Chris M.

Go for it! If you don't like it then sell it and get another 911. You'll just be curious until you do it and you only live once!
But I have to agree with the above; thousands of $$ for a repair at such low mileage is absolutely ludicrous.

c

williamreinecke

Always cheaper to rent than buy the above! Add airplanes and you cover all the bases. But all of those combined are still cheaper than race horses!

andrew911

The belts are a function of time not just miles. Many of the cars I see are driven between 1K and 2K miles per year (not much less than I get on my 911 per year). Unfortunately, the V8 always had belts- the 308, 328, 348, 355, 360. I think the new 430 may have chains, but I'm not sure. It's definitely the biggest service (short of a rebuild)- if it's say $5K, the easiest thing to do is put $1K away each year for the service. It's definitely a different experience than a porsche in the cost of service. The belt service must be done- if it isn't, a belt failure can easily cost as much as many 964's to fix (new valvetrain would be needed!)

Red rooster

Wow F cars.I dont know what money 400s are in the US but in Europe they cant be given away ! Not a proper Ferrari !! The one thing I do know is that F car parts are HUGELY expensive .Makes Porsche look like the poor mans option.
Cam belt cars ,355 + need the motor dropped to change the belt every 30000miles or three years.This is a dealer/good specialist job only-Big bucks.
Hence the saying that if you need to worry what it will cost, dont go there.
My altime favorite is the 246 Dino .Sex on wheels - so in spite of all the above ,maybe ,one day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Geoff

gregC2

Got this link in the e-mail today.
Ferrari Pricing

Cupcar

I still think that an engine design that needs belts replaced so often is flawed and having serious concern there would potentially be an issue would bother me.

This belt let go suddenly with no warning and the Ferrari dealer had never mentioned replacing it to my knowledge.

Most of those kinds of belts last years, I had one for 6 years and 40000 miles in my 944 without a thought of replacement.

The failure cost 20 valves and 4 pistons for my friend and last I talked with my friend the dealer won't even give an estimate of the cost.

The pictures I saw of the car in the shop showed the car completely dismantled of bodywork for the rear of the car. I bet it will cost over $20,000.

jdocking

Hi,

I must admit to looking into F-car ownership a little while back, looking at 355s and Dino's. However, some research into the basic, run-of-the-mill maintenance costs sorted me out. Admittedly this was in the UK, but the cam-belt needing to be changed every two years, which is an engine out job cost GBP1500. Add to that all the normal consumables, plus the very real risk of the engine going bang at any time (happened to a few friends with 355s) for a complete rebuild cost getting nearer to GBP10,000.

Then consider boring stuff, like replacing a wing mirror or door panel, and it's truly terrifying.

Mind you, my Porsche cost me GBP2000 this weekend, and it was all really small stuff and consumables adding up to a big number......lots and lots of little things.......<sigh>

JackOlsen

I personally don't get it. I've seen them, driven them. I prefer the 911 in every way.

Have you taken your 911 to the track?

andrew911

Jack- I don't have any track time- I use the cars on the road only (besides, it's a cab and I think I'd need to weld in a roll bar for the porsche club events). I prefer to keep them stock and enjoy weekend drives. I just got back from an awesome drive in my 911- still love it! One of the beauties of porsche ownership is there are some who use their cars as show pieces (car shows etc), those who modify them for the street or track, those who race them, and some that simply use them everyday. I've always loved driving them on the street and keeping them as stock as possible. Guess every one has different things they enjoy- and man would I enjoy driving your RSR on the track If I were to track a car, I think I'd want to pretty much buy a dedicated track car- which I guess doesn't need to cost a lot of money- a 944 would be a blast I'm sure! But it's tough for me to find the time on the weekends for that stuff.

As far as the maintence, it is quite incorrect that cam belts need replacing every 2 years (unless your friend drove his car everyday, which most ferrari owners don't and I wouldn't be either). Just stopped by the F. dealer yesterday- they had a used 355, which they would do the major service on before delivery, which would give 5 years of oil changes plus anything else that cropped up (admidittly the stuff that could crop up is what's scary).

Dunasso

Hey thanks guys for the support, and right on, I do live on shaky ground.

Its just a matter of priority I guess. Home, then women, then porsche. If after those you can manage to afford a Ferarri or a boat then I guess things are pretty good for you. Unfortunately for me that's not the case. The boat is about 2 years upon completion, and I've already gotten rid of the 78 SC and the 964 C4 project racer. Now if I can finish this damn boat and get it out of my shop, then I might be able to splurge on a couple of new things for the wife and possibly ad a new toy to the toy box.

