BUYER BEWARE - SWITCHCARS!! | FerrariChat

BUYER BEWARE - SWITCHCARS!!

Discussion in '360/430' started by Joe Mac, Mar 11, 2012.

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  1. Joe Mac

    Joe Mac Formula 3

    #1 Joe Mac, Mar 11, 2012
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    Anyone considering purchasing a car from Doug at Switchcars, BEWARE! You will get exactly what was represented to you and be treated like a human being and a member of a special "club". You will not be treated like a number and you will be left smiling from ear to ear when the car arrives safely from a reputable shipper looking exactly as you expected!

    Doug, thanks for an incredibly smooth transaction. Whether it was taking a phone call during his vacation or picking up the phone on a Sunday, Doug is more than just a "dealer"; his passion for cars and his desire to truly make you a repeat client is why I love cars in general.

    Also, a special thanks to my friends, Francis and Tony, at Algar Ferrari. As always, they were willing to help in making this happen. Even helping me with a deal that they didn't have to assist on, they were there for me - again, the reason I love cars.

    Now for the fun. Most of you know that I have found my way in and out of more cars than Carter has liver pills. I have often wondered why I can't find a car that truly fulfills the need and my soul for more than a few months...sometimes a few weeks :) Most who know me well, however, know that the Challenge Stradale has always kept a special place in my heart. Having had 2 in my past, I have OFTEN questioned why I always had the pent up desire to have one back in the stable. Well, not only did I find one with FChat roots, but it captures exactly what I wanted in a CS!

    Rossa Corsa, OEM stripe, all alcantara, awesome options and a truly beautiful car. My 2 prior CS's with stripe delete and I often looked at the stripe as being "pedestrian", "silly", an "add-on". My wife calls the CS stripe an "pizza box". I gotta tell you guys. This car truly captures what the CS is all about.

    Over the past couple of days, I tried to ascertain exactly what it is about the CS that keep many focused on Stockpro's CS market thread. Why is it that those who sell a CS always want to know where the car lands and when it's back on the market. I don't follow the lineage of other Ferraris, Porsches or other cars I owned...so, why a CS?

    I figured it out and for me it goes like this. The CS seems to me to be a Ferrari creation which was somewhat of an after thought...a rash decision made by a company that decided it needed to do something with the spare parts left over from the 360 Challenge cars. In building the CS, I almost feel (even if it's not the truth) that the decision to build it came from a gut instinct to "just do it". It wasn't built after a management team or a design team presented an engineered concept to the President. It was just built. It wasn't put through a rigorous artistic design department to fancy covers for the floor boards, or the welds. It wasn't considered that, when crafting the carbon fiber doors, that the door wells should be polished so that it would feel smooth to the touch of the hand. It was just built. Welds were left exposed; carbon fiber left rough and unfinished, a radio? Maybe; maybe not but if you want it, the radio will dangle below the dash.

    whether this is just my perception or the truth, does it matter? Perception truly IS reality.

    So, consider the Scuderia. the F430 version of the "track car". Why wouldn't every CS owner naturally flock to the Scud? After all, it is better engineered, faster, better or the track and the road, and a more refined, yet raw car. Trust me when I say I am taking nothing away from the Scud in saying this (after all, I owned 2 of them AND a 16M), but the Scud was a creation. A metric on Ferrari's pro forma that showed that, at the end of the 430 lineage, they would build a track version of the 430. It was engineered, designed, considered, developed, processed, built and built for the masses. Again, not that this makes the Scuderia a lesser car or a POS. Instead, it is truly an amazing Ferrari that has incredible presence and performance wrapped into one package.

    The CS exposes the weakness which will reside over every Ferrari built currently and in the future. Each will have a predetermined market, price, design and valuation ascribed by Ferrari. The CS to the Ferrari is like the Carrera GT to the Porsche. It is something created without consideration of mass appeal; without consideration of whether the end result would be X% margin. And, if it was, it doesn't feel that way when you drive it.

    I think of the cars I have owned in recent years.....2 458 Italias, 16M, 2 Scuderias, Porsches times infinity, 430 coupe, 360 spiders.....the list goes on. Stepping into this CS - a car which was built more than 8 years ago - you feel something different. the shifts are not that of the dual clutch 458, the race mode isn't prompted from a manetinno switch on the steering wheel. Yet, with every blip of the paddle, every turn in a curve and the pure visual bliss of its stance and raw flavor, it bleeds Ferrari passion. A true religion that can't be explained.

