So...whats it like to own a Ferrari?

I have both, wear neither and drive anywhere under 500 miles to avoid the airport security hassle. Generalizations are just dressed up stereotypes IMO. I have a $8,000 Rolex I was given as a gift in HS, I use to wear it while mowing the lawn. I still mow the lawn, I just never wear the Rolex because it keeps terrible time and having a cell phone makes having a watch be redundant.

 

For the non-auto enthusiast that just can't comprehend the use of a Ferrari and since they would never own one they seem to feel that anyone who does own one has money to burn.

I work with a bunch of good ole boys who all drive $40k pick up trucks and they'll go out and spend another $20k on a bass boat to tow behind it. I spent $23k on a Ferrari and they are all like, "A Ferrari? Gee, must be nice. I guess we can see who makes all the money around here."

 

No gold chains for this wannabe. But the Rolex, I got! A cheap Submariner purchased new in Germany for $120 by my brother before his visit to Vietnam in the early 1960's. I enjoy nice machinery--guns, automobiles, etc.--but don't indulge myself excessively. I see every dollar I spend as one less dollar to go to work for me earning interest. This approach has allowed me to retire very young and still live well, but I've paid a serious price attaining this life.
The writer of the above news 'article' fails miserably in the arena of objective journalism by neglecting to poll or inquire of a spectrum of exotic car owners just exactly what sacrifices they made in order to enable them to achieve a situation that resulted in the ownership of a really nice car. All the writer makes note of is the 'result'.
This is unfair treatment of the subject matter, and implies--in a backhanded fashion--that it is somehow 'wrong' to succeed in life. If you've succeded, you must have lied; you must have cheated; you must have stolen; or, god forbid, you inherited money.
What crap.
Unfortunately, this journalist's approach represents a segment of popular opinion, i.e., "That person succeeded. I didn't. They must be brought down to my level through criticism/ridicule/personal attack."
I find this attitude disgusting.

 

An additional thought: Perhaps when this (and some of the other threads on this board that are simliar in subject matter) winds down a bit, the results should be sent to to the Times.
Let their editors see that their reporting style is perceived as superficial by more than a few people.

 

expensive but fun! ...did I say expensive yet?

 

What is the problem with people who wear gold chains...? Why does everyone in the world need to find someone else or a class of people to look down on...? It gets unbelievably disgusting after a while... The guys with the gold chains are most likely the ones who are out there driving the ******* cars in the first place, unlike these high-starched, stiff-necked, snobby pricks who shove their cars in their garages and go for a once-a-month Sunday drive somewhere "safe"...

 

The NBA has now banned gold chains...maybe Ferrari should too.

 

Yeah, because that just makes so much sense...

 

I've got a dollar that says the Casio keeps better time! Heck, the clock on my kitchen range keeps better time than my Rolex--but it doesn't fit my wrist as good and makes mowing the lawn a very, very slow process.

 

Emotional. Best way I could describe it from a personal stand point. Owning & paying for a Ferrari and its maintenance is not a logical decision. It is soooo far from logic.

 

I guess I need to add about 10K to my budget when I finally pick up my 30K Fcar... gotta have the gold chain and rolex so I fit in!

Really, Ferrari owners, as a general rule, are very down to earth. The first time I went to a club event I threw on a t-shirt and jeans. My wife had a fit and said I wouldn't fit in. I said "look they are just a group of people going out for a drive who happen to own Ferrari's." She fianlly coerced me into wearing a polo with my jeans, but she wore what she would wear to work. Needless to say she felt over dressed and now we both wear whatever to club drives.

She had the gold chain and rolex perception... but now she knows a few Ferrari owners she realizes that they are people too...

God bless the people who happen to drive Ferrari's... and the chaps like me who will one day soon drive one!

 

The most FUNCTIONAL and BEAUTIFUL piece of ART that I own!

 

Typical media portrayal of the Ferrari owner with subtle snipe attacks to make the general public feel better they don't own one.


Ever wonder why typically in movies the Ferrari driver is the bad guy?

Movies such as Fast and the furious, To live and die in L.A., Against all odds, The hidden and many others that stereotype Ferrari owners.

You don't hear these negative stereotypes about art collectors who pay millions for a worthless painting but those that like a 3D piece of art you can drive get it thrown in their face.

I don't wear gold chains but I like my stainless GMT Rolex, its a classic and hand made rugged watch unlike the foo foo watch referenced in the article.

 

i am anti male jewelry but i have nothing against having a nice watch.

 

I am heartened to read this. Club events are too distant for my wife and I to readily attend, so I've been a bit curious

 

Purchased Rolex GMT (Red/Blue bezel) at the PX in Japan for $135 circa 1965. Present value ( I think) is $1200. However the bent stem came out and the estimate to fix is around $1,000 dollars.

Side note: Serial number is 1958 build, sold new in 1965.

So, value after maintenance is $1200. Maintenance cost is $1,000. Does that ring a bell?

I've been wearing a $59 Casio the last 20 years. The calculator function is indispensable for the entrepreneurial mind.

The Casio social blunder probably explains never making a 360 wait-list.
No warm fuzzy from dealer when I ask to be on 430 wait-list.

So, whaddu think, should I dust of my 1975 red/green Gucci penny loafers, send the Rolex off to Switzerland and start a fresh round of relationship building?

BTW, I spent last week at a villa in Venice. My host once owned 6 or 8 GTO's, maybe a dozen 250 SWB, several Birdcages, F1 Porsche and many more. No Rolex. No gold. No bling. Won LeMans (I think), Sebring and many more. Not a trophy in site. Nestled amongst family photos was a single small photo of his pals hanging off a 1963 TR which won many races.

Real Bling is building your own Ferrari competitor. (see attachment)
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I see you're in the PNW. Where?

 

Gary,
I'd fix the watch--GMT is cool and not the bling factor of the golden monstrousities Rolex also produces. JMO.
I wonder: Could Mr. T get on the 430 wait list? "Gimme that car!"
Truly great people (your host in Venice) don't need to constantly remind themselves of their wonderfulness.
Finally, what car is that in the pic? You gotta tell us...

 

Willis,
I am within pistol-shot of Oregon/Cal. border, on the coast. I've probably stretched the boundary of 'PNW' a bit, but the definition I used was 'climate based'!
BTW, I was at dinner with some friends last weekend in Brookings, Oregon, and a whole bunch of old Alfas and at least one late model Ferrari drove by headed North on 101, so I know some of you guys pass through. I wish I'd known.