Duncan

wch

"My question is, has anyone here left the Porsche world for the Ferrari world? Or know of anyone who has? Have they regretted it? Did they sell the Ferrari and get back into Porsche after getting a repair bill or two?"

Have a Ferrari, wish I also still had my RS America. Love both marques. Maintenance and repair history on the 355s is very well known, I assume you've checked ferrarichat. Only you can do the grins per dollar cost/benefit analysis. Cheers, and good luck.

andrew911

"Only you can do the grins per dollar cost/benefit analysis."

That's the problem- the grins are there from the Ferrari driving experience, but the cost is so high! Being a numbers guy, it doesn't take long to realize it doesn't make any financial sense. Being a car nut, it doesn't take long to realize it's the one car I'd love to have at some point in my life, and now seems to be a good time (before having kids, etc.) Woe is me- the problems this hobby gives us

Flagg

I love the support, the chat pages, the friendship, the well attended club events, and everything that Porsche Stands for. I also love the history and heritage of of the little independent company. I feel like the experience of owning a Porsche - goes BEYOND the car.

I know there are less Ferraris out there. Question that no one has touched on - how are the Ferrari clubs, chat pages, support, people, etc???? I know Ferraris are awesome cars......I just wonder what is beyond the car?????

Flagg

wch

"how are the Ferrari clubs, chat pages, support, people, etc???? "

I agree with your assessment of the Porsche world.

Two principal US clubs, the Ferrari Club of America and the Ferrari Owners Club. The FOC seems to be most active on the West Coast. Both clubs of course have websites.

For a chat page, check out ferrarichat.com.

As for support, there are a number of parts shops, though the aftermarket doesn't seem to me to be anywhere near as large as that for Porsche. There seems to be a reasonably active DIY community for the older cars, particularly the larger production 8 cylinder cars.

As for the people - there is an active, hardcore, but (compared to PCA) small group of track people. That's where my interests lie. Clubs and dealers sponsor drives and other events - similar to PCA, only on a smaller scale. The Cavallino Classic each January in Palm Beach in a fun car show/track event. Many club regions hold track events, though there is no club racing series.

US magazines include Cavallino, Forza, the Ferrari Market Letter and the FCA's various periodicals

Flagg, as you probably know, in the DC area you're blessed with a very enthusiast oriented dealership in Ferrari of Washington. July 23-24 FoW is hosting a track event at the Shenandoah Circuit - come out and say hello, I'll have a blue 360 Challenge car with a zoomy blingy wing.

andrew911

Flagg- you pose a good question. I must say, since going to a couple of events with a couple of ferrari guys I know, there are some hard core car nuts there which is great. There are some people with less desirable traits, but not as many as people would think. I went to the Ferrari Fall Fest about 1.5 years ago- it's a local NJ "show"/cookout type thing where people get their cars on a lawn for a quasi concourse (spelling?). My wife and I met many great people there, and in the whole day only ran into one snob- that was when we pulled up, he said it was a ferrari only event with quite the snobbish tone. When he found out I already purchased tickets, he rolled his eyes and told me where to park my 911- right next to a rolls and vette. It wasn't a ferrari only event, but only ferraris were allowed on the main field. Wouldn't you know it, later on I find out this "poser" has a car probably worth less than our 964s. What a horse's *** he was- but you get jackasses like that with Porsches too.

Anyway, ferrarichat is a great online community- that's where I've met people and researched the cars. But just by the nature of there being fewer ferraris on the road, there too are fewer people in the clubs. If you are interested in track, I would think the PCA beats the ferrari clubs just for sheer volume of events. As far as support, there is great technical info on ferrari chat, but I think more owners tend to do their own work on this site, which we all benefit from. Even though I don't do much work on my car myself, doesn't mean I don't have an interest in learning how everything works, and what it is that my mechanic is doing.

Bottom line- great community and support with Ferrari, - maybe just not as much as you get with Porsche, but better than I thought before I started getting into it.

There are some strange things I do notice with Ferrari's though- anything with a ferrari symbol on it is like 3 times the price of even porsche things (like car parts, common bosch parts, or even things like a shirt or coffee mug). And the Ferrari Market Letter, which is essentially a classified listing (a good one, but still its really just a classified magazine printed on cheap non-glossy paper) has a $120/year subscription rate!! That's nuts.