Quality of build base Porsche 911 vrs California

I can't compare them with facts, yet do know the 991 cab is stronger than the 997. I would guess the Cali T is far superior.

The Cali has some flex, it was to be a Maserati. Still better than your 997 I bet.

 

Having owned a 2006 997 cab (among numerous 911s, including a 991), you are going to be very happy with the power of the California, even if you don't need it : )

The best advice is to get a California with a warranty. The California 30 -- 2013-2014 -- is the more powerful and last of the normally aspirated Californias and you will love that car if it fits into your price range. I drove a 2012 and 2013 back to back and it was clear that I wanted the 2013 car, which is what I bought.

I drive mine quite a bit, bought it with 5000 miles and now am pushing toward 17,000 miles on it just over two years later. The car has been trouble free aside from a convertible top sensor that would beep and flash "roof failure" when the roof was fully up or down -- the roof itself operated fine. Took a few dealer visits to get that sorted but it's been 5000 trouble free miles since. As long as your battery is good, and you take care to keep it on the charger and let it complete the check cycle before you hit the start button, you should be fine. In my experience, a weak battery or hitting Start before the check cycle is done can lead to a torrent of weird error messages that will freak you out, but the car is fine. The warranty will cover any major failure.

Something like a 355 does not really compare with a modern car like the California -- the maintenance is much less -- in fact it's free for 7 years on a 2012 and up -- and the days of having to remove the engine to change the timing belts every few years are long gone.

Recently I looked at a 2015 911 Turbo S cabriolet ... drove it back to back with my California, and as much as I love 911s and even though the Turbo S is crazy fast and powerful, I could not part with the California for it -- so much of the visceral experience of driving the Ferrari is dialed out of the Porsche. So that would be my one caveat -- once you drive a Ferrari, the Porsche may seem a bit too refined for you. It's going to be hard to go back. My car has been up for sale but now I'm wondering why, I will probably hang onto it and see what the new Portofino is like.

Good luck with your search ... lots of helpful people here.

 

^^^ Good observations above.

I own a 2009 997.2 C2S and owned a 2011 California for a little less than 3 years and put 13K miles on it. It was trouble free and required only 2 annual maintenance visits. Other than lubricating the top once to address a creaking sound, only replacement of fluids, filters and rear tires was needed. I sold the California when I purchased my 458 Spider. Ideally, I would have kept the California, but needed to make room.

The driving experiences were very different in terms of sound and handling, which made for great entertainment. The California definitely attracted more attention than the PCar, which are common in my area.

I would be hesitant to buy a California at auction without the service records. While I would want a car that's been appropriately used so that any bedding issues have been sorted, I would want to know the car wasn't hooned. As they say, best to assess the seller to understand the provenance of the car.

If you have any specific questions, I'd be happy to try to answer them.

Good luck with your search. That's part of the fun of the ownership experience.

 

BTW I just remembered that a sales guy had sent me the maintenance schedule in 2010 when I was contemplating buying one. Here it is in case you don't hear back from your dealer.

 

I'm a huge fan of the Cali; if you're worrying about some $$$$ repair, get the extended warranty as Vic suggested. I have both a 2011 997.2S & a 2011 first gen Cali. Love them both. To me, they're different enough of a driving experience that driving them back to back makes me appreciate the other even more. A lot of people on F-chat like to throw shade on the Cali, but to me, it's a great first Ferrari, it's a great only Ferrari.

In 3.5 years and 36 K miles I've replaced a battery and the high pressure fuel pump on the Porsche. In 16 months and 10 K miles I've replaced the battery on the Cali.

F-chat lore seems to suggest the best defense against bugs and gremlins is to drive your F-car. A lot. Maybe true, maybe not, but you're gonna have a lotta smiles!

T

 

i can only bring my personal experi3nce. my California just turned 30k miles with not a single problem to date. and its plenty fast enough for me

 

^ It's fate! And, grey is an awesome color for a Cali. This thread has some awesome looking Calis, and I'm not just saying that because my ivory wonder is in there! OK, I am saying that because my Cali is pictured there! But, definitely check out this thread, and the Cali picture thread, if you're still ruminating over color combos.

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/best-color-for-california-t.537149/

T

 

I recently got a 2013 Cali 30 with HS package and initially, I was having issues and all sorts of weird computer errors appearing randomly. After 2 visits to the dealer, they realized that the battery was still the original one and after replacing it, so far all the errors have not come back.

I still have a 997.2 Turbo S and although much faster and sharper, as many have mentioned, driving an F-car is a totally different experience. The Cali is still fast yet more relaxed than my 997. And the V8 sound is completely different which gets you really excited to drive it especially since it has sports exhaust fitted.

(I'm curious, does Cali 30 with HS package all come with Ferrari sport exhaust? Or is it an option?)

But in terms of build quality, I feel that Porsche will be much more superior (as with other German brands) in the long run. Of course F-cars have very nice finishes and expensive finishing materials. But there are also strange issues that my other cars don't get such as sticky knobs/buttons, stains on the rear view mirror, loose screws (probably due to vibration), etc.

Overall though, the Cali has been a good Ferrari experience for me and probably opened my mind to other F-cars later on.