Reliability and not having to go see the Ferrari Doctors at the service department every 3,000 miles...Maintenance on those damn things is downright Silly....I can't see why anyone would want to go through that hassle..maybe that's why you never see very many miles on Ferrari's..the owners couldn't afford to drive it too much otherwise they would be broke from going to the Dealership once a month!!

 

Have driven both..... What sold me on the Turbo was the all-wheel drive and all the POWER! 360 you need to really be in the redline for it to perform. Never a really big fan of the 360 styling either. I'm waiting to see how the new 360 replacement looks and performs.

I'd rather have a lamborghini. I would consider the Gallardo but really dislike the styling. Guess a family member's Murcielago (KtZ) really spoiled it for me.

 

I hate Ferrari dealers. Those guys act like they are doing you a favor talking to you (if they even bother). I couldn't imagine their attitude getting any better after they've got your money and your car starts needing service. I'd love to own a 360 at some point but I don't relish sleeping with a salesperson to get one (unless she's cute).

 

"Also, the TT was lighter by far and I like the handling dynamics of the lighter car (of course I am comparing cabs not coupes, but it still holds true)."

no, they're comparing the Ferarri 360 in ANY form (which is a schitload lighter than the TT) to the TT in even it's lightest coupe form. in fact, the GT2 is in the ball park of the 360 spider in terms of weight.

 

I have a question for all those who cite the 360 as having poor reliability, how many of you have actually owned a 360? Just curious.

BTW, there are many reasons why one might prefer a Turbo over a 360; but when you compare the driving experience of a stock Turbo and a stock 360, there's no question as to which car is more exciting/fun right out of the box, factory fresh. My suggestion, own them both and see which one you look forward to driving more.

 

reliability of 360 may be better than previous generations of Ferraris ... but can you step on it every single day every single drive and still have reliability?

sure if you baby it and drive 40mph and 3000rpm over smooth roads the Ferrari might not have many issues ... until 10k miles

 

let's not trash other to make us feel better. have to admit both car are top of the game.

Jack,
what's ur opinion on Gallardo? never a big fan of it until i went to check out one. now my heart is pumping...

 

when i was buying a car, i was choosing between a used f355 or the carrera, i really wanted the ferrari but after talking to a few people, finding out that the maintenance on the ferrari was expensive and the reliability was not a great as i though, also the snooty a$$ salesman who wouldnt give me a 25 yr old guy the time of day when i was at the dealership and the fact that it was a used car... i then decided to get the carrera bec. it was brand new, under warranty and cheaper to boot i've always liked ferrari's and i hope that in my lifetime i would be able to buy one too

(and yeah i did experience some snooty salesmans while i was looking at porsches.) i dunno if i can blame them when i came to the dealer driving an 87 toyota supra, and asking them how much was a brand new 996 or a used f355


but i am glad i made the jump to gettinga porsche.. i love it

 

I had a Ferrari 348 and I loved it. Even the 348 gets more stares than my turbo. My wife hated the car though, she kept referring to it as the "Fiero" I almost bought a 355 spider to tide me over for a 360. I love the 360 and am still on the list for one. However, the biggest deciding factor is having one child with 2 more on the way. My wife made me promise if I got a sports car, they should all be able to enjoy it. Can't fit a child seat into a Ferrari (You can with a 456 but its butt ugly) Now with 3 kids, I guess its a moot point. One test drive in the Turbo was all it took. The car just pulls and pulls and no Ferrari (Under 300k) can match that sensation.

My plan was to sell the Turbo when my allocation for the 360 or now 420 comes in but now I don't think I can plan to part with it.

 

I will repeat my general question for your response....how long have you owned a 360? Have you driven one lately for any extended period? I'm sure your firsthand experience would be of assistance to the 6-speed community in making an informed decision.

Now to answer your questions directly with some actual ownership experience:

1. You can step on it and still have reliability. I've owned one for nearly 4 years and have had no issues. In fact, I've had less warranty claims on the 360 than my 996TT and GT2 over the same ownership period.

2. I've never intentionally driven my 360 at 3000 rpm's, except when I'm on the way to 8500 rpm's. In fact, I usually cruise at 4000 or above on the freeway and all the fun starts when my Porsches' (Turbos) hit redline, with the exception of the GT3.

I love my Porsches -- they are great cars -- and that's why I've had at least one in the garage continuously since 1978. Never owned a Ferrari before my 1999 360. Always avoided them over the years because I had heard of all these horror stories regarding reliability . Perhaps those stories were all true, I don't know. What I do KNOW is that reliability has not been an issue for me with my 360. I'm sure that some 360 owners have had problems, just like some Turbo owners have needed new trannys, engines, diverter valves, synchros, etc., but that's to be expected with any automobile and that's why you want to have a warranty. Ferrari even offers a factory extended warranty for previously owned cars off of their original warranty.

Just wanted to share my experience on 360 reliability for those who might otherwise rule the 360 out of their ownership plans due to misinformation. There may be many reasons not to own a 360, but lack of reliability is not one of them.

 

never claimed to own one, just making an observation ... hmm, guess shouldn't make comments on KIAs or YUGOs or anything else regarding reliability if I haven't actually owned one?

I do have some minor experience with the brand ... the folks had one ... yes this was the 80s so I'm sure things have changed but at that time Ferrari's were pretty crappy in quality, worse than Jags, everything from the windows to the seats to the engines to water gathering causing rust to the shocks to etc .... all in under 25k miles.

BTW I do like them (the 360), who doesn't, just IMHO I see it more as a weekend fun car, rather than a "daily racer" ... PS - that's only my opinion based on little fact

And I have nothing against the F brand, think it is the best in the world at most things ... I will join the F ranks w/i a few months, though just for the weekends , and with a 575.

 

I agree with Sharky (in fact the two of us had this exact discussion last week at lunch). I was on the list for a 360 spyder, but when I heard about the Ruf cab, it was no contest. The performace is better, the exhaust note is as rich, but most important, it doesn't draw a crowd (or the incessant stares that others seem to want). It's a car, not a fashion accessory, and I want to be able to drive it (and park it) anywhere without wondering what will happen to it while I am away. As Estonia put it, it's a wolf in sheep's clothing, which I like (but YMMV ).

As far as dealership experiences go, remember that Porsche dealers sell a lot of new cars to first-time Porsche owners at prices that start at $40K, which is a substantially different market segmentation than a Ferrari dealership. While I have never made it all the way to the ownership alter, it does appear that Ferrari dealers treat customers who already own one substantially better than those of us who don't, which given their marketing strategy (based in large part on exclusivity) makes sense to me. You may call it snooty, but I haven't heard any current Ferrari owners (I have 3 in my neighborhood) complain.

 

Reliability on the 360 and 550/575 have actually been very good and much better the older Ferraris.

 

My kids are the main reason.

 

Back seat and reliability. Had a Mondial convertible once though.