[Pete04222]

I look at the car and I love it. But I only put 1,500 miles a year on it. It spends most of its time in the garage. I really don't use the thing like I should. I'm scared to take it on long trips, not because there is anything wrong with it because I know it's perfect, I'm worried something unforeseen might go wrong and I dread having to deal with a tow truck, and I won't park it anywhere overnight except in my garage. It does not have the refinements of a modern car, the A/C doesn't work and I refuse to fix it. I look at the new Dodge Chargers, the MacGragor sailboats and I'm like, "I could have that if I sold the Ferrari." My wife wants a new house and she's been figuring out how to get the cash for one ('cause I don't want to sell this one, we'll turn it into a rental) and she has never once said, "Your Ferrari is the down payment on my dream house." God bless her.

But I'm looking at changing the belts next year and of course I'll want to do the tensioners and water pump while I'm in there. I expect to spend $2,000. I could sell the car for what I've got in it and let the new owner take care of the service (and he'd be getting a great deal), but then I think, you know, if I sell this car, I'll probably never own another.

Aaagh! I'm not scared of maintaining the car, I can afford that. But if I want to get out now's probably the time to do it. What do you think?

 

[Bart]

1,500 miles. Heck, I have done that in a week. You have three choices:

1 - Wax it and put it away for later

2 - Sell it

3 - Drive it

 

[ferrarispider]

Personaly, i have wrote of the cost of my ferrari, but i would hate to think that one day i would have to sell it becourse needs must. Its lucky for me that my girl loves the ferrari as much as myself, so she never ever even looks towards it and instead will make any plans away from it becourse she also has writen the cost of.
Regarding selling your ferrari, i dont know what its like in the USA in the winter but here in the UK its a buyers market. In this month alone there are 600 ferraris for sale in the Auto Trader, and owners are slashing of big chunks of cash to sell them becourse its the winter time. So here at the moment its purly a buyers market So the summer is indeed the best time to sell any ferrari at full price. May be you should explain to your wife that a loss of up to a 3rd of the car may happen if ya sell during the winter :wink:
Which brings us to the next problem, come summer while the sun is shining and all is good in your world and you could get full price for ya ferrari, you wont want to sell her at any cost :lol:
I maybe barking up the wrong tree here becourse you could well be living in a all year round sunny area of the US. If thats the case please disregard my last :roll: And just keep the bloody ferrari

 

[Dr. Bob]

last week he had to clear his driveway which was filled with snow

 

[jungathart]

last week he had to clear his driveway which was filled with snow

We've had snow on the ground here since before Thanksgiving.

Pete,
Ferrari ownership is a rare pleasure and priviledge. You may be right about saying that if you sold her you might never have another. Leave the car off the table and consider everything else.

Best wishes. 8)

 

[FunkyJunc]

Aaagh! I'm not scared of maintaining the car, I can afford that. But if I want to get out now's probably the time to do it. What do you think?

This is easy ...


Why would you want to get out? You say theres no REAL financial incentive to sell the car (obviously a little extra cash but nothing thats needed, per your explanation). Your wife hasnt pushed you so you dont suffer any domestic issues :wink: (at least not because of the ferrari anyway)


I wouldnt sell it unless you

1. Dont want it
2. Will never drive it
3. Its causing problems

If you can afford to have it and it brings you pleasure and joy (just by merely looking at the thing) then I say its worth it. Plus, you wouldnt be able to talk on the forum anymore ... against the rules my friend. You sell the ferrari without intention to renew your comitment to ferrari and you're gonna be exiled.

tough break.

:wink: :green:

 

[enjoythemusic]

I look at the car and I love it. But I only put 1,500 miles a year on it. It spends most of its time in the garage....Aaagh! I'm not scared of maintaining the car, I can afford that. But if I want to get out now's probably the time to do it. What do you think?

Love ya guy, think the world of you... But i feel the need to say this. PLEASE understand, i am your friend... always.


Sell it. You are doing the car a HUGE disservice by not using it. The internals/gaskets/hoses are degrading and the car relies on being driven, and to a good degree to get the entire package hot to remove water from various parts and lube the internals. Seems to me you are too scared to drive it in fear of damage. Best bet would be to sell the Ferrari and get a car you do not fear driving or getting small nicks, scrapes, rock chips, etc.

The new Corvette is a great car, much better than the 308 frankly. A Lotus if you want a sotra exotic.

The car deserves better than the way you are treating it UNLESS you plan to open a museum or use it as a statue or work of art.


My apologies for seeming abrasive, yet it is just a 308 and they made many thousands of them. If it was a very rare car, my opinion may be a bit different. Imagine what you are missing by largely ignoring your car. IT IS JUST A CAR!!!! DRIVE IT!!!

http://www.ferrariforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4662

http://www.ferrariforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4753

 

[zwoemba]

Hmm, difficult situation

A Ferrari is ment to be driven... It was/is your dream to have a Ferrari. So why don't you godd***** drive it? Don't be scared, you say you can afford it. Drive it. Drive it. Drive it.

