360 Modena vs. NSX

Which car would you buy?


  • Total voters
    137
The 360 is a better car. It's everything you want your NSX to be but the NSX is not.

No, I think after one seriously owns a NSX, it becomes apparent that "I want the NSX AND a Ferrari". There are some on these boards that could afford the latter but chose to keep the NSX if not have both instead because of its practicality and different sense of passion. That's my personal thought anyways. There are some who want to imitate the Ferrari sound or Ferrari back end... To each their own I guess. I can definitely understand the appeal of the exhaust sound tho.

I think IF one can procure a 02+ NSX for ~$45K or so, dollar for dollar, it would be a better car than the 360 at $80K or more. That price will not happen for a while though and the 360 may also be cheaper by then. Those considering a NSX for $75K or so should definitely just spring a bit more and get the 360!

Don't get my opinion twisted tho, the 360 is definitely still the better car, but in a whole different league in terms of money, as one is more practical than the other in terms of money where as the other is more of a Status piece for many owners to floss their money and they generally know nothing about cars.

Now that new 458 Italia (although it has some weird design cues), that is the ultimate Ferrari and car of all cars right now. Of course that new Mclaren is very competitive also.
 
The 360 is a great car, looks great, sounds great and is pretty reliable, not NSX reliable, but dependable none the less. I was offered a 430 Spider this summer from a friend at a great price, loved the color, it had a gated 6 speed, well maintained, I know the car from delivery, in the end, the reason my friend was selling it was because with the 458 coming out, he felt that the value of the 430 would plummet. I was real tempted to buy the car, for a little bit more than the price of the 430 I got the Ford GT, a much more "rare" vehicle, in MY OPINION, more "exotic" and something that like the NSX, I lusted for. Steve's car is a great deal at that price, will it drop in value in the future, yes, but % wise, in my opinion, not as much as the 430, also I think the 360 is a better looking car. Like others have said, if it's the "Italian" experience you want, get the 360, if you're not happy, sell it and buy what motivates you. Coming on to a NSX forum and asking which car to buy...........................................well you're getting the answers you should expect, and a few that maybe you didn't. I won't post on the poll as I think it's ridiculous, buy what you want, I did and I'm happy, could give a crap what others think, it's my money and I buy what I want. In the immortal words of "Cadillac", "when you turn your car on, does it return the favor?" If the 360 does it for you, do it!
 
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The 360 is a great car, looks great, sounds great and is pretty reliable, not NSX reliable, but dependable none the less. I was offered a 430 Spider this summer from a friend at a great price, loved the color, it had a gated 6 speed, well maintained, I know the car from delivery, in the end, the reason my friend was selling it was because with the 458 coming out, he felt that the value of the 430 would plummet. I was real tempted to buy the car, for a little bit more than the price of the 430 I got the Ford GT, a much more "rare" vehicle, in MY OPINION, more "exotic" and something that like the NSX, I lusted for. Steve's car is a great deal at that price, will it drop in value in the future, yes, but % wise, in my opinion, not as much as the 430, also I think the 360 is a better looking car. Like others have said, if it's the "Italian" experience you want, get the 360, if you're not happy, sell it and buy what motivates you. Coming on to a NSX forum and asking which car to buy...........................................well you're getting the answers you should expect, and a few that maybe you didn't. I won't post on the poll as I think it's ridiculous, buy what you want, I did and I'm happy, could give a crap what others think, it's my money and I buy what I want. In the immortal words of "Cadillac", "when you turn your car on, does it return the favor?" If the 360 does it for you, do it!

Wonderful post and reply. Thank you.
 
I'd get the Modena, but you must be sure that you are STUCK into putting 2-3K miles per year, white NSX you can put 200K miles in a year and still cost the same probably LOL

A Challenge Stradalle in the other hand ... i wouldn't mind having one, even if I can only put 1K miles per year ahahhaha
 
