convertible ferrari - what to buy for 50 - 90k??

[grouchy123]

Three years ago, with 50k to spend I weighed up the pros and cons of an Aston vanquish vs a 993turbo, and came to the conclusion that I centavo far wrong with the Aston. I think u see where I'm going with this...

With 993 proves going through the roof and bits falling off my Aston I kicked myself about that decision ever since

So here I am three years later, having rid myself of the vanquish, with 50k in my pocket possibility to finance another 30 if needed, and. Real itch for a convertible. A ferrari ideally.

I've toiled over the 355 (I've driven a few and whilst wonderful I found it a bit, er, slow) vs a 599 ( then I don't get the soft top i want) so what about. California (well what about the depreciation ben, so maybe a 430 then. Without too much longer I'm back to square one

So what is the sensible buy( if I can say that) what is the wild card? What are peoples thought and what wd you buy?

[TISPKJ]

50 will buy you a very nice 360, 75 a very nice 430, I don't see prices of either going south by much if any.
Gallardo also very nice in that price range.
Do you want manual or F1 ?

[Lost soul]

grouchy123 said:

Three years ago, with 50k to spend I weighed up the pros and cons of an Aston vanquish vs a 993turbo, and came to the conclusion that I centavo far wrong with the Aston.

that's got to hurt

[TISPKJ]

Lost soul said:

grouchy123 said:

Three years ago, with 50k to spend I weighed up the pros and cons of an Aston vanquish vs a 993turbo, and came to the conclusion that I centavo far wrong with the Aston.

that's got to hurt

yes both done 50% of there value one way or the other ...... sadly not both the same way :-)

[voicey]

TISPKJ said:

50 will buy you a very nice 360, 75 a very nice 430, I don't see prices of either going south by much if any.
Gallardo also very nice in that price range.
Do you want manual or F1 ?

Any of these three cars should return most of your money back at the other end. I'm biased and would recommend the F430 but the other two are also fantastic.

[IanMorewood]

355 looks the business and whilst not all that fast in supercar company is still plenty quick enough for uk roads.

[lambo666]

Do yourself a favour .... drive a gallardo spyder and give it some stick......that's what i did and didn't even bother looking at the 430.

[Chris_VRS]

430 Spider F1, a fair amount on the market currently, so you can be fussy over the exact spec your looking for.

[Kilsoj]

Hi,

If convertible is a must then 355 will be bullet proof depreciation wise.

If and only if it doesn't have to be I think the smart money has to be on a 550 manual

[hazy]

Low mileage, well cared for 360, Im liking them more and more as they age gracefully (and that's from a 430 owner!)

[GRBF430F1]

Can't go wrong with a F430 F1 spider IMHO. Looks are subjective versus a 360, personally I always prefer the 2nd incarnation, but no one can argue that the F1 gearbox and general performance of the F430 are a massive improvement over the 360. Sold my late 09 low mileage high spec car over a year ago and its probably not lost a penny since
With F355 prices and 360 prices rising the F430 values are being underpinned and representing good value in comparison IMHO

[roygarth]

hazy said:

Low mileage, well cared for 360, Im liking them more and more as they age gracefully (and that's from a 430 owner!)

Agree, I've had both. Preferred the 430 looks but thats been changing for a while now and think the 360 in time will be considered one of the prettier Ferraris. Conversely the 355 is ageing less well whereas in its day everyone thought it a stunner...

[JasonSF]

Come to the dark side. Gallardo is simply stunning to drive and look at. A real missile too. 😃

[GRBF430F1]

roygarth said:

Agree, I've had both. Preferred the 430 looks but thats been changing for a while now and think the 360 in time will be considered one of the prettier Ferraris. Conversely the 355 is ageing less well whereas in its day everyone thought it a stunner...

Sorry have to disagree. How can anyone say the F355 is looking dated and ageing badly ????
The F355 is the last of the pretty Ferrari's and a real classic. The wedgy shape and lines are beautiful in comparison to the jelly mould 360 shape all IMHO of course

The F355 will ALWAYS be STUNNING, especially a manual GTS with Capristo

[erics]

i would go straight for a 430 spider

[Lost soul]

GRBF430F1 said:

Sorry have to disagree. How can anyone say the F355 is looking dated and ageing badly ????
The F355 is the last of the pretty Ferrari's and a real classic. The wedgy shape and lines are beautiful in comparison to the jelly mould 360 shape all IMHO of course

The F355 will ALWAYS be STUNNING, especially a manual GTS with Capristo

[AyBee]

355 spider is one of the nicest looking Ferraris ever made IMO and sounds amazing with an aftermarket exhaust

That or a Gallardo spyder

[moc]

No one's mentioned a California, fantastic all-round modern car, you should be able to pick a circa 30k miler up for under £90k

[MDahmen]

Lost soul said:

I am also firmly in the 355 is the prettiest camp and also the best sounding. GTS gives the open top experience without compromising the lines. 360 sounds quite good and looks good too, 430 sounds a bit like it farts at certain revs and is not that pretty I think.

If you want a 360 and don't need the open-top experience, I believe there is a LHD silver 360 CS listed on mobile.de for <€100k - pictures look lovely

355 certainly not particularly fast, but probably fast enough for most uses (not exactly an Autobahn car anyway, although full bore shifts from 5 to 6 are still pretty cool).

Miss my old one so much, I am now back looking for a 355 after looking for a 550 (tough to find one with good service history), then various GT 911s (tough to find one that has not been crashed), then a 599 (HGTE looks mean, but they are just not that pretty) for the last 6 months without finding the right car.... so winter will be spent browsing 355 ads on mobile.de.

that's enough rambling for now

[Bebs]

MDahmen said:

Miss my old one so much, I am now back looking for a 355

Excellent - will be good to have you back in the fold