Martin's Curse and the Rescue of a Former Teenage Garage Queen | FerrariChat

Martin's Curse and the Rescue of a Former Teenage Garage Queen

Discussion in 'Ferrari Discussion (not model specific)' started by AJS328, Jun 5, 2004.

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  1. AJS328

    AJS328 F1 Veteran
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    Apr 23, 2003
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    Augustine Staino
    #1 AJS328, Jun 5, 2004
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    Let me be the first to tell you:

    You'll be back!!!!

    Ferrari ownership is a virus. Once you catch it you can not go without it. There is no counter drug, especially NOT from Germany!
    The virus is in you for LIFE. The only way to escape it is by death!
    To counter the virus you will have to buy another horse (eventually).

    The symptoms of the F-Virus are:

    * utterly bored with your ride
    * feeling strage when talking to your ride in italian and the damn thing answers "was ist los?"
    * you realize that Fahrvergnuegen has nothing to do with Driving!
    * your heart beating faster when passing your local Pizza place, yet you do not go in to eat but to talk to the owner and hear the lovely accent.
    * the manual in your new car is clear and understandable and yet you feel empty!
    * You start crying in your garage when looking at the small horse in the P-logo.

    As Homer said: "He'll be back"
    (it certainly wasnt our last Cheese Doodel !)
    __________________
    Martin
    Cavallino Motors

    I didn't take these words of wisdom too seriously at first. As some of you may remember, a few weeks ago I traded my Azzurro '89 328 on a '95 Porsche 911. I've had quite a few 911's in the past and I've always loved them but this time was different. This time I had just come out of a Ferrari. The first week was pretty nice but then I started to feel funny. Could I really be getting bored with this car already? I started to second guess my decision. Then I started to think about what Martin had said. I was thinking about how driving a Ferrari feels. The Porsche 993 is a fantastic car! In fact, I wish I could have one as a daily driver. It just wasn't the same as my 328 though. Fore example, when you moved the gear lever, it actually shifted, and easily at that. The power steering was nice but not as direct and the clutch felt too light. It just wasn't very involving to drive.

    I was really missing my 328.

    Then it hit me. Why don't I just suck it up, take the hit on my 911, and get another 328. And that is just what I did. After some searching I decided on an '87 328 GTS in Black/Tan. There was actually a thread about this particular car because another F-Chatter was considering it. It was at Naperville Motors in Illinois. The car has 11,825 miles on it currently with the 15k service completed. I want to make sure that I have total peace of mind so I am going to have a 30k service completed very soon. The car is in transit as we speak so I am really excited! I am looking forward to getting back behind the wheel of my favorite car. I definitely learned a lesson with this experience. Part of the lesson is that "Ferrari" and "Sensibility" are not meant to be in the same sentence. These cars have a lot of compromise rolled into them but once you get over their quirks, they're very rewarding to own. The other part of the lesson is that, although I still love the Porsche 911 very much, it will never be a substitute for my real obsession, the 328. You were right Martin. Now if only I could have figured this out sooner! :)

    Here are a few pics.
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  2. GrigioGuy

    GrigioGuy Splenda Daddy
    Lifetime Rossa Owner

    Nov 26, 2001
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    #2 GrigioGuy, Jun 5, 2004
    Heh. Knew you'd be back, just didn't expect it so soon. Congrats!
     
  3. Auraraptor

    Auraraptor F1 World Champ
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    Sep 25, 2002
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    #3 Auraraptor, Jun 5, 2004
    Welcome back home! :)
     
  4. matkat

    matkat Formula 3

    Mar 18, 2003
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    #4 matkat, Jun 5, 2004
    Contagious,thats the reason I will never depart from Ferrari ownership.Welcome back.
     
  5. davem

    davem F1 Veteran
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    Jan 21, 2002
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    #5 davem, Jun 5, 2004
    Augustine.
    Looks great! Love the GTS in black. Maybe change your nic to Nero328!?
     
  6. Alex_V

    Alex_V F1 Rookie
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    #6 Alex_V, Jun 5, 2004
    cool car, good thing you choose the F-car over the P-car :)
     
  7. amenasce

    amenasce Three Time F1 World Champ
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    #7 amenasce, Jun 5, 2004
    hehe..this must be some kind of record :)

    Wise decision :)
     
  8. Senna1994

    Senna1994 F1 World Champ
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    #8 Senna1994, Jun 5, 2004
    Congradulations on that Black Beauty. I tell my wife now that we have a 2 year old daughter I should sell the 355 and buy a 996 Turbo. My wife says no way you will never be happy, sell it and buy a 360 that is ok. Thank god for understanding Brazilian wives.
     
  9. AJS328

    AJS328 F1 Veteran
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    Augustine Staino
    #9 AJS328, Jun 5, 2004
    Dave,

    I was thinking the same thing. ;)
     
  10. Chiaro_Slag

    Chiaro_Slag F1 Veteran

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    #10 Chiaro_Slag, Jun 5, 2004
    lol!
     