The 360 is a great car, looks great, sounds great and is pretty reliable, not NSX reliable, but dependable none the less. I was offered a 430 Spider this summer from a friend at a great price, loved the color, it had a gated 6 speed, well maintained, I know the car from delivery, in the end, the reason my friend was selling it was because with the 458 coming out, he felt that the value of the 430 would plummet. I was real tempted to buy the car, for a little bit more than the price of the 430 I got the Ford GT, a much more "rare" vehicle, in MY OPINION, more "exotic" and something that like the NSX, I lusted for. Steve's car is a great deal at that price, will it drop in value in the future, yes, but % wise, in my opinion, not as much as the 430, also I think the 360 is a better looking car. Like others have said, if it's the "Italian" experience you want, get the 360, if you're not happy, sell it and buy what motivates you. Coming on to a NSX forum and asking which car to buy...........................................well you're getting the answers you should expect, and a few that maybe you didn't. I won't post on the poll as I think it's ridiculous, buy what you want, I did and I'm happy, could give a crap what others think, it's my money and I buy what I want. In the immortal words of "Cadillac", "when you turn your car on, does it return the favor?" If the 360 does it for you, do it!

There is no upgrade path for the current NSX owners. For the folks who have owned their NSXs for a while, they only have couple options -

1) NA1 owners can upgrade to NA2 or 02+.
2) Look elsewhere to fulfill their needs.

Unless you absolutely love the interior look of the NSX, it's kind of boring to go for option 1 - especially if the price range is similar to a more modern Ferrari!

I was surprised to find many 360, even low mileage ones have falling into the mid 70K to mid 80K range - hence the starting of this thread.
 
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RPM is right and on a percentage basis the 360 will drop little from here. In fact according to several dealers I spoke with the car will drop little from the 65k-75k price range on a long term basis. All those dealers were basing that off what the 308/328/348/355 flat lined at compared to the new sale price of the model.
 
I have never cared for the styling of the 360, especially the front end, nor do I like the interior design. Of all the cars I looked at when I was intending to buy another sports car I ended up with the NSX because the looks, fit and feel were closer to what I was looking for than anything else out there, including nearly all the Ferrari's available at the time, with a bonus of being very affordable. While I have enormous respect for the new Ford GT (have a long history with Ford specialty machines), I just can't take the "art deco" interior or the way it has grown in size. It is probably a decent place to park some money as it is very low production, which a 360 is not.
The point has been made and cannot be re-stated too many times, buy what what YOU want. If you always wanted a 360 and the current prices have made it affordable for you, go for it. But if the money is important, ask yourself who will buy it when you're done with it. IMHO none of this stuff is really an investment unless you plan to keep it another 30 years (and then will really only rise equal to inflation) so don't even worry about that. This world is changing so fast that the only sure bet is to enjoy what you have or don't bother.
 
The 360 is a better car. It's everything you want your NSX to be but the NSX is not.

I could ask you this,

have you every heard of turning stone?
Have you ever heard of Vegas?

The Ferrari is Vegas and the NSX is an Indian casino. Your doing pretty much the same thing but one is in Vegas, and everyone knows Vegas.

If you want to go to Vegas but end up at an Indian Casino, you'll still want to go to Vegas and you won't be satisfied until you do.

Your are 100% right, I have the fortunate oppertunity of driving a 360 for 2 days before I bought my NSX in 2000. It was a life changing experience. Nothing I have driven can equal the sound, noise, feel of the 360 cruising down the road and then punch the throttle and listen to the music from behind you. It is worth every penny. For the others who have never driven a 360, don't bash it until you know what you are missing.
 
the F360 is my favorite modern entry level ferrari. To me the F430 is just butt ugly. The F360 is classy and will never look dated.
 
the F360 is my favorite modern entry level ferrari. To me the F430 is just butt ugly. The F360 is classy and will never look dated.

I agree and IMO the 430 already looks dated where as the 360 is not. I also feel the 458 will be a timeless car too.
 
for me personaly I have Larry B closeby to work on my car,and the nsx is just a better dual purpose track/street car than the 360.Honestly if I got a ferrari I don't know who localy would/could service it....
 
...been following this thread and just had to jump in.

Obviously few in this thread have driven a 360 -- crummy seats, bad seating position, weird interior, crummy storage, poor reliability, bad visibility etc., etc.

First decent (reliable) rear engined F-car is the 458, and the ergonomics in it suck too.

The F-cars sound better, have more hp and cost a ton to keep up (do you have a Ferrari dealer in your town?).

Ferraris are for those who don't have to ask the price, and have plenty of other cars to get them where they need to go.

Get real. My $0.02
 
...been following this thread and just had to jump in.

Obviously few in this thread have driven a 360 -- crummy seats, bad seating position, weird interior, crummy storage, poor reliability, bad visibility etc., etc.

