Thinking of selling my 360

I'm in the camp that if a Ferrari would offend customers, a Porsche would too. I would advise an under the radar convertible like a VW EOS if I was in sales.

I'm also in the "don't use a world class sportscar as a daily driver" group. I drove a Porsche Turbo as a DD for a year and it just lost the special-ness. I bought a BMW 335i convertible for a daily and kept the Turbo as a Friday car. It's a much better lineup.

 

John,

I don't mean to hijack this thread.. As a doc, I have known reps that have gotten alot of flack because they drive cayenne's to colleague's offices. "wow that's a NICE car.. I didn't know you guys get paid THAT well.. " Never mind the fact that most docs don't know business better than a paper bag.
Given the cuts to ortho.. I agree with you. Understate. I have a very good friend that is a practicing ortho/sports med and he dreams of a 360... but drives a Dinan 3-series. It's already an "urban legend" that the device reps make more than the surgeon doing the procedure for any given procedure... Get a beater and keep the 360 for weekends.

Cheers,

Curt

 

Curt,

Without going into personal details we don't get paid that well...some pacemaker and ortho reps do! This 360 didn't come 100% from device rep salary. When the drug eluting stents came out many reps were making over 400 and even 500K. That's a lot of $$$ to us device reps. Even 1/2 that would be nice on a consistent basis.

I did recently get out of boating, I can say for sure if you think Fcar ownership is expensive get a boat!

John

 

I take my 360 to customer sites and I even take them out for lunch in the car. They tend to love it. Of course, it inevitably leads to the discussion with the CFO where he says "Obviously I am paying you too much." That is closely followed by a request for a bigger discount.

I just explain that I don't have any kids so I spent their collage money on a car. Funny, they won't take me up on it when I offer to trade straight across for what they spent on their kids collage education.

I have never had to give discount based on the car.

 

I'm a composer, they actually pay me more when I drive nicer car and wear prada shirt. They think I'm more capable than the other guy who takes the bus.

 

John,
I recall reading when you sold the boat and the Boxster to get the 360 thinking... "wow big boat!" My dad's sailboat is his happiness and sunshine but it is.. a money pit.

I completely agree with the smart purchase of toys (i.e. depreciated ferrari's and other toys) as rewards for hard work.

Unfortunately some others don't see that, and it is to they that I directed my post earlier.

Curt

ps- go for the 986 or 987.. I have a 986 as my DD and do like the handling..

 

This whole thread is a sad commentary on our society and jealousy. We all work hard and should be able to spend our money on what we wish. If we have had the good fortune to afford a Ferrari and choose to purchase one why should we feel embarassed to drive it anywhere we like. I know in my field, I cannot drive it to work in fear of repercussions from fellow colleagues who refer to my practice. I feel your pain and wish I could drive my CS more than I do, but I understand the world we live in. I choose to drive and enjoy my car as much as I can, even though I cannot drive it work. I think I am ok with that... for now.

 

John,

I too feel your pain. As a device rep myself, there is no way I would drive my 355 to an account, much less let any of my Docs know that I own it. Ferraris have a "stigma". Everyone thinks they cost 100s of k's. I love telling people that my 355 cost less than their new 5 series BMW.

As for your dilemma, I would say spend some more time driving the car before you decide to sell it. Find reasons to take her out, and enjoy the car before your make a move.

BTW, what type of products do you represent? Feel free to PM me.

 

I own both (sort of). Earlier this year I picked up a dead '05 987 Boxster 2.7 5-sp base model with 40k. Motor was toast. Spent a few weekends of my spare time installing complete '07 Cayman S 3.4 drivetrain. Engine, brakes, 6-sp trans, wheels, everything. Also has B&B catless headers/exhaust, PSS9 suspenders, etc. The car is a riot (268 rwhp) and is reliable as a Civic.

Also have a 355F1 Spider and frankly the franken-porsh is a bit more fun for me.
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I always thought that boxters were a girls car. My DD is a v8 bimma ( spits on the ground)

As others have said, a coxster costs peanuts, so get both.

 

back in the day,a saelsbuddy and i pulled into a rural account with our carreras and the owner asked if the they were our company cars...
"yes sir" piped my wiseass friend,"we just pick the color"
he laughed and gave us a nice order

my dd is an M3 cab and whether i'm in that or the 360 spyder i'm all grins

 

Have you considered a Lotus Evora? I sat in one over the weekend and was thoroughly impressed and some friends that have had the pleasure of driving them claim they would take one over a Cayman S. That's a bold statement. It is nice inside. It might not bring down the "flash" factor that you have in your 360, but IMO it is a much better DD. If you're worried about being judged...you'll get it in a Boxter as well.

 

I didn't know sales reps make 400-500k a year, impressive.

