Servicing cost comparison 360 vs 430 over 1 year?

The 360 will drop to 355 levels, the 430 will drop to 360 levels. Natural way of growing old in the Ferrari world. So the F430 will definitely lose more money, in the next 2 years I would say at least $20k, the F430 is at its steepest slope in the depreciation curve. OTH it is a much better car, and better looking to me as well. As for servicing costs - the 360 is very reasonable. The 430 might be a bit less but it won't make that much of a difference. Both have a worry w.r.t. to the F1 gearbox. That can always cause a major bill.

My personal philosophy is that taking servicing costs into account when deciding which Ferrari you want is a sign of not quite taking the right approach. I try to forget about service costs - none of my Ferraris are cheap and I accept that.

To get the most out of this hobby, IMO you should not have to watch your pennies to keep them running well. If you're stretching yourself, I would advice to step 1 rung down on the ladder and use the extra cash you free up to service the car and keep it in tip-top condition. When treated well, these cars are very reliable and ready to be enjoyed. But every year I expect a reasonable bill for all of them.

If you REALLY hate losing money as you say you do - don't buy a Ferrari. Just my honest advice. I've seen a few people who actually really hated the whole experience (which is perfectly valid BTW), they just couldn't get used to spending that money on a car.

If, on the other hand, you're fully aware of the cost but just don't want to go overboard, I would say the 360 would be the best choice. Over the next 3 years it will be cheapest in overall cost, taking depreciation into account.

I hope this helps you a bit, don't mean to offend just trying to call them as I see them.


Onno

 

That can't be correct. 1600 miles is a ridiculously frequent interval for belt changes. Even 16,000 miles is pretty frequent but I might believe it if you were convincing.

Forget about service costs, since you have stated you only want to own the 360 for a year. The service cost on any car is not going to hit you all at once, and since you quoted a "good 360" it's likely to have had recent service.

If you only keep the car for a year, you will definitely lose more money by buying and trading. You have to buy at retail but can only sell at wholesale. In the US you also lose money on the taxes, depending on what state you live in.

Choose the model you like better on its own merits and get that one.

 

1. 1,600 belt interval is nonsense- where did you hear that???
2. Why 12 months - is that all you will own the car? Either car could be troble free or need ten's of thousands of dollars in that time- a crap shoot. Both are very reliable by ferrari standards, so the odds are in your favor especially if you do some reasearch and have the car checked out before purchase.
3. The 360 will cost less to buy and will depreciate less both as a % and on a dollar basis. Even factoring in some wiggle room for maintenance of an older car, in general the depreciation of the 430 will be higher by a considerable amount and the 360 will be cheaper to own.
4. You need to research a purchase like this and try to weed out the mis-information like 1,600 mile belt changes on a 360. If you are very much against loosing money, I hate to say it but buy something else. Get an air cooled porsche 911 and you can sell it for the same money after driving it for a year and odds are if you buy right you won't have any major issues. Only you know your comfort level regarding cost and potential cost vs. pride of ownership, driving experience, fufilling a life dream etc.
5. Any car can have issues by just bad luck- you can only minimize the chance by doing research and having a potential purchase checked over by a good Ferrari mechanic.
6. You have to realize that 99.999% of cars are not an investment, and from a cash flow perspective they are not even an asset, just something that requires the use of cash (i.e. a cash flow liability).

 

Alex- Send me a PM and I will give you a url where you can download a 360 Workshop Manual and look them up yourself.

Here is the cambelt change tech bulletin. A bit different from what you were quoting.

Maintenance on a 430 is essentially identical except no cambelt changes. The engine does not have to be removed from a 360 for a belt change so it is not as big a deal as on a 348, TR or 355.

Incidentally, you can use the Search function and find all kinds of data, including answers to most of your concerns.

Taz
Terry Phillips
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One reason I chose the 430 over the 360 was reduced maintenance costs. I also went with a 6 speed manual but not bc of the cost. It was what I wanted. The benefit of less problems and hassles vs F1 was an unexpected plus.

 

Any thoughts about servicing and overall costs over a year? Has anyone bought and then traded up from a 360 or 430 over 1 year?[/QUOTE]

I did with a 360 for a year and I lost $15,000 in depreciation. It's not worth it and you'll be out of pocket a lot more if you buy a 360 and later a 430. Just buy the F430 from the start but if a 360 then keep for the long run. My F430 has been very reliable, but the 360 no so and the F1 kept me nervous about its reliability so I ordered a manual f430 instead.

 

Agree with all the points, in particular #3 as it relates to OP's original question. Even if you keep the car for 3 years and have to do a belt service. The depreciation is the most significant part of either car (with the 430 being significantly larger than the 360).
-> 1 YR: 360 depreciation + annual service + belt change << 430 depreciation + annual service.

Another way to look at it, the delta in price between the cars is ~ $50K-$60K (almost 2X). Buy the 360 and take the remainder of money and invest it. With your return on your investment, in one year you can pay for the maintenance or unexpected repairs. In fact, I bet you could own the 360 for THREE years and the total cost (depreciation + annual service + belt change) would be similar to the total cost of the 430 for ONE year (depreciation + annual service) after you account for ROI of the other $50K-$60K.

Of course, all this is based on you *really* want a Ferrari and not some other more economical car.

-Jim

 

I would love to know where that piece of incorrect information originated.

 

You get 1,600 miles from a belt change? I change my belts after every drive....can't be too safe

 

Most likely either the decimal was misplaced (should have been 16,000) or that's the average some owner got because he didn't drive his car much (e.g. changed it every 3 years but only drove a total of 1,600 miles in that period). Or maybe even just misheard or mistyped it. Returning to the OP's question, the costs aren't materially different for a given year unless something breaks, and then it's unpredictable which would cost more. If strictly maintenance, both would be scheduled for fluid changes, at roughly the same cost. You only get into major differences over a span of several years, when the 360 would need a belt change and the 430 would not.

 

If money loss is a concern, never buy a car, especially an exotic, with the idea being to own it for one year and then change cars. Just the taxes and fees should make one year ownership of an F-car out of the question. If you are concerned about the maintenance costs of a 360 vs a 430, and the possible "loss" of money due to normal operation, then this brand might just not be for you at this point.

Just being honest.

Save your money and buy the one you really want, and plan to keep it long-term.

 

LOL, or one better in the middle of a drive at a gas station.