First decent (reliable) rear engined F-car is the 458, and the ergonomics in it suck too.

The F-cars sound better, have more hp and cost a ton to keep up (do you have a Ferrari dealer in your town?).

Ferraris are for those who don't have to ask the price, and have plenty of other cars to get them where they need to go.

Get real. My $0.02

Most people responded in this thread who have either owned or driven a 360 liked the car behind the wheel.

458 is so new, I don't think its reliability can yet be determined.
 
Immolation doesn't speak to "reliability" exactly.

What I meant, and even F-owners will agree, is that the 458 can be driven daily (if you can afford the maintenance) with ease. You can't do that with earlier models -- the 430 comes close, but the 458 is better.

I'd still rather have my NSX.
 
I love the 360. I hope to own one some day. I have been in several on the street and on the track. (including a straddle). They are amazing cars. My friend with the straddle uses it as his daily driver. He hasn't had many issues at all.

I got scared when I read some threads on 360 ownership. The consensus from ferrai chat is to have $10k set aside when you buy a used one for issues that might show up and then another 10k a year for maintenace!

So I got another NSx. It is 8/10th of the car for 4/10th the price.
 
Obviously few in this thread have driven a 360 -- crummy seats, bad seating position, weird interior, crummy storage, poor reliability, bad visibility etc., etc.
I would gladly give you a ride if you are in the area. NSX is one hell of amazing car and 360 is its Italian brother, they are so similar in many ways.

Weird interior- yes, the NSX has better looking interior for sure, the stereo headunit on 360 looks so dated, easy fix with Alpine deck.
Crummy storage- there are good amount of storage room (front trunk is quite deep and it has ton of room behind the seats, it is however a hassle to use. I prefer NSX trunk, I still used the 360 when I go to Costco.
Poor reliability- definitely not true for none F1 car. There are plenty of high mileage ones, some are over 100k miles. The 2nd gen F1 does cost a lot more to maintain.
Bad visibility- not any worse than NSX
Crummy seats-there are several seat options, the standard seats are decent, the challenge stradale dry carbon seats are pretty much just as comfortable as NSX-R seats.
Community-Ferrari community is similar to what NSX community was back in the days, people are super nice and generous. Networking aspect alone is well worth it.

I daily drive my 360, it has been one of the most reliable car I have ever owned. My total repair cost so far is $297 for an astray assembly. I have a valve cover gasket leak recently, the dealer that performed previous major service 18 month ago, saw my post on Fchat, contacted me and took care of that free of charge and gave me a brand new Porsche Panamera 4 as a loaner.

The major expense is the maintenance, gas, and tires, it is not terribly expensive at all.
Annual fluid (all fluids) $1170
30k major (belt service + fluids) $3500~$4500
Clutch- the F1 cars eats clutch for lunch, 2nd gen F1 is just not good. Either go for 6spd manual or get a F430.

The F430 is better in every aspect and I highly recommend it to anyone who could afford it. However, 360 is one amazing car for the money, with just high flow cats, exhaust, tune and minor weight reduction, it is just as quick as F430 or stock GT-R. Trust me, been there done that with my friends, I am picking up a GT-R very soon to replace my chipped 335i, so I can assure you I am not biased :biggrin:
 
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Man I am just bitting my cheek I don't want to say anything but I have to and even then I think I am gonna come off like an ass and it's not my intention but here goes.

There is an oxymoron in your post and any exotic/F-owner will get it.... most everyone else won't. In fact this whole thread is full of misinformation and I just can't get my thoughts into words. You just won't know until you know is all I can think..... High mileage Ferrari's don't exist because people don't use them every day. I think in the beginning 70's-90's Ferrari's were unreliable and they will forever keep that "mystique" if that's what you want to call it. And they will always have low miles because the people who drive themselves hard enough to buy them are busy and they don't use them as much as they DRIVE. If I only had my F-car and I bought it when it was brand new it would have several hundred thousand miles on it, meaning if I added up all the miles of all the cars I have owned since the F-car I own was brand new, albeit I didn't buy it new. Anyways in the future you will see most if not all Ferrari's and Lambo's with low miles on the ODO not because they are unreliable but because the owners simply do not have time to drive them and or HAVE to drive something else for a reason.

