P-Car vs. F-Car People

[J-P]

So...after looking for the right P-car for a length of time and trying to get back into the hobby after a long absence after having sold all my cars, I have been quite frustrated with the caliber vs. price ratio in the air-cooled 911 market.

I have always liked Ferraris since I was a kid (who hasn't, right?), but have never owned one. Grew up with Magnum, the 308, the 512BB, etc. I would love to own one of those some day, but have been considering a "lower maintenance" option, i.e., a 430, in lieu of a P-car.

One thing I have always liked about Porsches are the people. They seem to come from all walks of life, occupations, socio-economic backgrounds, and so forth, and generally seem to be great, down-to-earth, car people with whom one would want to spend some time, chat, and have a beer.

I've been eyeing some F-cars recently, but am concerned it will not be the same social experience as the Porsche community has been for me. Not so sure I would fit in, as I am not big on egos and such.

Just wondering what the community's thoughts are on the subject, particularly if you guys and gals have experienced both sides of the coin, and what your take-aways have been?

Cheers.

[Transcon]

Don't know about the Ferrari crowd but in general the Porsche owners I've gotten to know are a good bunch. That said, the best brand community I have ever been a part of were the vintage BMW people. Always seemed a bit more willing to lend a hand to one another and were a bit more accepting of newcomers. Not saying that the people I have met in the Porsche world aren't but it just seems to be to a lesser degree. In any case, I'm painting with a very broad brush here and have met both lifelong friends in the Porsche (and all car) community and at the same time have come across my fair share of a**holes. Takes all types and in the end it is what you make it

Good luck with your search

[juanbenae]

there is a sector of the air cooled Porsche community that find wrenching on our car as rewarding as driving them. you won't find them sort of folk with the prancing horse cause they all pay to keep their horse boarded.

a ferarri is to be looked at, where we find a 911 is to be looked after...

[speednme1]

Having owned both, I have seen cool guys and guys full of themselves on both sides. Real Ferrari enthusiasts are gear heads too. One thing for sure the Ferrari Tax is certainly higher than the Porsche Tax. I lucked out and had a shop that did excellent service for a reasonable labor rate. If I had the means I would own both brands but unfortunately that is not the case:-(

[JMS935]

Unless you primarily plan on only bringing it to car events with like kind cars, then buy what you prefer and don’t worry about the minutiae. How often will you and your car be parked at an event surrounded by other owners and cars of the same brand? That’s probably a very small percentage of your time spent with the car. Unless that is, the main reason you’re looking to buy it - to join the club. Only then should you ponder what it is you are pondering, if not, just buy the car you’d rather have.

[76dno]

There is no substitute.

[ryans65]

Porsche

Ferrari

[NYNick]

IDK, that Ratarossa guy and Influenzo guy on youtube don't seem the snobby type.

[MichaelB]

I have had both now for years. I like having them both actually.

The Ferrari owner types can have a lot of tude but not much more than the P-car types. Parade is a great example. All of the people I have met at Porsche Parade have been wonderful. I went off to a Ferrari event (that was just the same as parade) and found that 95% of the attendees were wonderful too though.

Its the public that you need to consider...

When in any number of my Porsche's I can basically come & go in traffic unencumbered by the public. But when in my Ferrari you are overrun by all types. At a gas station very few will talk to a Ferrari guy. The masses will go out of their way to ignore you. They do NOT want to give the satisfaction to the Ferrari owner that it garnered any attention (at least from them). Same goes for stop lights. You can watch the peeps in cars around you talk about the Ferrari to their car-mates but as soon as they pull next to you its like they have blinders on. They look straight ahead and don't dare say a word. No way will they let you know that the Ferrari is in any way a topic of conversation with them. Its wild. An absolute oddity.

Then on the opposite end there are those who will nearly wreck into you to get that cell phone video. They will get inches off your quarter. To them the car is like a rockstar. I never get that in any of my Porsche's.

Look I don't care 'cause I have my cars for me. Check my "garage" here... I don't even list my Ferrari ~ or any other make I own. For me the worst part of owning a Ferrari is the general public reaction to it. But owning & driving it is a treat for me.

[sugarwood]

Originally Posted by Transcon

That said, the best brand community I have ever been a part of were the vintage BMW people.

+1 BMW folks are great. And a younger crowd. Very DIY oriented. The higher up the price scale you go, the more arrogant ego driven bullies you will find. F-cars are very rare, so you will probably find no scene at all.

[WPOZZZ]

I think it all depends on the crowd you find. With the older cars, lots of the guys are hands on DIY types. The newer cars, lots of them are dealer serviced and just driven. There are the outliers, but as a whole I like the Porsche and Ferrari people I have met.

