F430 experience events, recommend any ?
Discussion
Just arrived back from an "Ferrari F430 experience" at Dunsfold and wow I was so disappointed .
I'm looking to buy an F430 and thought I'll give the F430 a try on a 'track day' and get to speak to the people who maintain and use them. I would have thought these cars would be hammered and show any flaws in the car. Sadly the only person I managed to speak too was my 'instructor' who wasn't very knowable on track rods ends, clutches manifolds etc. Unsure what the milage of the car was as the speedo was disconnected.
As for the driving experience ...... sadly I've had more fun in my Volvo. I've driven a couple of Porsche 911 Turbos, instructors were great and encouraging to drive the cars fast.
The Ferrari F430, I was limited to 3500 rpm and before I was hitting the braking zone 'my instructor was applying the brake .... due controls for braking.
Appreciate the instructor hasn't any idea about my driving experience but I was expecting so much but got so little .
Can anyone recommend a company so I can drive and speak to people who look after their cars .
I'm looking to buy an F430 and thought I'll give the F430 a try on a 'track day' and get to speak to the people who maintain and use them. I would have thought these cars would be hammered and show any flaws in the car. Sadly the only person I managed to speak too was my 'instructor' who wasn't very knowable on track rods ends, clutches manifolds etc. Unsure what the milage of the car was as the speedo was disconnected.
As for the driving experience ...... sadly I've had more fun in my Volvo. I've driven a couple of Porsche 911 Turbos, instructors were great and encouraging to drive the cars fast.
The Ferrari F430, I was limited to 3500 rpm and before I was hitting the braking zone 'my instructor was applying the brake .... due controls for braking.
Appreciate the instructor hasn't any idea about my driving experience but I was expecting so much but got so little .
Can anyone recommend a company so I can drive and speak to people who look after their cars .
Edited by carphotographer on Saturday 2nd October 12:51
You'll probably do better by renting this and then driving down to AV Engineering to have a chat ie chat & drive separately
https://bespokes.co.uk/marques/ferrari-hire/430-sp...
https://bespokes.co.uk/marques/ferrari-hire/430-sp...
As you are probably finding out, I don't really think that a track day experience package is a good way of getting a proper impression of any supercar.
If you are a serious buyer, then main dealers and independent Ferrari specialists should be pleased to speak to you and answer your queries. It's good fun to visit a few of them, look at the cars for sale, and build up your knowledge and understanding that way. And there may be a few private sellers out there as well. I would have thought test drives are possible. You could also speak to the Ferrari Owners Club for advice. When I was looking for my GT3, Porsche Leeds were really helpful, letting me drive a C2S and a non-prepped GT3 to compare and contrast. I had an accompanied drive in a car for sale from a second main dealer, and drove cars from two different independent specialists (one drive was unaccompanied). Finally I went to see a car being sold privately, where the owner took me out in the car but didn't want to let me drive. So I felt I had built up a fair enough understanding of what I was looking for, and ended up purchasing a car sight unseen from a third main dealer.
If you are a serious buyer, then main dealers and independent Ferrari specialists should be pleased to speak to you and answer your queries. It's good fun to visit a few of them, look at the cars for sale, and build up your knowledge and understanding that way. And there may be a few private sellers out there as well. I would have thought test drives are possible. You could also speak to the Ferrari Owners Club for advice. When I was looking for my GT3, Porsche Leeds were really helpful, letting me drive a C2S and a non-prepped GT3 to compare and contrast. I had an accompanied drive in a car for sale from a second main dealer, and drove cars from two different independent specialists (one drive was unaccompanied). Finally I went to see a car being sold privately, where the owner took me out in the car but didn't want to let me drive. So I felt I had built up a fair enough understanding of what I was looking for, and ended up purchasing a car sight unseen from a third main dealer.
Edited by IainF on Saturday 2nd October 14:34
I'm going to agree with others here, you'll struggle to get a good impression of the car at an experience day. I'm sure there are good ones out there, but most aren't keen on letting you drive the car hard. That's particularly true for the F430 because it's bound to be in an F1 which doesn't have the best clutch management; if they let the drivers do full throttle upshifts at the redline in race mode they'll go through clutches faster than they'd like.
If you're looking to make a purchase and want technical detail try calling some local independent specialists and tell them you want a run-down. In my experience they are generally knowledgeable, passionate about the cars, and quite willing to make time for a potential future customer. If you're in Surrey try QV or AV Engineering.
As for actually driving a car, if you're not looking to buy now then as others have said a short-term hire on the road is probably a better bet. If you're looking to buy now then dealers are hit and miss on how willing they are to let you drive. I had one dealer who wouldn't even take me out as a passenger unless I agreed to buy the car because, as he said "I just washed it", others have been more accommodating.
If you're looking to make a purchase and want technical detail try calling some local independent specialists and tell them you want a run-down. In my experience they are generally knowledgeable, passionate about the cars, and quite willing to make time for a potential future customer. If you're in Surrey try QV or AV Engineering.
As for actually driving a car, if you're not looking to buy now then as others have said a short-term hire on the road is probably a better bet. If you're looking to buy now then dealers are hit and miss on how willing they are to let you drive. I had one dealer who wouldn't even take me out as a passenger unless I agreed to buy the car because, as he said "I just washed it", others have been more accommodating.
davek_964 said:
Bizarre.
Sounds like I could rent out my (non-Ferrari) supercar to one of these experience days and it would be driven far far more carefully than I drive it!
You're probably right . There was a good selection of cars Ferrari, Porsche, Lambo, Bentley , but one car that is designed to be raced and abused is the Caterham . I've owned a few ex race 7's and know people who race them and these cars are reliable and cheap to maintain. Sounds like I could rent out my (non-Ferrari) supercar to one of these experience days and it would be driven far far more carefully than I drive it!
t's trick.johnnyreggae said:
You'll probably do better by renting this and then driving down to AV Engineering to have a chat ie chat & drive separately
https://bespokes.co.uk/marques/ferrari-hire/430-sp...
I tried to do exactly this recently but bespokes no longer have the 430 unfortunately.https://bespokes.co.uk/marques/ferrari-hire/430-sp...
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