Has Fchat decreased your desire to own a Ferrari?

My fun driving a Ferrari won't be spoiled by guys driving a Ferrari from one traffic light to the next in Vegas or people thinking that the cupholder (in a Ferrari!) is too expensive.

However, from now on I will be looking for orange peel everywhere...

 

I don´t know, but I see lots of people loving their Ferraris around here, a lot more than people who says that it´s over for them. Of course, the cars are not perfect, but nothing is, and if you take a look at any car forum you´ll find people complaining: of course almost nobody opens a thread to say "hey, the car was great today".

Personally I don´t know when/if I ´ll buy a Ferrari, but seeing them as mere "mortals" at Ferrarichat has made grown my interest in them: cars are made for driving and enjoying them, not just to stare at them in awe as if they were the chariots of the gods.

And appart from the occasional a**hole, I´m having a great fun here.

 

There's a 458 at FoW in Blue Abu Dhabi with the worst orange peel I've ever seen across the hood and I'd love to see her in my garage. Gorgeous. **** it. Nobody really cares.

 

This post can't be for real. Seriously, a bunch of people saying stuff positively or negatively affected your desire to own one?

I don't believe it one bit. If some random people on an internet site told you that the girl you love might not right for you, would you break off the engagement?

Let me explain something to you. NOTHING IN LIFE IS PERFECT.

Fchat gives you the ability to see both sides of a fence. That doesn't mean you have to jump off the fence and break a leg.

 

True, but it takes time to learn that.

 

Yeah, but what if they tell you about what she did to the last guy and all the money it cost him and how high maintenance she was. Not to mention her lack of driving feel at 7/10th. Don't even want to know about her orange peel. This stuff would make me think twice!

 

I never knew about fchat until after I bought my Ferrari. I found the site to be very informative and provided various opinions of the fcar experience. It was helpful technically as well as providing insight on the goods and bads of owning these cars. I enjoy the discussions.

 

I don't know. But I believe it.
.

 

What F chat has done for me is helped keep me from having buyers remorse. It has educated me about the models that are in (or approaching) my budget so I don't buy a money pit. I don't have unlimited funds and I will have to turn wrenches if I want to own one. I have passed on a couple of 308's and a 355 that would have eaten me alive in repair costs. I still have the passion I'm like to think I'm smarter about it now. I've been here for almost 10 years I think and I'm at least 10 more from buying based on what I know now and the ages of my kids.

As far as the complaining goes, we are all passionate about these cars but we have 0 input on what the factory does with new cars. When they release cars like the 612 and the FF (I love both) some people react with their CAPS LOCK on and play arm chair quarterback. We love the cars and when word comes out about the next model we immediately picture what we think it should look like.

 

Being here has actually increased my respect for the brand and those who own it (for the most part...). I do appreciate that the older ones are better, the one anyone happens to own is the best one yet, the one that got away is the dream car, and the one you want next is even better than anything else they've ever made. I love mine, and find the driving experience both unique and compelling. I'm plagued with the evil paddle shifter, and have one of those soft and ill-designed newer ones, but love it nonetheless.

What other car brand would generate a multi-week exchange on whether or not you'd buy another one? Where else could you see a sustained dialog about whether or not adding shields on a car would be too much, if it would make you a poseur, or if it's right for the new ones but bad for the older ones? How many other sites get owners to post their cars (from multiple perspectives) as proudly as they might for their kids?

Ferrari is more than a car, it is an experience that reaches into our respective identities IMO. For those of us lucky enough to own one, it is a feeling that's hard to put into words to be driving something of such quality and workmanship. The only downside is they are like eating potato chips- when you get one, all you can do is try to figure out how to get another...

 

Yes and No. The information is fantastic but a bit intimidating. I am at the lurker stage on my purchase. Need to prepare the wife. She drives a Porsche Carrera as a gift from me, so maybe if the timing is right, not much preparation will be needed. Thanks!

 

Well put

Very nice, good to hear an owner actually driving his cars

I would actually echo this. I obviously greatly enjoy the forum, mostly lurking and learning, in particular the business section. Always amazed as the collection of great minds that make up this community. So, in that sense, it has inspired me to push and grow my company faster but admittedly I do myself in those sections, are rarely even reading about the cares anymore.