[manbridge 74]

“But owning & driving it is a treat for me.”

^This.

[speednme1]

Originally Posted by WPOZZZ

I think it all depends on the crowd you find. With the older cars, lots of the guys are hands on DIY types. The newer cars, lots of them are dealer serviced and just driven. There are the outliers, but as a whole I like the Porsche and Ferrari people I have met.

True but there is not much to do on modern super cars. Exhaust, wheels and a tune..maybe a bigger turbo but very few bother as that would void the warranty. One exception is the tuners that twin turbo almost anything but those are few far and between. Modern super cars are very nice but it seems many who make the jump eventually come back to something with a classic theme that includes a manual. I've driven a F488 and a Lamborghini Huracan Spider. Both were fantastic cars but for the money, I'd rather have something with a classic flavor. A car I'd rather have is an Alfaholics GTA-290R then the ones I just mentioned.

[sugarwood]

Originally Posted by MichaelB

When in any number of my Porsche's I can basically come & go in traffic unencumbered by the public.

But when in my Ferrari you are overrun by all types.

There are those who will nearly wreck into you to get that cell phone video. They will get inches off your quarter.
At a gas station very few will talk to a Ferrari guy. The masses will go out of their way to ignore you. .

First, the guy complains about people ignoring him in his Ferrari.
Most people just don't give a damn about some car, and won't even notice
Then guy complains about people hassling him with too much attention.
Make up your mind.

[dwelle]

where was he complaining?

yer reaching again, shug. those were just observations based on his experience.

but making it confrontational is way more fun for you?...

[MichaelB]

+ 1 dwelle.

Shug you as usual missed the point. As a reminder please take a look at this part of the OP's questions:

"Just wondering what the community's thoughts are on the subject, particularly if you guys and gals have experienced both sides of the coin, and what your take-aways have been?"

Which was simply answered without spin or defiance.

[Otter74]

I'm reluctant to essentialize much. I'm not in any marque-specific clubs - I am in a local club that is focused on European cars from the 80s and earlier, and I like it a lot in part because of the eclecticism in cars and types of people that it attracts. Everything from normal guys like me with driver-level cars to seven-figure Ferraris and one-of-one former concept cars. Even the Ferrari guys I've talked to were nice and down to earth. There was a guy with a LWB 250 that had original paint, interior, and everything and I think he'd put well over 100k miles on it. That's my kind of Ferrari. Well, also the 365 GTC/4. A couple of years ago I was at Road Atlanta for a race was riding around the infield when I stopped to admire a nice-looking 911. After talking to the owner and his friend, I thought to myself, "Jesus, what a couple of *******s." I haven't found anything marque-specific about the car people I like to be around. Though I gravitate to old-car people so that's mostly what my experience sample is.

[ljpviper]

I had a 355 and now a 930. I have owned multiple sports cars/brands. The 355 is beautiful but every time I drove it I was worried something was going to break. The 930 is the polar opposite. The Ferrari tax is brutal, you can work on the 930 yourself and get enjoyment as it's so simple.

[Tarek307]

I am a porsche guy and never thought i'd get a ferrari, in 2018 i bought a manual 360 modena, drove it for a year and put 10k miles, very dependable and one of the best cars i've ever owned..sold the Modena and got a 458 (again never in my life thought i'd go for a flappy paddle car) the 458 is the greatest sports car made in the past 10 years..i've put 6K miles on mine..i tried a Gt3 manual and a gt3 PDK before buying and they didn't have the fun factor of the 458.PDK was just too "perfect and precise" while the DCT in the 458 is perfect.

Ferrari's are amazing cars , i haven't had any expensive issues with the 360 or the 458

in the end though i went full circle and just sold the 458 for a 98 C2S wide body, thats now my DD..lol..strange huh!

Take a listen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nmGmDv3Aa0&t=119s

[J-P]

Sweet! My favorite part of that video is the death-grip your passenger has on the door handle.

I'm originally from SoCal and miss all the driving locales that were a few minutes out my door. Living in TX now, and part of my frustration has been contemplating if ANY of these cars are even worth spending the money, as the driving locations here are pretty much complete s%$t. This place is flat, and all the roads are straight. There were a lot of benefits to moving, but beautiful, enjoyable drives certainly weren't on the list.

Part of why I started this thread. I was active with a C&C group and some P-car friends before, but whereas I could previously go on drives by myself and have a heck of a lot of fun, it's starting to dawn on me that, here, it is probably best to be engaged in a group of like-minded individuals to get any real enjoyment out of owning a P-car again, or going the F-car route.

Thanks for the replies.