    I'm hoping many who don't truly understand the following that this car has will take the time to understand it by buying one or at least finding an owner and driving in one for a spirited run. Those who don't understand will profess the attributes of the porsche turbo being a faster car zero to 60; or that the transmission is pedestrian compared to today's pdk or dual clutch technology. Those who understand it, will try to convince others why it is a keeper. For me, this will remain in my collection as possibly the last of a lost breed.

    One last note: Andrew (Stockpro), you are always there for a CS phanatic in need; some question why you do what you do. Others don't understand why you do what you do. For me, and for many who "get it", thanks for all the wisdow, guidance and knowledge that you bestow upon the Ferrari community.

    So happy to be driving a CS again!!
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    Merlin Auto Group likes this.
  2. djastral69

    djastral69 Formula 3

    Aug 6, 2007
    1,883
    Fl
    Full Name:
    David
    Looking good!
     
  3. Bleu Omdurman

    Bleu Omdurman Karting

    Dec 3, 2006
    151
    Bellevue, WA
    Full Name:
    Trevor
    Well said, Joe.
     
  4. Eliseguy

    Eliseguy Rookie

    May 6, 2008
    31
    PACNW
    Full Name:
    RB Blackshear
    Awesome write up. I hope to oneday be able to park a CS in my garage. Congrats and enjoy in good health.
     
  5. F430addict

    F430addict F1 Rookie

    Sep 17, 2010
    4,460
    Awesome machine!!!
     
  6. margarita

    margarita Formula 3

    Mar 20, 2011
    1,617
    usa
    nice boxer o my god
     
  7. brainbizz

    brainbizz Karting

    Oct 27, 2006
    141
    OK
    Very nice Joe. I couldn't agree more with your review. It is interesting to see several former owners come back to the fold. I think we are going to see fewer and fewer on the market as they are purchased to keep.
     
  8. trainwrex

    trainwrex Formula Junior

    Sep 15, 2011
    280
    Perth, Australia
    Wow Joe great writeup. Ive never driven a CS and only a scuderia but from reading everyones opinion on them i went and bought one from another country and cant wait to finally drive one myself..

    I love the rare all grey alcantra rather than the red gives it a class all on its own. Ive actually gone with the tan leather as that car was the best suited to my needs.
     
  9. LARRYH

    LARRYH F1 Veteran
    Owner Rossa Subscribed

    Jun 3, 2011
    9,142
    virginia usa
    joe Nice post we always here of the bad experiences it nice to hear when someone has a great experience best of luck
     
  10. since-15

    since-15 Formula 3

    Nov 26, 2008
    1,142
    #10 since-15, Mar 11, 2012
    Last edited: Mar 11, 2012
    The title of your thread got me initially. Thanks for sharing your great experience with SWITCHCARS as well as sharing your adoration for the CS. I was wondering when someone would snatch that particular CS.

    ENJOY in good health!!!
     
  11. StoryBook

    StoryBook F1 Rookie
    Lifetime Rossa Owner

    Mar 1, 2003
    4,304
    PNW
    Full Name:
    MPL
    Nice, Nice Joe! I'm very happy for you. I concur with most of your thoughts on the CS. Here in the PNW, I'm known to vet and shape CSs desirable for my fellow PNW tifosi. :) Pretty much every CS I've owned has stayed in the area...or is on its way back! lol
     
  12. Spdrcrj

    Spdrcrj Formula 3
    BANNED

    Apr 22, 2006
    1,101
    Full Name:
    Jim
    Great looking car. Was the color enhanced? Looks pink in some photos. I really need to drive one sometime and feel the difference between it and a "normal" car. I want one because of the special nature. Hopefully, they don't appreciate too much over the next year. lol
     
  13. plastique999

    plastique999 F1 Veteran
    Owner Silver Subscribed

    Nov 9, 2008
    8,539
    SoCal
    Full Name:
    Edward
    Great review! Especially when you compare to all the other models you've owned.
    Makes me want one now :)
     
