Trading the 360 for a 430

It has been a wonderful year with my 360. For a couple of weeks, I had given serious consideration to ordering a 458. At the end of the day, the steep early-on depreciation scared me away. Instead, I opted to take advantage of what's happened to the 430's prices over the past year.

A 430 spec'd identically to the build I was contemplating for a 458 was available used with 4.5k miles for well over $100k less than the 458 would have been...probably $120k less.

If all goes well I should get the car on Sunday. Specs are...

Rosa Corso / Couio (sp?)
Red Calipers
Shields
Daytona power seats with red inserts
Red stiching throughout interior
Carbon fiber driver zone
Carbon fiber center zone
Yellow tach
Premium stereo / subwoofer
Leather firewall and headliner
1 year power warranty

I am pretty excited!! I will show pictures next week

 

Of course it's a coupe...is there anything else? LOL. Yeah, I'm a coupe guy...I WILL post pics next week as soon I take them!!

 

Pictures later today or tomorrow. The car just arrived this morning (at 5:00 am). OMG, OMG, OMG, OMG, every little bit of doubt that I had about selling the 360 for the 430 is gone after the first 30 minute drive...the leap forward that Ferrari made between the 360 and 430 is nothing short of a small miracle. Anyone on the fence about taking advantage of the recent depreciation in the 430's should take the plunge!!

 

Here are some photos...wish they were better. All I had was my iPhone. Put 100 miles on her today. Yum!!
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It is this wonderful combination of familiar (as in overall layout, design and style) but different. The folks at Ferrari obviously listened to the complaints people had with the 360 and took them to heart in a big way.

Other than the obvious styling differences -- and we are split about those in my house with the ladies seeming to prefer the softer looks of the 360 and us guys preferring the 430's more aggressive stance -- I will give you my first impressions on the differences between the two. Please keep in mind that I had almost 5k miles in the 360 over the past year and less than 200 in the 430...

1. Power and Torque are VASTLY and noticeably improved. This is not a small step forward, but at a whole different level and immediately noticeable whether you are just cruising around town or aggressively pulling onto a highway.

2. Handling. As tight and wonderful as the 360 felt taking the turns, the 430 just feels that much better. It seems to both grip more firmly and absorb whatever imperfections the road may through at you better than the 360 did. Thus far I seem to prefer leaving the car in "Race" mode all of the time and only have switched to "Sport" for a few really bumpy sections of road at lower speeds. The 360 I used to keep in "Sport" mode all of the time.

3. Ride Quality. The 360 felt great, but the only adjective I can use for the 430 is "delicious." I know it is a strange sort of word for the feel of a car's ride, but I just find myself actually looking for various imperfections and even small chatter / bumps in the road because the 430 seems to eat them up in a way that actually feels, well, delicious.

4. Build Quality. EVERY and I mean EVERY thing about the 430's build quality is a significant step up from the 360. The paintwork, the quality of the leather and it's stitching, the gauges, the dash materials, the aluminum used in the interior. Just everything about the car took a very, very thoughtful and large leap forward.

5. Sound. My 360 had a Tubi Exhaust on it and it was wonderful (to my ears). The 430 has the stock exhaust and I actually prefer it to the 360 with Tubi. Overall, the 430's exhaust note is deeper and throatier than that of the 360 (which I guess makes sense given the 0.7 liter bump in displacement). Also, the 430 is more sedate on start up and around town at low revs (which my neighbors will probably like), but builds to an all out roar as you go through the rev band.

6. Stereo. Who cares? However, in the 360 I couldn't stand to use it (even if I wanted to) and in the 430 (at least with the high-power, sub-woofer version) it actually sounds pretty decent...imagine that.

If you are thinking about making the upgrade, don't wait another minute. Yes the 430 is going to continue to depreciate, but I promise you that after your first 10 minutes in the car you will wish you had bought one sooner...it is that good.

 

A retail to retail deal (meaning sell 360 at retail and buy 430 at retail) for similarly configured cars would be an upcharge of somewhere in the $45-$70k range depending on exact specs, mileage, etc.

In my case, I sold wholesale (Dealer Trade), bought retail and got a car with a lot more upgrades in it (compared to the 360), less than 1/3 of the miles (14k miles on the 360 vs. 4k miles on the 430) and a one year warranty so I was north of the range mentioned above...

Cheers...

J