Feeling sad and lost

[SlartiF430]

Sold my 430 to a fellow PH'r last night. Drove off with the car leaving a big hole in my heart and garage. Still, must look forward. So what do I get next? 458 or 12C Spider?

Things I liked about 430 ownership

1. Theatre
2. Low maintenance cost (maindealer for service stamps, independent for everything else)

Things that could have been better

1. A daily mode - too juddery for daily use, especially with the current state of some of our roads
2. Fragility of some of its parts e.g. track rod ends, ball joints

Given my points above, any thoughts on whether I should go 458 or 12C Spider? It seems that independents are happy to work on 458s (although their suspension parts appear not to melt in the rain like with 430s) and Ferrari will readily supply parts to indies - doesn't seem to be the case with Mclaren who refuse to work with indies.

I can afford to run and service a Mac, but I don't like feeling locked in or tied to one particular vendor. The stingy northerner in me feels that this sort of business model exists only to charge the customer unreasonably higher amounts for routine servicing and advisories.

Thoughts welcomed :-)

[GrahamPM]

Easy one that is. - 458 all the way!
Theatre - tick
Style - tick
Free services - tick (after May 2011 reg car)
Pedigree - tick

Next question - why haven't you bought one yet?

Graham

[550man]

Hi Slarti,

While the 458 is, from all accounts (not driven one - so feel free to discount all that follows!) the better car, with more feel, drama and pedigree, I personally like to try something different once in a while. So if it was me, and while the 458 is undoubtedly a significant advance over the 430 in terms of speed, dynamics, handling etc etc, of the two I would go for the MC12 to experience a different Marque - with all the quirks that come along with that.

One of the things I most enjoy when getting a new car, whether it is an upgrade, sideways move or just a complete change of type of car, is exploring the character of the car and getting to know it better and while the 458 will have significant differences from the 430 in that regard, there may be less of that 'exploring' to be done.

All that being said, if your budget could stretch to it, I would suggest an F12. While obviously still a Ferrari, the character of the front engine V12s is a world away from the mid-V8s and the F12 truly is absolutely barmy. The only time one stops exploring the character of the F12 is either when one moves it on or accidentally tail-slides it off the edge of a mountain pass.

Whichever you chose though, I think that hole in your life may just end up getting filled!

[ferdi p]

Drive both, try get an extended drive as a short spin round the block wont cut it...

I bought a 12C Spider, awesome car, however I'm one of those rare people who prefer forced induction over NA!

Still love Ferrari's which is why a 488GTB will replace it early next year

[SlartiF430]

Thanks for the comments folks.

I think there are 2 considerations a) I'm moving to London, thus I want to consolidate down to one car (currently I have an A8 DD + fun car) and thinking that the Mac will give me the comfortable ride when I need that. b) I really don't like being stiffed on servicing and maintenance and it bothers me that Mac don't play with indies. From an ownership perspective, is a Mac really that much more expensive to run though than a 458 that's maintained by maindealer (servicing) + Indie? I know at this price level I shouldn't care, but I do very much - I buy my cars cash and want as little annual outlay thereafter as possible.

[paddy328]

My money would be on the 458 over the 12c. I would look at the 650s over the 12c though, as its the car the 12c should've been in the first place. Obviously, i can't go from an ownership perspective, but just someone thats detailed many.

[mattf93]

SlartiF430 said:

Thanks for the comments folks.

I think there are 2 considerations a) I'm moving to London, thus I want to consolidate down to one car (currently I have an A8 DD + fun car) and thinking that the Mac will give me the comfortable ride when I need that. b) I really don't like being stiffed on servicing and maintenance and it bothers me that Mac don't play with indies. From an ownership perspective, is a Mac really that much more expensive to run though than a 458 that's maintained by maindealer (servicing) + Indie? I know at this price level I shouldn't care, but I do very much - I buy my cars cash and want as little annual outlay thereafter as possible.

First Ill point out I am not an owner or driven either but Id like to stick my two pennies worth in:

I agree with the above statement about Mclaren, I think they are massively underrated cars, If you look at one make sure you get a post 12 plate vehicle preferably 62 reg (early cars had issues) on with a sports exhaust and iris 2 upgrades already done (there were some bugs initially with this. If you get a spider it will be handy having the audio upgrade but not essential.
As Chris Harris stated in https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mKB-8WUB5k a wonderful 'living with' video, it is a car that not everyone likes - purely as Ferrari is the go to brand when you've made it but I think that is a positive as an owner, also the depreciation has steadied on 12cs now.

A BIG plus for the 12c is the fact its based around a carbon tub so there is zero torsional rigidity loss from losing the roof, and only a small (30kg) increase in weight over the coupe. Another big difference is that it is much quicker than a 458 in a straight line and can lower the top on the move up to I think 29mph - you can't do that in the Ferrari as you have to be stationary to put it up or down. That said the bonus in both cars is you can drop the rear window to hear the noise of both engines.

Where the 12c arguably loses out to the Ferrari is in the soundtrack - to some it isn't loud enough or rev high enough, but different people look for different things in noise so you will have to see which you prefer by driving both; thats not something I can tell you that you will or won't like. Also as a daily the 12c will ride better, and be slightly less noticed than a rosso corsa 458 spider - that said they still draw a lot of attention and also a lot of love.

The 458 will get more attention, has a better noise, and is the go to drop top super car. The car is spec sensitive and there are a few out there that are poorly specced (no interior carbon), no front lift etc so is something to look out for. I think you will possibly get on better with the 458 than the 12c purely because you have had a ferrari before - the gearbox being a revelation in comparison to the clunkier f1 shift in the 430. The 12c suspension is also not traditional so not to everyones liking, but as CH states it almost handles like a rolls royce in comfort mode - but you can also turn it up to 11, its also great you can change the chassis set up and power train set up separately in the 12c - e.g. on your commute you can have it in sport mode so you get more noise but have it in comfort to soak up the bumps. The 458 spider does have a bumpy road mode button that most people press as soon as they get in their cars though.

Is there anything you're specifically looking for from the new car that I haven't mentioned?