If you wanted a toy car and had 80k to spend

[bordseye]

S

Dr_Rick said:

Does sir require open top, or coupe?

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds?Category=us...

Has to be open.

[Cie]

Since you've tested the F430 already I'd be surprised if you went for any of the other Ferraris you mentioned unless you prefer the looks of the others, but a lot was made about the F430 not being very pretty. With the sorted ride height and in the right spec I think it's a gorgeous car.

An F430 Spider would be my choice all day long.

[bertie]

bordseye said:

Has to be open.

Could have done with that nugget of info a while ago

So the obvious choices are F430 or Galardo then.

Based on the feeling that your usage sounds more suited to a GT than an out and out sportscar, how about an Aston DBS or Virage convertible?

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/a...

Or a bit of a stretch to a California?

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/f...

Edited by bertie on Thursday 16th April 12:58

[Zadkiel]

Out of 355, 360 or 430 then I would probably say 430. Although there is a fair bit of personal taste involved. Personally I think you can rule out the 360 because the 430 is just as good looking and better in pretty much every way. Between the 355 and 430 then you may want to let your beliefs on which is prettier decide, although bear in mind the 355 will cost a decent amount more to obtain due to the whole engine out cambelt issue. Also if you want an F1 gearbox the newer the car the better by far. Hence for most people I'd say the 430 is best.

[Adam B]

bordseye said:

Has to be open.

Bit left field but if it really is a toy surely this would be great fun for a year ownership, especially approaching summer

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/a...

[EpsomJames]

bertie said:

bordseye said:

Has to be open.

Could have done with that nugget of info a while ago

So the obvious choices are F430 or Galardo then.

Based on the feeling that your usage sounds more suited to a GT than an out and out sportscar, how about an Aston DBS or Virage convertible?

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/a...

Or a bit of a stretch to a California?

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/f...

Edited by bertie on Thursday 16th April 12:58

Cali is a good shout, I've been eyeing these up recently.

[bertie]

Adam B said:

bordseye said:

Has to be open.

Bit left field but if it really is a toy surely this would be great fun for a year ownership, especially approaching summer

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/a...

I think his usage based on this comment kind of rules out an Atom!

bordseye said:

Able to do a two week tour of Spain two up. No track days

[SELON]

OP: you asked for these suggestions so remember it would be rude if you didn't test drive them all...and let us know how you get on!

If you want a GT, the Aston Virage as mentioned above is a cracker for the money.

It's a V12, plenty of space in the boot and a great drive, sounds fantastic, plenty of performance and looks not too bad either . Had mine for over 2 years now and no troubles at all so that's not an issue I think.

[Adam B]

bertie said:

a good point

Ah yes ignore me then, even a Gallardo might be a push

DBS or Vanquish would be nice

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/a...

[Adam B]

Ooooo an S with a manual gearbox.

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/a...

[mattf93]

Adam B said:

Ah yes ignore me then, even a Gallardo might be a push

DBS or Vanquish would be nice

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/a...

Interior on Vanquishes more dated than DBS/Virage/DB9. Also with autos vanquish has older tech.

[bertie]

mattf93 said:

Adam B said:

Ah yes ignore me then, even a Gallardo might be a push

DBS or Vanquish would be nice

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/a...

Interior on Vanquishes more dated than DBS/Virage/DB9. Also with autos vanquish has older tech.

He surely means the current one.
Isn't the new one called Vanquish?

[Mario149]

In the £80K price bracket I've had a 355 Spider, 550 Maranello and 997 GT3.

Best drivers car, GT3 by a country mile
Best touring car, 550
Best looking and noise, 355

599 and 430 Spider would also be good touring contenders.

That said, for me Ferrari servicing costs have, at least for me at the moment, got a bit old, especially since I've got into the bad habit of running multiple cars. I tracked mine and it got expensive quickly, and nearly 4 months after selling my last Dancing Donkey, I'm not currently having any regrets. I adore Ferraris, but when you get into something like a GT3, it really does show up the Italians as being a little bit more mouth than trousers. Which is fine as I like a bit of drama as much, if not more, than the next person. It's just that eventually it wears off for me and I don't get the buzz any more.

[dazwalsh]

I would seek out a nice Ferrari 360, IMO the best looking Ferrari ever made, even more so in CS form but prices are gone stupid for them.

