I think I'm done with Ferrari

Yeah, it's a small violation in the grand scheme for some, but it's technically tax fraud and with a clearance, I'd never even consider it.

 

Not that is changes much but loudoun county did value my new M5 at $76,000 when it is worth a bit more.

When I had my F430 they valued it at $120,000, but I sold it for $154,000.

I hope they dont value the 458 at market prices or it gonna be a tough pill to swallow

Either way I would rather do things right then explain to a cop why I have MONTANA plates and a VA drivers license, they will catch on sooner or later..

We should keep the thread on track regarding TheMayor and the topic in discussion, but yes, VA sales tax just raised from 3% to 4%, no tex credits when you sell and buy another vehicle and the running property tax, yeah its bull****.

 

+1

 

VA is ripping us off, they have raised sales tax on cars this year, you do not get credit for the sales tax you paid on your trade in and then you get assessed again in property tax. The straw that broke the camels back for me was when they told me my 2008 escalade appreciated in value and my property tax doubled.

 

That's the second time I'd heard about the increases in assessed values, but the first time I'd heard that we don't get a refund on taxes paid when we trade in. Nice.

 

These days I'd really rather have a nice race car since I'm at the track a lot.

Sports cars are still great but not so much in cities. If you live someplace out in the country w nice twisty roads sports cars are amazing

 

I had a couple other thoughts on Mayor's original post on my drive into work today. Mayor, if you're just bored with Ferraris, you should move on to something else, maybe something that is totally unrelated to cars, that excites you. There's no reason to "try" to be excited about something. If/when Ferrari starts to appeal to you again, you can just come back, as you've done before.

On the other hand, if it is more a matter of being frustrated with Ferrari but still desiring the cars then it may, at least partly, be an issue of expectations. In general, how we react to something depends a lot on our expectations. I'll give a quick example. My company recently did a distribution of funds to the co-owners. I won't say how much my take was, let's call it "x," but it was an amount that, if you found it on the street you'd be ecstatic. However, because I was expecting my take to be "2x," I was really disappointed. The same can be applied to the Ferrari experience. If you expect a certain experience (level of service, a level of respect given, etc.) but the experience falls short of your expectations, you will be disappointed and frustrated. If, on the other hand, you have no expectations and just want the car (like a noob like me), you're less likely to be disappointed. Maybe you can adjust your expectations a bit and just enjoy the cars?

One last thought on the matter of boredom. I've realized that I haven't been driving my car as enthusiastically as I did when I first got it. Lately, I drive it like a Camry on my way to and from the office. Today, I took the traction control off and had some fun with turns and oversteer (no one was around) and my enthusiasm returned. Not sure if the same would apply to you, but its hard to be enthusiastic about a sports car unless you drive it enthusiastically, as it was designed. Even doctors and lawyers can have fun on their drives to work.

 

Instead of complaining, you should find some good roads. Or move. It's not anyone's fault but your own that you are relegated to 25mph driving in the US, I don't care where you live. Even in NYC there are great driving roads 45 minutes away and the Monticello track and LimeRock are not far away. Even in the traffic cesspool that is Northern VA I'm aware of some excellent driving roads not even half an hour away and both Summit Point and NJMP are fairly close. If you are not finding good roads to drive, a track, or only go to Cars and Coffee it's due to your laziness, not due to a lack of good roads and places to drive, at least in the US. There are around 2 autocrosses a month in my area if I don't want to go to the track, so there is no shortage of venues to enjoy my car. Yeah, maybe you have to put a minimum of effort to do so, but that's all it takes, a minimum.

Get a Fromer's driving guide for your area, there will be a guaranteed 3 or 4 excellent drives within an hour or two drive of you. I hear a bunch of grumpy old men that don't want to be bothered to put forth any effort to enjoy their car. It's like they want the car to be exciting sitting in the driveway or in traffic or it's not worth the effort. In which case, go buy your caddy or Merc and enjoy your rolling couch that can go to 60 in under 4 seconds. Just be careful when that 2.5 tons of car has to stop or turn, though it doesn't sound like you really care about that anyway.

 

These states have the car owners hostage. I would move asap.

 

Mayor, consider this:

BMW : Other E9 3.0CS | eBay

Currently for sale. Gorgeous, and fairly priced.