Thousands of people are wasting their time with dreaming. You don't have to dream. You can to your garage and smile.

Ride and smile. It's a FERRARI.



And if you won't drive it, it may be better to sell the car. But don't start crying afterwards :wink:

... but then I think, you know, if I sell this car, I'll probably never own another.

I think you will cry.

 

[Magnum6464]

I live in Canada so I can understand the snow thing, we just had a foot of snow today and im looking forward to cleaning my driveway with my ATV. I do not own a Ferrari yet, but I know how you feel. I have a 350Z parked in my driveway waiting for summer. Its my mothers car, I let her borrow my wife’s new car (2005 Pontiac Wave) because she doesn’t drive yet (wife has a learners permit). BTW I hate that small thing but it’s the wife’s first car. My mother doesn’t want her car anymore like last year but when summer came around she loved it and didn’t want to sell it anymore. It was the same when I had my MR2. Couldn’t drive it in the winter couldn’t wait until summer, but I drove it everyday but I know…it wasn’t a Ferrari.

I don’t really understand why you didn’t drive it that much. The only thing I can say is, the car has to make you happy….happy is the word. Money for maintenance is not an issue but a tow truck is ?!?! Besides having an accident or someone dent the door because you left it parked I can understand. But, I would have to say this…

If you were to go on a long drive, and she would break down and you had to have it towed, my question is this, would you say “ah well, it happens” or would you be so mad that inside you felt like, “im selling it NOW !”

If you said you don’t think you would ever own one again, then maybe sailing is your true love and this was just a short lived “good time” !

If you decide to sell it, someone else will be happy to drive it and you will know she will live on…

 

[Dave Bertrand]

Here's what we know from your post:

1. You don't drive it much.
2. You're thinking about the other things you could have instead - a Charger or a boat
3. You look at the upcoming maintenance as an opportunity to get out.
4. You're dissatisfied with its lack of modern refinements.

It is obvious to me that, deep down, you want to sell the car, so my advice is to sell it. You may struggle with the decision for a while but eventually you WILL sell it. You know you will. Let the wife have her dream house. And if you really want a Ferrari again, you will have it. It's no big deal. In a few years maybe a sweet 355 will come your way.

 

[Steve]

I dont reckon you should sell it, drive it more! And whats more bieng married to a Lady who does'nt want you to sell your pride and joy is a god send.

Its your choice at the end of the day, follow your heart.

Car - Or house
Road going masterpiece - Or a pile of bricks.

 

[Boxer]

Drive it. They are not fragile. Don't worry about what might happen, worse will happen if you do not. If you start really doing the first item mention, the idea of selling it will evaporate quickly.

 

[Pete04222]

I knew I could depend on you guys for some honest feedback.

Here's the deal - I don't put a lot of miles on any car. I'm not a commuter so I don't drive back and forth to work every day. I work on an offshore oil rig every other 3 weeks so my daily commute consists of walking up a flight of stairs. When I am home the only reason I have to go out is to pick up stuff for my projects, hence the truck. So the truck is my daily driver and I only put about 6,000 miles a year on that.

I bought the Ferrari for a few reasons:
1 - I always wanted one and my mother said I would never have one.
2 - I could afford it.
3 - I wanted a boat but I knew that I was so busy that I wouldn't have the time to use a boat and it would just sit in the yard. A sportscar is something you can take out of the driveway and use for an hour, a boat trip is an all day affair.
4 - I could always get my money back out of it.

My current plus side, I bought the car for cash and the insurance is only $200 a year. So it is cheap to own. There is no depreciation, the car will always be worth at least what I paid for it. I've spent about $1,000 to maintain it for the 3.5 years I've had it (doing most of the work myself). Not too bad. I've almost spent that on my truck just this year alone. The other positive - I own a Ferrari. I like it when people say, "Wow, you own a Ferrari?" and I reply, "Well yes, I do."

My current negative side, the car doesn't get the use it should. It is in the garage under cover right now and won't be back out until April. As a few of you mentioned, I'm not doing the car justice by only putting 1,000 miles a year on it. It is worth an honest $25k that is just sitting in my garage under a 50 dollar cover. The other negative - It's one more project that requires attention.

So here's what I've come up with. I've got a few New Year's resolutions for 2006.
1 - Keep the car, don't worry about the money 'cause you can always make more of that shit to buy more junk.
2 - Put at least 2,500 miles on the car. That is the limit the collector's insurance allows.
3 - Take it out in the rain. (usually when its raining I just hop in the truck.)
4 - Treat it like a car. I drive my Jeep through stuff I wouldn't dare walk through; some stuff I might not even be able to walk through, without hesitation but I won't take the Ferrari out if it might get dirty. Gotta change that attitude.
5 - Go to Steve's house (Enjoythemusic) about 2 hours away. Steve, I've been wanting to go to one of your Ferrari get-together's but is seems like you have a copy of my schedule and plan them all for when I am at work. I'm going to come visit you in 2006 whether you have something planned or not. I'll call you and come down and buy you lunch.
6 - Post more photos on the Ferrari Life Forum!

