Would you let someone drive your FCar?

James, My wife was driving the Mondial yesterday, as soon as I fix the seats for her in the 308, she will be driving that too. By the way she drives stick better than a lot of guys I know. M. Tauson drove the mondial while visiting from Ca. I never had a problem with other people driving my cars. It sometimes gives them an experience they will never have.

 

Yes, to me sharing the joy of driving the Dino is a big part of the fun.

I am somewhat specific on who I let drive though. I must have a good feeling about their driving skills, plus they must understand that this is a very mechanical piece of machinery that they are about to operate, not a run-of-the-mill modern car. Once that message has come across, then I'm more than happy to slide over to the passenger seat and let them drive, while observing the smile on their face. If things go well, I'll point out that big round gauge telling rpm out to them, and explain that shifting at rpm's over 4000 will change the car completely, and again sit back and enjoy their excitement when the power really starts to kick in.

Of course it helps that living in Europe, all my friends here know how to drive a stick shift, and just about all of them have a stick shift in their daily drivers.

I will never let someone drive my car without me sitting in the passenger seat though. That way, if I am not happy about the way they handle the car, I can intervene.

No comments on test drives. Mine is NOT for sale, nor will it ever be (I hope)

Hans

 

1.) I wont let just anyone drive. I dont believe its "just a car", nor can you just replace it if its destroyed.

2.) No high rpm's, no speed shifting, no excessive speed. I wouldnt beat the crap out of your car, dont do it with mine. If you want to drive it like Mario Andretti, buy your own Ferrari. And no one drives alone unless I have the greatest of trust in them.

3.) See number 2 above. You dont need to redline it in every gear to test the engine. You dont need to make 20 tire squealing stops from 140 mph to to zero to test the brakes. You dont need to take every turn in sliding drifts to test the suspension. You dont need to make hard acceleration takeoffs trying to burn the tires to test the clutch. And you certainly dont need to drive it 100 miles to know if you really like it or not.

Seriously, most of the things you need to know before buying a car you would do before ever starting it. Once its running, there are other things you would want to see and hear before driving. If someone was watching and looking for those things more than itching to get in and DRIVE I would take them far more seriously. During the drive, a buyer that was more interested in the physical condition of the car and how well the car worked would be taken more seriously than someone abusing the car for thier own delight. That may very well be the type of person I would encourage to let her unravel a bit more and get her legs, and allow to put a few more miles of touring on.

The time I really fell in love with a Ferrari a good friend who owned a 308 GTSi had invited me on a drive with four other Ferraris into western Wisconsin. He gave up the drivers seat to me and allowed me to drive maybe 50 or 60 miles (well over an hour) through some extremely hilly and twisty rural countryside. Max speed maybe topped 65 or 70 on the longer straights, with most turns down in second and first. I kept it below 6000 and above 3000 the whole time and began to really enjoy hearing the shifter clang through the gate. Thats how I would like to see a friend enjoy mine, and a test drive by any prospective buyer wouldnt need to be any more abusive.

 

I've let a few people drive mine. With the exception of my buddy Chuck, who is an excellent driver and understands these cars, I took them through the proper shifting thru the gated shifter, talked about how this is not like a modern car where you can cram it into gear and dump the clutch. So far, its been fun sitting in the passenger seat watching the grins from ear to ear. The car really brings a lot of joy and its fun to share!

JIM

 

OK for family and friends . I don't have a problem with them driving it without me. I asked my daughter to drive it and she didn't want to because she doesn't drive a stick. I told here I would teach her but she still passed. As to a test drive that is still up in the air until I decide to sell. I will need to make a decision based on whether the person is really interested in buying or just wants to take a Fcar for a ride. I will give them the 1st ride and if it starts to get serious then they can drive it.

 

I love to do this. I don't mean toss them the keys and let them go it alone, I mean sit next to them and let them run it down the street. I get the biggest kick seeing how excited someone gets over it.

 

I've let a few drive mine.... Mostly because I trust their skills to shift it properly and treat it with respect. However the last time I did it was a longtime buddy. He was redlining it in every gear.... I said, "don't do that"... he said, "how come?".... I said, "because I said so". That was the last time I let anyone else drive it.... 3 years ago.

