High Mileage and Garage Queens

In the first place, why you want to buy a car if you are going to keep it as a "garage queen"?

Drive it until it dies, if it dies!

 

To me, most people who like garage queens think they are buying one that won't give them a problem. The idea is the last guy abused it and the less he had the chance, the better.

That seems rather short sighted. The idea that a low mileage car won't need to be repaired as much as a high mileage car (whatever that is) is still like tossing dice.

I've had my F430 2 years now from new. It just went in for its annual and it's still getting things fixed under warranty that were bugs from production. I just had the steering column taken apart and retorqued (who would have thought of that being a problem?).

These cars break if you just look at them. Paying extra for a low mileage car may help but most likely, the actual difference in mileage between "high" and "low" is so small, it's within the margin of error.

Bottom line, if you're worried about repairs, you're better off buying a car still under warranty. You pay more but it's going to be most likely low mileage. And, if anything goes wrong, you're covered.

If you're not worried about repairs, buy an older one in good condition with good maintenance records cheaper and then save the money for the repairs and maintenance that are sure to come.

Lastly, the idea that the decision on buying any Ferrari can or should be based on financial risks is a silly argument. They will all cost you money. There is no practical need for one so why worry so much? In the long wrong, you will lose some or you will lose some more.

But, lose you will.

 

Why would you buy the car and "not drive it much anyway"? What's the point...brag about it when people come to the house? Drive 5 miles to cars-n-coffee 4x a year? To feel like you have made it in life, but not caring to drive it?

Seriously...at a loss on this one. I hoard wealth like the best of them and depreciation concerns me too, but I would not buy a Ferrari and treat as art hung in the hallway.

 

Or buy a low mileage car and keep it low mileage. It will be even rarer when you sell it and still command a premium from other low mileage types.

Like Bdelp says, there is no cheap way to own a Ferrari.

For me, I would rather buy high mileage and make it higher.

 

i should listen to yr advice brother!!!!

 

I just turned 10,000 on my 07 430 today. Bought it November 25 with 4200 miles. 966 miles per month. 241 miles per week!!!! Drive the piss out of 'em!!!!!!! Wooooooohoooooo

 

Great job man!!!

 

If you own a ferrari, you quickly come to appreciate its one of the most impractical cars on the planet. A very large majority of owners drive them very little because so many other life concerns demand greater practicality. They need more space for the kids, the dog, the groceries, they drive in gridlock, parking lots tend to be ding centers, and if/when they break down on trips there's often nowhere to get help. Many owners buy them as a 'lapal pin', others are content to pay a lot to enjoy a few extreme moment of pleasure a month, others just gotta-have-it but soon gotta-get-rid-of-it because its just so impractical -- in every possible way you can imagine. Ferrari's become more akin to 'art hung in the hallway' -- as you put it -- not so much because F cars are true art, but because they are so completely and entirely impractical. Some 'rare birds' drive theirs a lot, but even they tend to be short lived, intense experiences, eventually yielding to the pressures of everyday life. Having said all this, I'm looking forward to my 458.

 

Thanks for the comments in the thread. These are the very questions I am trying to figure out in my search of my first Ferrari. I am ok with the higher maintenance and repair costs that comes with the car, it's part of the deal. I am just trying to avoid hassles because time is more valuable to me and costs more money in productivity lost. I think it is perhaps more reasonable to buy an age appropriately mileage car and expect most of the inherent defects have been worked out already, which still comes down to a gamble...

Will

 

That's a fair and honest assessment. I really have no course to complain...I decided this week to put the 360 CS/458 cash into a refi at these low mortgage rates. I very much wanted the F car, but as we know, they are depreciating assets, while the home refi will yield significant cash flow gains. Still...I fell in love with the 458 on display here in SoCal a few weeks ago. Sigh.

 

I have used the modena as a daily for weeks upon weeks (and in SNOW) and I had no problems using it..

then again I don't have kids or an annoying wife to answer to.. I answer to my favorite person, ME!!!

 

I did just that. Bought mine with 49k 2 months ago and have 52k now.

 

1.5 months of ownership on my 360, 3,400+ miles plus logged already.

Changed all fluids in the car when i got it, now it's going in for another oil change 1.5 months later!!!

Loving every minute of it!!

 

Bobby, THAT is awesome!

 

That's awesome! Exactly what I plan to do!

 

I couldn't possibly agree with you more. I got a great deal on an older 360 with lots of maintenance done. The previous owner drove it 2,000 miles in 2 and a half years. I've done more than that in 6 months. How can anyone own these cars and not drive them is beyond me.

 

I wholehertedly agree... I saw a quote once, and I wish I could give credit to the proper author, but I don't recall who said it - yet it's something that I've adopted as my motto where this sort of thing is concerned, and that quote went something like: "If you have a car that you don't drive, then it's not really a car, it's a statue".

I don't need any statues on wheels, thank you.

 

When I was hunting for the perfect F-car, I wasn't really concerned with mileage up to a certain point. However, the cars priced lower with reasonable mileage (<30k) seemed to have more than three or four owners, lack of service documents, or be in a location where a PPI would be impractical or impossible. With everything else perfect, it makes you wonder why a car never stays with an owner more than 2.5 years. Seems like they sell it before having to pay for the next service, or they found something major but hidden enough to move the car along to the next buyer.

Sellers sometimes seemed to look at me like I had a third eye when I questioned them about history or certain details, so I ended up walking away after spending time and money to see the cars all over the state.

I wasn't opposed to a higher mileage car, and it sure would have saved me about $10k at least, but finding a higher mileage car and following the basic rules of buying an Ferrari was difficult at best during at least my time searching.

I found at least 10 cars that were decent prospects here in the state with anywhere from 12k to 36k miles, and if everything else seemed right, I would have made the deal. One actually sold before I could get to see it or arrange a PPI at the local dealership, but seems like the ones with the right price and all the records sell in a short time.

I'd say know what you want and be ready to pounce when you find it, and it has a documented life, regardless of (reasonable) mileage. I don't see why anything under 50k miles would not be a great car if it has a good history. I think I'll probably lose more to depreciation after paying a premium for a low-mileage 360, but I can drive it like crazy and not be concerned about the miles on the clock

 

That's an appealing theory but my observation of the Ferrari market is that "low mileage" is not really sliding scale based on age. 5 years from now, <10k still commands a premium and 30k is still high mileage for any particular year.

 

You will be rethinking that thought in 5 years... days of the disconnected odometers on the modern Ferraris is now much tougher... majority of the older ferraris with trashed interiors but 15,000 miles on the clock will soon be more scrutinized as more informed buyers appear..

Condition dictates value in an educated buyers mind. Take me off the list looking for low miles as the number one factor of my hunt... Condition. Thats what I look (& pay) for.

 

Cars are made to be driven if they are not then they are no longer under this category.

 

Agreed
They gots 4 wheels that go round and round and a big wheel in the cabin for direction.
They were built to be driven

 

OK, you're off the list but their are plenty still on it.

*shrug* I test drove a 360 w/30k+ miles on Friday. I once owned a Lotus Esprit S4s with 80k miles. I have no problem buying a properly maintained 30k mile 360 at the right price but I would have every expectation that selling it later would be a big PITA and expect the price to reflect that.