Here's some feedback in reverse....Go for it!! Everyone should own a Ferrari at least once. new or used. I custom ordered a 2004 F360 Modena 6 speed, basically a peice of industrial art...super fun car, but tired of it after 5 yrs. Yearned for a return to American muscle, and bought a 2009 Vert off dealer floor, knowing nothing about Viper except a big engine, loud exhaust and an in your face attitude look.
If you sold your Murci for a Viper I'm sure the 430 will do nothing for you. If your looking for status buy a Ferrari.
The Ferrari sounds good at WOT, but you'll be wondering where they hid the torque and throttle response.
F360s are very reasonable, you may be able to pick one up and keep the G3?
I did not sell the murcie for the viper LOL. Ive had "status" cars, lambo, bentley, maserati etc, etc, etc. I'm not looking for a F430 for that reason. I simply have always liked the car and want to experience owning it, driving it, modding it etc.
Some people are completely incapable of comprehending that a person can want a car to just to experience the ownership of it.
Especially if its an exotic.
I was not insinuating that was the case here at all and my apologies if it came off that way. Buy what you want if you want it. If your asking other people for their opinions that's what you're going to get. I can comprehend very well. To me I don't see the appeal and that is solely my opinion. From my experience with the cars they are expensive to buy, maintain and mod. And all this seems true with the 360. Inexpensive to purchase but I've heard the reliability and maintenance afterwards is far inferior to the F430.
It's your cornbread John Coffee. Do whatchu will.
Wasn't referring to you or anyone in particular, just a generalized statement.
As FerraritoViper said above, if you have the means why not experience different cars.
Going from a Gen 3 to an F430 isn't exactly going backwards, there are a lot more things to appreciate about a car than just speed.
id sell my mom for a 430. I drove one this summer and loved it
I almost bought an F430 a few months ago. Test drove a beat up/abused one and it still was great. Quite possibly the best driving experience I've ever had. I still want one, but don't want to spend more than $100k. F1 tranny is the way to go because it's really that good, but clutch changes will be often (every 20k+ miles) and expensive. Forget about tracking it though. The brakes, especially the ceramics, get eaten alive at the track from what I've read, at the expense of performance, and they are very expensive to replace the rotors and pads. People here that complain about Viper tax just don't know what owning a high end exotic really feels like on the wallet. Oil changes are $400+, spark plugs are $50 each, and clutches are $5k. But it's worth it if you can afford it. To me the F430 is my favorite Ferrari of all time, next to the Enzo.
Usually if you get to know others in your area with F cars or L cars you will find a shop that can do the work on them at much less cost than a dealer will.
Here on Long Island there is one Lambo dealer who is a notorious rip-off and service there would be twice the price or more.
But we have a few high end shops with better service and much better prices. Ask around.
Are F cars and Lambos that hard to work on yourself?
On the F430, the spark plugs are fairly easy to replace. Oil changes are not straight forward, but youtube videos can guide you through it. Forget about replacing a clutch yourself, I downloaded a 75+ page doc on the process and you basically rip the entire rear end out. You need a lift and a zillion special tools from Ferrari/Lambo to do it right on either car. Once you are done, you still need to take it to the dealer to have the clutch electronically calibrated.