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imagine you have £50k to spend on a second car, one that did not need to be used for the daily commute etc. What would be a better buy for fun, reliability and cost of ownerhip, a 2 year old 911 carerra S or a much older, but much more exclusive and potentially more troublesome Ferrari 550 ??

If you needed it as your daily drive, the Porsche would be a no brainer. Since it is more of a toy, and as an avid Ferrari fun, I cannot recommend anything else other than the Maranello or any other Ferrari model for that matter. The power, feel, exclusivity and driver connection of a Ferrari are unparallel. Be prepared to pay big money though. We are talking in the region of tens of thousands if something needs to be replaced and even a few thousands a year for the regular servicing of the car. The moto I have heard from Ferrari owners is the following: "Perhaps you can afford to buy a Ferrari; can you afford to own one though?". If the answer to that question is affirmative, you will be a happy man driving one of the most evocative "machines" (in all honesty a Ferrari is much more than a machine) man has ever made.

Cheers

REALZEUS has a point about the cost of ownership, Ferrari's can be potentially crippling.  As for the fun stakes, depends on what turns you on.  Having had the privilege of driving both and owning a Porsche for a couple of years, I personally would opt for the Carrera.  It is definitely a heart and head purchase, as opposed to a heart purchase that the Ferrari would be.

Ultimately though, if you've got the money for either one plus the running costs, then buy the car you desire.  I'm not sure there is a wrong answer.

Another option worth considering is forget buying the car, take out a membership of one of the many super car clubs.  All the pleasure and none of the hastle. 

how about a three year old M3 and an Areil Atom for the week end?, and i bet there would be change too!

As people have said go for the ferrari if you can afford to run it as is going to be more fun and get a lot more attention however be warned as an example of high ferrari prices a new bonnet for a 456 is a 12k when you can but the whole car for around 30k. Porsches on the otherhand never go wrong and many have been known to go 100k even 200k without any problems. If you do decide for the ferrari make sure it has history, history and more history form main dealer or a well know specialist or you are going to have a lot of problems and a big bill. Also this may seem mad but it is better to choose one with a decent millage as ones with low millage have probably just being sitting in a garage which means yet again they will be problems if you pick a good one it will be without doubt a far more enjoyable experience than owning the porsche.

I don't think I would buy less than 5 cars with £50k...don't ask me to decide which 5 or so though. 

Of the two choices given I'd go for the 911 as being able to buy a Ferrari, and being able to afford the running costs of a Ferrari are two completely issues.

However given £50k myself for weekend fun transport I'd go for an Atom 300 and a Ducati 1098 plus you'd still have a change left for track time.

I bought a brand new 4S for £77k in 2004. I only kept it a year as I was disappointed with it bearing in mind how much it cost. However the same car can be bought for around 40k today and I would consider it if Porsche stopped diluting the bloody 911 range!

It would hae to be membership to one of the 'Supercar' clubs such as P1. If I had to buy then it would be an E46 M3 and the change would pay for the Insurance/Fuel/repairs. Or a 996 Turbo but not much left for the running costs.