  11. wax

    wax Five Time F1 World Champ
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    #11 wax, Jun 5, 2004
    Back in Black

    Nice write-up!
     
  12. Kevallino

    Kevallino Formula 3

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    #12 Kevallino, Jun 5, 2004
    Congrats - nice car. Just amazed at how quick the turnaround was!!

    Cheers
    Kevin
     
  13. darth550

    darth550 Six Time F1 World Champ
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    #13 darth550, Jun 5, 2004
    GU

    DL
     
  14. aawil

    aawil Formula 3

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    #14 aawil, Jun 5, 2004
    Wow that was a pretty short term porsche ownership.Nice to here your back in a ferrari again:)
     
  15. whart

    whart F1 Veteran
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    #15 whart, Jun 5, 2004
    Well, i guess i'll have to return that Porsche key chain i bought for you. I like the car in black/tan.
    Curious to know how you find it, compared to your last one, which was an '89, right?
     
  16. dm_n_stuff

    dm_n_stuff Four Time F1 World Champ
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    #16 dm_n_stuff, Jun 5, 2004
    WOW! WOW!! One week!

    She's a beauty. Drive her in good health.

    Hope you didn't get left with giant singe marks when you sold the 911.

    Welcome home.
     
  17. Tyler

    Tyler F1 Rookie

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    #17 Tyler, Jun 5, 2004
    Congrats! Beautiful looking in black/tan.
     
  18. scott63

    scott63 Formula Junior

    Nov 1, 2003
    408
    #18 scott63, Jun 5, 2004
    I am glad to see I'm not the only one who feels empty without an Italian car in the garage!! As some of you may know, in the past year I sold my 355 and bought a new 360. After a few months, I felt the purchase of the 360 was not rational and I sold it. After a month or so I got the sports car bug again and bought a 2003 Lotus esprit. The car was great but not the same as a Ferrari. I sold the Esprit and bought a 1996 Porsche Twin Turbo. The Porsche is very fast but does not excite me. Well after owning the Porsche for one month, I have sold it and on Tuesday will take delivery of a new Maserati Spyder. Certainly the Maserati is no 360, but for the money you get a lot of the same feeling and with a Tubi, the same sound (some say it sounds better). The new Maser's are built by Ferrari and actually the 4.2 liter engine will be the same motor used in the 360 replacement (although it will put out more HP than the 390 HP the Maser has...)

    Don't misunderstand me, the Lotus and Porsche are great cars. They just did not provide me with the same level of enjoyment (a lot of you guys call it soul) as the Ferrari's or Maserati.

    Augustine is right. Once you drive a Ferrari, it is very difficult to get that out of your system!!
     
  19. 134282

    134282 Four Time F1 World Champ
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    #19 134282, Jun 5, 2004
    August, where've you been...? i've been looking all over for you...!

    ...oh wait, that's right; you were dead to me when you sold your 328... :)

    Glad to have you back in black, buddy... It'll be weird to see you pull up in a black 328 but it'll be cool, too... i can't wait to see the car... Congratulations, dude...

    i hope you learned your lesson, too... :)
     
  20. 134282

    134282 Four Time F1 World Champ
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    #20 134282, Jun 5, 2004
    :)
     
  21. JSinNOLA

    JSinNOLA F1 World Champ
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    #21 JSinNOLA, Jun 5, 2004
    This is hilarious! Good move:)
     
  22. Eric308gtsiqv

    Eric308gtsiqv Formula 3

    Nov 26, 2001
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    #22 Eric308gtsiqv, Jun 5, 2004
    Congrats, Augustine...beautiful 328!!
     
  23. Cincy Ken

    Cincy Ken Karting

    Jan 24, 2004
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    #23 Cincy Ken, Jun 5, 2004
    Congratulations on your assessment of automotive priorities and quick correction. I'm happy that this is working out for you.

    In addition to my 328, I'm still driving (daily) the VW convertible I bought new in 1987. I keep trying to think about what to replace it with when the time comes. I look at P-cars (very nice), among others, but, like you, I just can't get very excited about anything but the F-cars. I hate to expose an F-car to daily driving, especially in winter, but I just can't get excited about spending much money on other cars. My son was telling me just this morning that I'm spoiled now that I have a Ferrari. I think your disease symptoms have caught it just about right.

    Welcome back (but we didn't really think you had to leave this forum anyway).
     
  24. vincent355

    vincent355 F1 Veteran
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    #24 vincent355, Jun 6, 2004
    What took you so long...to figure out.....that black ferraris rule!!!!


    Welcome back!
     
  25. flyingboa

    flyingboa Formula 3

    Nov 27, 2003
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    Eugenio
    #25 flyingboa, Jun 6, 2004
    So many people said this before me but... I could not resist. Knowing your passion, it is great to see that you could quickly come back to your true love.
    Welcome back to the 328 fraternity.

    Ciao

    Eugenio
     
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