Ferrari California vs Maserati GranCabrio vs Porsche 911: which one has the lowest running cost?

 

All motoring enthusiasts dream of driving a low-slung, blue-blooded sports car off a polished showroom floor. At face value, some of these nearly-new chariots are relative bargains, when depreciation has taken its toll. But how do you ensure you don’t buy something you can’t maintain? We compared three fast and exotic drop-tops.

 

Firstly, it pays to buy from the official importer, which means buying a Ferrari from Scuderia South Africa, a Maserati from Maserati or a Porsche from one of the official dealer showrooms. You can find knowledgeable and trustworthy independent specialists, like Crossley and Webb in Cape Town, but as a rule of thumb, buy from the parent brand.

 

Important: If the car in your sights has a retractable roof – manual or electric – be very careful of any defects that can lead to a replacement you haven’t budgeted for. That’s one more reason to have the car’s health assessed by the official agents.

 

Ferrari California

 

We spoke to Caroline Venter at Scuderia SA about the coverage available to the owner of a pre-owned Ferrari. We sent Caroline a link to a 2014 California T model available at Scuderia South Africa’s Johannesburg showroom, advertised on AutoTrader.

 

“The vehicle would have been delivered with a 7-year maintenance plan from Ferrari,” she says. “This will cover scheduled service maintenance for the vehicle up to the end of the seven years. When the maintenance plan has expired, it cannot be extended. The customer will be required to pay for services thereafter.”

 

A minor service will cost approximately R8 000 and every alternate year it will cost about R16 000, as this service will include replacement belts. This covers all auxiliary belts (power steering, air-conditioner and water pump), bleeding the brakes and replacing all filters on the vehicle.” Caroline says none of Ferrari’s models under warranty use cam belts.

Ferrari warranties

To protect an owner against large, unforseen expenses, Scuderia South Africa offers various warranty options on Ferrari-approved cars.

The fourth- or fifth-year warranty: When a customer buys a Ferrari-approved vehicle younger than five years, it may be sold to the buyer with a 4th-year warranty or a 5th-year warranty. This provides full cover for all components, except wear-and-tear items, such as brakes, tyres and batteries. For the V8 models the cost for a year is R96 700, and R144 600 for two years. For the V12 cars a year costs R136 560, and R208 400 for two years.

A Ferrari-approved vehicle older than five years will be delivered to the buyer with a new Power Warranty of 12 months. This warranty offers limited cover for major components, such as the engine and transmission. When a customer’s warranty expires, he has the option to extend it with a new Power Warranty for another 12 months. This can be extended annually, until the vehicle is 15 years old. The cost is R68 500 for V8 models and R 93 100 for V12s.

 

Scuderia SA thoroughly checks each pre-owned car they sell. It’s worth noting that extended warranties do not cover the cost of servicing a Ferrari.

 

Related: Ferrari Portofino – Continuing the California Legacy

 

Porsche 911 Turbo convertible

 

When buying a new Porsche, the customer can choose between a 3-year and a 5-year Porsche Driveplan (both capped at 100 000 km), the latter being more expensive. To extend it beyond the three or five years, will cost the owner R35 000 per annum. Christo Kruger, public relations manager for Porsche in South Africa, says before the company delivers a pre-owned car to a customer, it undergoes a 111-point check to ensure it is mechanically sound and absolutely safe.

The R35k 12-month extension covers one or more services, parts and even expensive items like an engine or transmission if it should fail. The Driveplan is only available to unmodified cars serviced by a Porsche SA workshop.

 

It’s interesting to note that there is also a price X and a price Y for a pre-owned Porsche bought at the official agents. If you buy it as it stands on the floor, having undergone all the checks and supplied to the new owner with the maintenance plan, price X applies. But, if you want it to be in concourse condition, it will cost more – price Y.

An example of what could be done for price Y, is removing small (or big) scratches under the front spoiler. Fortunately, sports cars are generally well cared for by their owners and sometimes only driven on weekends or even less often. This means a car sold for X (as above) could already be in absolutely pristine condition.

 

Related: First drive: The never-ending Porsche 911 story just got better!

 

Maserati GranCabrio

 

We asked Rens Rademeyer, general manager of Maserati Johannesburg, to explain the Officine Maserati Certified Pre-owned program (let’s call it OMCPP). Rens says it ensures that the company supplies cars to customers in a condition worthy of the brand. Factory-trained Maserati experts inspect every component of the vehicle before it can be covered by the OMCPP, he explains.

 

“The process comprises a service history check, 121 technical checks, including all mechanical aspects, a check of the interior and exterior, as well as a full road test. Any visual or technical flaws are removed utilising Maserati original spare parts,” Rens says.

The OMCPP warranty is valid for up to two years and unlimited mileage. It offers the same coverage as a new Maserati factory warranty, that is valid for three years. The service plan is valid for five years.

 

The cost of the OMCPP is R78 000. Because it’s a warranty and not a maintenance plan, customers have to pay for services. These have to be performed annually or every 20 000 km, at a cost of approximately R15 000 per service.

 

Related: Which Maserati Levante is better: petrol or diesel?

 

And the crown goes to...

There are a multitude of variables that may influence a car’s running costs, but it seems that running or maintaining a Porsche 911 Turbo, when bought from a Porsche dealership, is cheaper than keeping either of the Italians on the road. As for fuel consumption, all three will return consumption of well over 12 l/100km in mixed conditions, unless the Porsche is one of the latest models. In that case, you might get it down to under 12.