As Alex has mentioned my name it would seem churlish not to offer a view, albeit perhaps an iconoclastic one. For the last couple of years I have run a 997
turbo in parallel with a 430F1. Both cars from new so no worries about how previous owners might have treated them. And the Ferrari in 2008 came with a 4 year warranty as standard, whereas even in 2010 Porsche basic offer is 2 years, with an option to buy more.
The main issue in trying to compare the two as far as I am concerned was the Porsche was the latest in quite a long line stretching back to a 911E in 1975 whereas the Ferrari was my first experience of the marque. Indeed the first time I had ever sat in one was when it arrived on my drive. I think the point here is that to some extent I have become inured to Porsches foibles over the years and take quirks and idiosyncrasies as part of "the charm". But one thing is for sure it is a perfectly reliable convenient practical daily drive, as happy tootling round town as out on the open road, or running down to Barcelona in a day. The one area where the turbo is not that well suited is the track being a bit too heavy, but then there are other solutions to that problem.
There will be some who say the Ferrari also is a reliable daily drive but I would not be counted amongst them. For me I was always conscious that it attracted attention, often complimentary, but the fact that it is so visible makes you very careful where you leave it. And though it never let me down, I would be much more circumspect about a spur of the moment cross Europe trip, but maybe I'm just the nervous type.
I never liked the F1 box and if it were not for resale would have bought a manual. Heavy stop start traffic is not enjoyable and the concern about burning out the dryplate clutch always present. The counterpoint is that on the open road the F1 box comes into its element with the howl of the V8 and the auto blip on down changes becoming very addictive. And it is fast and easy to drive. Effortlessly so and without a digital speedo it is all too easy to be going much quicker than intended. I'm not skilled enough to have it on the limit on the road but a day of corporate hostility at Silverstone showed its capabilities were immense.
So for me not a daily drive, too wide, too vulnerable, can't get the golf clubs in it and very difficult to see out of when reversing, this last illustrated by some very sweaty minutes trying to reverse half a mile out of a dead end between dry stone walls in northern Scotland. But though that experience is seared on my brain, so to was an ears pinned back run over the smooth open empty roads north of Fort William..! Now that is Ferrari country.
Obviously with a new car one would not expect any expensive unforeseen costs and indeed I had no warranty issues. But...it needs servicing every year. The first one was basically an oil change but still cost £1075.32. And I sold just before the second one was due! And if I had kept it I would have asked them to sort out the clonking of the front suspension, a known weakness and warranty point. Then, despite an exclusive diet of V Power, it pinked at times which is not good and suggested to me that it was more stressed than is entirely practical for a day to day road car. And as an example of other practical issues, beware the front PU is not PU but brittle fibre glass. The slightest bump and it will crack and you are looking at £4-5K. So the point here is that running costs are much higher than Porsche equivalent, even the tracker was 50% more for the same service. I would say a factor of 3 on running costs between Ferrari and Porsche but others may differ.
Overall I'm glad I have owned a Ferrari but I'm also glad I have sold it.
A few gratuitous pics