Ah.. don't be so quick to say that. My 430 is a manual, its battery went dead after sitting for 10 days.. and normally I drive the car at least once a week. It's not always a far drive, but many are nice 30+ mile drives. I figured that was enough use to keep the battery up.. wrong. Now, I use the battery tender.
I have owned and raced many Porsches. I bought my first Ferrarri this year. To be short, the GT2 stays in the garage, and the 430 gets all my love and attention! What a great car. Buy both and have a choice. Image Unavailable, Please Login
I'd say the Porsche CGT and GT3 RS provide similar enjoyment to the Ferraris (besides maybe the looks for some). The Porsche turbo cars are fast, but the muffled exhaust, delayed throttle response, and low redline are not as fun in my opinion. Also the paddle shifters are pretty fun on the newer cars. The Ferrari cars are as straight as an arrow at high speeds. The 911/993/996/997 series can't compete in that regard.
I have a 997TT, used to have a GT3 as well, also have a 430 Scud (and a bunch of other fcars)... I use my 997 TT daily, have snow tires on it, drive all year round in new england. An excellent all round vehicle. The GT3 for me isn't a good compromise - its too racy for the road, and too soft for the track. I've raced 430 Challenge and 997 Cup cars so, personally the roadable track car thing for me no longer has a point. The Scuderia supplants this issue because its simply a stellar road car, the soft damper setting combined with race mode is awe inspiring. If you do like the roadracer thing, take a 360CS over a regular 430, but its a more extreme car and not very useable. The regular 430 is a useable car daily. I've used various F-cars as semi-daily vehicles, a 360, a CS (now gone) the Scud and a 612 (current) have all done part-time daily use (15K, 20K, 3K and 5K respectively). I'd say most of the porsche is more useable thing is about 2 things: attitude and cash. Many people see "using" a ferrari as some kind of sacrilege or struggle to not have the car be perfect all the time. Certainly a lot of mileage means a Ferrari is harder to sell and will take a value hit. As you can see my solution to this has been to own 3 or 4 and drive them as I like - I still manage to put way more miles on them than many other owners - I suspect that there are very few other people in the US that had snow tires fitted to their 612 Cash helps of course or not caring about it A 430 is very usable daily but will cost more for the same miles than a Porsche. But as been said here before every mile is an experience, whereas a mile in Porsche TT is similar to one in a BMW or Mercedes.
Maintenance is pretty reasonable on 430's. I paid about 400-500 for the 1st and 3rd years, about 1100. for the 2nd. The fourth should be around 1100. again. I've been doing it by the book. Now that the warranty is done, I may do some stuff myself. 430's do not have "major services" as we've come to know them for prior models. Dave
The longest I have gone without driving mine is two weeks and it started just fine, but I do drive mine often and for sure every saturday and sunday if weather is good.
This may seem a bit off topic but my tangent will return to my earlier comments regarding the 430 as a daily driver, etc...... Today I drove a 599 for the first time ever. My impression is simple.....I need one. It's is so freakishly fast and deceptive in it's ease and comfort that you suddenly find the space/time continuum bending your perception of speed. It's truly a masterpiece. That being said, I would not own a 599 without owning a 430 of some variant (or the 430 replacement) as it's stable mate. The few guys I know that own either a 430 or Scud and a 599 have the ultimate combo in my opinion. Im shocked that I feel this way, but I wouldn't trade up to a 599 if it were my only Ferrari. Even after my absolutely amazing first experience driving the 599, when I got back in my 430 I felt just as excited to drive it as the day I bought it. It also didn't feel uncomfortable to me compared to the 599. I's just a different feel. Bottom line: That feeling doesn't happen for me in any P car I've owned or driven.
