I'm finally ready! Time for a cali!

Hi guys!

I've been lurking this forum for years off and on while I build up my side business, dreaming of hitting my goal of Ferrari ownership before the age of 35. I'm 34 now and I'm ready! I'm finally ready! Like most of you I grew up with a poster on the wall, a dream set aside while I grew through life.

I come from a middle class family that instilled a strong work ethic in me from an early age. My father worked for NASA, then Honeywell, and now owns his own Investment Company and is now considered upper middle class. My mom was a working mom as well. All through life I was taught you only get out of life what you put into it. And it payed off.

My love for action and helping people led me to a career in Firefighting where I still am and plan to retire in. I'm currently moving through the ranks. Due to our flexible 24/48 work schedule I was able to build a very profitable side business and have enjoyed the fruits of my labor to the fullest extent. Helping family, traveling, buying Italian Motorcycles, etc. Now it's time to jump in and do it, buy the Ferrari!

Most guys my age would go for the 458 or 430 but I'm drawn to the Cali30. A 2013-2014 fits my needs. I don't need a 458 for my Ducati and Aprilia offer all the acceleration one could need and I need something my wife will tolerate. A harsh supercar is not going to be a car she enjoys, after all, she's spoiled with a '18 E300 P3 with all the trimmings so auto pilot and a back massage is her daily routine LOL! I want her to embrace the passion, history, and engineering as much as I do.

I have a couple of local cars I'm wanting to take a look at this month and I'm willing to travel for the right one. It has to be perfect. I've read up on the known issues (DCT, Roof, motor mounts)for the last year and I'm pretty set on buying a CPO from a F-car dealer with a one year warranty so my first year is trouble free.

What advice can you give me during my first foray into the F-car world? I'm all ears!

 

Get one with the Handling Speciale option.

 

I wish I could remember 35. First I would say welcome, I see that was your first post. Take this with a grain of salt, since I am a crabby old guy, but as far as engineering goes it is hard to beat MB. If you are going to go with a Ferrari try this, make yourself known to local dealer and test drive a few cars and find out what really moves you. In my opinion (and I've gone through enough cars that didn't move me) if you are going to purchase a car like a Ferrari it should not be the one that will be tolerated, it should be the one that excites you. I own a Calf T (the least exciting of the 7 Ferrari's I own), and I am looking for a F12 and another 911 right now. I will probably hold on to the T because I have other cars that are exciting and my girlfriend likes it. I am in a very different situation than you, cars are like my grown up tinker toy sets, and what I am saying it not an attempt to burst your bubble. You should be proud of your accomplishments, and you should reward yourself, but if I was going to give you or any first time buyer advise I'd say buy the right model. If you are going to spend that much money it should be for the car that makes you want to drive it all the time. Compromise can be a good thing, but not when it comes to illogical things like buying a Ferrari. Good luck.

 

Solid advice and it will very much excite me! The 458 might come down the road after I'm done with the Cali. Unfortunately all the 458's in the price range I'm willing to spend are older and have higher mileage. The lines on the Cali30 are sexy as hell and I have no doubt my blood will get going each time I get in it! And yes her MB is full of tech, it's crazy!

 

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Hmmm advice....

1. If you bruise easily, try to find a different place to pinch yourself when that "Holy carp, I own a Ferrari" moment hints you.

2. Remember that when you are driving your Cali with the top down, people in the next car can hear you sing.

3. Get ready to smile a lot!

Seriously, congrats on this step. Cali 30 HS are a screaming deal @ this point IMO. I think the Handling Speciale 30's are not all that common though.
If it were me, I'd test drive a 30 - HS or not - just to get a baseline, seat of the pants feel for the car. Make sure to drive it top up and top down, around town in traffic, on the highway, and if you can find a back road somewhere, that would help!

Make a list of must have & nice to have options. Call me crazy, but since this is a dream car, don't compromise on the former, only the latter. When you're styling & profiling around town in your Cali, the last thing you want to do is look down and say "dang, I wish that was CF, a diff color, etc." That just's me though! For my wife & I - as a first timer - my must haves were (1) CPO, (2) authorized dealer, (3) unusual color, (4) Magnaride suspension. No shields was a "nice to have", but that puts you in a v. narrow segment of the Cali market. Others seem to value the LED lights on the steering wheel, carbon fiber, etc. whatever floats your boat. Then, get hunting! Load cars.com, AutoTrader, etc. to your phone and enjoy. There's a great "Cali picture thread" on F-chat. I would check it out and see which color combos look good. Or just decide that since this is your first only red will do!

An important, and overlooked, part of buying a CPO Ferrari is the dealership experience - sales and service. I would talk to people in your neck of the woods in the F-car community & see who they do/don't recommend. For my wife and I, we could not have been happier with the purchase (Miller Motorcars in CT) and service (Boardwalk Ferrari here in Big D). We heard nothing but good things about both, and have been blessed that all experiences thus far with both have been nothing but positive.

Good luck in the hunt...T

 

Thanks for the advice! If I were to go aftermarket wheel and Novitech springs later, would you still go for the HS? And yeah and I can't wait to see her in the garage!

 

I can't say, as I've not driven a 30 w/ or w/o HS. I There are several threads here on the Handling Speciale package on both the 30 and T, and the consensus seems to be positive on the HS package. To be honest, having just come back from a back roads romp this morning, my 1st gen is peppy enough for me. You can't go wrong with whatever Ferrari you get...T

 

Congrats on your future purchase! Have you considered a 15-16 Cali T? They are starting to drop in price and become more attractive for purchase if the turbo version doesn’t bother you.ive rented and driven all 3 variants and for me personally I rate them the Cali t, Cali 30 then the Cali. The Cali 30 is a nice car and as others have said if you can find one with the options you want that also has the handling speciale package it’s worth snagging. For me the california fits for the type of driving I do. I can’t speak to how well any of them may or may not work with a spring change.