 

[360_Spider]

DON'T SELL THE FERRARI! i don't own one but i kow if i did then i would drive it everywhere and even park it sometimes. If you end up on the back of a tow truck, oh well but at least when you are old you can say i ahd a Ferrari and drive it like ENzo Ferrari would have wanted me to. What do you think Ferrari's are made for??

 

[FunkyJunc]

So here's what I've come up with. I've got a few New Year's resolutions for 2006.
1 - Keep the car, don't worry about the money 'cause you can always make more of that shit to buy more junk.
2 - Put at least 2,500 miles on the car. That is the limit the collector's insurance allows.
3 - Take it out in the rain. (usually when its raining I just hop in the truck.)
4 - Treat it like a car. I drive my Jeep through stuff I wouldn't dare walk through; some stuff I might not even be able to walk through, without hesitation but I won't take the Ferrari out if it might get dirty. Gotta change that attitude.
5 - Go to Steve's house (Enjoythemusic) about 2 hours away. Steve, I've been wanting to go to one of your Ferrari get-together's but is seems like you have a copy of my schedule and plan them all for when I am at work. I'm going to come visit you in 2006 whether you have something planned or not. I'll call you and come down and buy you lunch.
6 - Post more photos on the Ferrari Life Forum!

Good news

 

[Boxer]

So here's what I've come up with. I've got a few New Year's resolutions for 2006.
1 - Keep the car, don't worry about the money 'cause you can always make more of that shit to buy more junk.
2 - Put at least 2,500 miles on the car. That is the limit the collector's insurance allows.
3 - Take it out in the rain. (usually when its raining I just hop in the truck.)
4 - Treat it like a car. I drive my Jeep through stuff I wouldn't dare walk through; some stuff I might not even be able to walk through, without hesitation but I won't take the Ferrari out if it might get dirty. Gotta change that attitude.
!

I really like the points above. I drive the 512 BB from one end of Europe to the other at least once a year. It is always a great time even in the rain, traffic, mud etc that you always run into on these trips. Use and enjoy! Cheers.

 

[marlin]

Great resolutions Pete. I know if I could afford a Ferrari it would go with me to my grave. I built my car before I was married and luckily my wife agreed that we should keep it through the hard times. I still have it 22 years later and if I had got rid of it I would never have built another one. It still makes me smile and even a lottery win wouldn't make me sell it, I would just have a Ferrari to keep it company. 8)

 

[dinogt4guy]

Glad to see your keeping the car! That would have been my advice. And for "Pete's sake" DRIVE THE CAR!!! We only live once, so get as much enjoyment as you can. And there are very few pleasures greater than taking YOUR Ferrari out for a spin, or to the store, or anyplace, just DRIVE and ENJOY!!!

Cheers!

Kurt

 

[jwise]

Pete-
Good choice on keeping the 308. They are wonderful cars.

Also- I've had my car in the rain a number of times and it's fun, except for the water that leaks around the targa. No big deal. I probably would not take it out in the rain intentionally, but I don't mind if it rains while I am out. Whenever I wash the car, I really rinse the underside to try and clear some of the grime.

If you ever want to caravan to Steven's- say the word. A few of us also have a few tech sessions down in Mass during the summer and fall- come along if you ever feel like it. These are a good group of folks.

Lastly- if you feel like helping/watching/drinking a beer- I'm in the middle of a suspension rebuild. I think you have my email.

j wise

 

[jayhawkryan]

Hi all! I'm new here, getting ready to graduate college and I'm guessing like a lot of you were at one point. I have always dreamed of owning a Ferrari from the time I was little. I think the joys of looking at the thing, driving it, the reaction you would get from others around town, as well as the sense of community and the great people you can connect with through Ferrari make the initial investment and upkeep well worth it. I suggest renting or purchasing a copy of Techademics "Mischief" series. Particularly "Mischief 2" or "Destroy." Regardless of your opinion about things like the Gumball 3000 or racing on public roads, these guys drive the cars through all sorts of environments that would make most ferrari owners quiver. Rock chips that have literally stripped all the paint off the nose from driving at speeds over 130 consistently through the southwest, broken spliters, rain (one 360 spyder owner driving through the rain with the top down), and finally attempts at evading police by driving the cars off the road through the dirt (blasphemy) to hide on the side of the road. Like I said many find these types of documentaries wrong, but just seeing the way the cars are driven may put you at ease about just driving yours more and in different weather conditions.