Stress of your first ferrari...how did you handle it?

Whether it be pulling out of pit lane at Mugello or pulling onto the 280, I find the visceral thrill of being behind the wheel of a Ferrari to be absolutely fantastic!

Perhaps the newer models make things more easy, but I find the Barchetta, Challenge Stradale, and even the Enzo to be perfectly safe and comfortable drivers around town.

I find myself looking forward to every drive in a Ferrari. I park my cars at ballgames, shopping malls, and on city streets. I guess, to be honest, each more fantastic car has a honeymoon period wherein that car is the one I will not take here or there. Eventually, a new superstar emerges and I find my comfort with taking the former to a golf course or a pumpkin patch returns. Try not to be a prisoner to your cars. Put miles on them! Use them to go from points A, B, and C. Enjoy life and let others enjoy seeing your fantastic Ferrari.

 

Part of getting over Ferrari anxiety is to drive the hell out of the thing. The faster you 'shake it down' (especially if it has not been driven for a while) the sooner you identify the issues/flaws and get them attended to. (That's the crucial thing - attend to them immediately)

After this initial 'break-in' you find yourself attuned the cars 'soul' and understand it's quirks (as well as its delights)

As far as parking anxiety, it's what insurance is for.

 

Enjoy my friend! Hope to see you on a FOG drive soon!

Cheers

 

https://ferrariownersgroup.org

 

Nothing is more beautiful in my book than the lines on the TR. Had mine for 7 years and drove 30,000 miles. Sold her back in 2014 and still look for her from time to time. I replaced her with F430.

Now lets get to basics, these cars are eye candy, not practical for daily however if you start driving her more, things will become more normal. Don't own her like those owners who worry about the car's value and miles but instead be like me 5-7K a year. Life is too short, leave all other car behind you and you will never have to worry about rock chips.

 

I agree! Drive it more. I live in a big city (with 458 Spider) and while I don't take it out to drive only in the city, I have no problems or worries anymore when coming in and out of the city. I'm just as careful as I would be in any other car. I also had it fully wrapped which gives piece of mind for the small scratches, dings and touches. As you drive it more, you will get comfortable. I've also noticed that other drivers seem to give me more space or perhaps they are just slowing down to admire the car. I hit a pot hole on the FDR last year and it damaged my tire (no damage to the rim). I have full tire and wheel insurance also. If you can afford the car, you can afford the insurance. Again, peace of mind. I haven't spent a dime on the car in 2.5 years (essentially paid for everything up front). I'm enjoying it more than ever. These cars are meant to drive!

 

At the risk of repeating everyone else's advice. Drive it. When I got my first Ferrari, I covered it in my garage every night, checked the weather before I'd drive it each time and wouldn't stop somewhere if I couldn't find the perfect spot. Three Ferraris and 2 Lamborghinis later, I car a lot less.

One thing you can do which will help a ton is to track your car. Once you've beaten the snot out of your car for a day, you'll develop a very different relationship with the car and feel WAY more at home in the driver's seat.

There are places I won't drive. Downtown San Francisco, for example... I have other cars for that as you're just inviting a problem with your exotic there, but for all other places, I drive my cars all the time now.

Lastly, I leased my Hurcan Spider and now treat the car as if it's a long-term rental car. I drive it a lot more often and to a lot more places than I would if I'd written a $330K check to the dealer. Next car, consider that. I didn't have the lease option on my 16M as I bought it from a friend... but I think I'll lease my cars from here on out.

 

If they get chipped / scratched / dinged - they can be fixed! Once you have your first little incident, you learn to get over it!

Enjoy!


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If you don’t enjoy driving your car, sell it. It’s not for everyone.

 

Kudos to OP for posting this question here. Lots of great insight from many different folks.

Personally, it took me a number of hours of drive time spread out across a handful of weeks to get comfortable driving my first F car. A particular trip to Calistoga from Willowglen really helped me feel more comfortable. In one trip I added 10+% more miles to the odometer.

I still won’t drive downtown SF (as one mentioned I also feel that’s just inviting problems) and spend a bit too much time debating parking spot options. However, I’ve learned to enjoy my new found super hero spider man like powers being hyper vigilant while driving. I’m now able to spot a dip in the road coming up while tracking what every person is doing in their cars in front, to the sides, and in back 3-5 cars deep