Bad Ferrari Experience

wetpet · 07-10-2011, 05:51 PM

I was responding to a person who was contemplating a purchase and i began to wonder. Have you ever heard of a ferrari owner that got disgusted with the experience and left the marque? I know i have with a couple of marques. BMW and Porsche come to mind. I just never hear of people saying it was a big mistake to own a ferrari. Of course there are isolated problems with ownership, but not overall dissatisfaction with the ownership experience. Are you willing to put up with more because it's a ferrari? I am. I just frankly don't know where i would go for a better automotive experience. There seems to be nothing "above" it. I have owned pretty much every marque except maserati.

Saint Bastage · 07-10-2011, 06:16 PM

I know a guy that had a 355 spider with hyperflows. He had a repeatative CEL with limp that he never got rid of. Spent a small fortune trying to fix it including full exhaust replacement. Car was at 3 or 4 very highly respected dealers and independents but the problem was never fixed. He finally sold the car (at a dramatic loss) and hates Ferrari. He now drives a Grand Am Vette and loves it. To be honest, I don't really think he's that much of a car guy. He never joins us at the local track for any race days. I think its more of a status thing for him.

Magnum6464 · 07-10-2011, 06:28 PM

Well I met a person once who said he tracked his 360 and said it was not all that good and switched to a Porsche 911 Turbo and it kicked ass and said he would never buy a Ferrari again. Personally, I think he just didn’t know how to drive a real race car as I have spoken to some and they said a good track driver can do crazy things in a Ferrari. But I know nothing about tracking a car so I could be wrong....

~

Mario

wetpet · 07-11-2011, 04:49 AM

355 owners excepted.

Magnum6464 · 07-11-2011, 07:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wetpet

355 owners excepted.

Huh??? Why???

~

Mario

wetpet · 07-11-2011, 12:07 PM

most likely to be bankrupted by ownership.

Granucci · 07-11-2011, 03:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wetpet

I was responding to a person who was contemplating a purchase and i began to wonder. Have you ever heard of a ferrari owner that got disgusted with the experience and left the marque? I know i have with a couple of marques. BMW and Porsche come to mind. I just never hear of people saying it was a big mistake to own a ferrari. Of course there are isolated problems with ownership, but not overall dissatisfaction with the ownership experience.

yes

Quote:

Are you willing to put up with more because it's a ferrari? I am. I just frankly don't know where i would go for a better automotive experience. There seems to be nothing "above" it. I have owned pretty much every marque except maserati.

YES! Put up with way more then even a boat or airplane. I still have the Ferraris.

on a side note: I would LOVE to own a Murci, but, couldn't begin to afford the gold chains in this market.

Saint Bastage · 07-11-2011, 05:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wetpet

355 owners excepted.

roflmao

JazzyO · 07-12-2011, 01:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wetpet

most likely to be bankrupted by ownership.

Try running a Boxer. Or a vintage Ferrari for that matter. Or, in my case, both!

Onno

lucca brazzi · 07-12-2011, 07:39 PM

i thought this was a pretty good post,,,and as usual,,i wanted to share my opinion,,,i have had my car for 12 years..and its been pretty dependable...back in 93..i bought a SEA DOO xp..and to tell you the truth,,i had more agravation with that toy,,than any other that i have owned...but this post made me want to share about what my thoughts have been reguarding buying another Ferrari..at some point,... i sometimes think,that for me,,,one Ferrari in a lifetime.,.might be enough....one day i added up ..i mean added up all the money i spent on my 328,,,from the downpayment,,,to the 5 year loan,,.and the intertest..and all of the 30k services,,,including any other parts and in between fixes that i needed.,.,mostly minor..plus tires ...brakes..everything but insurance and gas....and the number is aproaching 90,000 ..thats a lot of money for a car...even though the cost is spread over 12 years...still its a lot,,,i read in a newspaper one day..that the average annual income for a Ferrari owner,,is 800,000 per year.....im not even in that galaxy...im not sure that i want to do that.all over again..with another F CAR....but then again,,,when im anywhere near another Ferrari that i love,,,i seem to forget about all of what i just said here,,LOL...and the thought of being practical,,and buying a 06 Twin turbo Porsche,,seems to escape me.,..

