To pace myself with a vehicle journey or not...

Getting to a point where I have set myself up financially and can bring myself to be frivolous and buy my F car.

When I graduated from college the 360 was the current v8 convertible and I set my mind to getting one as my reward after the retirement was funded, mortgage was paid, and kids college funds are topped up.

I suspect 1-2 bonus seasons, with one right around the corner, from now will be the time that happens. I kind of want a 458 (488 would be too frivolous in my book, because of the depreciation hit I'm sure to take during ownership) so I have been planning for that.

But then I thought it might be cool instead to do the following:
Get a 360 stick and drive it for a year
Trade it + a little to get a F430 and drive it for a year
Trade it + a little to get a 458 and drive it for a year
Trade it + a little to get a 488 and drive it for a while

The downside is the transaction cost I'm paying the dealer (or whomever) each time, but the upside is I get to experience the journey over time, I get to start with the car that was my motivation this whole time, I get to experience the "lasts" of the stick shift and the naturally aspirated engine, not to mention the lower up front cost to get the ball rolling, and move into a 488 at just about the time the depreciation should be mostly over with...

What do you guys think? I'm wondering if I'll regret it because I'll be dealing with relatively older cars with potential to cost a lot in repairs on top of the transaction costs I'll incur. Still.... feels like it would be cool. haha.

 

I think this is a great idea if you are ok with the added costs and added time. The transaction costs, taxes, low trade in values, shipping, inspections, added warranties, etc. will be steep. You'll also have to essentially buy one car and then immediately be looking for the next car to meet the year time line. I know it took me almost a year to find the right car and buy it. You will also be less likely to drive it as the resale will be on your mind. A year is also not that much time to really get to know the car and experience it. You'll be able to say that you've owned several Ferraris and get a little time to get a feel for them but you won't really know the cars. Maybe trade in the car every two-three years to give yourself more time to actually drive and enjoy it?

 

I see four chances to get a car that REALLY needs work. Regardless of how careful you are, you can get stuck with a car that needs expensive work.

I suggest you pick one, do your best to find a great car and then enjoy it for years. If it needs nothing in that time, you've been a lucky man! Otherwise, at least you know what's required to keep it sorted.

On the other hand, if you're made of money, then great plan.

 

You will fund 4 x “ dealer spread “ and have 4 throws of the “ differed maintenance “ big bill(s) dice .
Very open to being bled dry and end up bitter with F cars .

 

Brutal, sad, but good feedback. haha. Thanks for resetting me! I'll need to skip at least one of them. The only question is 360 or 430...

 

Get the 360. Reduces the competition on 430s

 

Spring directly for the F458.

 

If you want to experience the last of the stick shift, it has to be a 430. I have a gated 430 and it’s an absolute blast. If you don’t care so much about the shift, a 458 is slicker and faster than a F1 430, though there are those who say the 430 is more fun at legal speeds.

Like others said, I wouldn’t do the several models trading up thing. You’ll get stung. Buy and keep a great car.

 

Go straight to the 458

 

I get the impression you aren’t actually in love with any of the cars (even with 360, it seems a stepping stone to be pressed prior to arriving at the latest and greatest), so I have to echo many of the guys, go straight to 458 for a car you can live with on a daily basis if you wanted too, maintenance costs seem to be very low (so far anyway), and sounds about the best of all the V8 naturally aspirated cars. It’s easy to live with, and new enough that getting the warranty added and then renewed each year should be easier.

430 is a brilliant car mind you, but there aren’t many manuals, and to be fair, that’s the only reason you should be buying one if you haven’t fallen in love with it at this stage. 360 - yeah, it was your dream car when it was new, but it’s not going to set your world alight in performance anymore if you’ve had any fast modern metal, and unless you are in love with the design (like people that absolutely exude a love for F40, or a Testarossa, for example) to buy one to tick a box is an expensive side event to the real challenge - to buy yourself a fast, expensive Ferrari!

 

I think it’s a great idea.

Keep in mind that you’re not absolutely committed to every one of those cars, or at that pace. The whole point is to learn and adjust after some real life experience.

Get a thorough PPI for any Ferrari or other used exotic!

Matt

 

The bridge car concept isn’t the best way to go....in addition to the costs you indicate you are also buying at retail and selling at wholesale every cycle.

If the end game is a 458, then just put in the time and save for it. My car fund (this time) is about to have its 6th birthday soon.