 

About the Government Destruction of the Glorious Sports Car:

It was a fine morning in March 1982. The warm weather and clear sky gave promise of an early spring. Buzz had arisen early that morning, impatiently eaten breakfast and gone to the garage. Opening the door, he saw the sunshine bounce off the gleaming hood of his 15-year-old MGB roadster. After carefully checking the fluid levels, tire pressures and ignition wires, Buzz slid behind the wheel and cranked the engine, which immediately fired to life. He thought happily of the next few hours he would spend with the car, but his happiness was clouded - it was not as easy as it used to be.

A dozen years ago things had begun changing. First there were a few modest safety and emission improvements required on new cars; gradually these became more comprehensive. The governmental requirements reached an adequate level, but they didn't stop; they continued and became more and more stringent. Now there were very few of the older models left, through natural deterioration and . . . other reasons.

The MG was warmed up now and Buzz left the garage, hoping that this early in the morning there would be no trouble. He kept an eye on the instruments as he made his way down into the valley. The valley roads were no longer used very much: the small farms were all owned by doctors and the roads were somewhat narrow for the MSVs (Modern Safety Vehicles).

The safety crusade had been well done at first. The few harebrained schemes were quickly ruled out and a sense of rationality developed. But in the late Seventies, with no major wars, cancer cured and social welfare straightened out, the politicians needed a new cause and once again they turned toward the automobile. The regulations concerning safety became tougher. Cars became larger, heavier, less efficient. They consumed gasoline so voraciously that the United States had had to become a major ally with the Arabian countries. The new cars were hard to stop or maneuver quickly, but they would save your life (usually) in a 50-mph crash. With 200 million cars on the road, however, few people ever drove that fast anymore.

Buzz zipped quickly to the valley floor, dodging the frequent potholes which had developed from neglect of the seldom-used roads. The engine sounded spot-on and the entire car had a tight, good feeling about it. He negotiated several quick S-curves and reached 6000 in third gear before backing off for the next turn. He didn't worry about the police down here. No, not the cops . . .

Despite the extent of the safety program, it was essentially a good idea. But unforeseen complications had arisen. People became accustomed to cars which went undamaged in 10-mph collisions. They gave even less thought than before to the possibility of being injured in a crash. As a result, they tended to worry less about clearances and rights-of-way, so that the accident rate went up a steady six percent every year. But the damages and injuries actually decreased, so the government was happy, the insurance industry was happy and most of the car owners were happy. Most of the car owners - the owners of the non-MSV cars - were kept busy dodging the less careful MSV drivers, and the result of this mismatch left very few of the older cars in existence. If they weren't crushed between two 6000-pound sleds on the highway they were quietly priced into the junkyard by the insurance peddlers. And worst of all, they became targets . . .

Buzz was well into his act now, speeding through the twisting valley roads with all the skill he could muster, to the extent that he had forgotten his earlier worries. Where the road was unbroken he would power around the turns in well controlled oversteer, and where the sections were potholed he saw them as devious chicanes to be mastered. He left the ground briefly going over one of the old wooden bridges and later ascertained that the MG would still hit 110 on the long stretch between the old Hanlin and Grove farms. He was just beginning to wind down when he saw it, there in his mirror, a late-model MSV with hand-painted designs covering most of its body (one of the few modifications allowed on post-1980 cars). Buzz hoped it was a tourist or a wayward driver who got lost looking for a gas station. But now the MSV driver had spotted the MG, and with a whoosh of a well muffled, well cleansed exhaust he started the chase . . .

It hadn't taken long for the less responsible element among drivers to discover that their new MSVs could inflict great damage on an older car and go unscathed themselves. As a result some drivers would go looking for the older cars in secluded areas, bounce them off the road or into a bridge abutment, and then speed off undamaged, relieved of whatever frustrations cause this kind of behavior. Police seldom patrolled these out-of-the-way places, their attentions being required more urgently elsewhere, and so it became a great sport for some drivers.