  14. Ice9

    Ice9 Formula Junior

    Jun 22, 2004
    395
    San Francisco, CA
    Full Name:
    Ice9
    Every now and then, someone on Fchat nails it. Thanks for the thoughts JoeMac
     
  15. Ferris Bueller

    Ferris Bueller Formula 3

    Mar 23, 2004
    1,850
    New Jersey
    Full Name:
    Dominic
    Great write up Joe!
    Are you sure Joe Zaff didnt compose that?
    Thats the longest post from you I ever read. Anyone that knows you Joe knows the passion and enthusiasm you share for these awesome machines.
    The CS looks great, Concrats! Hope to see it in person soon.
     
  16. mihai007

    mihai007 Formula Junior

    Jun 7, 2009
    388
    Atlanta
    (Stepping into this CS - a car which was built more than 8 years ago - you feel something different. ) Well said Joe , i love the Stradale myself and hope to get one very soon ,should be testing one that they have at the Ferrari of Atlanta that looks just like yours , fantastic looking/sounding machine, enjoy yours and have fun
     
  17. mihai007

    mihai007 Formula Junior

    Jun 7, 2009
    388
    Atlanta
    http://youtu.be/1XBhkIzruBw
     
  18. Esoteric Auto Detail

    Esoteric Auto Detail Formula Junior

    Dec 14, 2008
    822
    Columbus, OH
    Congratulations! And if that's the car I think it is...I worked on it several years ago.
     
  19. bjm

    bjm Formula Junior

    Nov 1, 2003
    923
    Fairfield County, CT
    Full Name:
    Brian
    Beautiful CS Joe. Glad it all worked out.
     
  20. kramsay1234

    kramsay1234 Formula Junior

    Jul 16, 2009
    347
    Toronto, Canada
    This is a really great write up for someone like myself who is a car guy, has an "M-car" but is always looking at F-cars, and likes something different.

    The CS has always been on my radar. Not because I am a race car driver and I want a car for the track, but I want a car that is special. It doesn't have to be special to everyone walking by it, and is ok if its just special to those that know. Its like buying an Audemars Piguet instead of a Rolex. The Rolex may attract a larger wow factor from the masses, but the AP is twice as expensive and exclusive, so for those who "know" its worth it.

    I love the passion that the CS seems to bring.

    If that's the case, then I'm sure it looks good. Saw the pictures of Matty's Scud and its gorgeous.
     
  21. of2worlds

    of2worlds F1 World Champ
    Silver Subscribed

    Apr 6, 2004
    16,445
    ON
    Full Name:
    CH
    Wasn't that long ago that the CS was the 'latest and greatest'. It seems for some as time passes now, the CS still remains 'the greatest'.
    Congrats Joe on smoothly finding 'your' CS!
    CH
     
  22. switchcars

    switchcars Formula 3

    Jul 28, 2005
    2,216
    Full Name:
    Doug
    Joe-

    I have to take issue with what you posted. I never answer calls on a Sunday. :)

    Thanks for the business, and what a great write-up on the CS. It expresses how the rest of us feel.
     
  23. Joe Mac

    Joe Mac Formula 3



    i have heard about your buying habits all the way out here on the east coast :)
     
  24. Joe Mac

    Joe Mac Formula 3


    thanks for the note and looking forward to seeing you soon.
     
  25. Joe Mac

    Joe Mac Formula 3



    as an M owner as well, i can tell you that you won't regret the decision of buying a raw, visual monster like the CS. I use my F-cars so sparingly that the need to be "wowwed" when I am behind the wheel is essential. it is why every Porsche, BMW, MB and other varietal has always been fun but never exhilarating to me. The Scud and the CS pack a spirital punch that makes it so that it is essentially impossible not to be smiling from ear to ear.

    One thing that has been said by Storybook and others in the past is that we are all so blessed to even have the opportunity to be enjoying these incredible machines. For anyone who has the means and has sat on the fence waiting for the right car at the right time, find the time to make the decision and go for it. Without question, life is amazingly short - for some, much shorter than expected or than should be. I plan to leave do everything in my power to squeeze every bit of juice out of this lifetime and in order to do that, you have to play as hard as you work. Like Phil Knight says, JUST DO IT@
     

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