Counting the seconds now!

Just returned home after a great 2 week vacation in Florida with my wife and 2 youngest boys. First week doing Universal, Discovery Cove and Kennedy followed by a week on the beach at Clearwater with a trip to Busch Gardens. Hired a Mustang Convertible for 10 days. Nice car with lots of horses but not quite the same as looking at Cavallinos. I reckon the horse count is lower too! Great weather and a fantastic way to while away some of the time waiting for my car. Stayed off the forum to put it to the back of my mind. Then just 4 days from the end of the trip I get my first picture from Ferrari. Woo hoo things are moving! The following day my second picture arrives and on the day we're flying home the final one appears. Good timing!!

So I'm home and the dealer tells me no delivery date yet but anticipates about 2-3 weeks. One of the benefits of being in the UK rather than over the big pond. Then I remember some of the other Stage 90's you guys have endured so I'm not holding my breath but the countdown clock is ticking. So 3 weeks or 1,800,00 seconds (give or take a few) and the wait should be about over.

Just to recap the final spec for you:

Rosso Corsa with Nero Pastello roof and A pillars
Beige Tradizione
STC2 Giallo stitching
Magnaride
Matt grigio 20" forged alloys
CF wheel caps
Yellow callipers
Shields
Yellow rev counter
CF driver zone and wheel
CF central tunnel
Headrest horse Giallo
Front and rear cameras
Electrochromatic inner rear view mirror
Aluminium footrests
Hi-fi upgrade
Apple Carplay

and of course the obligatory pics.
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Ha just noticed I missed the last zero off my second count! Or was it optimism? My apologies for triggering the nervous facial tic!

 

I have my fingers crossed for you!!

 

Thanks. Together with the matt grigio alloys I think it gives it the sporty look I was hoping for.

 

Thanks. When I first looked at wheel options they weren't available. Just appeared on the configurator when I was about to submit my final spec about mid / late november I think. Reckon I just struck lucky as they were what I was wanting rather than the diamond finish and slightly cheaper to boot

"vrdjs" has black wheels on his car. Haven't seen these as an option. There may well be other options available as extra-campinario at a price.

 

I'm beginning to understand what those of you who now have your cars went through whilst waiting for delivery after the final production photo. Counting the seconds is an agonising process. Sleep deprivation as I lie in bed counting cavallinos whilst trying to organise in my head everything that needs finalising. Garage needs a good clean out. Amazing how its got full of clutter in the 6 months since the DBS went. That should occupy a few of those precious seconds. Then I need to sort out getting the paint protection film applied. Have to arrange a slot with the installer and transport it 120 miles to them, book the paint correction detailer before film is applied and sort transport back to dealer. All a bit difficult when I'm told to expect delivery in about 2 weeks but no firm date to work to and the installer is telling me they have a 4 week wait list. Trying to pull in some favours. Yes there are other installers but I'm very happy with the work this firm has done on my last few cars and I trust them to do a good job. More seconds used up. Then keeping in the loop with you lot. The time should really fly by and that's without even thinking about work and some family time.

 

The reason why I'm buying a California T and not a 458 spider!

 

Can't wait.....must wait....must stop drooling!

 

So it seems likely my car will arrive at the dealer sometime this week. It's then off on a tour of England before I get my mitts on it. First off down to Paintshield for a full paint correction detail and application of full body self healing film. Their diary commitments mean that it will be with them for probably a couple of weeks.....aaaaaggghhhh!!!! Then trucked down to London to Scuderia Systems for Novitec exhaust upgrade. They recokon 3 weeks from now for system delivery (it's only just become available in the UK).....more aaaaagggghhhh!! Then delivered back to the dealer in Leeds. If I see it before June I'll be lucky but hopefully the wait will prove worthwhile. That clock keeps on ticking....

 

If you look closely at the paint finish on any new car straight out of the factory you will almost always see some imperfections in the finish (swirl marks, flat spots etc.). This is generally because the manufacturer doesn't allocate a great deal of time to the final polish / finish for financial reasons. Possibly also down to the capabilities of the guy actually doing the job. Aston Martin are particularly bad. Some cars are worse than others.

A paint correction detail involves getting a professional detailer (unless you feel you can do a better job than the factory guy) to polish out those imperfections and buff up the finish. To do it well you're looking at a couple of days work. You may think your new car looks great but give it to a detailer and you'll be amazed at the transformation in the finish (like a mirror). You can then have a sealant applied to give a more lasting finish. Plenty of before and after images if you search for them. Of course, the finish will deteriorate over time with road dirt and washing etc. and eventually you'll need to redo it, unless you use paint protection film.

As I'm putting full self healing film on it makes sense to have the underlying paint as good as possible. As the film self heals then just a wash and occasional wax application should maintain that perfect paint finish underneath. At least thats what I'm hoping for.

 

Woo Hoo! Car arrived at dealers yesterday afternoon and went through PDI today. Being transported down for paint protection film tomorrow. A bit of bad news is that it looks like the Novitec exhaust will not be delivered in time to fit in with delivery schedules. However this means that I will probably get to take ownership before the end of the month. I'll just have to arrange exhaust fit later. Think i've given up trying to work out how many seconds now....tick...tock...

A few pics sent from the dealer:
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