Cobraboy

This is something that I wrote in the Ferrari forum. I thought it might be useful/interesting here for those that are contemplating other cars. It is basically an assessment of the last few "exotic" cars that I've owned. The Ferrari guys mostly agreed with my assesment of the 328 and 355.

Ferrari 328 (1989)

Very solid feeling car. Nothing fancy, just what it needs to get the job done. Steering, clutch, brake effort just right. Fairly easy car to drive anywhere. Great sounding engine, good enough power to have fun. A/C when at its best will not keep up with the hottest weather. Targa roof panel, when stored behind the seat, takes up enough room that the seat has to be moved forward from my “normal” driving position (with a 5’ 10” driver); not a huge deal. Overall reliability seemed good. Easy car to work on. A very fun car to own and drive.

Ferrari 355 Spider (1996)

Not so solid feeling as the 328. Obviously faster and better handling, but somehow a bit more delicate. Amazing engine sound – probably one of the best when screaming at 8,000 RPM. An exciting car to drive. Very poor build quality, especially the interior; the leather on the dash shrinks and pulls away from the defroster vents and has to be replaced, all the switches and vents go “sticky” from the black coating that is used on them and they have to be refinished, the seat bolsters seem to wear pretty quickly. These are all common issues for all of them (you accept them when you buy a 355). While I could see owning a 328 again, I wouldn’t own a 355 again. Never felt that it was a reliable car. Always wondered what warning light was going to come on next. Very complex systems that may have been ahead of their time (exhaust bypass, soft-top operation, the infamous immobilizer, 5 valves…). Not a car to be driven every day if you need to get there.

Porsche 911 Carrera S (2007)

A beautiful car to drive; very easy. Comfortable, very good handling, enough power, excellent cruising car. A good combination of luxury and performance. But really not exciting to drive. Nothing wrong with it that I could put my finger on, just not exciting. Maybe the fact that all 911’s pretty much look the same no matter what the generation. The Porsche guys can point out all the differences, but Joe Public would have trouble seeing them. That’s what Porsche wants, but maybe it gets boring after a while?

Corvette C7 (2014)

You all know about the C7, but this is what I wrote to the Ferrari guys:

Now this is obviously newer than all the others, but man, what a car! This has the 3LT interior and the Z51 handling package. If you haven’t driven one of these, you really should. No it isn’t “exotic” like a Ferrari (depending on how you define exotic) but it is very exciting to drive; something that was missing with the Porsche. It is like a futuristic car with all the technical gizmos in it, and even the external styling is different enough to stand out in a crowd. A very nice daily driver in any weather, but enough power to scare you (stock ones are running the ¼ mi in well under 12 seconds). Interior quality (certainly with the 3LT package) is as good or better than anything on the road.

I realize that styling is a personal thing, but having said that there are certain cars that always stand-out. When I looked at the 328, 355, and even the 911 in my garage I always thought “what a beautiful car”. BUT, they will never be classic beauties like the 250 GTO, Daytona, or an XKE. Of course the Vette will never be in that class either. But with the Vette I look at it and think “what a stunning car”. It looks aggressive, powerful, almost futuristic. Personal opinion of course, but something about the design is really amazing. And yes, I’m biased since it is the car I own now. My friends always tell me that I think every car I buy is the best one ever. I tell them that you should feel that way. What would be the point of buying a car that you don’t feel is as good as what it is replacing?

So that is my summary of my cars over the last 2 years.

bapd77

Seems like a fair assessment on all cars. I personally would love a Lamborghini Aventador....but way outta my price range for now. For the first time ever....I feel the C7 is at least in the same conversation as the exotics and that makes me proud to be an owner.

dvilin

Good assessment I never owned a Ferrari but did own 3 Porsche 911's.

thegame

I have to tell you my good friend owns a 997 Turbo and while it's an awesome car I LOVEEEEEEEE my Stingray Z51 and would not trade it. I really am in love with the C7.

alienranch

My sentiments exactly!

Dunga

Very nice writeup. How did you fee about owning a superexpensive (yes subjective) car when it cost less to acquire down the road.

For example. I've a boner that will not go away for the MP4-12c. Currently can't pay for it. But perhaps when the used one is closer to 100k maybe.

Edit to say: if you bought all those brand new then my question is meaningless!!!

John Harry

Just remember - no matter how long you wait and how little you pay for it, the maintenance costs will still be that of a $250,000 car.

Cobraboy

I bought each those for far less than the price of a new Vette. There is something satisfying knowing you are buying and driving a car that was $160,000 new and you paid 1/3 of that. Of course you have to be careful and get an inspection done at a reputable place. And yes, you could be hit by a repair bill that would buy a new C7 engine. You really need to be able to do a lot of the work yourself. Taking it to a dealer is generally very expensive for almost anything. The other thing about Ferrari, it isn't unusual to sell a car for pretty much what you paid for it years earlier. A lot of the older ones have bottomed out in price and are creeping up now.