"Family-friendly" Ferrari
Discussion
In a quest for a "family-friendly" Ferrari to complement my 550, I am considering a number of options and these are my current thoughts on each one:
1. The most obvious choice for a 550 owner is a 456, although in some ways 550 ownership is a reason not to go for a 456, as it would be too similar (I should add that this is as well as, not instead of - the 550 is staying!). If I do go for one of these, then my research so far leads me towards an M and my preference would be for a manual, but should I consider an auto M, or a manual non-M, if I can't find a nice manual M? Opinion seems to be divided as to just how useable are the rear seats. The key questions are: are they comfortable for a reasonable sized adult and how would my 5'8" daughter find it sitting behind her 6'1" father? Running costs, I understand, are a bit higher than for a 550 and I don't see depreciation as a factor with the 456, which I suspect has reached rock bottom (although I don't see much likelihood of a rise in prices in the foreseeable future either).
2. 612. If I went for one of these, I think I would be happy with the auto / F1 option and I get the impression that the rear seats would pass the test above. My concerns, however, are the size of the 612 - parking, narrow roads, etc. - and further depreciation: I imagine that even early 612s at c. £55/60K have some way to go yet. I have no information on running costs, so any thoughts on this would be welcome.
3. I have also been toying with the idea of a 365 / 400 / 412, almost certainly with a manual box. While I am attracted to the looks / purity of the 365, are the later cars a better bet - more reliable, better equipped, etc. and what are the pros and cons of fuel injection vs. carburettors? Just how good are the rear seats (see above) and ride comfort generally? I don't know anything about running costs and again I don't see much likelihood of a significant rise in prices in the foreseeable future, but I guess that will come sooner than with a 456. My main concern is reliability and potential rust / engine etc. rebuild issues.
I shan't go into looks - opinion seems very divided on all of these, so I guess it comes down to "beauty is in the eye of the beholder". for what it is worth, I love the looks of the 365 / 400 / 412, but am less keen on the 456 and the 612 is my least favourite, but even the 612 is a good looking car.
Any thoughts on the relative merits of each option would be greatly appreciated. Apologies to anyone who has already answered these questions in re the 456 on an earlier thread. Thanks.
1. The most obvious choice for a 550 owner is a 456, although in some ways 550 ownership is a reason not to go for a 456, as it would be too similar (I should add that this is as well as, not instead of - the 550 is staying!). If I do go for one of these, then my research so far leads me towards an M and my preference would be for a manual, but should I consider an auto M, or a manual non-M, if I can't find a nice manual M? Opinion seems to be divided as to just how useable are the rear seats. The key questions are: are they comfortable for a reasonable sized adult and how would my 5'8" daughter find it sitting behind her 6'1" father? Running costs, I understand, are a bit higher than for a 550 and I don't see depreciation as a factor with the 456, which I suspect has reached rock bottom (although I don't see much likelihood of a rise in prices in the foreseeable future either).
2. 612. If I went for one of these, I think I would be happy with the auto / F1 option and I get the impression that the rear seats would pass the test above. My concerns, however, are the size of the 612 - parking, narrow roads, etc. - and further depreciation: I imagine that even early 612s at c. £55/60K have some way to go yet. I have no information on running costs, so any thoughts on this would be welcome.
3. I have also been toying with the idea of a 365 / 400 / 412, almost certainly with a manual box. While I am attracted to the looks / purity of the 365, are the later cars a better bet - more reliable, better equipped, etc. and what are the pros and cons of fuel injection vs. carburettors? Just how good are the rear seats (see above) and ride comfort generally? I don't know anything about running costs and again I don't see much likelihood of a significant rise in prices in the foreseeable future, but I guess that will come sooner than with a 456. My main concern is reliability and potential rust / engine etc. rebuild issues.
I shan't go into looks - opinion seems very divided on all of these, so I guess it comes down to "beauty is in the eye of the beholder". for what it is worth, I love the looks of the 365 / 400 / 412, but am less keen on the 456 and the 612 is my least favourite, but even the 612 is a good looking car.
