996 or 360 ???
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Discussion

Giorginetto

Original Poster:

184 posts

230 months

Wednesday 10th November 2010
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My 2003 996 Carrera Tiptronic, Basalt Black with Green leather interior , has less than 40k Miles , benefits from Porsche Sports suspension ,Porsche sports exhaust, PCMII, lots of extras apart from Bose and memory seats. A1 condition i have been given a good offer to swap for a 2001 360 Modena, F1, metallic light blue with black leather interior, FFSH, some aftermarket park sensors at the rear which colour painted but ugly, very good condition, basic spec no elec seats but sounds and drives fantastic .

Not using the 996 for daily usage , mainly weekend car and some evenings.

Any thoughts/ feedback / experiences of the 360 will be greatly appreciated

neil-f

1,647 posts

238 months

Wednesday 10th November 2010
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Sounds like a fantastic deal,the 360 unless it is a binner is worth much more than your 2003 996. That colour of 360 is generally cheaper and is harder to shift come sale time.
Car should be serviced every year regardless of miles covered.Check ball joints (knocking sound from glove box!)these tend to wear belts need doing every 3 years so check when last done.
The cars do not compare as you will find when you test the 360.
If car is right pull the triggerbiggrin

Tiganut

94 posts

254 months

Wednesday 10th November 2010
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360 has much more presence,more sense of occasion,more from the heart than the head.When did you last go into the garage just to look at the Porsche?Great car,the 996.Supercar,the 360.
The 360 will cost more to run but that is a price many are willing to pay.

gbrownlow

4,843 posts

201 months

Wednesday 10th November 2010
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TBH I'm sticking with the 996 TT until I can justify the price to have a F430. After my F355 the 360 just doesn't do it for me and Ferrari's 2nd generation cars seem so much better ala F355 v 348 and F430 v 360.

I do agree with the sense of occasion and terrific sound you get with a ferrari but the german engineering, build quality and performance is stunning in comparison.

My 996 TT eats 360's but if you want a posing machine then go Ferrari.

With F430's in the £60k + bracket now save a few more pennies and you will have a far better car if you are thinking of a long term keeper.

If you just want some short term fun the ferrari 360 sound perfect

renmure

4,947 posts

255 months

Wednesday 10th November 2010
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gbrownlow said:
My 996 TT eats 360's but if you want a posing machine then go Ferrari.
996TT is certainly a competent car and fast as heck, but it is also as bland as heck. At least with the 360 you get a sense of occasion driving at any speed, not just at speeds where they take away your licence.

sone

4,612 posts

269 months

Wednesday 10th November 2010
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I'd say a 360 is a good buy as long as your not going to do lots of miles because they do cost a lot more to run than any Porsche I've owned, come to think of it more expensive than anything I've owned.
In my opinion the 360 is a much better looking car than the 430 although not a better car.
As a weekend pose or a long term ownership proposition I dont think you can beat the 360, but only in red biggrin. you have to do it at least once in your life!.

911Thrasher

2,573 posts

230 months

Wednesday 10th November 2010
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Just sold my 360 after 4months and 8,000miles smile
going back to Porsche - 997GT3 or 993/964RS

I didn't get the sense of occasion as it was a daily driver, and I guess I don't really care - what I wanted was a supersport capable of everyday living: they are meant to be driven IMO.

I do admit they look super sexy especially w/ the CS wheels and all the challenge grills which I had...and I could do a 360CS if I found a good one like the blue which sold a couple weeks ago in the £70ks...but again I'm sure I would end up selling it as it is not the perfect combo for me.

Mario149

7,789 posts

209 months

Thursday 11th November 2010
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I sold my 996 C4S to get into a 355, so not quite the same as what the OP is looking at.

IMO, if it's basically a no-cost upgrade to the 360, then it's a no-brainer to choose the Ferrari simply because it's a supercar (with all the benefits) rather than just a very competent sports car like a normal 996 is. The only questions you have to answer is are you buying a good 'un and after that can you afford the maintenance costs? I think realistically if you speak to people here who keep/intend to keep their cars long term, you're probably looking at an average of £3-4k per year at an Indy (as opposed to say £1.5k per year for a 996) to keep them fully maintained and in tip top condition that belies their age (certainly for my 355 I can see it going that way)

I think Ferrari unreliability is vastly over egged, I suspect they make break down a little more than other high performance cars, but not a lot, and simply get more publicity when they do because of the rarity and stereotyping. Only "breakdown" I've had with mine in 9 months and nearly 7k miles in all conditions was actually due to an immobiliser that was after-market anyway.