My first real sports car was a porsche and I felt special when I got it. It was not until I heard and saw ferrari's on the road I felt a bit of a limp dick. It was like the next stage of evolution for me to get one. A porsche is a good starter sports car but there are higher species up the food chain.
having owned 3 manual shift 911's and 2 F1-430's, i concur with the bulk of this thread. a few issues one encounters with the ferrari that you won't have with a porsche: people looking into your parked car leaving finger prints and face prints on the widows. people giving you thumbs up when you are driving on local roads. people zooming up from behind to catch up with you to check out your car. kids flooring their vehicles when next to you at a stop light, expecting you to race. people taking photos of your vehicle when fueling up at a gas station. These experiences, i expect are common occurrences when driving a ferrari. and this is why most ferrari owners have a daily driver. a porshce is much more stealthy. people don't notice the car. but the porsche is not nearly as much fun to drive. in terms of the pdk shifter on the 911-S, i was not too impressed. mainly because i did not like the paddle shifters on the steering wheel. they are more like switches than the shifters i am accustomed to on the 430. i feel the 911 shifts TOO smoothly. i also drove the 2009 911 TT. this vehicle is certainly fast, but did not excite me as much as i expected. the engine on the 911 TT is very quiet. after becoming used to the exhaust note on an F430, one would have to change the exhaust pipes on the 911 to give the car a more noticeable sound. at the risk of being ridiculed, i would like to put in a good word for the mercedes SL63. the dual clutch transmission on the SL63 is wonderful, i like it better than the pdk on the 911. the paddle shifters on the SL are very "ferrari-like", although the shifters on the SL (like the 911) are located on the steering wheel, not on the steering column. the SL63 has a wonderful growling exhaust bellow which becomes noticeable above 4K rpm. it is fun to dive in the manual mode. the SL is a solid, heavy touring car with a wonderful folding hardtop. i believe it compliments my ferrari because they are so different. the 911 and the ferrari are 2 nimble fast supercars. unfortunately the resale sucks on the SL!!
The Porsche turbo is a dangerous car. It`s so boring that you risk falling asleep behind the wheel. The 430 is an event! I`m not biased at all :-D
Here in NC, we call it the Ferrari effect - all the things you mentioned in the beginning of your thread - it can be dangerous at times - the crazy things people will do to catch up to you or try to race you
My favorite "OMG its a ferrari" moment came on the mass pike in my CS, I'm cruising along minding my own business when I see a dude on a Harley pull alongside. He gives me the big thumbs up, I smile, he then proceeds to get out his camera-phone and take a picture all the while riding his bike!
Although many different cars provide excitement for others, very few have done that for me other than a Ferrari. There's none quite like it and you just can't explain the vibe you get when being around one. I'm not knockin Porsche at all, as they are nothing but pure performance sports cars for the street. But I'd take the Ferrari anyday of the week. As far as reliability is concerned, the 430 is can be used daily. As we all know, it just isn't practical to just park it anywhere. In the end, the choice is up to you my friend. If you choose a Ferrari, prepare to be the center of attention everywhere you go.
Hi . What a great response and discussion. I am amazed but I guess not really surprised how many people own Porsches and Ferraris concurrently. The manufacturers should read this thread to see the opinions of their best customers. Bottom line: I need a bigger garage, or maybe to boot my wife's car out! Thank you all for the help, both on forum and off. Jim
If you are truly looking for a good balance of a good daily driver with lots of power, i will share this. My favorite street car of all time is my MB CLK Black Series. It is a great daily driver. So much torque and power. I live in a city, but i am sideways at every turn. Wow. What an awesome car. I love my GT2 and my Scud, but for a daily driver, the Black Series takes the cake. This is such an underated car in the US. The sound is just awesome. I have actually driven it on the track at Carolina Motorsports Park, and even with traction control on, street tires, the car is very fast in lap times. For the earlier request, more pictures of the Scud!
I've got a 997 GT3 and a Scuderia. My friends jokingly refer to the GT3 as the "butt car". The Porsche is a fine car, and everything feels like it was engineered to be "good enough" for their specifications. The Ferrari is in an entirely different league altogether. The Porsche ocassionally gets a "thumbs up" from others, whereas people go out of their way to see the Scuderia, snapping pictures as they drive behind/in front/alongside on the freeway. The Ferraris really are works of art on wheels.