[kryten22uk]

How come prices of practically every Fezza have gone up in recent years, but 599 can still be had for 80k? Why hasn't the 599 gone up accordingly; what's wrong with it?

[Mario149]

kryten22uk said:

How come prices of practically every Fezza have gone up in recent years, but 599 can still be had for 80k? Why hasn't the 599 gone up accordingly; what's wrong with it?

Nothing, 599 is epic, it's just 355s have developed a cult following and likewise 550s. 430s and 599s are seen as regular, not collectible, Ferraris. Mind you, it looks like 550s have peaked, asking prices have softened somewhat in the last few months, I imagine 355s probably have as well. There's simply too many of them for sale (~45)

Edited by Mario149 on Thursday 23 April 16:27

[mattf93]

bertie said:

He surely means the current one.
Isn't the new one called Vanquish?

'Current' Vanquish is about 50K or so over his stated 80k budget, so I assumed it was the old vanquish which was renowned for having a dim witted slow gearbox, and a more dated interior than vantage/DB9s as I believe a load of the parts were still from the Ford parts bin?

I may be wrong but thats just how I saw the situation:
Hence why I would say:
DBS Volante
Virage Volante
DB9 Volante

I think budget wise you might struggle with getting a DBS if you're on a strict budget - but DBS by far the best (has 510 bhp) was tehe range topping model etc.

Plenty of good options to Consider here - California is a good shout too - gearbox smoother than the DBS Sportshift 2.

Hope you find something you really like Maserati Grancabrio or MC Stradale Cabrio are worth looking at too, they sound pretty terrific and will offer better space than a california - but trades a tad performance wise.

Best of luck OP.

[bertie]

mattf93 said:

'Current' Vanquish is about 50K or so over his stated 80k budget, so I assumed it was the old vanquish which was renowned for having a dim witted slow gearbox, and a more dated interior than vantage/DB9s as I believe a load of the parts were still from the Ford parts bin?

I may be wrong but thats just how I saw the situation:
Hence why I would say:
DBS Volante
Virage Volante
DB9 Volante

I think budget wise you might struggle with getting a DBS if you're on a strict budget - but DBS by far the best (has 510 bhp) was tehe range topping model etc.

Plenty of good options to Consider here - California is a good shout too - gearbox smoother than the DBS Sportshift 2.

Hope you find something you really like Maserati Grancabrio or MC Stradale Cabrio are worth looking at too, they sound pretty terrific and will offer better space than a california - but trades a tad performance wise.

Best of luck OP.

I'm sure the OP said it had to be converable, hence why I assumed he meant new DBS replacement Vanquish, the old one want available as a Volante I don't think.

But I agree, it's going to be over budget.
I reckon DBS or California are best bets..... My money is on him buying s 430.

[mattf93]

bertie said:

I'm sure the OP said it had to be converable, hence why I assumed he meant new DBS replacement Vanquish, the old one want available as a Volante I don't think.

But I agree, it's going to be over budget.
I reckon DBS or California are best bets..... My money is on him buying s 430.

New Vanquish Volante is around 160k when I last checked for the 'older' spec vanquish (e.g. 13/14 6 speed rather than 8 speed gearbox)
so double the budget.

However I think you are right in saying the 430, the lightest of the choices and probably the most 'driver focused' car of the lot, DBS Volante is a fantastic GT car and can be chucked about but not to the same extent as a 430 could.

California apparently feels disconnected without the handling pack (no personal experience just what dealers have said) but not sure a handling spec car would be within budget.

Bordseye, are you going to bother driving anything else or are you pretty much got your eyes set on a 430 spider?

[sa_20v]

I might as well throw in another stupid idea and piss all over your budget!

How about Morgan's Aero range? Right now, second hand, you would be able to get any of the earlier Aero 8s. The one recently launched won't be a million miles away (base spec) from £80k.

If you could live with a hardtop there are two Aero Coupes for sale (more money):
£104k - http://www.londonmorgan.co.uk/Used-Car-Details/use...
£80k - http://www.lawtonbrook.co.uk/current-stock/for-sal...

Alternatively wait for a SuperSports (removable T-top) which will be a little bit more.

The beauty with these Morgans is that they're much rarer than most Ferraris, hold their value as well (if not better) and are exceptionally cheap to run - BMW engines too so no real issues over reliability. Most weigh as much as an Exige, run an aluminium tub, AP Racing brakes and have a stonking V8 up front!

Hopefully food for thought!