 

The problem I have with allowing people to take my car without me with is that too many times it came back with something broken. Twice in my life ive gotten my car back with a burned clutch from hot rodding it. Once I got my 1965 Pontiac GTO back with a bent shift rod from some idiot friend trying to speed shift it. The last straw was getting my skid loader back after a family member I loaned it to loaned it out to his friends. I got it back leaking oil from almost every seal, running on three cylinders from a broken injection line, low on engine oil, out of fuel, and totally filthy with heavy mud.

The truth is that too many people today just dont have respect for other peoples things, and too many people are car dumb and very ignorant. People who cant read a gauge or even know what they mean. Add the two together and you could have a broken car, a heavily damaged car, or have it destroyed. Hand the wrong person your Ferrari and you may just have someone out showing the world how great of a driver they are with YOUR car. Not me. Ive spent to much money fixing damage on crap that wasnt ever worth much to even pretend to imagine I want to do that with a Ferrari.

There was a guy on here with a 348 that borrowed it out to his buddy. It came back with a melted front timing cover after a bearing siezed and threw the timing belt, and it destroyed his car. And no, Mr. Buddy never offered either a penny or a hand to fix it.

 

Ive let some friends drive my Mondial. They are usually fellow car enthusiasts, just make the sure the car is warmed up first.

 

1. I would let my immediate family and close friends drive the car, no problem. In fact, I have let my closest friends take the car for a drive without me with them. I know they respect me and my things, so they would never do anything to hurt the car.

Having said that, I did learn my lesson years ago to limit my trust to close friends and family. I had a Saleen S281 that I let a "friend" borrow since he was opening a Mustang Tuning shop. I later learned that he used my Saleen for transporting his dog, transporting parts, interior was filthy from discarded food wrappers and cups, and that he had driven into several parking blocks which disformed the front spoiler and cracked/chipped the paint. Never again.

2. Close friends and family? No problem - take it to redline. All of my friends and family who have driven the car required A LOT of encouragement from me to even approach redline. I very much appreciate their trepidation, but I had no problem letting them take it to redline.

3. Test Drive and anyone else I don't know? You can go for a ride with me and I'll show you how the car drives. If that person wants to drive, that's fine as long as I'm in the passenger seat and nothing above 5K rpm. But to even get to that point, I will insist on having at least a deposit on hand of $1000 to A) ensure that the buyer is serious; and B) to cover any damage to the car done by the buyer during the test drive.

 

i have a saying "buy your own"

 

I've let several people drive my car. In most cases (hopefully all?), it was really appreciated. I've almost always been in the passenger seat when it's happened (except I did let my brother take it out a couple times).

In general, I've found people were respectful of the car. Maybe even too much. In fact, I've had to encourage them to drive it harder (once it's been warmed up of course). There's no point in letting them drive your f-car if they're just going to shift at 3000 rpm.

I've also been fortunate to have others let me drive their F-cars, and everytime, it made my day.

Dom

 

Each year I attend the Ferrari Classic in Eureka Springs, Arkansas to chat with the owners, look at the cars, and learn everything I can about the marque. Two years ago, my daughter and I caught up with the owners at a grist-mill-turned-restaurant, where the drivers were eating brunch. As we were looking at the cars, my daughter Katie, who was 17 at the time, noticed on a fly yellow 355 GTB that was dirty from road grime, brake dust, and had a burger pod or two in the cockpit. The rest of the cars had been carefully wiped off prior to brunch, but this one, although a very nice car, was dirty from use and she noticed the difference. Without knowing the owner, I commented that he really knew how to enjoy his Ferrari, because he was too busy appreciating the car and the company of the other drivers to spend every spare moment cleaning and re-cleaning his car. As it turned out, my assessment of the unknown owner turned out to be correct.

The next day, I and three of my kids drove to Eureka Springs to see the cars again, and we got a chance to meet the owner of the 355. He answered the kids’ questions, explained some of the peculiarities of the car, and offered to start the engine and let each of them get in and rev it a bit. Now, I’m standing there thinking, what if they pin the tach at 10K? He wasn’t even hovering over them as they each took turns sitting in his car and blipping the throttle. As he was leaving, he explained that he was late for a drivers meeting, but if we had more time he would have let each of us drive his car in the parking lot as long as we had a drivers license and could drive a manual. I really think he was sincere in this offer. Of course, on the way home, we were all, kicking ourselves for not meeting this owner just a few minutes earlier so we could have driven the 355.