The guy who owns a pizza shop or chain of pizza shops is not picking up sauce in his 430 and dropping it off at the pizza shop and then going to the golf course for day. He is getting up at 6am running around in his truck or van until 7pm then finally walking past his f-car sitting in the garage hitting the hay and hoping to drive it on Sunday, but then he gets a phone call and has to leave the car sit so he can fulfill other obligations. This is 99% of the reason all high dollar exotic have low miles. It's also the exact opposite of what people think an f-car owner is.

The other 0.999999% own several f-cars and that's why those also have low miles. The low miles have nothing and I mean absolutely nothing to do with maintenance costs and have everything to do with TIME! Time is the commodity here and it's the one thing.... you, or I, or anyone can't make more of. Time is also the exact thing you need to spend to use the car. The valuing of your time will put the car in your garage, it can also keep you out of the drivers seat.
 
I love the 360. I hope to own one some day. I have been in several on the street and on the track. (including a straddle). They are amazing cars. My friend with the straddle uses it as his daily driver. He hasn't had many issues at all.

I got scared when I read some threads on 360 ownership. The consensus from ferrai chat is to have $10k set aside when you buy a used one for issues that might show up and then another 10k a year for maintenace!

So I got another NSx. It is 8/10th of the car for 4/10th the price.

Awesome I saved 40k in the last 4 years. :wink::biggrin:
 
I would gladly give you a ride if you are in the area. NSX is one hell of amazing car and 360 is its Italian brother, they are so similar in many ways.

Weird interior- yes, the NSX has better looking interior for sure, the stereo headunit on 360 looks so dated, easy fix with Alpine deck.
Crummy storage- there are good amount of storage room (front trunk is quite deep and it has ton of room behind the seats, it is however a hassle to use. I prefer NSX trunk, I still used the 360 when I go to Costco.
Poor reliability- definitely not true for none F1 car. There are plenty of high mileage ones, some are over 100k miles. The 2nd gen F1 does cost a lot more to maintain.
Bad visibility- not any worse than NSX
Crummy seats-there are several seat options, the standard seats are decent, the challenge stradale dry carbon seats are pretty much just as comfortable as NSX-R seats.
Community-Ferrari community is similar to what NSX community was back in the days, people are super nice and generous. Networking aspect alone is well worth it.

I daily drive my 360, it has been one of the most reliable car I have ever owned. My total repair cost so far is $297 for an astray assembly. I have a valve cover gasket leak recently, the dealer that performed previous major service 18 month ago, saw my post on Fchat, contacted me and took care of that free of charge and gave me a brand new Porsche Panamera 4 as a loaner.

The major expense is the maintenance, gas, and tires, it is not terribly expensive at all.
Annual fluid (all fluids) $1170
30k major (belt service + fluids) $3500~$4500
Clutch- the F1 cars eats clutch for lunch, 2nd gen F1 is just not good. Either go for 6spd manual or get a F430.

The F430 is better in every aspect and I highly recommend it to anyone who could afford it. However, 360 is one amazing car for the money, with just high flow cats, exhaust, tune and minor weight reduction, it is just as quick as F430 or stock GT-R. Trust me, been there done that with my friends, I am picking up a GT-R very soon to replace my chipped 335i, so I can assure you I am not biased :biggrin:

Well I'll be damned :D I guess I should have read all the posts before I posted but I still stand by my points.

How many miles are you logging a year. And maybe I am right to a point and people are finally getting it that modern Ferrari's are reliable and not expensive to maintain so maybe we will see high mileage cars and people willing to trade them.
 
Awesome I saved 40k in the last 4 years. :wink::biggrin:

I am sure you read the same thread/360 buyers guide on fchat. I am glad to hear your car hasn't had any issues. I was going to split it with a friend. And share it. :).
 
Amazing. My after-tax this year (good year) would cover a $100K car, but there's no way that would make sense for me. I'd rather put $50K into 401K and the rest into the odd investment. This middle aged kid isn't counting on SS.

Sure, there are people making $1M/yr, and if I was one of em, a ferrari would be on the short list.

But I wonder how many ferrari owners make $1M/yr, and how many cashed in at the great home ATM while that party lasted. Ebay tells a story.

If I got out of the NSX, it would be into a $50K GTM rocket, something like that. Ferraris look stunning, but to this working class stiff, the premium seems a waste.
 
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