I’m always sarcastic. Mine looks in better condition and was cheaper BUT they’re only going to get more expensive, i believe mainly because the ownership experience is so much less of a head**** compared to say a Ferrari. Plenty of good workshops out there, loads of spare parts and easy to live with on a daily basis. I’ll end up downsizing at some stage and won’t be able to take all the cars with me. The Ferraris will go before the 911
Greg is spot on re the older Ferrari cars and maintenance, where the 911s are bulletproof if well maintained, plenty of top-grade honest workshops, and a wide choice of parts be it original or Mods . The rubbish a certain Melbourne shop goes on about an early V8 Ferrari or V12 being as cheap as a 911 of similar vintage to run is farcical for a start the 911 only has 6 cylinders . Those early 911 air-cooled cars will do hundreds of thousands of km without a full engine pulldown, try doing that in the period Ferrari! For a start I've never seen a Ferrari speedo with more than 100,000kms ,but many 911s with 200k/300k up and still running on the same engine without a rebuild ..
Yeah, it's BS, a well maintained older 308 is quite a reliable car, drove my 308GT4 and 308QV in excess of 100,000 kms ...... Adelaide twice, Melbourne 3 times, Tasmania once, Sydney 5 times, Cobar twice, etc etc etc The GT4 had over 100,000 kms on it when I bought it and 180,000+ when I crashed it (driven to Adelaide, Sydney, Melbourne) The QV had over 90,000kms when I sold it (driven to Adelaide, Sydney, Melbourne, Tasmania,Cobar) The 355 has over 85,000 kms on it , 24,000 when I bought it (driven it to Adelaide, Sydney, Melbourne ) I had NO breakdowns in the GT4 I had NO breakdowns in the QV but I did have a miss in the engine fixed for $80 by replacing the sparkplug extenders I had 2 flat tops back to home in the 355, one was a blowout in Hay and the other was when a sensor was ripped off underneath when I went over a DIRT speedhump, the engine has never been an issue Not too bad for 28 years of Ferraris
I’m not talking about breakdowns at all. I’ve never worried about breaking down in any of my Ferraris. I’m primarily talking about living with a classic on a daily basis if all I had was one car left. 911s are basically invisible compared to a Ferrari, leave it almost anywhere without a worry. Basically not possible in a Ferrari. And then there’s the mechanics. I have zero interest in leaving any of my cars with a Ferrari independent for months on end or wait months for a simple service. Hence I’m happy to have a go myself or give it to the dealer. Plenty of reputable Porsche independent workshops out there, I’ve dealt with a couple and never been dicked around. It’s just not the same ownership experience. As I get older, I just want less hassle and not have to deal with dicks.
It's interesting to compare cars. I bought a 10-month-old 964/4 manual in 1991 did around 50,000kms in it, and sold it to the business partner in 195 when my 993RS arrived he had it for several years till he bought a new 996, very hard non-mechanical driver ...NO issues apart from tyre wear The company registered 996 had NO issue it was sold some 3 years later In my 993RS,I did few km in 3 years of ownership, except just ask Richards or Fitz who campaigned there for 3 hard years including Enduro runs in the GTP series against the 355 and Lotus car, neither car had the engines touched apart from fluids. The Carrera 3.0 I built up for historic and ran for 3 hard years, many events -was 300,000km plus Sporto road car with FULL history neither motor or gearbox had been pulled down! During my time racing it as per normal at the end of each year, I replaced the 2nd gear synchros and for performance valve springs .NO other issues, try doing that in a 308 GT4 and be at the pointy end of the field? The Rally 1974 S same a above high mileage road car motor that had never been pulled down before it was turned into a rally, same only 2nd gear Synchros (that previous owner) That is an air-cooled 911 story you'll hear time and time again.
Same for me, I can afford new high-end cars and that's where my money will go in the future and they suit my needs events like GHAB,Tassie, and GG. I have NO interest in all the dramas that go with owning old sports cars anymore -unless it was 911, the E-type I'll never sell it ...but I know its strengths and weaknesses. and like the 911s there are plenty of good people out there to keep it motoring, where as an older Ferrari Victoria.FORGET it.
Ferraris don’t have issues, they only suffer from poor maintenance which is the result of owners reluctant to spend $$$ and/or mechanics taking shortcuts etc. And that’s my point, in 10-20years, how many competent independents will be around? At the moment, some of the good guys mostly work solo, what happens to their knowledge base when they’re gone?
And yet one reads of ads/people talking about rebuilds at lows miles /kms ! A wise Ferrari owner an engineer of note once said to me regarding Ferrari cars - "buy them new thrash 'em for 3 years and move 'em on " As an observer, it comes across to me, that MOST Ferrari mechanics have drama issues in their personal lives and thus this is reflected in their workmanship, in VIC that IS so often the case ..
I get the "leaving it anywhere" can be an issue with a Ferrari but then you don't see too many Porsches left on the street overnight either Then there's the "nobody cares about Porsches"
That’s the thing, nobody cares and IMO people are probably more respectful around a Porsche than a Ferrari, more likely to get the jealous types keying it
What I like about a Porsche 911 unless its a got a huge rear wing, and few people look at it or care ..
That’s all great but I can’t get past the fact that they’re ****ing boring. If you’re not going to have an exciting looking sports car just get a GT like an Aston or a BMW, Merc, whatever… Or of course get a 911 but don’t pretend it’s anything like a Ferrari. It’s not. Exotic cars are meant to look exotic. Not like a squashed beetle from the 50s. Doesn’t matter how good they are to drive, I want to feel I’ve bought something special and exciting if I’m paying six figures for it. (runs and hides)…
There’s nothing like a Ferrari. There’s also nothing like an aircooled Porsche. I never said they’re the same, they’re not. Porsches are an easier ownership experience, that’s all there is to it
Depends on the model and the spec like a 964 3.6 Turbo, 992 GT3 Touring, 993RS, 996 GT3, they are special cars to drive, I like the fact they don't stand out, they are fantastic long-distance cars the ease of ownership why I buy them.
I've owned a lot of cars of all types, the BB512 was the most exciting car I have ever owned, but the hassle of owning it and the ongoing service -I've never regretted selling it, just too hard.
Get it 100%. I’ll never own a car as exciting as the 355, but I just can’t be ****ed any more with the hassle. 11 years was enough. What do they say about boats, aircraft, exotic cars? The two best days of ownership are the day you buy it and the day you sell it. Lol. Not entirely true, but true enough.
Not many 911s in my area. People don't know exactly what model or what they are worth (I like that) , kids who have never seen them b4 stop, point and ask their parent walking with them "what was that?" I love that about these cars, anonymity. selfish drive.
