OK, so which one of you bought Doug Demuro's 360 Modena?

Forget Doug! He is getting ready to bundle up in his footsie jammies for winter. This is about Sonoma Boy! Woo Hoo!! I wonder how many cases of Cabernet can fit in a 360?

 

Doesn't have to be an LLC - repairs and maintenance, fuel, etc are very common business "expenses" regardless of whether it's owned by a formalized corporate entity, a simple sole proprietorship or as your commuter car in your line of work.

I've probably stretched it a bit at times (ie custom wheels and tires, mods, etc) but my accountant has never had issue with it and several of my clients do similarly. Gone off topic enough already, don't want to get into a long technical response.

BZ

 

what Demuro says about Ferrari ownership rings somewhat true for me. Would like to drive more but can't due to many of the reasons stated. Still, overall, it had been a positive experience.

 

Well, I could have told him that buying a car, especially a modern mass produced v8, with resale in mind would end up a disappointment. You really can't do that and enjoy the car fully. When I bought mine, I viewed it as a fully sunk cost and have none of the depreciation anxiety that he did (which was 90% of his anxiety - everything pretty much boiled down to that, not being able to park it outside, not wanting to scrape the bumper, not taking it to a normal shop etc etc. due to it all possibly hurting the value). As he said, he could afford the car but he really couldn't AFFORD it - or didn't want to, more like. You can't buy a Ferrari as an investment or with a mind to stave off depreciation and fully enjoy it. You have to treat it as a toy, or even as if it were a 'normal' car that you buy and drive until it dies. Then you can fully enjoy it.

Also, a Ferrari while living in the middle of the city vs. the suburbs or country has to be a bit of a bummer as well, but not as bad as the constant worry about depreciation.

 

Tom - I couldn't agree more with everything mentioned in your post!

 

I'll add my 3rd cent. lol
What he also failed to mention is that one of the best benefits of a Ferrari ownership is the great people you meet at the car shows and runs that share your passion for the automobile.

And congrats SonomaBoy. Enjoy in good health

 

When I first watched his videos I was entertained and took them at face value.. just one big joke. Then I read the last article and all the responses from the populace that know they will never afford an exotic car when they jumped on his bandwagon throwing shots at Ferrari owners. Not once did I see him say anything really positive about ownership, just a bunch of self promoting BS...

 

If you make a living off attracting readers and being popular who would you try to appeal to, the 99.9% or the .10% of the population, with the latter being perceived as rich snob Exotic car owner/drivers?

 

Exactly, Steve.

Same thing politicians do. There's no question, by his own admission, that he did this whole experiment to advance his career. And he has done that remarkably well.

 

He's now qualified to run for mayor of Philadelphia or Congress.

 

he's way overqualified for that!

 

Forget mayor...Doug for President! What off the wall whacky uses can he come up with for Air Force One! Yikes

 

Depends on who has the money. There are some groups as small as they may be that can fund some awful big projects or businesses.

 

I am probably going to say what somebody has already said in these 9 pages and something I haven't read, but why not air my opinion too

I like and read Doug's columns. He's funny. I disagree with many of his opinions - he didn't enjoy his Lotus Elise (I have one and it rocks), he thinks all supercars drive the same on the track - both Ferraris I've driven (Scud and 458) are head and shoulders above the other supercars I've driven (Aventador, 12C, 911 Turbo, Gallardo, GT-R). But that's his opinion and I take it for what it is - just his view. If it is funny, I'll enjoy it, else I'll forget about it. But I think the mistake he makes is that he presents his opinions as well researched conclusions and that's where he gets into trouble. I guess that's a style of writing - to come to a sort of controversial/definitive/drastic conclusion rather than leave a humble YMMV opinion. Oh well, it's free. If you like it, read it, else don't.

 

I wonder what Garlado or Larry King would have garnered from a 360 experience like Doug's ...they ask the tough questions!

 

See? I told you!
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I enjoy his pieces and am surprised (although maybe I shouldn't be) by the level criticism here. I don't always agree with him but what does it matter? His work is entertainment - humorous essays following his personal automotive experiences. And like most humor, it's going to play on stereotypes or take shots at the powerful (in this case, Ferrari). So what?

With his series on the 360, it was pretty clear to me that the approach he took was "what if an ordinary guy got a Ferrari and tried to live with it as an ordinary car". The fact that most people don't do that is irrelevant. The fact that maybe most shouldn't is irrelevant. It was simply the conceit of the series.

I don't know if he's genuinely surprised that he's happy to be selling it. Maybe he is. A lot of people go into situations with preconceived notions that don't hold up. I remember a guy I knew probably 15 or more years ago who bought a LR Defender. I was complimenting him on it and asked how he liked it. He says "Well, it's OK, but it really drives like a truck." As if it would have been anything else.

Maybe Doug is like that guy, surprised by reality or maybe he knew all along and just had a blast taking his readers along for the ride.

 

Doug D covers pranks and set ups of stereotypes on cars for the Gawker crowd. Guys like Chris Harris are legit car journalist.

 

Here's What It Cost Me To Own A Ferrari For A Year

 

Here's What It Cost Me To Own A Ferrari For A Year

 

Say what you want about him, but I do like the fellow. Quite fun to chat with. Love his articles as well. Good sense of humor.

 

I had a ton of laughs with his work. Some of the stuff he did was very interesting to me.

 

The article was not a bad one. I don't know that I would mark depreciation as part of the aggregated operating costs althought parts/materials and labor would be for sure. He didn't put in fuel costs which is certainly part of an annual operating cost tally.

 

Wow this is a rip off a subject I wrote about.. cost to own a ferrari

 

wow, really, who cares?

The kid bought the car, drove it for a while, made a few jokes at its expense and sold it.

Who cares what people think about 360s after reading this?

Seriously, you guys don't have ANYTHING better to concern yourselves with?