Ferrari vs Lambo - a frank discussion with special guest Allan Lambo

GSpyder,

You keep your statistics and numbers, and I'll keep my Ferrari.

Have a good one

 

Good luck with it! And dont worry, Ill keep my Lambos.

 

Hmmm, interesting, considering every single journalist I've read still preferred the F430 over an SE...

 

i had a conversation w/ an independent ferrari dealer in nc last about 6 mos ago and he had a yellow 360 parked next to a blue g in his showroom.

we both looked at the two cas and both agreed there is little to compare and that the g looked like a movie star comparitively.

he also told me that there was a substantial performance gap but ferrari had hoped to close in on it w/ the 430. that gap being narrowed, still leaves a huge gap in appearance!

the g is in another league from a styling perspective...even in the mind of one of the most diehard ferrari dealers in nc.

 

Dirve both see which one you like. That said I'd also consider a used M. A lot of car for the $. If you plan on ever being stuck in traffic I'd go with a 6 sp. unless you enjoy snorting burning clutch.

 

I figure about 90% of new Lambos are sold to frustrated would be Ferrari buyers. If it weren't for Ferrari overflow, Audi would have to shutter it.

Build quality? C&D couldn't get a Lambo clutch to last through their testing.

Dave

 

Ferrari overflow? Would-be Ferrari buyers. Uh, okay.

Here's the proper way to look at it. The exotic car market has a certain number of buyers whom are free to choose the car that best suits them. If that car is a Ferrari, they will buy it. Likewise with Lamborghini. Likewise with Porsche, Aston Martin, etc, etc.

It is true that many Lambo owners are PREVIOUS Ferrari owners (not "would be" Ferrari owners). Funny though, you don't see many previous Lambo owners switching and becoming Ferrari owners. Hmmmmm... Does that make Lambo better than Ferrari, or vice versa? No. Just different. Buy what you like, drive it, end of story.

 

Until you have owned both, serviced both, and experienced it first hand, I guess the next best thing is quoting a magazine test. Which as we all know, is the end-all-be-all of the car industry. I have owned both, and like it or not, the new Lambo's (since 2002) are more reliable than Ferrari's, cost less to maintain, and have less service requirements (no belts).

 

You try putting your car through 20,000 miles of abuse, and then try launching it. Oh wait, I just checked your profile!!! ROFL, of course a 308 owner would make a comment like that. Your car, with its Civic inspiring powerplant, will never need a clutch. You can walk faster.

As for your dream of frustrated Ferrari buyers, keep dreaming.....

 

Dude! He owns a 328!!! ROFL!!! I had one of those dropped off at my home on MAui, and I refused to drive it!!!!

 

that so many other factors play a role in car choice. I paid cash for my 430 and paid over MSRP since it was my first Ferrari and could afford the MSRP+ payment without feeling bad about it (because I had decided that it would make me happy and it has -- not once have I fretted about the purchase).

I was considering the Gallardo, Murcielago, and F430. They are all well performing and I would not be able to explore the limits of any of these cars (like many of the F-chatters). I chose the F430 because--

I liked the styling--after seeing hundreds of pictures of these cars, I became bored with the look of the Gallardo.

My torso was too long for the Gallardo--I couldn't get comfortable, however I did fit in the Spyder.

At Silicon Valley Auto Group, the Gallardos sat for weeks or months without selling and it was hard for me to wrap my head around how much to pay, depreciation, or resale.

FoSV opened up within 1.5 miles of my home making service, etc. super convenients vs. 30mi for the Lambo

There was a great group of guys of all ages that I met over the past few years locally who are big F-car fans and it was going to be fun to share information about the cars. I do not know anyone with a Lambo.

So, in my case, it was a number of factors that made the F-car the best choice for me. These issues impact all buyers so whether a car is a few seconds faster around a track is truly irrelevant to a guy like me. Besides, even if I liked the Gallardo, I couldn't fit comfortably in it.

