A Used 355 or Maserati 4200 GT or Porsche 996 C4S?

[BMW-Hamann]

Hello .. I am a new comer here. I need help from you guys. I have plan to buy a sport car, my option are a used 355 or maserati 4200 GT or Porsche 996 C4S. Can someone with the expirience to give me an input about owning those cars? what kind of potential problem I might face? I will use it as my weekend car but I don't want to have too much trouble from it. Thanks guys

[Menu dei Motori]

well first of all i have to say all 3 cars are nice

the maserati is more the grand tourismo with a nice engine sound
the ferrari 355 is the sportscar
and the porsche is the allround car with you can also use daily


it depends on what you want...

[Porsche]

Well, there's a few factors.

I haven't heard too many bad things about the Ferrari, nor the 911, but if you get a newer version of the Maserati....

They said the car, like MDEM said is a very good grand tourer, but it was reported to have a terrible transmission with the Cambriocorsa option. It's like the F1 paddle shift ption that the 355 (If it's new enough) has. except it dosen't work veyr well. This was just a magazine's opinion, but they seemed ot really hate that transmission.

I've heard from a few sources the 911 is a very reliable car and can be used as a daily driver. The older 993 C4S is probably one of my favoruite cars out there, and has been on my dream list for a while now. The newer 996, the one you want is as close as you cna get to a Turbo wihtout the badge, and a very nice looking car.

If you're in a climate that warrants an AWD car, it's the C4S no doubt, if you're ina sunny plac,e probably a 355 GTS would be my choice, there's too many Spiders, and the Berlinetta might get stuffy. The Maserati dosen't really appeal to me, it has a veyr nice interior though, but I just don't think it's achieved the status to compete wiht the other two yet.

[ACD]

The Carrera 4S is more of a sportscar than the f355. The C4S is meant to be driven hard; the F355 is meant to give plastic surgeons and Investors a chance at a date. The Maserati is a good choice, as well.

[BMW-Hamann]

Originally posted by Menu dei Motori
well first of all i have to say all 3 cars are nice

the maserati is more the grand tourismo with a nice engine sound
the ferrari 355 is the sportscar
and the porsche is the allround car with you can also use daily


it depends on what you want...

hello Menu .. thank u for ur comment ... .. any way .. I still have the problem to make the decision .... Wants to have a sport car with nice look, great engine, great sound, but not too expensive to keep ...

[BMW-Hamann]

Originally posted by Porsche
Well, there's a few factors.

I haven't heard too many bad things about the Ferrari, nor the 911, but if you get a newer version of the Maserati....

They said the car, like MDEM said is a very good grand tourer, but it was reported to have a terrible transmission with the Cambriocorsa option. It's like the F1 paddle shift ption that the 355 (If it's new enough) has. except it dosen't work veyr well. This was just a magazine's opinion, but they seemed ot really hate that transmission.

I've heard from a few sources the 911 is a very reliable car and can be used as a daily driver. The older 993 C4S is probably one of my favoruite cars out there, and has been on my dream list for a while now. The newer 996, the one you want is as close as you cna get to a Turbo wihtout the badge, and a very nice looking car.

If you're in a climate that warrants an AWD car, it's the C4S no doubt, if you're ina sunny plac,e probably a 355 GTS would be my choice, there's too many Spiders, and the Berlinetta might get stuffy. The Maserati dosen't really appeal to me, it has a veyr nice interior though, but I just don't think it's achieved the status to compete wiht the other two yet.

Hi Porsche .. thank u for the info ... ... can u give more detail about the cambriocorsa option? .. what kind of trouble is it? ... I heard about the jerkiness when it shift ... but I also heard that ferrrari has the same problem with the FI paddle shift ... .. I just came from German E few days ago .. I saw the 996 C4S ... waaww !! ... It's look cool ... but the problem is .. in here only tiptronic trans available ... do you have any comment about this trans? .. but I knew the acceleration drops about almost 1 second 0-60 mph ..

[BMW-Hamann]

Originally posted by ACD
The Carrera 4S is more of a sportscar than the f355. The C4S is meant to be driven hard; the F355 is meant to give plastic surgeons and Investors a chance at a date. The Maserati is a good choice, as well.

Interesting comment .. ... this choices really give me headache ..

[Swoxy]

Not too expensive to keep? If you're going to drive it everyday, get the Porsche. If you have enough money for the maintainance and want a car in the garage to take out once a month, get the Ferrari. And unless you get a great deal on it, don't get the Maserati. Don't worry too much about performance, all of these cars are very fast!

[Eric Lee]

I think the 355 is the one.
Porsche has gone all soft and offers little in tems of
entertainment.
True that in everyday roads the 996 is probably going to be faster for the average driver.
But when you ring that 355 around at full throttle you will be rewarded with the sweetest sound you've ever heard (apart from sounds your girlfriend makes).

[Maserati Guy]

Originally Posted by Eric Lee

I think the 355 is the one.
Porsche has gone all soft and offers little in tems of
entertainment.
True that in everyday roads the 996 is probably going to be faster for the average driver.
But when you ring that 355 around at full throttle you will be rewarded with the sweetest sound you've ever heard (apart from sounds your girlfriend makes).

I had the same dillema alost a year ago. Had the same three choices. One of my requirements was that the car had to be a seater. So the 355 was out. Also maintenance was going to be a killer.

So it was a toss-up between the Porsche and the Maserati...

The Porsche is fast, sleek and 4 wheel drive! But the rear seats are not meant for full sized adults.

The Maserati has a yr. 50,000 mi. warranty and the engine was made by Ferrari. replace it with tubi exhausts and it will sound really nice!

The depreciation on the Maser is quite high. It is meant to be a car for keeps...not for an investment.

The Cambiocorsa (F1 paddel shifter) simply needs feathering. It is not humanly possible to shift faster than the F1.

I would opt for the '03 and not the '02 because of some of the upgrades that they made to the '03 plus engine management.

The Maser is subtle. It does not shout at you but rather it is subtle. There aren't many of them around so you are unique!

Even if I am a maserati guy, I think all three cars are great as well!

Hope this helps!