Here’s my point: I have had a passion for Italian machinery since before any of my kids were born, but this man, in a 5 minute time span, did more to etch the marque on my kids minds, than all my years of talking about Ferraris. They talked about this experience for days, and Ferrari is now a family topic among us. For the kids, it was like a conversion experience.

I wish I could give credit to the owner; I know he lives in Kansas City, is a doctor, and I think his name is Scott. As for me, I resolved then and there that when I eventually get my Ferrari, I will strive to share the joy of the Ferrari mystique as “Scott” did with us that day.

 

Given that I just got mine and don't have much experience, I've given it
thought and figure that any friends who know how to drive an expensive,
raw car with a stick are fine, but I ride along and nothing crazy - no red
lines, no drifting!, just drive it. So I really only have 2 friends in that
category. ANY fellow F-car owner is fine. And if I can ever get my wife
to get over her fear of it, and given that there is nothing
hotter than a good looking woman behind the wheel of a Ferrari...

...I'll say "Baby you can drive my car"!

Dave

 

The day I bought mine I had my younger son drive it [he's 21]. My older son didn't want to...he's convinced his Accura is the only real car on earth My wife...not interested...LOL! My brother drove it and was pretty gentle even though I think he was a little harsh on the gear box at first...too much gear banging in his muscle cars.

 

Just a follow-up thought: My dentist, who I've been going to for the last 20 years, drives his 300SL Gullwing on a regular basis to his practice. It's not a garage queen and it has light scratches and a small dent in the nose where he got a little too close to a pole. But it's a driver and he enjoys it (as it was meant to be.) He offered to let me drive it since he knew I was a fellow automobile enthusiast and had previously owned a GTSi and Elise. I declined as I was afraid of damaging his beautiful car, so he took me on a spirited run around Westwood with his car. Absolutely memorable experience and I'm glad I have had that opportunity.

 

Mark,

fantatsic story. I don't yet have a Ferrari, but I will. I have owned some decent cars, some of which are out of reach for some of my freinds. I say I "love" cars which is to say I really appreciate the beauty, engineering and mechanical prowess that magically happens when you get a mix of parts right. BUT I really should say that I like cars and love people- I have always let my freinds and family drive my cars. I've even let strangers drive them if they were enthusiasts and respectful.

I believe a car is just that- a car. My wife says I idolize my cars (and those I lust to own) but even she concedes that despite my obsession, I never lose sight of what really matters in life.. and it's not the cars. I've had people borrow things and have accidents. It's rare, but it happens. Normally, they are more upset than I am. As long as it was an accident, and they do the right things, I'm fine with lifes little hicups.

What I really detest, are peoples attitudes toward some things. If someone is genuinely a good person with a respectful attitude towards others and something bad happens, I don't care if it happens in my Porsche or on my bicycle. I won't be mad in the least. But if a person is calous, careless and unconcerned, I don't give a cr@p if they simply poked a hole in my $3.00 window screen, I'm usualy more upset at that becuase of their disdain or indifference.

Depending on the person, I agree with many that being able to let another have an experience they may otherwise never have is more personally rewarding than worrying about the potential risks.

 

The first Ferrari that Dr. Tommy got to drive was mine... I let him drive it at a track event, on the track. One of my biggest pleasures has been that Tommy eventually did get his own 308 and has remained a true Ferrari lover... and that he too likes to share with others.

 

Seeing the joy, the thrill, the smile from ear to ear, the excitement, the appreciation,

the endless thank you that they keep saying to you, the experience of their lifetime,

during and after driving my Fcar is PRICELESS!

 

True Carma! You knew someone would say it

 

One thing I remember from downtown chicago last year was a drive in at Italian village. I think it was also supporting a charity for children. Correct me if I am wrong. Seeing some of the faces just being able to sit in the car, then being taken for a small drive by some of you was priceless. I will never forget some of the expressions on there faces. Some of the kids even got hats. This is another reason way I cannot wait to share mine.

 

We have books with pictures of stick shifts here.

 

lol bull

 

Both of my brothers have driven my car, as has my Dad. I turned one of my brothers loose with it for the entire day while I was at work. Others have driven it as well.

If I know you, and trust you, I'll probably offer. If you ask, I'll turn you down.

Strangely enough, my wife has NEVER driven it. 6.5 years of ownership and she's still scared of it.