Daytona vs Regular, Challenge vs Non-Challenge

Personally, I would take car 'B'. Here's why:
1. I have sat in Daytona seats, the fancy leather inserts are uncomfortable on my back.
2. The rear challenge grill is simple to install and not that expensive.
3. The modular wheels are a real bear to clean - the 5 spokers are effortless.
4. After listening to the engine at redline a few times, you may find that you have all the "stereo" you need.
5. Less miles.
6. Lower price.
7. Cheaper insurance (earlier year).

 

Which do you prefer the look of ?

Which seats do you find more comfortable ?

 

The seats, grill, stereo, and wheels can all be changed.

If you were to sell the items on Car B to pay for the upgrades on Car A, you might even come out ahead. There is a specialist on here who can install the Daytona seat inserts. The challenge grill, as stated is an easy upgrade. Same for the wheels. You might find that the Hi-Fi Ferrari uses is crap and want to change that anyway. You have lots of options but I would go with B.

But as greyboxer said, which one looks better to you? Color has a lot to do with it.

 

Personally I'd go with car B as well. Nobody listens to the radio.. I thought I would but I don't. The modular rims visually look smaller than the starfish and can be bought on ebay easily if desired so who know how "rare" they are.

My car came with the challenge grill and I like it for cooling down the car in the hot summer here in the south. A friend has the regular solid panel on his 360 and he reports no problems with heat. The challenge grill can be added on relatively less expensively than the price differential. I just find the grill completes the looks of the car, the black widens out the back..

 

Interesting comment about the standard seat as I've heard others say the Daytona and Sport seat is much more comfortable, personally I like the look of the optional seats but I'd only be concerned if they were more functional than standard issue equipment.

 

Save 10k because you will be upgrading soon to a 430. Probably within a year.

 

I would go with car A but I like all those options. I think the modular wheels look much better than the standard ones. The challenge grill is a nice touch and I like the look of the Daytona seats. I understand these additions can be done with car B but it will take more time and effort which for me can be a nuisance. Just My opinion. Also, car A is newer and has been driven a little more so hopefully the "kinks" have been worked out. $10k isn't a big difference for what you get.

 

I vote for car B also (similar reasons as above) BUT still get a PPI to ensure. You might chance your mind after the PPI result.

 

I think the reason car B is 10 grand less is the year and not really the options. There is some of that but being an 03 vs 05 also makes a difference.

Personally, I'd go for B and pocket the 10K (and have lower additional miles when you resell)

You won't miss the options and you can get a challenge grill pretty cheap if you want one.

360's didn't have bad looking standard seats. F430 standard seats are so ugly, virtually everyone bought Daytona's.

 

You probably can't go wrong either way, though it's usually recommended that one buys the newest car they can afford. Even though the '05 has around 12K miles, that's still less than 2K miles a year on average...perfectly acceptable and healthy use, IMO. Plus, it has those nice options (especially the Daytona seats). If it were me, unless the '03 was in significantly better condition, I would probably go with the '05. A pre-purchase inspection is a good idea, too. Good luck.

 

I wish the guy that originally owned mine ordered the Daytonas. Seat covers remain on for me.

 

Yup....or just go to the 430 directly

 

I'll go against the majority in this thread and vote for the car A. I agree with Bob in that I think that most of the price difference is because car A is 2 years newer. Unless you are planning on moving on to a 430 in the next year or two, then it would be ideal to have a newer car. Car B will be 10 years old after one year of ownership. And although low miles always sounds good, a 9 year old car with less than 5000 miles starts to become a liability. If the car has only been driven 500 miles a year then it does a lot of sitting around. Heck assuming it got driven on the occasional weekend for a nice 40-50 mile drive (not that hard to do) then that would mean it only got driven once a month or so. That means 29 days a month it sat in a garage (lots of time for seals to dry out, parts to stay stagnate, and tires to develop flat spots. In my humble opinion, 2000-3000 miles a year is the sweet spot. The car gets driven 3-4 times a month and a 7 year old car with less than 12000 miles is still a very low mile car. Having a rear challenge grill (while not a huge deal to install afterwards, $1200-1500 and and some time to install) is one less thing to have to do. It does help vent the heat out of the engine compartment and in my opinion, looks far better than the painted rear grill. The better stereo is a definite plus. I listen to the radio about half the time and having the upgraded sound system is great. I personally have never been a fan of the stock starfish wheel look. My 360 came with custom 19 inch 3 piece forged alloy wheels and I really like the look over the stock wheels. They are not hard to clean (just washed my car today) with a good wheel brush. Of course the seats are a personal decision but I much prefer the look of the Daytona seats. In the end it really depends on which car you like better. Assuming that the 10k difference is not a deal breaker, then I would go for the newer, better optioned car A. I also believe that you would be able to sell car A for 10k more than car B in a couple of years if and when you sell it. So while car B costs 10 k less now, it will also sell for 10 k less in a couple years. Good luck and let us know what you decide on.

