exactly my thought as well...

 

I crossed over this year and I still miss the practical use of the Porsches, going to the gym, getting Starbuck's, picking up some groceries for the night and other everyday things. As far as the fun factor (Porsche vs. Ferrari) the Ferrari beats it, but just by a small margin, I have F1 in my Ferrari, so maybe the fun factor slide is only by a small margin, because with my Porsche's I've owed, they all were 6 speed, which makes any car much more fun to drive....

 

+1. 2 of my close friends took delivery within this past month of the 1st 2 spiders in the state, bianco avus and nero daytona. Despite being repeat customers, both paid a handsome surcharge over sticker. Unfortunately, FNA requires new Ferrari to be purchased from the closest dealership so this type of BS is not uncommon, especially with a 3 year waiting list for the Spider. My California is still under warranty and despite being a DD, has only 5K miles so I plan on getting the Power Cube warranty from FNA (the motorized hardtop alone warrants this) for a couple years until one of my 2 friends gets tired of the Spider or moves to the 458 Scuderia.

 

The thing that always scared me about Ferraris was the maintenance cost.

With my Porsches, I did a lot of the simple stuff myself (brakes, oil, brake fluid, etc) and those cars were very dependable, so yearly cost was very low. With my Aston I spend around 2500/year. How much more is the Ferrari going to cost?

Also, I've been looking at used. How mechanically sound is say a 4 year old 599 Fiorano?

 

7 years free service for all 2012

 

If maintenance cost is your concern, look at a used 2012 which will have 7 years free maintenance (3 year OEM warranty).

I can only speak from my experience. My 997.1 C2S was pristine and I always had her serviced annually at the dealership (the service manager is my patient). Used her as a DD, 4K miles per year, annual maintenance around $800/year.

I took my Cali in for her annual service this January. Ferrari kept the car for 3 days, gave me an S4 loaner, and cost was around $1200.

You can also get a Power Cube warranty for years 4 and 5 which is around $6K or less per year and is through Ferrari North America (not a third party) and from what I understand is as close to OEM warranty as you're going to get.

I think for a quarter million dollar car, this is not unreasonable. The motorized hardtop on the Cali is complex and I would hate for the Getrag tranny to go bust after warranty expires.

 

If you can't stand 5 figure service bills, look somewhere else.

599 is a good car, go find the Ultimate Factories vid on it. A 4 yr old car is a good choice, they depreciate like stones.

 

5 Figure service bills, ouch. I am hoping all newer F-cars will be pretty much free from major issues, other than a few of those year one production that caught on fire... 7 years free service is a welcoming touch.

 

to main ferrari is a costly business.

 

07 997TT to 06 F430. Totally different cars, 997tt is certainly faster, pretty much zero similarity. Fit and finish is about equivalent but a little more "craftsmanship" in the F car.

 

I can't wait , by next week I should have an '06 F430 AND keeping my p-cars as well .

I'm thinking best of both worlds soon...

 

I am also thinking of going from my 996tt tip to a F1 F430 spider... I think the overall look of the Ferrari is better.. more exotic looking and feeling, which I really miss from my Gallardo... The Porsche is more of a DD sports car, but I would not call it an exotic.

 

Maintenance really isn't that bad on the more modern Ferrari's (430 and later), outliers excluded. My 430 just needed the annual $900 fluid change (transmission, oil, brake, etc). Otherwise it's just wear and tear items such as brake pads, tires, and clutch which for people who only drive 3-5k miles per year, won't be replaced during a 1-2 year ownership cycle.

However if you get catastrophic failure, such a manifold destroying an engine, then it can get 5 figure costly. But those cases are pretty rare. That's why you have to do your due diligence in finding a good example & not try to buy the bottom of the barrel. Otherwise it's just a crap shoot.

 

As the cars age, I really expect 430 maintenance to be on the order of $5k per year. Already seeing increased dollars and frequency of repair on 360s.

Although I don't expect maintenance costs at any time to meet 348/355 levels of costs.

 

I dont think $5k a year sounds right... unless your including insurance cost and fuel..