Any thoughts on the relative merits of each option would be greatly appreciated. Apologies to anyone who has already answered these questions in re the 456 on an earlier thread. Thanks.
Thankyou all for your contributions. In light of your various comments, although my heart says 365/400/412, my head is definitely telling me that the only Ferrari that is going to tempt my family out of our modern Merc (highly specced E-class) is a 612, because it offers a combination of adequate accommodation, reliability and creature comforts, so there would be little point in my buying said 365/400/412.
I am not yet convinced, however, that it is a car I really want to own.
But thanks again for all your thoughts, which have been very helpful.
I am not yet convinced, however, that it is a car I really want to own.
But thanks again for all your thoughts, which have been very helpful.
456mgt said:
My only contribution to this is to suggest you rule out the 456, not because of servicing costs, but it will be, as you point out, far too much of a deja vu experience. I had a 456M, manual, and was looking for a 2 seater to go alongside it. I tried a 550 and there are *loads* of parts in common, eg dials, gearlever & gate, even the smells and sounds. It's similar to drive too. Plus, when you look at the service parts for a 456, half of them are listed as 550 items on the invoice.
I think you already arrived at the conclusion; if you want speed, comfort and practicality, go more modern, if you want a bit of fun, go older. I absolutely LOVE the 250GTE, but my 'kids' are teenagers now and far more tolerant of old school quirks.
Thanks for that. My primary reason for ruling out the 456 was not one of familiarity, though that is certainly a consideration, but accommodation. The problem is that if this is not to be a white elephant, it has to be able to persuade my wife and daughter (17 years old / 5'8" tall) that they wouldn't have been happier if we had done the journey in our modern Merc (highly specced E-class, with all the toys / creature comforts), or, at a pinch, my Bentley (that, too, had a sudden drop in popularity when the new Merc arrived); and at the same time make me not have too many regrets that I have been forced to leave the 550 in the garage.I think you already arrived at the conclusion; if you want speed, comfort and practicality, go more modern, if you want a bit of fun, go older. I absolutely LOVE the 250GTE, but my 'kids' are teenagers now and far more tolerant of old school quirks.
Here is a somewhat expanded version of my last post, which summarises my current thinking after reading all the comments here and others along similar lines from contributors to the FerrariLife forum).
Mondial or GT4 are out - I reckon the back seats just aren't going to do the business for anything other than short journeys, so the family wouldn't be happy; and I would still hanker after the missing 4 cylinders (pure prejudice I know, but there it is).
Compared to the 456 and 612, the 365/400/412 have much more of a classic feel to them (365s even have carburettors!) as well as being significantly slimmer (my one complaint about my 550 is that it is too wide); and I think the body is drop-dead gorgeous. My personal preference would be for the 365 - all had manual boxes and the beauty of the details / delicacy of the fittings appeal to me more that those on the 400/412. I would almost be able to kid myself that I was driving a Daytona in disguise for 10% of the price! But I don't see the family getting as excited about it as I would, and the first time it threw a tantrum of any sort (which cars of that age are inclined to do from time to time), that would be it.
A manual 456M has so much going for it, and there are some about if I take my time to find one, but I fear that the rear seats wouldn't keep my daughter happy long term; and the lack of modern amenities would kill it for Her Indoors.
So, my current thinking is that the only Ferrari that stands a chance of keeping the family happy, is a 612, because it offers the combination of adequate accommodation, reliability and creature comforts that "family friendly" demands. I am yet to be convinced that it is a car I really want to own, but the more I look into it, the more it is growing on me.
So, it is a 612 or nothing. And if it is to be a 612, do I opt for manual or F1? My inclination is to go for F1 as it is more plentiful, so easier to find, and more relaxing / traffic-friendly than a manual and by the time the 612 went into production, the technology behind the F1 was more fully developed than in earlier cars (against this is that my wife might think that it is an automatic, so she can drive it!). Any thoughts?
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