I am a bit surprised no one has mentioned the price of upkeep. I know someone who has and tracks an F430 and he says replacing brake pads is $1k per corner.

He also had to replace his wiring harness and a mouse got to it over the winter and that was a $26k repair.

I know the Porsche tax on parts is high, but second hand, I hear that the Ferrari tax on parts makes Porsche seem like a bargain.

Can anyone with both confirm this?

 

Ferrari have 7 years free maintenance plan now.
Rotors and tires will be the biggest expense if you track.
But take the OEM Ceramic rotors off and put iron rotors on for track use is not very expensive.

 

Out of warranty repairs are extremely expensive. Had a water pump go bad one month out of the warranty period on my 599. Water pump and oil pump are the same unit. $8,500.

 

Ferraris are not for the faint of wallet but few have catastrophic repairs. Depreciation is the main expense on most cars. I would hate to think how much value my '14 Turbo has lost. More than 26k I bet.

 

Get the RS if you want something rare.

 

I owned a Lambo (just sold past few months). Tracked it the first year of ownership - then moved on to a C6 Z06 (still have it - tracked it one year) then moved on to Cayman R (current track car).

The Lambo was a blast on the track BUT it's a bit hard to relax knowing that a mistake could be extremely costly (much more so than with less expensive cars). It was bullet proof in terms of performance and maintenance - but as long as it was under warranty I wanted to stay with authorized dealer service and the closest dealer was over 200 miles away - and did a lousy job.

Living with it, servicing it out of town was very inconvenient - even though we could opt for them to pick up/drop off. I ended up driving the car 600 miles (one way) for service. Partly cause I love to drive it and it was a great excuse for a road trip and partly because that dealer seemed worth the trip.

In the end we sold it because it was inconvenient to live with even though it was fun to own.

I'd get the RS all day - no contest - because living with the car is the tough part - unless you have a reliable and convenient way to service a 458. They are beautiful - no question - but buying is easy....living with it is the test.

PS - I went to several Ferrari club track events. There were lots of Lambos there (it was an Italian Car event) and as for skill - I saw plenty of extremely slow Ferraris and Lambos on track, and a few fast from each. I applaud the owners for driving the car as intended and taking it to the track. Always fun to see/hear them stretch on a long straight. I did find that the F owners tended to keep to themselves - same with the Lambo owners. The two groups didn't blend well from what I could see

 

Sounds like you had a older Lambo--Gallardo? Would love for you to try Huracan and get your impressions. Night and day from what I hear from former G owners.

But yes, people are more apt to track their $150k GT3 than burn through $250k F or H car. Interesting because at Willow Huracan posted second fastest lap next to 918. gT3 was like in 6th place.

It is funny, because the F car (older guys all decked out in their Ferrari attire) do not play well with younger Lambo crowd.

But if you track your car 80% of the time of course GT3 is the choice. But for a better all around I'd look elsewhere quasi or DD. Exotics are now becoming very easy to drive and think you will see more it as others follow what lambo has done with Huracan.

At the end of the day it's about enjoying all brands no matter what you drive.

 

I agree with your comments ^
I had a Gallardo LP560. I went to the Huracan unveiling and was underwhelmed. The interior was a huge improvement but the exterior styling didn't do it for me. They softened the lines quite a bit and I love the angular, sharp lines of the LP560s (570 even more).

I've followed the reviews and I know the transmission is much improved over the egear I had which was anything but quick and subtle. The looks have grown on me - but until they put a reliable dealer I can trust in my back yard - I'm done buying cars that must be serviced out of town.

I'm starting my 6th year of track driving and the Lambo was my second track car so I was rather timid in comparison to how I drive now. I'd love to take it back out again and experience it with more confidence, but we decided it just wasn't worth the risk. At the time track insurance limits didn't come close to the value of the car - so there was zero safety net.

I do love the mid-engine balance of both the Lambo and the Cayman R. I've not yet driven a GT3 on track (I'll probably have the chance in a few weeks). It'll be interesting to experience the difference in balance.

I had the chance to drive a 458 on track quite a bit (a couple different tracks) and it was a fantastic car - an amazing, precision tool designed for the job. If anything - I found it a bit twitchy in race mode. I had trouble being smooth with the throttle - the slightest movement of my foot translated, and it took quite awhile to get used to a throttle THAT sensitive. I don't know if they are all like that - but I wasn't the only one who commented on how incredibly sensitive it was. It was also nimble, laser precise, and torquey in a good way! Lots of fun to drive but I'd still choose an RS over a 458 - especially since the RS are so difficult to acquire, and I'm assuming easier to live with since Porsche dealers have a broad network (as opposed to F dealers).

 

Agree with your comments above on 458 on the track

 

Driven both. Ferrari is more fun.

 

Some of us do!

 

Hell, Atleast he tracks it, huge credit. Finding Ferrari owners who track their cars gets rarer and rarer as sadly these cars are becoming nothing more than a fashion accessory. I will be one of the few who tracks a Ferrari when I get it but I know I'll have to run it with the Porsche guys as the Ferrari guys either don't track and the few that do are just awful drivers. Just a different customer base compared to the gt3, no two ways about it. The scud will be in my garage at some point for sure

 

easy decision...RS drive it for a while....if you don't love it - can sell easily and choose from unlimited supply of 458--some of which are very old and depreciating quickly

 

spent the weekend in a Ferrari 458

Porsche every day any day

 

If anyone has a GT3 RS allocation hang on to it. Rare commodity. You can always buy a 458 anytime. I had the opportunity to trade my GT3 for a 458 Italia at a really good price and didn't do it. Now I'm going to get an Alfa 4 C ( poor man's Ferrari) along with my GT3