.

After the work is done you will have a mechanicaly sound reliable car which with regular maintanace will drive well for at least 5 years or so when the next belt change engine out is due. This rule holds for almost every ferrari from the mid 70's on, although some of the newer cars need this service every 3 years. Figure to spend at least $700 on a basic year and maybe $2000+ every other year for full fluid changes etc, with that 10k nut to crack every 5-8years.

On the other habd besides maintance the cars are very robust, something that does not appear to be the case with 355's and 456's.

Spend well and you'll enjoy the car for many years. Buy a cheapo boxer or testarossa and it will cost you in repairs more than a good cost to buy to put right. Have the wrong person work on either car, and as some of the threads will attest you will spend 15k twice. Dont mean to be alarmist but these are the cold hard facts. There are many ferraris out there that are solid basic cars that have not been kept up, because the owners cant tell the difference or they wern't driven, that have low mileage but need the work done. Basicaly you have components that need refreshing erey 5 years and others at ten years, so every 5 years its a single big bill and every ten years its two bigish bills.

If the Boxer youre looking at is fully up to date and you buy it in the low 80's its a good deal. Even then youre going to be spending something in the first yeaR TO PUT THE LITTLE THINGS RIGHT. As much as I would like to have a neighbour with a Boxer if youre taking the car into NYC best get a testarossa.

 

Auction site shows "deposit received" and car may be sold but auction continuing in case it falls thru...is that you??