Buzz wasn't too worried yet. This had happened a few times before, and unless the MSV driver was an exceptionally good one, the MG could be called upon to elude the other driver without too much difficulty. Yet something bothered him about this gaudy MSV in his mirror, but what was it? Planning carefully, Buzz let the other driver catch up to within a dozen yards or so, and then suddenly shot off down a road to the right. The MSV driver stood on his brakes, skidding 400 feet down the road, made a lumbering U-turn and set off once again after the roadster. The MG had gained a quarter mile in this manner and Buzz was thankful for the radial tires and front and rear anti-roll bars he had put on the car a few years back. He was flying along the twisting road, downshifting, cornering, accelerating and all the while planning his route ahead. He was confident that if he couldn't outrun the MSV then he could at least hold it off for another hour or more, at which time the MSV would be quite low on gas. But what was it that kept bothering him about the other car?



They reached a straight section of the road and Buzz opened it up all the way and held it. The MSV was quite a way back but not so far that Buzz couldn't distinguish the tall antenna standing up from the back bumper. Antenna! Not police, but perhaps a Citizen's Band radio in the MSV? He quaked slightly and hoped it was not. The straight stretch was coming to an end now and Buzz put off braking to the last fraction of a second and then sped through a 75-mph right-hander, gaining ten more yards on the MSV. But less than a quarter mile ahead another huge MSV was slowly pulling across the road and to a stop. It was a CB set. The other driver had a cohort in the chase. Now Buzz was in trouble. He stayed on the gas until within a few hundred feet when he banked hard and feinted passing to the left. The MSV crawled in that direction and Buzz slipped by on the right, bouncing heavily over a stone on the shoulder. The two MSVs set off in hot pursuit, almost colliding in the process. Buzz turned right at the first crossroad and then made a quick left, hoping to be out of sight of his pursuers, and in fact he traveled several minutes before spotting one of them on the main road parallel to his lane. At the same time the other appeared in the mirror from around the last comer. By now they were beginning to climb the hills on the far side of the valley and Buzz pressed on for all he was worth, praying that the straining engine would stand up. He lost track of one MSV when the main road turned away, but could see the other one behind him on occasion. Climbing the old Monument Road, Buzz hoped to have time to get over the top and down the old dirt road to the right, which would be too narrow for his pursuers. Climbing, straining, the water temperature rising, using the entire road, flailing the shift lever back and forth from 3rd to 4th, not touching the brakes but scrubbing off the necessary speed in the corners, reaching the peak of the mountain where the lane to the old fire tower went off to the left . . . but coming up the other side of the hill was the second MSV he had lost track of! No time to get to his dirt road. He made a panicked turn left onto the fire tower road but spun on some loose gravel and struck a tree a glancing blow with his right fender. He came to a stop on the opposite side of the road. the engine stalled. Hurriedly he pushed the starter while the overheated engine slowly came back into life. He engaged 1st gear and sped off up the road, just as the first MSV turned the corner. Dazed though he was, Buzz had the advantage of a very narrow road lined on both sides with trees, and he made the most of it. The road twisted constantly and he stayed in 2nd with the engine between 5000 and 5500. The crash hadn't seemed to hurt anything and he was pulling away from the MSV. But to where? It hit him suddenly that the road dead-ended at the fire tower, no place to go but back . . .

Still he pushed on and at the top of the hill drove quickly to the far end of the clearing, turned the MG around and waited. The first MSV came flying into the clearing and aimed itself at the sitting MG. Buzz grabbed reverse gear, backed up slightly to feint, stopped, and then backed up at full speed. The MSV, expecting the MG to change direction, veered the wrong way and slid to a stop up against a tree. Buzz was off again, down the fire tower road, and the undamaged MSV set off in pursuit. Buzz's predicament was unenviable. He was going full tilt down the twisting blacktop with a solid MSV coming up at him. and an equally solid MSV coming down after him. On he went, however, braking hard before each turn and then accelerating back up to 45 in between. Coming down to a particularly tight turn, he saw the MSV coming around it from the other direction and stood on the brakes. The sudden extreme pressure in the brake lines was too much for the rear brake line which had been twisted somewhat in his spin, and it broke, robbing Buzz of his brakes. In sheer desperation he pulled the handbrake as tightly as it would go and rammed the gear lever into 1st, popping the clutch as he did so. The back end locked solid and broke away, spinning him off the side of the road and miraculously into some bushes, which brought the car to a halt. As he was collecting his senses, Buzz saw the two MSVs, unable to stop in time, ram each other head on at over 40 mph.

