I have always had a large curiosity for Ferrari, I just wish I could experience the car first hand hah. I checked out exotic car rentals just in case I felt like commiting an act of lunicy. As far as the most common they all have Ferrari 360s (love the car but there are too many 360s), Gallardo, SRT-10 Viper and C6's. For half a day the Ferrari 360 modena was $995=12 hours, they had a 355 Spider for $1,055=full day, Gallardo was a few hundred more per day than the 360s, the c6 was $375 per day and the Viper was $499... I was kind of excited, not too crazy though I probobly would end up with the Viper or Vette for the best interest of the wallet for vacation...BUT! the Ferraris require a $5,000 security deposit and $2,000 for the others!... ICK, there goes the dream.

I needed to hear from someone who knows Ferrari fairly well, not an owner but someone who could let me know a few things. I can dream about the cars and possibly some day having the money to own one, right. I have done some looking and a 1995 Ferrari 456Gt with roughly 20k will run you about $60,000 ish... amazingly sexy car that gives me goosebumps, or a 1990-94 348 with about the same mileage for $50,000 ish... all in all if you can afford the car thats one thing but the other is the maintinence, I have heard some CARRAZY numbers for the costs, I also wonder why such low mileage cars are such a hassle and so seemingly unreliable, many say they are one of the most reliable cars to exisist but umm... why are they always in the shop even with only sub 30k? What kind of maintinence should one expect from owning and sunday/summer driving a 456gt or 348??? I heard from a 348ts buyers guide that they are not to pain in the *** to maintain and an oil change will run you about $300 bucks, not too too bad but what is the general life expectancy of other crap, basic stuff or things known to break on either of these cars? Sure there are better cars for the money, but the thought of owning one of these italians, whoa. Does anyone know anything about this stuff, know of people, have stories??? Thanks

 

I don't think they're extremely unreliable, per se (at least not more so than any other 8-10 year old used car), but the big issue is how expensive maintenence and repairs can be. Also, depending on where you live, finding a knowledgeable/reputable dealer may be a challenge. You should be alright, as there's a dealer in NE portland (Glisan and 122nd) and also one in Seattle should the need arise. If you budget money for maintenence (i.e. don't spread yourself to thin to buy the car) and have a 2nd vehicle, it's a non-issue. Go for it!

 

My grandapa has a 1991 348 TS and I drive it regularly. It is fun to drive, handles well, and gets a lot of looks (especially with a 20 year old kid driving). I think the 348 is the perfect entry level Ferrari because they still look nice and they aren't going to lose much more value. My complaints are that the transmission is complete crap, and it is by no means a fast car on evo 8 standards (it isn't slow either, especially for its age). On the other hand, there's nothing like hearing a v8 behind your head. I say go for it, and if you don't like it, simply sell it. In the mean time, you got to own a Ferrari.

 

first of all....when you own a Ferrari, I don't think any owner would care how much maintenence cost, cause you'll be able to afford it ...the only trouble I see is finding the nearest Ferrari dealership to do the job...same as you, I have thought about renting an Ferrari for a day, but not yet...maybe in 2 years..


you might wanna check out www.ferrarichat.com

 

i have heard great stories about them, but as others pointed out, they dont take the roll of daily driver to often. ron tonkin is a qualified dealer and owner (enzo) and has qualified mechanics to do you maintenace. i have heard they have meetings at the dealer on sundays and watch the F1 race together on the big screen. good stuff. i also have thought about buying an older one, but have gotten away from the idea in recent years. they just seem impractical. sure the quality is far superior to what you see in most cars, but it just isnt enough to justify it in my opinion. with that said before i die i will own a true classic ferrari, (GTB 4 cam) because they dont make them like that anymore. good luck, and if you do end up buying one, invite me to watch F1 with them. i am already a shuey fan.

 

A couple years back I was very seriously considering getting into a 328 (the "newest" Ferrari I could realistically consider purchasing), until I started doing a little more digging on the whole maintenance thing. Not just the price, which I could swing, but the expertise needed...expertise lacking in the area I live. And so the dream faded *L*...here's a couple links I still have bookmarked - lots of good reading and the second one gives the cost of "routine" maintenance services.

The rule of thumb is buy the latest year of whichever model you're considering - Ferrari apparantly is even worse the GM for using buyers as test subjects and improving parts on the fly *L*.

http://ferrarichat.com/forum/
http://emelbon.tripod.com/eugeniosferrariservice.html

Hope it works out for ya!

 

Anyone who says maintenance costs shouldn't be an issue because you own a ferrari is completely missing the point. They are a major issue when owning a Ferrari There is a difference between investing in a car and throwing your money away in expensive maintenance. Just because you can afford it doesn't mean you want to to spend your money on it. Maintenance is probably the most expensive part of owning a Ferrari because usually you can get your money back out of the car, but you can't get the maintenance costs back.

 

Just buy an EVO and mod it to death and kill the Ferrari.....

 

4K for service! I say get a used NSX. Service is much cheaper and you'll turn about the same number of heads.

 

It's not quite the same, now is it?

 

I love the NSX but it is in no way the same experience. If you want an everyday supercar, the NSX is the only real choice, but it can never really compare to the feel and sound of a Ferrari.

Though in all honesty, an NSX (maybe with a Tubi exhaust and some other tweaks) might be a better option if maintenence worries are there.

 

I must admit the newer NSX's look sweet especially in that blue color however the older ones just look very... blah, I am talking about the early 90's NSX's. I have heard many say they are not worth the coin in comparison to what you could have. When it all comes down to it, owning a used Ferrari, makes me think of owning a z06, 7.0 Liter Supercharged... yes the C6 z06 now I understand it may not be the same ferrari experience however that is alot of nastyness that I am sure in 4 years will be affordable, a car can only keep its value for so long. I would imagine in 4 years or so you can pick up a used 505hp z06 for about 40k... 0-60 in what is it? 3.6 seconds?

 

I second trolling around ferrarichat.com. Most of the poster there seem to say that unless a car is driven around 2000 miles a year the maintanence starts to catch up on you. You have to remember that the major services (every 15k miles or so) will cost several thousand dollars because they have to take the engine out. As the saying goes...you have to pay to play.

 

I think that asking the question of can you afford it should tell you something... Might want to wait until that question doesn't come into play.

 

There's a lot of people who bought Evo 8s when they first came out that had no clue what they were getting into cost wise (tires, fuel, insurance after you get 3 speeding tickets, etc) even though they asked themself the same question. Do some serious research, find the model you want, and determine if you can afford the payments, plus get a few insurance quotes, call the local Ferrari place and find out what they charge for 15k service, etc. If something really bad happens, well that's the risk of a used car.