I have noticed a few posts here from people in Korea, Japan etc so just maybe someone will have some more ideas about this....
The quick bottom line, anywone have any thoughts about or experience of buying and using a Ferrari in this part of the world?
Probably most people will think I am mad for this, but hey we all know that Ferarris are at least partly a choice of the heart not just the head...
I am Australian but I live have lived in Taiwan for almost 5 years and intend to be here for quite a few more years. I have like most people looking at this forum dreamed of owning a Ferrari for a long time. In the last year or so I have started a company that is doing well enough that for me to buy an "older" one does not seem too impossible within the next year or so. I have only seen one pre-348 Ferrari on the road in Taiwan (a mondial 3.2) and I have only seen 2 older than 348s advertised in the last year. One was an early mondial at a stupid price compared with say 348s 355s etc (ie about 1/2 the price for what I would definately not expect to be half as good a car) and one was a 328 which was advertised at NT128,000 (approx NT35=US$1), therefore about US$36,500 which would have be the sort of thing I would hope for except that it had 120,000km on it. I have seen a 348 at 158,000 but I have always liked the look of 328 more and heard better things about repair prices etc. I really would like to realise the dream of owning a Ferrari even if only for a while. I could consider buying a car in Australia (probably just a 308GT4, but maybe a 308GTB) and using it maybe 2 weeks a year on trips back there but it would have more stable depreciation, availability of parts, better roads to drive on etc. Actually if only they were available I would be happier getting an older one and having it in Taiwan but I really doubt my chances of finding one as I am pretty sure that Ferraris were not officially imorted here before about 1997 give or take a year. Besides the obvious problems of lack of cars to choose from I am of course worried about servicing (I am in Kaohsiung, in the south, not Taipei the most obvious city for servicing a Ferrari in Taiwan), frustration with lack of good roads to use it on (although I do know 2 or 3 roads that I think could be really fun so I would just put up with the traffic to get to them)... Also what about someone who can do a good, reliable, honest check of the car before purchase????? Do you think it would be all to much of a hassle and the option of ownership in Taiwan is TOO crazy to the point where it would be better to only buy one in Australia or...?
The quick bottom line, anywone have any thoughts about or experience of buying and using a Ferrari in this part of the world?
Probably most people will think I am mad for this, but hey we all know that Ferarris are at least partly a choice of the heart not just the head...
I am Australian but I live have lived in Taiwan for almost 5 years and intend to be here for quite a few more years. I have like most people looking at this forum dreamed of owning a Ferrari for a long time. In the last year or so I have started a company that is doing well enough that for me to buy an "older" one does not seem too impossible within the next year or so. I have only seen one pre-348 Ferrari on the road in Taiwan (a mondial 3.2) and I have only seen 2 older than 348s advertised in the last year. One was an early mondial at a stupid price compared with say 348s 355s etc (ie about 1/2 the price for what I would definately not expect to be half as good a car) and one was a 328 which was advertised at NT128,000 (approx NT35=US$1), therefore about US$36,500 which would have be the sort of thing I would hope for except that it had 120,000km on it. I have seen a 348 at 158,000 but I have always liked the look of 328 more and heard better things about repair prices etc. I really would like to realise the dream of owning a Ferrari even if only for a while. I could consider buying a car in Australia (probably just a 308GT4, but maybe a 308GTB) and using it maybe 2 weeks a year on trips back there but it would have more stable depreciation, availability of parts, better roads to drive on etc. Actually if only they were available I would be happier getting an older one and having it in Taiwan but I really doubt my chances of finding one as I am pretty sure that Ferraris were not officially imorted here before about 1997 give or take a year. Besides the obvious problems of lack of cars to choose from I am of course worried about servicing (I am in Kaohsiung, in the south, not Taipei the most obvious city for servicing a Ferrari in Taiwan), frustration with lack of good roads to use it on (although I do know 2 or 3 roads that I think could be really fun so I would just put up with the traffic to get to them)... Also what about someone who can do a good, reliable, honest check of the car before purchase????? Do you think it would be all to much of a hassle and the option of ownership in Taiwan is TOO crazy to the point where it would be better to only buy one in Australia or...?
