Lifelong Porsche guy considering GTS for 50th bday

Hi friends,

I turn 50 next year and have started to think about ordering myself a new car. I currently have a Lamborghini Urus (daily), a 992 GT3 Touring w/manual, and a McLaren GT. The Mac is 100% on the chopping block, and the GT3 Touring may be as well.

I will be test driving a 296 GTS on Tuesday to see how I like it. Candidly, I’d ignored the car for so long because of its hybrid V6. But after watching review after review, I’m finding it impossible to ignore how much people rave about it. Initially had thought about pursuing an F8, given the V8 and more familiar styling, lack of touch screen etc, but it seems like the 296 is a massive leap, and besides, who am I to be a purist — as I’m new new to the brand and don’t want to let dogma get in the way of enjoying an incredible machine.

Assuming I like the car, my next dilemma is whether to order new or find a lightly used example. To give you some context, I could afford any car Ferrari has for sale easily, but I’ve always been prideful about finding the sweet spot of very low miles and a good deal - preferring to avoid as much depreciation as I can so as to feel less guilty about making the purchase. Might be my middle-class-son-of- immigrants upbringing

For this 50th milestone present to myself however, I’m strongly considering just ordering exactly what I want and saying “screw it” to any concern about depreciation. If the car is a long term keep, it’s probably less relevant anyway. At the same time, I’m trying to assess exactly how much I’d save by buying a low mile, one year old GTS. My crude research reveals the savings aren’t huge.

I’d love your opinion on my champagne problem!

 

There may be new ones that people decided not to take possession.

Looks like you’ve been thinking about entering Ferrari world for a few years now!

 

op imo, you are over thinking it.

My purchases were about emotion , feel , cache, inclusion, and visual beauty. Depreciation , value was on the bottom of the list.

There's a saying, something to the effect , That owner's of the other brands all aspire to be in a Ferrari , however the reverse is not true.

My experience , get the Ferrari and at least be able to say , been there done that. You won't be disappointed.

Good luck.

 

Not sure you’d get a new one within a year if you ordered now (if that’s important to you).

 

You have to talk to the Ferrari dealer to really understand what they have in their inventory. The Ferrari North America doesn't let their dealerships advertise a new car that another client may have walked away from. The dealership typically advertises 1 year old cars or older. It is not unusual to see used Ferrari models with less than 100 miles on them. Some customers simply buy new Ferrari models to get access to more exclusive models that have limited availability. "Think 911 S/T" vs. a 911 Carrera T. Also finding an unusual paint color that you like may work to your advantage on price. Think "Aubergine" vs. "Guards Red". Finally don't limit yourself to just one Ferrari dealership if you are buying "used". Ferrari dealers can only order cars for clients who live in the dealer's geographic territory. The used Ferrari market is wide open.

 

Hope you can still order! We ordered our GTS in July and dealer told us it was one of the last ones Ferrari took for the US market. But maybe they have kept it open. Also- when we went to the dealer there were 3 brand new cars that were available that people had backed out of for various reasons.

 

Love the 296 gts. Drive one and a f8 and go from there a lot of brand new296 gts are available good luck

 

Gonna be hard to time an ordered Ferrari. Heck, they are sitting in the port now for 3+ months.

Best if you find a new one and buy it. Just hide it in storage till your birthday!!!

 

You only turn 50 once.

Order the car you want, buy it, drive it, and don't look back.