KKRace · 07-13-2011, 09:03 AM

Cetainly more expensive to own than a used Toyota Celica but I could argue it's much cheaper to own than a late model Corvette or Porsche. In my case the insurance is cheap on my 328, I bought the car used and expect to one day sell it for at least what I paid for it, the 30 was expensive and as for the interest you mentioned on the loan that would be true for any car you buy in that price range. The big difference is almost any other car would drop in value every year. If you bought a new SUV it would cost about the same as my 328 and lose a third of its value as soon as I drove it off the lot.

KKRace · 07-13-2011, 09:05 AM

Now if you add in some of the perks of owning a Ferrari...

Great front row parking spots, free meals etc just for bringing the car etc.

Granucci · 07-13-2011, 09:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KKRace

Now if you add in some of the perks of owning a Ferrari...

Great front row parking spots, free meals etc just for bringing the car etc.

Cars that part on the road ahead of you when they see you coming

and cars

that almost wreck you when they try to catch up to you on a road.

perks

Andrew · 07-13-2011, 02:57 PM

1 person comes to mind. He was/is a financial rep at Merrill Lynch and bought a 348 when new. He isn't a car guy, bought it because that's what you do when you've "made it" in his mind. He wasn't ready for the Italian experience, had lots of maintenance issues and hasn't gone back since.

Killer58 · 07-13-2011, 04:54 PM

Didn't Boxer say his experience with his 456 was not positive? Of course, he didn't leave the marque over it.

In his articles, Sheehan has made several references to customers that got in over their head and ended up selling their Ferrari as a result. He implies their relationship with the marque ended badly. Although he usually refers to them only by the car they had.

I too am willing to put up with the idiosyncracies of the marque. I have mentally prepared myself for the day when I get that large repair/maintenance bill, but I have no idea how far that preparation will carry me. Luckily (knock on wood) I haven't had anything worse than a couple CEL lights in my first year of ownership.

07-10-2011, 05:51 PM	#1
wetpet Owner Elite Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Chevy Chase, Md Ferrari Life Posts: 6,598 Name: Ed	Bad Ferrari Experience I was responding to a person who was contemplating a purchase and i began to wonder. Have you ever heard of a ferrari owner that got disgusted with the experience and left the marque? I know i have with a couple of marques. BMW and Porsche come to mind. I just never hear of people saying it was a big mistake to own a ferrari. Of course there are isolated problems with ownership, but not overall dissatisfaction with the ownership experience. Are you willing to put up with more because it's a ferrari? I am. I just frankly don't know where i would go for a better automotive experience. There seems to be nothing "above" it. I have owned pretty much every marque except maserati. Everything you know is wrong Stop chatting and start living the ferrarilife!

07-10-2011, 06:16 PM	#2
Saint Bastage Owner Elite Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Essex Connecticut Ferrari Life Posts: 1,678 Name: Lane	I know a guy that had a 355 spider with hyperflows. He had a repeatative CEL with limp that he never got rid of. Spent a small fortune trying to fix it including full exhaust replacement. Car was at 3 or 4 very highly respected dealers and independents but the problem was never fixed. He finally sold the car (at a dramatic loss) and hates Ferrari. He now drives a Grand Am Vette and loves it. To be honest, I don't really think he's that much of a car guy. He never joins us at the local track for any race days. I think its more of a status thing for him. Lane 348ts SS #64, Nero on Nero

07-10-2011, 06:28 PM	#3
Magnum6464 Owner Elite Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Quebec, Canada Ferrari Life Posts: 1,687	Well I met a person once who said he tracked his 360 and said it was not all that good and switched to a Porsche 911 Turbo and it kicked ass and said he would never buy a Ferrari again. Personally, I think he just didn’t know how to drive a real race car as I have spoken to some and they said a good track driver can do crazy things in a Ferrari. But I know nothing about tracking a car so I could be wrong.... ~ Mario 1990 348 TS (87284) “I build cars for young men that only old men can afford” - Enzo Ferrari

07-11-2011, 04:49 AM	#4
wetpet Owner Elite Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Chevy Chase, Md Ferrari Life Posts: 6,598 Name: Ed	355 owners excepted. Everything you know is wrong Stop chatting and start living the ferrarilife!