 

The 458 has yet to hit bottom IMO...one thing that seems to be left out of the answers is the fact that Ferrari depreciation isn’t as linear as most other cars. By the time you are ready to purchase, those cars could be priced tight of the range that you predicted and could end up paying even more for your stepping stone approach. I would think that by the time you are ready to buy, the 458 would have depreciated to a reasonable cost and it would make the most sense just to jump on it at that point.

 

Buy the car you really want. See if you can get a ride/drive in them all.

A bit sad that you can't do what you propose for fear of getting a lemon.

 

In my experience, people sell Italian sports cars for one of two reasons:
a) They need the money in a hurry.
b) They aren't enjoying ownership.

There's probably not a lot of (a) going on, in this economy, unless you can find someone starting a new business.
But buying a car from a (b) seller means the car is probably going to need to be caught up on service.

Those who let service lag and wind up with a lot of nagging little problems will stop enjoying ownership. Nobody likes a shop queen.

My usual approach to owning Italian cars (I've been through Fiat, Alfa, and Ferrari), is to either buy new (to avoid anyone else's problems) or to expect a relatively big overhaul right after buying.
There's likely a lot of things the previous owner stopped noticing that'll bug a new owner.
Plus any "deferred" (e.g. ignored) maintenance.


My first bit of advice on an Italian car, though, is to FIRST figure out where you'll get it serviced.
You need to sort that out before you have any problems, to avoid dealing with someone who isn't up to the task.
Problems getting service is one of the fastest ways to not enjoy ownership.
Besides: a really good shop may know of a well sorted car that's going on the market.

 

I plan to service close by; I am lucky enough to have an official ferrari dealer within 10 miles. Will not be cheap I'm sure but I suspect it will be very competent. I'm still leaning to doing at least 1 upgrade (if not 4)... I just really want to experience the one that was there when I fell in love -- the only true sports cars ("true") that I've had are a Camaro and a Viper, so it's not like I have a lot of modern metal. Closest thing is my Bentley GT which is truly a GT, not a sports car (but it's awesome!).

 

Then I would buy the very best 360 you can buy, and spend what it needs to make it absolutely perfect. Keep it as your future classic, as it should stay roughly where it is, maybe go up a little value wise over time. Then, if the need is there for a faster one, ADD a 458 for more regular ‘abuse’ allowing you a show/investment car, and something you aren’t frightened to drive more regularly as they are cheaper to run/maintain

 

Do not assume they will be the best place to look after 360/430 - since you have not told us your location to comment further is difficult

 

Take this from someone that is closing in on 500 cars. Not smart, not at all. One problem with your experiment, you are going to loose a lot more money that you think you are, and that is even if you don't end up with a 3-10K repair bill for one of your step up the ladder cars. My guess is this little experiment will cost you 30-50K. Do yourself a favor, it is a car, and machine, and unless you like loosing money (it is all I do in life so I don't care that I've probably lost more than most people make in a lifetime), and my advise would be go for test drives find the model you want and save for it. I have had 3 360's 2 430's (gearshift of each), and Ferrari gearshift cars are not great (a Miata and a S 2000 have better boxes) manual cars. I do understand that there is some emotional connection people have to cars, but unless you have money to burn taking those steps would be foolish. I mean no disrespect, OP, but I was bored last night made a call, bought a car, this is something I do often and I know I will not keep it long, will loose lots of money when I sell it, but someone tapped the back my winter 991 and it might take a couple months to get parts, so I needed another winter fun car, so I bought another i8 (a CPO car). If you owed a car dealership your plan would be great, but I have a feeling you don't.

 

Buy a 458. Trade it for a 488 once values converge enough to be palatable. That's what you really want, why bother with the rest of it. At most, see if you can drive the older cars for an hour. My guess is after 30 min you'll bring them back and thank yourself.

 

Ah right - I'm the western chicago suburbs.

 

Everyone is different. Do what you want with your "disposable income". If you want to experience all the above do it. Who cares if it is right or wrong for someone else or financially wise. Why worry about what others, including me, think is the correct decision. You have obviously made enough correct decisions to get where you are so my advise is - do with your play money what makes you happy.

 

+1. Why suffer the delayed gratification of getting what you really want (458) and taking a financial bath everytime you swap up for the newer car? Taxes, license/registration fees and depreciation compounded by 6 times.

 

My hero! I only got through 50 in five years to realise my errors!

 

Thanks, but as someone once said to me. "You are just a kid with too big an allowance" They probably were not that far off. I know I am not capable of understanding the reasons you normal folks do things, but I don't think a string of money loosing deals would make for a fun experience.