What's stopping you from owning one?

 

I would have to disagree with you. The knowledge shared on this forum has revealed the fact that while a unique breed, Ferrari's are not to be feared / revered. They use most of the same parts as other cars. This is in fact fun. Finding out a Bosch part number and knowing you can save hundreds at the Honda dealer. Priceless. For everything else there is the dealer and the SD2

 

Not a good analogy at all and as you can tell, others have had their perspective "tweaked" as well. It's not a bad thing necessarily, but to pretend that one of the largest groups of Ferrari owners feedback doesn't impact perspective new buyers is delusional.

As you can read from my original post, I will still have my collection of Ferrari's and wouldn't be dissuaded so easily but many owners here and their negatives to the cars, really makes one take a step back and reevaluate.

Things aren't always as rosy as they appear, that's for sure.

I personally find the whole thing interesting to observe. For example, how often in life, are we so impacted at such a you age and then carry that childhood obsession into adult life?

Ferrari is one of those rare scenario's and perhaps that's where the problem lays.

 

Ignore the whiners, malcontents, and attention-whores and instead use this forum as a technical resource when you're ready to buy one. The knowledge base here is invaluable in terms of learning what problem areas to look for with regards to any model.

As for the Fcar experience, you'll understand only after you buy one, at which point you'll forget all about how inadequate it is for driving around certain desert metropolitan areas (as if that was the reason for the existence of Ferrari to begin with.)

 

This post made me think about how people thought Ferrari's before finding Fchat. The common perception of them has always been:

1) they never break and are super reliable.

2) when they do rarely break, they are inexpensive and quick to fix

3) If you buy a bad one, it's no big deal to get it right again

4) They're very cheap to buy

5) Buying a new one for the first time is a piece of cake when working with the dealers

6) They're all the fastest cars in the world

7) Living with a Ferrari never gets any negative attention whatsoever from co-workers, employees, your clients, or police.

8) They are never clutch eaters or maintenance hogs


All this time before Fchat people were believing Ferrari's are super dependable, cheap and easy to buy, never need much maintenance, and never get you any attention when owning one.

Darn you Fchat! You burst my bubble.

 

I'm not quite sure but do I sense some sarcasm?

 

I have found that Fchat has been a great tool for both information about maintaining the car and it has helped me with making buying decisions ...
I tend to ignore the complaining posts... unless they are based on technical issues..

...THis is the best site to find real owners and valid information.. It is the first place i go with most questions keep up the good work.... ..

 

Seems somewhat a protest too much from the guy who started the biggest anti-ferrari ****storm in memory

 

Having lusted after a Ferrari since about age 15 and owned a string of cars that made no sense and were far more trouble than they were worth I now use F-Chat as a reality check: anytime I start getting the urge to buy another "car of my dreams" I spend some time here reading the threads and pretty soon I'm back on Earth with the dream car out of my system. Thanks to F-Chat I can easily convince myself that I'm just not prepared to deal with this type of car at the moment and maybe never again. Nice to dream but I'm just not mentally able to deal with the possibility of the dream becoming a nightmare.
Perfect example would be the recent Grass Roots Motorsport story about the 308 that needed hoses and cost the new owner something like $7K additional right there which was very quickly followed by a broken valve which lead to a Carobu 3.4 conversion. I just wouldn't be able to handle the disappointment. (been there, done that, burned the t-shirt)
Gotta go - looking for a 308 to send to a certain gentleman up in Ontario. I hear he does some good work. ;-)

 

This site has only confirmed that I will own one, and soon.

If anything, Fchat has
1. shown me if I come across trouble, there are people to help.
2. Helped me avoid pitfalls of bad cars.
3. shown its a support group for car owners.

 

I keep dipping into my 288GTO/F40 fund.

 

Having driven a friend's 458 for a month I hope and pray everyone reads the Mayors thread and 458 prices plummet!

Then I'll pick up two!

Seriously, who cares what anyone says? I could care less and like what I want regardless. To me, my 308 is the greatest thing on earth because it represents that feeling I had as a kid when I saw a cool car. Nothing else matters but that sense of youthful, unbridled joy.

 

+1 well put.... also has help take out the mystique that kept me from buying ferraris in the past..