Ferrari 430 2 ½ years on
Discussion
Well I thought I would give everyone a little write up of my experience with my 430 spider so far. Maybe it will be of some help to those out there who are looking to enter into 430 ownership at some point in the future. I hope everyone enjoys it and this isn’t too boring!
I bought the 430 back in December 09. This in itself was a reflection of my slight impractical nature, as I traded in my 911 C4S (so 4 wheel drive) in for a rear wheel drive convertible, just in time for winter! So as you can imagine it didn’t get very much use for the first couple months!
The C4S was brilliant car, but I’d had it 18 months and fancied a change, something a bit more “exciting”. So I spent a couple of months looking at different alternatives before I settled on either a 360 spider or 430 spider. The reason I wanted a spider rather than the hard top wasn’t because I particularly love convertibles but I felt the spiders looked better than the hard top variants. It’s a totally person thing but I always felt that the 360/430 suited the look of the convertible roof better than the hard top. After going back and forth between the 2, I decided that seeing as I already had a 355 and the fact that I was planning on using this new car every day, that I would be better with the more modern car (plus lets be honest the extra power is never a bad thing
). The next decision was what gearbox to go for. I had always been an absolute die hard manual fan. I though the “flappy paddle boxes” were for posers and not real drivers. I wanted to be able to heal and toe myself, without the need for a computer. Eventually after watching every review I could get my hands on, asking a million questions on here and other forum + trawling the internet for comparisons between the F1 box and a manual, my feelings started to change and I gave in and went for the F1. The next decision was colour and due to this being my everyday driver I absolutely categorically didn’t want a red one. I always liked the Grigio colour, but in the end settled between black and TDF blue. Anyway to cut a long story short a low mileage absolutely mint condition TDF blue 430 spider appeared for sale down south with one of the main dealers. I had looked at a couple from other dealers, one was a specialist and the other just a normal “performance” car dealer, but decided to buy from a main dealer mostly due to the warranty you get with it. I felt that I would enjoy the car more knowing that should something major occur, it would be taken care of. A week later it was sitting in my driveway. More or less as soon as I drove it I knew I had made the right decision regarding the gearbox. The changes were very quick when you were making progress and like everything once you got used to it, was easy and intuitive to use. I’ve been asked before whether then F1 isl as involving as a manual and my answer is YES, just in a different way. It immediately felt far more exciting than the Porsche, made a much better noise and seemed to get nice attention wherever I went. The only downside was the fuel, it was A LOT worse than the Porsche, but well you can’t have everything
Nearly everyone I spoke to commented on the colour, I had people come up to me in petrol stations saying “much nicer than a red one” etc. Which was a nice surprise. It’s a very easy car to drive, that is unless you are my father (who really isn’t that into cars). I lent him the car for the evening and he called me a couple hours later as we was about to leave the restraint, sounding very stressed and annoyed saying “Your bloody car won’t start! This stupid thing, the key goes all the way round, everything lights up and nothing! Just nothing”
I had to laugh a bit and point out has he tried the MASSIVE red starter button on the steering wheel to which there was a awkward silence and a sudden vvvroom in the background as the car started and he simply said “I’ll be back in 5” and hung up! I still wind him up about it to this day.
The only problems I had with the car were, the automatic button on the centre console didn’t work when it was delivered and the battery kept going flat. The dealer replaced the button for me the next time it was up with them and it’s been fine ever since. The battery however wasn’t so easy. As I said earlier due to me buying the car in winter I didn’t drive it that much and didn’t have a trickle charger at this point. The trouble was when I eventually started using the car regularly, a couple miles a day it would be flat every morning. As you can imagine this very quickly started to sour the ownership experience when every morning before going out you had to jump start your car. The dealer just told me I either wasn’t driving it enough or that I must be leaving the radio/lights on etc. I replaced the battery and it has been fine ever since.
About a year into ownership I decided that it was time to let the 430 go. It had been a brilliant experience and a car I loved dearly but I decided to trade it in for something a bit more usable. In September 2010 I bought a 911 Turbo, but when push came to shove I couldn’t part with the 430. So the 430 became another toy to use on a sunny weekend. I have since then considered selling the car a few times but every time I start her up and the exhaust barks into life before settling into a restrained burble, I can’t let that go. I love hammering through the gears on a sunny day with the roof down, on a deserted country road. It’s fantastic!
It’s been a brilliant car in the time that I have owned it, a relatively comfortable (in supercar terms) easy to drive but can be an absolute hooligan if provoked. The trouble is that I’ve got a couple “toys“ that I use on weekends and I just don’t get the time to drive the 430 enough so regrettably I am once again contemplating it’s sale. I don’t particularly want to get rid of it, however space is becoming an issue and I think it’s a shame for it not to get used enough. So I have decided to put it up for sale in the next couple of weeks and see what happens. If it sells then fine if not I guess I’ll just be stuck with it again for another summer, which somehow I am sure will manage to live with
i sold my 430 because it was somewhat impracticle - didnt fit in car park space at work and its battery kept going flat also (tho fixed with new tracker and new battery). I then bought a 911 turbo but found it quite dull by comparison. Now with the california which is a lot more practical than the 430 and a much better car all round and is the only car i run. For the price though, the 430 is a great car and i would happily have had my old one back again plus an evoque or something for day to day.
Thanks everyone for the nice comments! I took it out on Sunday for a couple hours to give it a good run, managed to have to roof down most of the time as the weather was nice (for a change) . Love the noise, my friend was in front of me in her Gallardo Spyder and she said she could barely hear it over my car
. Love the noise, my friend was in front of me in her Gallardo Spyder and she said she could barely hear it over my car 
Hi All,
I'm Benjy911's dad and I don't often reply to posts but felt it was worth one here. A year ago I bought a 430 with the flappy paddles. It was a bit of an impulse because the salesman at the Ferrari dealer somewhere near the New Forest was giving the impression I was something he had got stuck on his shoe and I thought " --- you!" whipped the card out and said "I'll have it!"
After 9 months I couldn't stand all that awful beeping and the jerky change. Even without using Launch Control once I had taken over 30% off the clutch so I sold it. I then found an amazing, very low mileage manual one at Top 555 who really are excellent, I would go back again. The gearchange is beautiful and even though it's a bit older than the other one it feels a much more together car. As for the attitude of the dealer, you never know who you are dealing with, regard everyone as a potential customer and treat them with respect, whatever they are wearing. My worn out trainers and sweatshirt with little holes created by my pet rabbit obviously didn't create the right impression. They had a manual car when I was looking but I wouldn't even go back there for a service!
I'm Benjy911's dad and I don't often reply to posts but felt it was worth one here. A year ago I bought a 430 with the flappy paddles. It was a bit of an impulse because the salesman at the Ferrari dealer somewhere near the New Forest was giving the impression I was something he had got stuck on his shoe and I thought " --- you!" whipped the card out and said "I'll have it!"
After 9 months I couldn't stand all that awful beeping and the jerky change. Even without using Launch Control once I had taken over 30% off the clutch so I sold it. I then found an amazing, very low mileage manual one at Top 555 who really are excellent, I would go back again. The gearchange is beautiful and even though it's a bit older than the other one it feels a much more together car. As for the attitude of the dealer, you never know who you are dealing with, regard everyone as a potential customer and treat them with respect, whatever they are wearing. My worn out trainers and sweatshirt with little holes created by my pet rabbit obviously didn't create the right impression. They had a manual car when I was looking but I wouldn't even go back there for a service!
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