Edited by Mario149 on Thursday 11th November 09:22

MaxAndRuby

6,792 posts

263 months

Thursday 11th November 2010
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I've had eight 911s, and love Porsche, but I'd pick the Ferrari all day long.

Chris355

831 posts

227 months

Thursday 11th November 2010
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I have had several porscheshop and ferraris. Just sold a 996 c4s cab and bought a 360 spider. As said above several times the Porsche is a really good sports car but the 360 is a Supercar. The Ferrari will be more expensive to run and is less practical, but ...

the Ferrari is such a special car; the way it looks, sounds and drives makes it an easy choice!

Candellara

1,890 posts

213 months

Thursday 11th November 2010
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Just to play devils advocate, i've had two Ferrari's (348 and a 360CS) and now have a 996GT3.

The GT3 is a much much better car in terms of engineering / build quality so i'd chose the GT3 all day long over the F for pure driving experience.

The F is more of an "occasion" or a "pose" depending which way you view it but it comes at a cost. Depends what you want from your car i'd guess. For me, the GT3 wins over the CS and is a fraction of the running costs.

Giorginetto

Original Poster:

184 posts

230 months

Friday 12th November 2010
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No GT3s in Greece though ..

gbrownlow

4,843 posts

201 months

Friday 12th November 2010
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renmure said:
gbrownlow said:
My 996 TT eats 360's but if you want a posing machine then go Ferrari.
996TT is certainly a competent car and fast as heck, but it is also as bland as heck. At least with the 360 you get a sense of occasion driving at any speed, not just at speeds where they take away your licence.
Yeah I can see where you are coming from and the F355 certainly gets more looks. Even with the aerokit and high spec on mine its not a ferrari head turner but its slightly better than a bogo standard 911

For starters with the F355 people always have at least a double take. They hear it before they see it and then they take 2 looks. I do like that in a strange way but that said the 996TT is a better drivers car.

Maybe when I get the F430 I will have the perfect combo but TBH I don't want to get rid of the others so we will have to see how work pans out over the next 6 months.

One thing I have decided on is that I will give the 360 a miss in preference for a F430 but if your budget is 360 money do it and it will be fine as your first Ferrari. It just doesn't suit me given the other cars at the moment

Edited by gbrownlow on Friday 12th November 22:17

Mario149

7,789 posts

209 months

Friday 12th November 2010
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gbrownlow said:
the 996TT is a better drivers car
I've not personally driven a 996TT (been a passenger and was mightily impressed though), but I was under the impression that it was a devastating road weapon according to nearly all reviews, but as far as a driver's car, it was a bit numb and not tactile enough (a "fault" also shared by 997TTs since too I believe) when compared to say an F355. The "driver's" cars of the 911 range are the GT3s AIUI

renmure

4,947 posts

255 months

Saturday 13th November 2010
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Mario149 said:
gbrownlow said:
the 996TT is a better drivers car
I've not personally driven a 996TT (been a passenger and was mightily impressed though), but I was under the impression that it was a devastating road weapon according to nearly all reviews, but as far as a driver's car, it was a bit numb and not tactile enough
That was my perception too.

MaxAndRuby

6,792 posts

263 months

Saturday 13th November 2010
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renmure said:
Mario149 said:
gbrownlow said:
the 996TT is a better drivers car
I've not personally driven a 996TT (been a passenger and was mightily impressed though), but I was under the impression that it was a devastating road weapon according to nearly all reviews, but as far as a driver's car, it was a bit numb and not tactile enough
That was my perception too.
I've driven all the cars in question, and I agree with Mario aswell. The 996/997 turbo is one of the best, superfast everyday cars you can buy, but they're not special occasion cars. Relatively boring in comparison. The GT3 on the other hand..... thumbup