Just a side note I recently rented a 488 spider and while I prefer the ride height and power band of the California it was very comfortable and had plenty of cabin space. I wish now that I would have been able to rent the 458 spider like I wanted to because I’m sure I’d have loved it, not that I hated the 488.

Congrats on your future purchase, you’ll love it.

 

Hi Adam

Great story. It's nice when us "regular guys"---which is just about everyone on f-chat-- can earn our way to personal dream cars. I am a ducati guy too!

My Cali30 is for sale if you don't find what you are looking for locally. I'm selling to put some equity in a small real estate project.

https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/2013-california-30-w-handling-speciale.586405/#post-146265098

Good luck ---you are going to love the California.

-mark (fossilfuel)

 

As you probably should know, the Cali30 HS is not just an upgrade on springs - the rack also goes from 2.5 to 2.3 turns and you do need that if you drive interesting roads. Manettino settings deliver sharper shifts, suspension responses due to hardware and software upgrades. HS comfort mode essentially becomes non-HS sport mode. The MagneRide ECU is upgraded to a faster one - while springs are felt on the compression, shocks are felt on the rebound, consider what happens if there is a bump in the middle of the turn. Stiffer springs alone make for an unbalanced upgrade. HS also upgrades front anti-sway bar.

I bought my first BMW as "extra motivation" during my 5-year night school stint for an MBA but I never dreamt I would own a Ferrari. You are very lucky to own so many "motivational toys". As for MB, I was never that thrilled about their cars, they are not free of spotty quality control. They do make good luxury symbols and while their sports cars are fast I don't care for the styling. IMO they also have ugly interiors, crude sound - volume but not quality.

Make sure you have a PPI (should be done by default if you get extended factory warranty) and full service records. Enjoy the experience!

 

You should take a look at a 2018 E300 with the upgraded Premium 3 package. The Interior is beautiful and they have done a lot to build better cars with better QC these days....finally. But all options aside, I bought it for the safety. As for the Cali30 I'm in FL...lol so...ugh our roads suck, not many turns so the Novitec upgrade with HRE wheels might be in my future. I'm stuck deciding between two Cali's at the moment. Soon!

 

Update: Ok, test drove a 2004 360 Modena Gated 6sp, 2015 Cali T, and Portofino today. I'm still waiting on the seller on a consignment 2013 Cali30 so I can test drive and make a decision. All of the above cars were amazing today, amazing. I'm still smiling. The click clank of the gated 6sp was just bliss, as I grew up driving manuals and prefer them. The Cali and Portofino were FAST and handled like...wow. I still yearn for the N//A V8 of the Cali30 and the 360 while not my first choice, was hard to walk away from!

 

Someone had a fun day!
Remember, Adam...in picking a Ferrari, there are no losers - only good, better, best and bestest.
T

 

I own a Cali 2011 and used to own a 2007 9114S
The 911 stays on the road and turns as quick as anything

I miss the 911 but love the Cali
Looking to upgrade to 458 or 488 from the 63SL AMG beast
My wife will not let me sell the Cali
My advise
Do not spend 6 figures on something that does not have most of anything you wish for
You WILL LOVE. The Cali
My car is finished in Bianco Fuji, not red .
There is room for other colors that red in the Ferrari world-
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Update: So the wife and I went in today, cash in hand to buy a Gated Manual 2004 360 Modena. But the more I dug and looked, the more work it needed to be up to snuff with my OCD. So I decided on a Cali30! We test drove a T while there and she liked it! They have a 2013 Cali30 trade coming in with the spec I'm looking for and will CPO with warranty at a competitive price. As soon as she's in I'm pulling the trigger! Very excited!

 

You will love the Cali

 

Honestly the Cali 30 is really the sweet spot, and good deals can be had on them per what they have been in the past. Luckily there are only a few things to watch out for, which will mostly be covered under the warranty. Good luck with your purchase!

 

Thanks for the inspiration! You know, this all started with me heading to buy a 2018 Shelby GT350R and then running into ****** dealers asking 30K over and engines that started to blow up left and right. I said, F it! I'm buying my first Ferrari! And the researching, shopping, and general experience here and at the dealership has been 10X better than the latter! Thanks!

 

Update: Still waiting.The current owner of the car I want is waiting for another guy to trade his 458 in on a new car....ugh. My patience is wearing thin as I want the car before Christmas but It may not happen. How many of you bought second hand and had the patience needed for the 'right' car?

 

FWIW, I cut my price to the bone. I think it is THE deal on a California right now. $118,129 firm

Would look good with an X-mas bow on it

https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/2013-california-30-w-handling-speciale.586405/

 

Not me, I've bought two cars since my last post on this thread I think. I am sure it is hard, but at my dealer they would have pre traded his car in and then sold it to you. If it is the right car for you, hold out for it! Happy Holidays!

 

If your car had a black upper dash and a yellow tach it would already be on transporter to my house.

 

Thats just it, the dealers willing to do a pre-trade but the owner doesn't want to be without a F car (understandable) even though it's under a cover and not being driven because he doesn't want to hit the 10K mile mark that it's close to... lol ughhhhhhh

 

Well perhaps the dealer can explain that car values change and if something happens on Wall Street his car might be worth a lot less really quickly.

 

Carnut's advice is spot on IMO. If it's your ideal car, a little waiting is not a problem. The time will pass, the anticipation builds & you'll have a sweet ride to enjoy. Then you'll own a Ferrari and then every day is a holiday! [emoji2]
T