 

Do anything to keep the Ferrari. Find anything that will work as a daily driver, but keep your special car! Boxers are dime a dozen - get a used one for daily commutes. Or get a BMW. A 335 or Z4 or somethng. Then have your 360 to look forward to driving to the WaWa in! (And I know what that is - I did grad school at U.Penn.)

 

Depends on what you sell. Combine big ticket items and big achievement (relative to quota) and you have big years. No sales guy worth his salt believes he will only make quota. If that is true, he is looking for a new gig where he can make money.

 

I find it interesting that some here think that a nice car equates to the perception that your clients are paying you too much. Do you wear bargain-bin suits & threadbare shirts to call on them, as well?

Not trying to be a jerk by saying that, just trying to put it in perspective.

Also, while it's true that I probably have no idea what the protocol might be in your particular lines of work, don't you think that - in general - people like to deal with successful people? Hey, if I'm going to buy a sofa, I want to talk to the best (and hence, most successful) salesman in the place... I want to know everything there is to know about that sofa, so I can make sure it's the one I want. I could care less what the stores pays the salesman, all I care about from the monetary perspective is what I pay for the sofa -if that sales guy is driving a Ferrari, I'm sure he's not buying it as a result of a handful of sofas moving out the door, including the one he's selling me, I know it's because he's sold hundreds, or thousands of sofas.

 

All True. I tend to sell at higher prices than my competition. I make it my business to know my customers business. I help them identify projects and opportunities to improve their business. They may poke at me about pricing but they don't walk away because I wear nice cloths or drive a nice car.

On the other hand, some people are bargain basement shoppers. If you think about construction, it is all about price; low bidder etc. Then again, those people don't drive an old Yugo so they are a walking contradiction. They don't care if you are successful. They really want to know that you are concerned about THEIR issue/success more than your own. Flashy cars require careful positioning of yourself, not less flash.

 

Its interesting. When I worked in a NYC law firm sometimes I would relax in the library and read legal magazines (face time rules required you to spend all your waking hours at the firm no matter what).

My firm had an admirality practice and there was this magazine about admirality pactice in Hong Kong (surely the world's NYC of shipping).

I believe that I read an article about a UK firm with a big practice in HK that gave every starting associate a Ferrari. It had something to do with the asian concept of "face". Clients expected their high powered and expendive beyond belief attorney to be very successful. At a client meeting, nothing transmitted expensive, worth it, and successfull like arriving in an F-car.

I'm pretty sure I remembered this correctly because it made a big impression on me. I did M&A and the admirality associates were a step down but I envied the HK admirality practice of UK firms.

Anyway, I think this ais a cultural thing. In China, visable expressions of success reinforce the client's belief hat you are worth it. In America, most trial lawyers have a daily beater to arrive at the courthouse in case the jury sees him. He does not want to appear too slick.

 

I just sold a 2000 986 for around $13,000 which is $20,000 less than I paid for it many moons ago. For that kind of money you can certainly buy a 986, or for a little more a 987, and drive it daily while keeping the 360 tucked away. For those using the tired "chick car" comment re the Boxster, if you were to go to a local track day you will likely learn a few lessons out on the track from "girly men" driving Boxsters and Miatas. I find that those using such language have usually never driven a 986/987.

 

Well, then I have a solution for SeaNile - he should buy a nice subtle black or grey Ferrari to use for work, and keep his flashy red one for the weekends. lol

 

Thanks again for all the comments. I am leaning very hard in the direction of not selling the car for a variety of reasons. I do really love the simplest of solutions....buy a Boxster and keep the 360. If only it was that easy, and affordable. I've got enough toys and a limited budget. Although relatively small dollars in comparison to an Fcar my home theater with two new subs and an amp and the 3 jetskis in the garage don't leave me with much wiggle room in justifying another impractical car. That would give us 4 cars.

I took the 360 out for a bit on Sunday and it really is something from another world. The looks, performance, sound and feel would be impossible to replace.

 

1+

 

I understand where you're coming from, John. I also "hide" my car from my colleagues and my daily driver is a BMW. A Ferrari, for a lot of us, has to be the "weekend" car or one you take when you want to really drive. So, inevitably, you have to get to a point in your life or finances where you can "afford" NOT to drive the Ferrari every day. No matter what the cost of buying the Ferrari is (anywhere from $40k-60k-80k+), you need to be able not to drive it when you want or need to, and then the question is, what do drive when not driving the Ferrari? A Boxster makes perfect sense; a BMW M3 or M5 even more so (only because both have decent trunks and back seats; if you're going "practical" you might as well really be practical).

 

I'm still jealous that you got to drive your car 500 miles since March.

 

You live in fricken' Arizona! how much better do you want the weather to get to take your car out? lol