are ferraris and other exotics overrated?

just the sound of Ferrari is worth $100k over a M3

so in my books, Ferrari and other exotics are well worth it...

 

Objectively, of course they're overrated. (Why buy anything other than a Toyota - which is probably [again, objectively] the best car in the World ?)

Subjectively, it's a different story...

Ferrari has a blend of racing history (past and present), performance, style and exclusivity that no other company can match.

Porsches are too numerous (and the company seems to have lost interest in racing, preferring to make SUVs instead).

Lamborghinis simply do not have the racing pedigree (and old Ferruccio lost interest in his company after ten years - not something you could accuse Enzo of).

Maseratis are not in the same league as they were in the 60s & 70s, and as long as they're owned by Ferrari, never will be again.

I think the 'soul' of these cars really relates to the accumulation of events & people over the years that have contributed to their heritage: founders, designers, race drivers, Owners & collectors etc. On this basis, I think all the companies above (plus the other makes you mention - and Jaguar) make products that have a degree of soul - but I think that the link is more evident in some than in others.

So, personally I think a Ferrari is worth every overpriced penny... But I would not dream of buying designer clothes, vintage wines, expensive food or trendy pieces of art. (I guess I'm lucky that I'm only irrational when it comes to cars... !)

John

 

You got that right 365boy! i feel the exact same way...and for all the same reasons. Ferrari also has the name of prestige..but as to lamborghini has a sort of bad-ass look to it. the "bad boy" look. i prefer the ferrari simply cause of style, prestige, speed, sound, and feel. its all mystique in which a porsche cannot give me.

btw-i love the prancing horse logo. and almost everybody seems to know that logo!

 

Your name is seinfield and you like Ferrari over Porsche.
I find that funny.

 

I have said this before
The less soul a car has the more reliable it is.
Think about it, if you build a cool looking car thats unreliable it will
be deemed a car with soul.
Build a cool car thats reliable "i.e. nsx" and people will say it has no soul
or less soul
"So unreliability plus a cool car equals soul"
Really think about this, its true.

 

At the risk sounding vain, I'd like to mention that it feels really good to be able to say "I have a Ferrari." I never got that feeling with any other car. There is just something about the name and the mystique that surrounds it. Did that make me sound like a prick?

 

I have a 355 GTS, which followed a 328GTS.

My head says I should sell it and buy a 911 or M3 so I can take my family along too.

I have even been to see a few cars, and it all seems a good idea. And then I go home, and just look at the 355 in my garage and the porsche and bmw brochures are put away again!

There is just something about exotics which seduces you; people I know who are not interested in cars at all suddenly get what my enthusiasm is all about when they have a look around the 355 and hear the engine.

You can respect the ability of an M3 or 911. But you can only love a true exotic, warts and all.

 

I'm not an owner of a Ferrari yet, but I am a big enthusiast. You can go out and buy a reliable civic and put tons of money into it to make it the ultimate drag racer and track car. It will cost less than a Ferrari, but at the end of the day you still have a civic. There is just something about Ferrari. Its past and present make it the ultimate sportscar manufacturer. Ferrari isn't just about making the fastest cars, there is so much more to it than that.

 

haha...yeah. i love seinfeld...funny stuff. a bit of a contradiction huh?...i prefer ferrari's though. everyone to their own tastes...

 

Ferrari road cars have always been considered THE car to own in the early days because of its racing reputation,along with its ever growing list of jet setting clients.For the working class guy a ferrari was out of reach,and once the the Miami Vice TV show featured the Daytona/Testarossa then the Disco/Scarface crowd moved in,with even more intrigue about the cars on screen either chasing the bad guys or being seized from the bad guys on the evening news.Lamborghinis have always been a beautiful car but the ones i drove never backed up its looks on the street or track,nothing like those i read about in car magazine test drives and they usually would break during those.im not trying to offend lambo owners im just speaking from personal experience in the cars and its no secret the multi owner era the cars werent well sorted(thats an understatement).Maybe
if Enzo had been more courteous to Lamborghini that one day,would there even be a Countach or Diablo?

About 12 years ago Roger Bailey arranged a meeting for me with a company that was building a new supercar to assist in the US version.
Back then it was all hush hush and id forgotten about the whole deal until i came across my files of the project.anyone remember this?
The Yamaha OX99-11 5 valve V12

 

How many Lambo's have you owned? Just curious. I've had 8 F cars and and over 15 Lambo's, and have never reached the conclusions that you have.

 

I own an aformentioned M3 (2002 model) and have been lucky enough to drive a number of Ferrari's, the most recent being a 2002 F1 360 Spyder.

I think that knowing the history and breeding of the Ferrari (and similar exotica) counts for a lot. The M3 is awesome, sounds incredible, absoloutly flies, and is very well built... but they're all over the place.

The 360 sends a tingle down your spine when you look at if and stirs the soul when you start it up - why? I dont know, but I wouldnt mind betting that if you could manufacture that formula, there would be one or two German manufacturers fighting each other for access to it!

 

Well said (written?) It is just a car that is luxury part of life. But luxury part of life is what motivates people to work harder, I think.

 

Well, in a word, they are over rated. They're still just cars. They're not the fastest, they're not the best handling, and they're not the best performance for the money. Sure, they drive well and they're sporty but to own a Ferrari and be happy about it, you have to take pleasure in the intangibles - some good, some not. The good intangibles are the racing history, the prestige, the camraderie with other F-owners. The bad is the attention (some may not think it's bad), the showiness (again, some may see this as a plus), and the image (once more...). I never wanted a Ferrari for the image, attention, etc. so maybe I am a little different.