 

You better go back through your magazines. And btw, if a journalist prefered another woman to your wife, would you prefer her too?

 

"Every single journalist"? You haven't read the tests that I have, then. Did you see the most recent European test where the SE was 0.5 seconds slower than a Carrera GT around a road course, while the F430 was 2 seconds slower than the CGT? That particular journalist didn't prefer the F430. I can find others, if you like.

Quoting journalists is a moot point, unless you can't think for yourself. Here's a tip: don't believe everything you hear until you try it for yourself. Life is much more fulfilling that way.

 

I haven't read Allans response to this, but I have my own anyway. DON'T EVER buy a car based on what a journalist says or writes. Often they have the cars at different times, so they are not tested directly against one another. Different people have different tastes and desires in cars, the journalists review will always be coloured by this and corporate/advertiser pressures if they are on staff. Lastly, most journalists can't drive for **** anyway.

 

If your wife thinks the Gallardo is "ugly", I wouldn't want to see your picture Gary!

Different strokes for different folks, but I can assure you: You park a Gallardo or Murcielago next to an F430, and let the masses decide, as was the case at the SP display at the recent VIP Auto Show in Anaheim a couple months back, and you'll see that no one asks to have their picture taken with the 430, no one asks what it costs, no one asks how it is to drive, no one cares. Their eyes go right to the Lambos, get as big as dinner plates, and the excitement pours out of them. All ages.

See it over the course of a full day, with literally hundreds of people having the same preference, and it's easy to conclude that the L-cars are a whole lot more compelling from a design standpoint versus current F-cars.

 

Agree on the extremeness of it, but frankly it's a $200k sports car. Why shouldn't it look as if it's ready to lineup on the grid at Le Mans? And the next time I let any woman decide what "looks good" in a sportscar for me will be the first time. As repayment for her silence on the matter, I promise I'll never offer my constructive criticism on her hideous purses or strange shoes.

Your resale wars comment has no basis in reality of course, as you know. Ferrari's superior branding enables a premium in the secondary market, it has nothing to do with the looks/capabilities of the cars themselves. It also has a lot to do with the myth the factory perpetually puts out there about phantom "waiting lists". But Ferrari deserves credit on the branding success they've have, they've clearly done well there over the past few decades.

 

If resale were a buyer's true interest, I would suggest a 60's vintage musclecar. Or, don't buy a car at all.

I buy cars that put a smile on my face, not what someone will pay for them when I am ready to switch cars. If I get more enjoyment out of something that has a higher cost of ownership, so be it. When I owned my 360 Spider, it depreciated significantly. I'm sure other 360 owners would like to think their cars don't depreciate, but they certainly do. Asking prices on the open market mean nothing. What matters is what someone is willing to pay for the car, and reality sets in when you have to move one.

There is no point in anyone trying to "convince" another person that their preferred car is superior. If Ferrari was so much better than Lambo, or Lambo was so much better than Ferrari, why do both companies exist?

 

You'll have to excuse me for not updating my profile, but if you had been paying attention you would know I have had a 430 since August. Now with 3K on it and zero problems. As far as maintenance goes, there is very little to do. Fluids and inspections every 15K miles.

Dave

 

Sorry dude, lot's of potential buyers go to Ferrari store looking to buy a new 430. Find out they can't get one so they go to the Lambo store where they can drive one off the floor at a discount. So, yes, many Lambo buyers are indeed frustrated potential Ferrari buyers.

Have you owned a 430? Do you know the maintenance schedule. I doubt it on both.

Dave

 

I love Paris Hilton!

 

What do you consider resale wars? A true enthusiast, keeps his or her car for a LONG time. In the long run, late model Ferrari's are have a considerably worse resale value than a comparable Lambo, as shown by Testarossa, 512, 456,550/575/348/355 and now the 360's are starting to fall. 5 years from now, when the guy who just had to have his 430 Spider and paid 325 K for it sells it for 150K, he will have lost quite a bit of change.

 

If you really believe that, I have a bridge to sell you.

 

Look above.