The dark side of owning a Ferrari (pls tell me NOW!)

4kids3fish - fantastic name!! :green:

I'd be interested to hear what your shortlist is - and how you reached it.

Insurance - not a downside, just a fact of life - and actually didn't turn out to be too bad. If you are, shall we say, "of more mature years" (!) then it'll be no problem.

Servicing - yes it's expensive, but not ridiculously so - and you certainly don't want to be doing it on the cheap - Ferrari dealer or specialist all the way.

Maintenance - something major going wrong - like a major engine failure - is a worry as it can cost you in a major way. But if you spend you life worrying about things like that, you'd never get out of bed!!

"Keeping it sweet" - it's virtually impossible not to have a mental list of things you want done to the car - virtually as soon as you get it. And the list won't get shorter irrespective of what work you actually have carried out - a bit of painting here, a bit of refurbishment there, a dehumidified garage here, a stone chip there - but that's part of the fun more than a problem.

As for the social issues - interesting one that. People constantly disappoint me in this respect. You'll always get a balance between those that think "Good for you - you must have worked really hard" - and those that think "What an idiot" - but it mostly comes down to jealousy. I think this carries directly over to peoples attitudes to you when you're driving too. You can easily tell which are which - I'm sure you understand!! I tend to just laugh - there's no point getting hot under the collar about it.

But vandalism is something I personally worry about. I wish I didn't have to, but I accept that there are people out there who see a nice car, and for reasons unknown to me, want to damage it. I wish it wasn't the case, but it is. It simply means I can't leave it parked in the same way I would my other cars. So far - I've not had a problem.

Don't lose sight of the fun though - that's the point in buying it. I understand the worry - but get the worrying out of the way before you buy one - the time to enjoy it starts the day you pick it up!!

Bazil

The dark side of owning a ferrari

1. you get a lot of new frienemies :roll:
[people, who when you are down ain't youre friend]
2.people want to know how you are paying for that car
3.if you worked hard, they say it is impossible, [they work hard also]
4.if you inherited it they are yealous
5.if you gained it on the stock market they want to know how you did it
6.if you tell them how you made it they find you a loser because they will
never will tell you how they made their money
7.people think you deal in drugs as they will not believe in your skills
8.a lot of women are looking at you those you don't want to be seen with

resume

you can't win from people who are stupid!
they always hit you below the belt! ha:

But hey once you have experienced it all as i have there is nothing to keep you from joy :wink:

Join a ferrari club in your country and look for members who are like yourself

Why people key your car when you leave it parked?

I now quote a loser: I dont have a ferrari you do so in order to level us i can do two things:
1. earn my own ferrari [impossible because i am a loser]
2. demolish your ferrari so you wont have it anymore or enjoy it any longer and we are equal again!
nr2 is the only and easiest thing to do for a loser!
Thats why he is damaging your car! :stupid:

I am a ferrari owner in amsterdam, believe me i know what i am talking about!

Baz, I'm afraid the "4kids" have dictated the shortlist, meaning anything with a back seat! With kids from 4 to 15, there is almost NO time when I would be able to enjoy a 2-seater. I had a Lotus for 9 years and ended up just driving it to work every day - weekends always needed more seats!

Shortlist was GT4, Mondials and 400 series. GT4s I love for their shape, funny enough, with its Bertone design resemblance to a Uracco or Stratos (old favourites). Plus it is old enough to have a "classic" feel and to encourage a little weekend tinkering. Problem is that back seat is so tight for anyone over about 10, and it is hard finding good ones.

The 400+ series are genuine 4 seaters, but that sweet engine is going to cost just so much $$. I have baulked at the potential moneysink, and it is probably too big for tooling in traffic a lot.

That has left the Mondials, poor forgotten things! Roomy enough, mostly well looked after and the 3.2 actually goes pretty hard. I can live with the ungainly rear-quarter styling and the TRX wheels, and I guess the 100kg extra structure may even help if I ever hit anything! It's Mondial or nothing, I'm afraid.

Socially, I will have to drive it to work a bit, including the odd meeting, and I expect to be treated differently by people I meet for the first time. I work in the engineering & construction industries and Ferraris aren't a natural fit there, so I expect to have to work a bit harder with relationships.

Repairs & maint I can handle, as good servicing is available and I have the budget. Its the stuff like vandalism, where-to-park, and the boys in "doof-doof" WRXs which could get wearing!

Thanks for all the posts (and pls excuse this v.long reply). I certainly plan to smile my way through the days from collection-day on!