Just sayin' hi

Picked up my first Ferrari- I went towards the lower end of the maintenance spectrum and got a 99 360. Love the car, it's great.

Looking forward to many happy miles- I intend to drive the wheels off of it.
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Blue wasn't my first choice, but I'm an opportunist when it comes to cars. Mostly, I wanted to get my feet wet with Ferrari and I thought mechanically this one was as prime property as I would find. The car just needed some touch-ups here and there and so far it's been awesome. Tubi exhaust- wooof. I'm actively seeking some OEM wheels/tires, I think these wheels are contributing to some pretty hairy highway handling. Skitchy on the front end.

So cool. I've driven some pretty hot cars over the years, but this is my first italian.

Now that I've had it for a while, and after seeing some red and some yellow 360s I'm really pleased with the color. The interior color still isn't doing it for me though. Truth me told, if I had a yellow one I'd probably not like the red or the blue.

 

more pictures of the car and interior
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Fly down to LA. I almost melted when I got off the plane. Met seller @ the airport- picked it up in Chino Hills outside of Los Angeles.

Nice car. Aesthtically perfect, looks great. Quality. Everything works except the A/C. Rotors need replacement.

Factually it does have some paint work on it. Front right fender has paint work, right rear fender has paint but the DOOR is OE paint thickness. How strange?

Didn't want to pay what I had originally committed to because of the undisclosed paint work, some missing manuals and records etc. Came up with a number and wrapped up the deal Saturday morning.

I paid $83,000 for the car.

Stayed with my buddy Oren night before, wow car looks amazing at night. In the right light, it's black.
I headed out initially with the fire under the tail and I got to Interstate 405 (the direct route to SF Bay) and something- something carnal pulled me to stay on 101 despite the nasty traffic and non-functioning AC.

Ran up 101 until I couldn't handle it and took a left to head to the coast.

7 miles after the right turn on to 1, I decided that taking PCH back home was the right decision- 12 hours estimate on the GPS be damned, I am going to fall in love with this car.

It's about a 45 mile trip in traffic until the road gets nice. The Tubi exhaust is just - wow. I don't even know what to say. I installed a jinky XM stereo and had tunes. But mostly I just applied right foot pressure and gave it some load in 4th gear when I wanted some music.

It was about 35 seconds into the trip when somebody in a tan minivan pulled a neutral drop and skipped the tires. Nice. Okay, I'll humor the kids and let 'er rip. Kids love these things.

Initially, I was very uncomfortable driving the 6 speed. I have been in an SMG V10 for my last two cars, and that will get you spoiled and lazy. I'm perfectly capable of handling a stick shift, but the clutch is so heavy. Precise, but heavy. Strange thing #2.

The other disorienting thing- and I'm afraid this is a factor of the big wheels- the front is soooo light. Once you get accustomed to the front of the car dancing around it's actually very fun. But it took me 150+ miles until I was ready to toss it in to the corner with the 911Turbo I met up with leaving Malibu. Putting some stock size wheels on it, for sure. I'm not about the bling, anybody want to trade for some stockers?

911 Turbo guy just bought it in Phoenix and was making the same trip back up to the bay area. So we had great fun all day long. Forgot to get his name. Said he visits the forum.

Guy in an orange gallardo pitched it into a dividing wall just outside of Oxnard, they were picking up the pieces when we drove by so we sobered up a bit for the balance of the trip. Until we got north of San Simeon.

If you haven't been on PCH-save the trek for the 150 miles between San Simeon (San Luis Obispo) and Carmel. Sheer sportscar bliss.

The high-rev Ferrari V8 and the exhaust on the 911Turbo were just too much fun running in the canyons. I feel the 360 was really hindered by the big wheels, that's my excuse for letting the 911T walk me.

Ah, yes. The AutoZone tidbit. Well, I should have known better but I was miserable without the AC when we got off the coast so I stopped in to a *coughcough* AutoZone. Carlos was very nice, when I asked him if he knew where the freon hookup was. Oh sure, man, oh $hi+ is that your ferrari!?? Wow, can I come check it out?


Ooeerrr. No is what I was thinking but yes is what left my mouth. So, he was looking under the front bonnet and started twisting buttons and pulling out plugs. He scared me, so I told him that I didn't want Air conditioning after all and I appreciated his help.

Go to start the car, nothing. Nada. No sense of any life. WTF? Did I leave the lights on? Where's the battery?

An hour and a half later I was able to get ahold of a friend of mine who knows how to turn the battery switch to ON (thanks Carlos, I guess I deserved that) and how to pop the bonnet manually. Now we know.

Other observations- relatively good mileage. Even getting on the car pretty hard I was getting around 14MPG. That's better than the M5.

Interior quality is lacking. The soft-touch buttons are all gummed up, shifty springs, leather is decent. But, it's a hand built car, no? Take the good with the bad I guess.

Mechanically, the car is 100% showroom. I am so stoked. I feel I got a fair deal, and this is a fine way to see if I can handle the ownership obligation.

The German loves of my life are still in the garage but I've got the hots for my new italian red head. I even cleaned a spot in the garage.

After a week of ownership, I just can't stop looking at the car. It's so classic, it's balanced and right. Seems that the rotors are warped, so a new set of discs and pads is in the works. Probably get some upgrades while I'm at it.

Anybody want to trade some ghetto fabulous wheels for some stockers?

 

6 speed. I drove an F1 and after getting out of the other fake-stick SMG I was utterly unimpressed with the F1.

I wanted a stick for my first one, may try giving the F1 a shot later.

 

had 20,085 miles on it when I picked it up. 21,100 now.



All records except the timing belt, so I'm just going to do 'em regardless. And, like I said, needs new brakes on all four corners.

Does anybody know what color this is? I've heard it's "nart" blue but can't find the exact color name.