Originally Posted by nathan1

As a long time P-car owner/fanatic but also a longtime F-car owner/fanatic I tried to resist chiming in here, but for what it is worth here is my experience:

Ferrari 360-

I have owned both F1 and 6-speed manual versions. The F1 is an impressive piece as long as a person understands they are buying a single-clutch automated MANUAL and the shift quality is akin to a manual... The speed at which it shifts is damn impressive. The 6-speed manual cars have fairly high shift effort and are very balky cold, they need to be driven with an assertive hand... Overall I find the 6-speed manual car to be more involving but definitely slower than the F1. As the cars age I would probably tend towards the manual as I perceive maintenance costs to be lower with old tech. I have personally never had an issue with the F1.

Maintenance Costs: Lately with increased competition I have seen major service costs drop dramatically. I just had the 360 serviced at my local Ferrari store (Ron Tonkin GT in Portland OR) and they did the 30k major including timing belts, all drive belts and all fluids (engine, trans, brake, coolant, etc.) and the total tab was $3200, which I thought was very reasonable. I am happy to send a copy of this invoice to anybody curious. This service is due every 5 years. In off years all that is required is an oil service and brake fluid flush. I do that myself but could have it done for ~$700 or so. So overall even if I use the dealer we are looking at $6,000 over 5 years or ~$100 month. Not to big of a deal and frankly not too different from my air-cooled Porsches...

Failures- There are several known failures on 360's just like there are on any series of Porsche. The key is to do your homework upfront and buy the best maintained example you can find. Ferrarichat is a great example to learn what they are. I personally have only experienced a few issues such as the alarm siren failure, sticky switches, etc. None were game changers for me or crazy expensive.

Paint Quality- In my experience the difference with Ferrari is that they are more inconsistent than Porsche. The cars that I have owned have all had exceptional paint quality with the exception of one car that had some dirt in the paint in one lower rocker. That should have been caught before it left the factory but it wasn't. I have personally seen a few F-cars with paint flaw, none major but have seen it. In my years with Porsche I have only seen one car (89 911) that had a run in it's original paint. I will also say my experience is that the "hardness" of the F-car paint seems lower as they are more susceptible to rock chips.

Interior Quality- I would tend to agree that Ferrari interiors while better than they used to be still don't wear well. Part of the problem is that they use quite a bit more leather than Porsche and frankly leather other than on seats is not the most durable material in a car. The leather dashes are susceptible to shrinking (always use a shade) although you do see this in full leather Porsche dashes as well. The seats also show quite a bit more bolster wear than Porsche seats at like mileage. I think overall the interior on the F-car looks richer than the P-car, but they don't hold up as well.

Driving- You really cant compare the two cars well. The amazing thing about a P-car is that is does everything well and makes few demands on the driver. They are just an easy car to drive fast, are easy to live with on a day to day basis and are overall just a magical combination. The Ferrari makes the most amazing noises, has almost electric throttle response (think early 2.0 MFI 911s...), has light but telepathic steering and generally makes more demands of the driver. If you haven't driven one, put it on the list.

Looks- Clearly this is subjective, I think they are both gorgeous cars but in different ways. The 911 is art to me because it defines the brand and a culture and was just a car that was perfect out of the box. The 360 is a sexy, lithe italian goddess. Which one do you want to take home? You cant go wrong with either. I will tell you that if your shy the F-car is not for you, you do not blend in anywhere you go!

We are all car guys here so my basic summary is that if I could only have one I would have a P-car because it is a car I can live with and use in any situation. The Ferrari is an amazing car but inherently makes more compromises. If you can afford both, do it!

Originally Posted by ep3_lol

I find it odd that the 360 is getting so much flak for its maintenance and reliability issues, but no one has mentioned Audi's reputation in this area. Audi makes some beautiful cars, but they (and all recent VAG products in general) can't stay in one piece for anything. I don't know anyone with a water-cooled VW or Audi that hasn't had massive problems with it, I wouldn't bet on their halo car doing any better. It's still fairly new, so you'd be finding out first hand...good luck if that's what you choose.

Originally Posted by shadow993

I'm looking at adding one of these to my collection.

If you own one or owned one .... Thoughts?

Originally Posted by H.H.Chinn

the cost of an interval service could almost pay for a complete 993 engine rebuild..