07-11-2011, 12:07 PM	#6
wetpet Owner Elite Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Chevy Chase, Md Ferrari Life Posts: 6,598 Name: Ed	most likely to be bankrupted by ownership. Everything you know is wrong Stop chatting and start living the ferrarilife!

07-12-2011, 07:39 PM	#10
lucca brazzi Owner Elite Member Join Date: Jun 2011 Ferrari Life Posts: 438	hi i thought this was a pretty good post,,,and as usual,,i wanted to share my opinion,,,i have had my car for 12 years..and its been pretty dependable...back in 93..i bought a SEA DOO xp..and to tell you the truth,,i had more agravation with that toy,,than any other that i have owned...but this post made me want to share about what my thoughts have been reguarding buying another Ferrari..at some point,... i sometimes think,that for me,,,one Ferrari in a lifetime.,.might be enough....one day i added up ..i mean added up all the money i spent on my 328,,,from the downpayment,,,to the 5 year loan,,.and the intertest..and all of the 30k services,,,including any other parts and in between fixes that i needed.,.,mostly minor..plus tires ...brakes..everything but insurance and gas....and the number is aproaching 90,000 ..thats a lot of money for a car...even though the cost is spread over 12 years...still its a lot,,,i read in a newspaper one day..that the average annual income for a Ferrari owner,,is 800,000 per year.....im not even in that galaxy...im not sure that i want to do that.all over again..with another F CAR....but then again,,,when im anywhere near another Ferrari that i love,,,i seem to forget about all of what i just said here,,LOL...and the thought of being practical,,and buying a 06 Twin turbo Porsche,,seems to escape me.,..

07-13-2011, 09:03 AM	#11
KKRace Owner Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Near Olney, MD Ferrari Life Posts: 884 Name: Kevin	Cetainly more expensive to own than a used Toyota Celica but I could argue it's much cheaper to own than a late model Corvette or Porsche. In my case the insurance is cheap on my 328, I bought the car used and expect to one day sell it for at least what I paid for it, the 30 was expensive and as for the interest you mentioned on the loan that would be true for any car you buy in that price range. The big difference is almost any other car would drop in value every year. If you bought a new SUV it would cost about the same as my 328 and lose a third of its value as soon as I drove it off the lot. ------------------------------ Life is Good!

07-13-2011, 09:05 AM	#12
KKRace Owner Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Near Olney, MD Ferrari Life Posts: 884 Name: Kevin	Now if you add in some of the perks of owning a Ferrari... Great front row parking spots, free meals etc just for bringing the car etc. ------------------------------ Life is Good!

07-13-2011, 02:57 PM	#14
Andrew Administrator Elite Member Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: San Francisco Ferrari Life Posts: 6,186 Name: Andrew	1 person comes to mind. He was/is a financial rep at Merrill Lynch and bought a 348 when new. He isn't a car guy, bought it because that's what you do when you've "made it" in his mind. He wasn't ready for the Italian experience, had lots of maintenance issues and hasn't gone back since. AvidSquare \| Drivers Network

07-13-2011, 04:54 PM	#15
Killer58 Owner Elite Member Join Date: May 2010 Ferrari Life Posts: 1,417 Name: David	Didn't Boxer say his experience with his 456 was not positive? Of course, he didn't leave the marque over it. In his articles, Sheehan has made several references to customers that got in over their head and ended up selling their Ferrari as a result. He implies their relationship with the marque ended badly. Although he usually refers to them only by the car they had. I too am willing to put up with the idiosyncracies of the marque. I have mentally prepared myself for the day when I get that large repair/maintenance bill, but I have no idea how far that preparation will carry me. Luckily (knock on wood) I haven't had anything worse than a couple CEL lights in my first year of ownership.

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