 

Car A. Just the 2 years newer is easily worth 10k more. The modular wheels look 10,000 times better than the stock starfish wheels. That's why I added them to my 360 Spider, but I disagree that they are easy to find, they are not, and not cheap either after the fact. I got mine pre-owned, for about the cost of the factory new option price. The Daytona seats
look much better, and add resale value. The rear challenge grill also a plus, and keeps the engine cooler. Also you are getting an F1 transmission too, with the latest software. The rear sub is no big deal, but again, try adding it later and it will alone cost you 5k plus.

Over and over again, I have been advised to get the best equipped nicest one I could find.
I listened, and have been extremely happy. Option A most definitely, just get a PPI and make sure that it is mechanically sound.

 

Car A.

 

I just checked on Ricambi and a 360 challenge grill lists for over $2660. That does not include shipping and installation. When I was searching for a 360, I looked into what it would take to install a rear challenge grill. While 2 people could make it an DIY job it depends on your desire and abilities. There is a bit of flexing of the grill that needs to take place to get it into position and secure it and of course one slip and you've scratched your bumper or rear quarter panel. So in that case, how much do you have to pay someone (who knows what they are doing) to install it. I'm gonna say that with purchase, shipping, and install you are over $3000 for the grill alone. If you want to upgrade the stereo with an amp and subwolfer you would be in for at least another $1-2 k depending on what you get and with install. Forget trying add Daytona inserts afterward, definitely not worth the effort and cost. I got an estimate for repair of a 1 inch tear in my seat piping from a top notch seat upholstery shop and it was $680 as the labor takes time to just remove/ reinstall the seats, match the leather, and do the job right. I can only imagine what it would cost to try and install inserts as someone suggested. Probably better to get new seats but in that case if you want Daytonas then buy a car with Daytonas. Adding on better wheels on your own is gonna cost $2000-4000 when you include shipping and install and that assumes you've got good tires on car B that will fit your new wheels. Keep in mind that there is a good chance that car B with less than 5000 miles could have the original tires on it. I learned from Fchat that tire rubber compounds age and harden and after 3-4 years they really lose their performance and safety characteristics. You can look at the tire and see when it was manufactured. If car B still has original tires (regardless of how much tread they have left on them) then you'd better tack on the cost of new rubber onto the cost of new wheels. On the other hand, it is highly likely that car A with 12000 miles has had the tires replaced so then with car A you are getting better looking wheels with the likelyhood of newer tires. So when you add up all that and include how much time you would have to take to get all that done (assuming that you want those options) then car A is a slam dunk decision given that it is 2 years newer. Lastly, as far as seals and such drying out, being in a climate controlled garage doesn't change the fact that if the car sat 30 or more days at a time then all moving parts are stationary without lubricating fluids moving through and among them. Constant temperature helps but everything is still drying out (not necessarily from heat but from lack of movement and lubricating fluids). That is why I believe a 9 year old car that averages less than 500 miles a year is a liability more than a benefit vs a 7 year old car that has averaged 2000 miles a year. Just my 2 cents.

 

I agree with above. There is a video that shows a higher mileage 360 coupe that has been well maintained, and stock, it was faster than a low mile CS. These cars need to be driver to perform their best. The 2005!