Looking for some help please

IMO get a significant girlfriend/wife to help you enjoy life with a family. If she is right for you, you will enjoy the family and life together more than any Ferrari could yield! The Ferrari kept in perspective will add to your life.

 

And they will expect to be wined and dined in a manner concordant of someone with a ferrari... No more Quality Inn when you travel... It's only the Ritz.

 

+1
Those women who you will be beating away with a stick aren't the kind you wanna bring home to momma. Find a girl who really loves you for you, not your car, well unless you just wanna play

 

+1

 

+1000

Getting mixed up w/ someone who only is interested in you because of a car (or lifestlye for that matter.... while being on the fringe of comfortably owning said car or living said lifetsyle) will be the end of both rather quickly.


The adds usually start out like this

"Baby on the way,car has to go...."

"Getting married, car has to go...."

"Building house for wife and baby, car has to go..."

OTOH, nothing wrong w/ staying single & living the dream....you just need to be commited to it. A life long single guy usually has lots of toys, freedom... no responsibility. Finding oneself in a place where those things dissapear rapidly can lead to a lot of bitterness and unhappiness simply because of lack of financial planning from a self indulgent lifestyle.

The trick is to find a balance.

 

Listen mrpartridge, if you're not ready for the fiancee/wife/family thing, get and enjoy your Ferrari. Only you know when you'll be ready for that and can decide what makes you happiest. So while you may consider the sage words of many above responders, do what makes you happy

 

financially unwise decision is to get married without a prenup

 

You've stayed singe... to buy a car? Dude. WTF?

Also spending all of your cash to get it in your driveway doesn't make sense. You'll have no money for repairs, maintenance, fuel {it's a true expense with cars like these}, how about a daily driver to get you to work? What about winter storage? Insurance?

Do a quick budget and find out how much this car will cost each year without the big services.

 

And you get to be the coolest uncle w.the Ferrari! "Can we go over to uncle [mpartridgeferrari]'s and ride in his sports car?"

 

Dude, at 30 years old, you definitely have some skewed, juvenile visions of reality.

Are material possesions the only value you put on being happy in life? I've said it before, get the things that are important to ones happiness (an automobile isn't, no matter what it is), and move on from there when you can afford it.

Get a life, then think about buying a car you can't really afford at this time. To squander one's life savings on a depreciating asset is totally the mindset of a juvenile!

Grow up first, then think about buying a Ferrari or whatever!!!!

 

My brother's a sales manager in the car business, so he's had free demos for the last 10+ years. No doubt you save a ton of money.

As long as you're not shorting yourself on the house, retirement and opportunities to find Miss Right, I'd say give the 360s a couple more years to depreciate or look into a 328 now (save $40K+ off the cost of a 360, and zero depreciation.) Just remember you can run up a few grand on a service bill pretty quickly (again, see the 360/430 forum for specifics.)

I've always been a sports car fanatic, but I held off on the Ferrari till I had dedicated garage space in a house I owned, and was able to pay cash for it without touching my 401k, IRA, home equity, etc. If you're there, go for it.

Final word: As one who has lusted after cars most of my life, I can tell you that ultimately they are all just that -- cars. We b.s. on this site all the time about 348 vs 355, Enzo vs. F40s, etc., but the real Great Truth out there is that the most important thing I've got out of owning mine has been a new circle of friends. I say that having nearly lost my home (and Ferrari) in the San Diego wildfires last August. The real stuff of life is what you do with your talents, what you create and who you share it with (besides your mechanic, I mean... )

 

I thinks what you mean is not "that is what truly makes me happy" but rather "that is what gives me pleasure" Pleasure tends to be fleeting, comes and goes like the wind or a Ferrari. Happiness tends to endure with focus "Things" give one pleasure(women, power, money,etc). Happiness is internal and requires only very basic needs to be met: food, water, shelter, companionship(read as human contact of some kind), and the absence of physical pain. Please take none of this as a judgement rather FWIW

Please also continue to consider my reply to your similar post in the 360 section:

 

IMO, the driving season makes this option make even less sense.

In all honesty, I was in a very similar situation 8 years ago.

I chose to go with a 308. I've had it for 8 years, & I could get every cent back out of it if I wanted to sell and move up. Given the driving season, the minimal impact on my $'s at the time, it has made perfect sense in the long run.

I'll mirror Bullfighters coments, in that I love the car but it does not define me and if it had to go... I could let it go.

Seriously, get a nice 328 for this spring drive and enjoy it for the next 8/24 months, then get 90% of your $ back and step up to a 360 when they are closer to full depretiation.

Also pick up Forza #84, it's the current April 08 issue and read the article about the guy who bought and modded a Boxer...some interesting comments about the 360 he had before the boxer (if you haven't already that is).