However, those intangibles are very real and if you're a car person like most of us are, there's no substitute.

Also, I think that there are different times in our lives to own a Ferrari. Sometimes, you need something more performance oriented, sometimes more practical, and sometimes you just need a change. Having said that, if you're one of those people who has always loved the intangibles, you'll always come back to a Ferrari or Lamborghini.

 

My recent buying experience has been:
* 2002 Corvette: buyers remorse
* 2002 Porsche 911: buyers remorse
* 2004 Ferrari 360: expectations exceeded, no buyers remorse
(the Ms and AMGs didn't make it to "purchase")

The 360 "package" is awesome. It's not the absolute best at anything except being fun (and maybe the sound). R&T or C&D (can't remember which) a few issues ago summed it up by saying the 360 gets the award for being the "most fun car on the planet." I agree. I don't feel the need to defend a car, only to state personal observations. Tim

 

Exotics have always been and always will be poor values as cars and bang for the buck performance wise.

One day a young guy was parked next to me in an older Toyota Corolla. After a pause, he says "my car's just as good as that one". I replied, "yours is a better car, but mine is much more fun".

Like most Ferrari owners I have tried & owned numerous other HP machines but none I have tried stir me like Fcars. After a lot of thought, I think I can articulate why. First, the sight of my Fcar makes my knees weak. Open the door and the smell of leather drifts out that does not smell like any other car I know. Getting in is like putting on a pair of well worn jeans. Fire it up and you instantly know it ain't no Toyota. Put it on the road, let the rev's rise and the speed climb and it transforms into a different animal altogether, like no other car I have yet found. Those of us stricken with Fcar disease find it all very intoxicating, others don't get it at all, and, indeed, I know of some owners who just want to say they have a Ferrari. What it all adds up to is great fun. Even the performance challenged 308's are great fun to drive and look at, more so than any modern HP car I know. My "other" car is a Subaru STI. It is fun, especially on racetracks, with fabulous performance in every area, and certainly more of a drivers car than most modern HP cars, but given an open 2 lane road and some time, I would rather be at the wheel of ANY Ferrari.

Dave

 

I have gone through Corvettes, 911's, BMW M blah blah blah and enjoyed driving all of them. None got my pulse pounding like the 360 spider. It was love at first sight and 70k over list, but I can't take the money with me and i'm not spending the milk money on cars. It is "the most fun car on the planet".

As to reliability, I have an old F-car ('74 dino) which won't shift into second until gear oil is warm, which needs carbs adjusted every year, but otherwise have never had any major problems. Let's see a 30 year old Toyota make the same claim. I have also had far fewer problems in 2 years with the 360 spider than I did in 2 years with a Porsche 911, so I think build quality has increased tremendously.

All this objectivity aside, my 9 y/o son would never let me sell either of the above. He is already a man of breeding and taste. If you just want great bang for your buck buy a Lotus Exige

 

Let me boil it all down to this:


"Drive one, and you'll understand"

 

There is no problem with M3s and M5s, in fact they are my favorite non-Ferrari cars. IMO you buy an exotic because you want the unmatched performance, style, and herritage. As some one said the greatest two words together in a sentence are "My Ferrari"

 

personally ive owned a 400gt,espada,and a jalpa,and for only one week since i couldnt cram my fat ass in properly a periscope countach.But like the song once bitten twice shy those cars were long ago.ive also driven countless miles in several types of diablos at speed on tracks or closed street settings for television commercials and other filming etc...Ive always felt that the Lamborghini has been an excellent automobile in design and theory and perhaps my words reflect more of my personal opinions on the vehicles ive driven,for example this Diablo gave me a great education of Lambos while running 40 lap sessions at 150 mph on track for an oil commercial.

 

Until March, I had owned nothing but Hondas since 1978, and I love my 2000 Civic SI. But I have never regretted the day I added a 328GTS to my garage.

Compared to the Honda, the Ferrari is difficult to get into, hard to see out of, has an awkward driving position, a very heavy clutch, a notchy shifter, very little storage space both in the cockpit and in the trunk; and the trunk gets so warm it limits what you can put back there; the engine looks like a pain to work on (especially the forward cylinder bank) and puts out enough noise to wake up the neighborhood; the ventilation system requires an engineering degree to figure out and doesn't work all that well; the stereo is difficult to hear at even moderate speeds; the speedometer and tachometer are both highly inaccurate and impossible to read at night, and the steering wheel blocks part of the view of each. Add the facts that parts, service and repair are ridiculously expensive and that you must be careful where you drive and where you park, not to mention the high cost of insurance (if you insure it on a normal policy) and registration, and no sane person would buy one.

So I must be crazy! But I wouldn't change one thing. I've wanted a Ferrari for 30 years, and I got a good one for less than the price of many new luxury sedans and SUVs. Lambos are too far out; Porsches and Corvettes are too common; Acura NSXs just don't have the panache. Yes, Ferraris are overrated objectively, but you can't overlook the subjective values of tradition, style, and breeding.

 

I guess I must be lucky.
I have a 79 308 gts, and the car has been great. The clutch is not heavy, the driving position is perfect, the windows roll up and down in a speedy manor, the wipers work great, and I have no problems viewing the gauges at night. I love this car! I've driven many cars, and this is the most fun.
I say it's worth it. I really don't care about the attraction it gets.