Stopping in to say hi

It's a gateway drug. It leads to feelings that buying a Ferrari is normal and ok. It happened to me. I lurked and read here and it happened. I purchased a F355 Spider. It could happen to you...

 

If you're a car guy
At some time in your life
You must own a Ferrari
It might as well be now
Why wait?
Life is short

 

Nice first post welcome

 

Best of luck! Always a pleasure to meet another 355 lover

Although I love my Ferraris, they were my dream since I was a child, and they have given me memories to last a lifetime, know what you're getting into before you do it. The story with my 355 started when I was 28 in Feb 2000 when the car had 10k miles. It now has 51k+ miles and cost me well over $45k+ in repairs and maintenance over the first 4 years I owned it, and at least another $20k+ since.

Other friends have different stories to tell, but regardless, do your research before buying a car, be prepared before you jump in and do it with your eyes open - I wasn't so lucky.

David

 

Live the dream my friend. Buy a 355 - You won't regret it but you will quickly loose interest in your Corvette... Which is a good thing because you will have to sell it when it is time to perform an engine out service on your 355.

It will be worth every penny

 

Welcome - Nice Vette - love the Atomic Orange (correct?)

Anyway - I went through the same process (as I am sure many folks on here did) of (dating myself here...) Trans Am's, Camaros, Mustangs, older Vette's, newer Vette's, a Porsche and finally/presently my beloved 355. You are a car guy and obviously enjoy and take pride in your cars and like most have a dream of owning a Ferrari.

My advice - Figure out your finances - weight the pros and cons of a newer, arguably more dependable car like the Vette versus and older an most likely less dependable car like a 355 but also weigh in the prestige and intangible feeling of being able to put the work "MY" in front of the word "Ferrari" and then engage with folks on FChat, visit your local Ferrari dealership and/or independents, go to some FCA rallys/events etc. etc. and soak up as much knowledge and information as possible as well as network yourself to find the perfect car based on your criteria.

When it all comes together - DO IT!! If you buy a decent car at a decent price you will most likely never be in a situation you cannot get out of if the Ferrari ownership experience is not everything you hoped it would be. The money you put in the Ferrari for maintenance is really no different than the money you are losing on the Vette for depreciation so don't let all the maintenance horror stories scare you off.

I live in Colorado and also spend a lot of time in Lauderdale - have friends at Ferrari dealerships in both locations and we are fortunate enough to have one of - if not the best - independent's in the business here in Colorado so let me know what you are looking for and I am happy to keep an eye open for you.

Cheers!

 

Just some advice - WHEN you get your 355 If you are able to consider independents in Kansas City stretch a bit farther and contact/use Dave Helms at Scuderia Rampante in Boulder Colorado. Whatever the extra cost/time is to get it to him will be quickly made up for by the results, expertise, knowledge and professionalism you will get.

Just my 2 cents - Enjoy the search! That's half the fun

 

I would say you don't need to sell anything. If you buy a car with the major done you won't need another one for 3-5 years (my advice is lean more toward 3 than 5 but that's just me). When you are doing the financial analysis to get the car set up an interest-bearing account you can dump money into you won't miss and let it sit there collecting interest. Make/schedule monthly "payments" to the account of $500/month - this will not only cover your majors as well as "while you are in theres" but also some cushion for the unexpected things that might pop up. Then you can truly enjoy driving the car and not worry about what each mile costs or have an aneurism should a CEL come on or something break. Insure the hell out of it with a high dedictible and enjoy.

Cheers

 

I was just kidding around about your corvette! Just don't overlook the fact that you will have to cough up some "above normal service costs" from time to time! Good service can be obtained by independent shops and thanks to places like Ricambi and FerrParts, parts can be sourced at a reasonable price. Happy hunting

 

lol... sounds like a similar story! When I bought my new home I used the equity from my previous house to buy my f-car cash. I wouldn't consider myself wealthy in comparison with many on this site but I'm definitely a "go-getter". Everyone here has been welcoming and I am yet to receive any negative comments. Plenty of DIY'ers here ready to help!

All you need is the dream and the ambition to follow through with it. Driving this car is something that is hard to put into words - a rush I would put above riding my bike but I guess that means I'm more of car enthusiast. Cheers!

 

I love Lambos as well but my observation (not generalization) was that a lot of the Gallardo/Murcielago owners obtained that cars for different reasons than Ferrari owners. Many did it just for flash and knew very little of the history of the marque - again, some certainly not all. The Ferrari community generally welcomes anyone with a deep passion for the marque and history - regardless of whether they own or dream and regardless of whether they have a 250GTO, Enzo, 308, Mondial etc. While the quality has gone up for Lambo with Audi ownership and they are still awesome cars, I think some of the passion has gone away - just my 2 cents.

Contact Dave and the gang at Scuderia Rampante. I can't speak for them but know that they work on many cars from all over the country and world so probably have some transportation options that you might want to consider to avoid the 10-hour drive. Cheers and best of luck!

http://www.****************.com/index.html

 

Agreed

 

If it's an '05, then the color is Daytona Sunset Orange Metallic. Atomic Orange wasn't available until 2007.

Sorry, that's a bit off topic. To the original poster, I have a 2005 Corvette (Victory Red, Convertible) and a 355 Spider and I think that the cars are enough different to appreciate those differences when you get out of one and into the other.

Plus, they look great side-by-side in the garage.

Wallace

 

The shortest instruction of buying the dream car
p.s. for sure I used it in my life too!!!

 

Can we see a pic?

 

Best I have on this computer...

Wallace
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Here's another one.
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Sweet looking cars, the F355 looks small next to the Vette

 

The fast one, go for the 355!