It was a long time before Buzz had the MG rebuilt to its original pristine condition of before the chase. It was an even longer time before he went back into the valley for a drive. Now it was only in the very early hours of the day when most people were still sleeping off the effects of the good life. And when he saw in the papers that the government would soon be requiring cars to be capable of withstanding 75-mph headon collisions, he stopped driving the MG altogether.

[Fiction piece from Road & Track -- November 1973, pp.148-150]

 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAvQSkK8Z8U]Rush - Red Barchetta - YouTube[/ame]

 

FYI, it is a 4.2% personal property tax rate here in Loudoun County, VA for cars.
Loudoun County, VA - Official Website - Vehicle Personal Property Tax Rates

And, my assessed value for my 2011 458 went up over $10k from 2012 to 2013.
They use some sort of specialty car "blue book" for reference purposes each year.
When I complained in person at the tax office, they showed me the 2012 vs 2013 reference book entries for my car.
The 2013 value had indeed gone up in their reference book (currently assessed at $249,400).

My tax bill this year for the 458 is $10,113.20.
We do have nice schools here though.
.

 

I feel the frustration here as an owner I share some of the same. Difference is I drive my car often . I take the kids to practice, run errands , go to the mall rarely , long trips just finished 1200 miles last weekend.

I can care about resell that doesn't compare to the pleasure of driving as it was designed. I'm not saving it for the next guy. These are special but still a car.

You think owning any other exotic is different ...at with the older cars you can find parts from other makers easier

 

Yeah, if you're daily driving and enjoying it, getting much back for your expense, much easier to justify. MUCH easier. Mine goes to school, grocery, home Depot, wherever I go. The meets are great, too."Because I can" is also a part of it. It "is" special. This thread has been a real bummer, lots of truth, most self inflicted.

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Oh yeah the meets and cruise nights

 

I've been reading this thread with great interest as it touches on some of my philosophies in car ownership/hobby.

- Two of my criteria for car ownership are the community and the driving feel/experience. For instance, a $30k 308GT4 can meet both just as well as a $300k 458. Based on this thread, some may even argue that the 308GT4 provides a better driving experience. Of course, for other folks, other factors/criteria come in to where the 458 is better than the 308GT4 such as beauty, reliability, outright speed, "posing" value. I personally own a 328 not only for the community and its soulful driving experience i.e. great feedback, but also for its high points in beauty, reliability and build quality. Having reasonable ownership costs is icing on the cake with the 328 and is very much welcomed as another criteria.

- Functionality is another key criteria. I've owned faster street cars than my 328, but I find that I don't use such cars's speed capabilities on US streets. When I specifically buy tires that have less grip to lower a car's handling limits and enjoy the car a bit more, I start thinking about why I own such a car. When I put more miles in my race car than I do in my street sports car, I start thinking about selling my sports car.

At any rate, there is a saying that goes something like: to learn from your own mistakes is smart, to learn from others is genius. This thread and this community have fortified my criteria as I learn from other's experiences and also share my own experiences. Many thanks!

 

Yeah those are great, but the majority of my miles actually come as business unlike most here, meetings all over the beltway. I haven't taken it into an underground garage though yet.

Edit, everyone keeps talking two seater. I could never take my yellow 430 spider to meetings. Shame people don't care for the gt's so much. So much more useful, such better suburban driving with the torque. And best because they're less popular, they depreciate to really affordable far faster. My 612 is an awesome daily driver.

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Mine as well! Glad to I'm not the only one putting communities high up on the criteria list. After I joined a couple of related car clubs it became clear that the ownership experience is much better when you share it with others who are also into the same stuff.

 

Didn't you order an F12 though?

 

Chicago is "special",no interesting roads to speak of,the few that could work are infested with cops like a stray dog with fleas.
I would move in an instant but can't move my business....

 

If Ferrari would make attractive GTS then they would be more popular . Instead they let it to Maserati

 

I have one of each and must admit it does seem a little dumb at times. I love them both and switch between them daily. I find the 612 plenty attractive in the right color and shoes. And it's beauty really rises to the surface when you actually drive them. Far, far more useful and driveable than the 8cyls and that makes you fall in love if you weren't already.

 

Maserati GT all day ...