Avoid the Garage queens!

The high milage cars also cost a lot less which makes them cheap enough to drive everyday without worrying about what happens to it! I use my 348 as my primary transportation. I don't have any other car so it gets all the same wear and tear as my last car. I got it so cheap that I don't care how many miles I put on it or what it will sell for if and when I decide to sell. I bought the car with 38K miles on it less than 2 years ago and it now has almost 73K. When I decided to buy I was looking for a car that was sound mechanically but needed some cosmetic work. I did not concern myself with things like paint and interior as long as they were ok. I made sure everything worked on the car and it didn't need any major repairs. I figured as long as I got it cheap enough I could always spend the difference on things like paint later if I wanted to. My plan originally was to drive it for a couple years to get some value out of it then do a frame up resto on it. Once I started driving it though, I realized that it really did not matter what it looked like. The car gets all the same rock chips and door dings just like my last car so having it stay in cream puff condition is near impossible any way. So far it has been a good decision. The car has been great. It has gotten me to work every day without fail and it has been wonderful to drive. It might not look as good as some of the garage queens out there but this car has been so much fun. I have driven the hell out of this car and feel I have gotten every dime back that I paid for it. In fact when I look at the numbers I realize just how glad I am that I did not spend a fortune on a garage queen. This car cost me $2K less than my last car. Granted the 348 costs a little bit more to drive, but it is way more fun. If I sold it right now at a loss I would still end up spending less on it than I did to drive the I30 for 3 years and who knows mabey I will decide to put it in the hangar for a full restoration some day!

 

There is an expression out there and it is long standing.
" LET THE BUYER BEWARE"
Anyone foolish enough to buy a " Garage Queen" without getting a ppi deserves to loose at this game.Would anyone buy a diamond without government certification? Let The Buyer Beware!

 

That only proves Ford suck.

 

Seems like too much of the focus has been on mileage vs resale. However, I think that a lot of people don't intend to flip the car after a short ownership. Hence the common situation of multi-Ferrari ownership. If you are looking for a car to KEEP, then you want to start out with as pristine an example as possible and drive it however you please. Finding a garage-queen and having it fully serviced is the way to go. The price premium is no big deal with that perspective.

 

What you're missing, though, is the proper definition of "pristine". A garage queen is NOT pristine... its delapitated! The *paint* might be pristine, but its insides are rot. Its easy to fix paint. I want a car that has been regularly used and impeccably maintained... that is a pristine car.

And if I can get it cheaper, then that means I can get a newer model year for the same money. A newer, well-used, well-maintained car is waayyyy better IMO than an older low-mileage garage queen!

 

I agree. When I was looking I was searching for a car that had been driven but not too excessively and had all of its services and updates. Who knows what will happen to a 5 or ten or 20 year old car that hasn't had some regular excersise. 95 355 with 26k, all sercive and updates by Ferrari, put 2500 miles on it in under 72 hours with no problems. I understand for some of the older cars, but keeping that car in the garage for the next twenty years is going to be impossible. Drive it, service it, fix it...drive it some more. Have a little fun driving if that's the part you enjoy.

 

I am confused when I read statements like "a garage queen is OK if maintained properly".........what does this mean?????????

The one who has this car obviously doesn't want to put miles on it, in order to keep it's value. He is an investor........and the LAST thing he wants to do, is to pour any more money into his investment, then he has to!!!!!!!!! Hence, what is he doing to "maintain it properly".........probably NOTHING!!!!!!!!! He's leaving that to the next sucker, who buys it!!!!!!

 

I have 15k and 30k services with 2,000 miles. That seems pretty well maintained to me.

 

May I ask what is the purpose of you NOT driving, and NOT enjoying this beautiful car more?

 

I owned a 348 Spider for 5 years from 2,500 miles to 10,000 miles.

Structural integrity wanes with potholes and general wear and tear which has near perfect correlation with mileage assuming normal driving pattterns.

 

You are better off with a garage queen that is used every other weekend for a few miles and serviced twice or three times a year than a high mileage car. Most people who do not put mileage on their Ferraris have them as third, fourth, or even fifth cars and have the financial wherewithal to ensure that they are maintained to the highest standards. If they are not maintained, they will rot as you would say.

 

Hey, I've only had it a week - Give me time!

I appreciate the prior owner's keeping it perfect for me. The car was made when I was 16 & I never dreamed of having one (OK, maybe I did dream of it, just never thought I could get one). Now that I have it, it is just extra special to me that it is brand new. If that is wrong, I don't want to be right. Here is my first weekend with it - On the road where it belongs.
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I didn't know.........haha!!!!!! Good luck.

 

Thanks

 

this is more to my philosophy.

i'm not precious about my cars (nothing to be precious about yet), and i doubt i ever will be. i won't mind getting some chips in the lower portions of the paint and a bit of wear in the cockpit. that can be fixed easy enough. and from the sounds of it, a car will need almost as much maintanence NOT being used as it will if it is.

remember, a mediocre ferrari still goes, sounds, and looks 10 times better than a pristine mum's taxi.

 

And that's great to you?? Your 15+ year old car has had two services and you're happy?? Were these the holy grail of services?? What exactly got done during these services? I mean, anything rubber ... anything ... including all seals and hoses and belts and gromets and tires and ... well, everything, are toast. There's gummed up fuel deposits in every fuel line, injector, the tank, the pump .... all trash. The most wear occurs in an engine during morning startup when the car has had hours to sit and a lot of the oil has been pulled to the pan by gravity .... and that's just simply overnight. What do you think happened to your rings and bearings during your car's bi-yearly startup??

You're not mechanically inclined are you?? Seriously, I'd love to hear from all you pro Garage-Queens ... how many of you do your own work on your cars and are in general, mechanically inclined?

It is just amazing to me just how true the saying is that money doesn't buy intelligence because damn, some of the dumbest things I've ever heard have been on this board.

For those pro Garage Queeners, why are you here?? On FerrariCHat I mean. This is an enthusiast board, what the hell is enthusiastic about putting a TR in a frickin bubble. That owner should've been shot and he's lucky he didn't live near me, I'd have shot him then taken the car and run over him with it.

As far as low-mileage cars demanding a higher premium, that's is the fault of the general uneducated (read that as "Stupid" if you'd like) buyer who thinks a car "wears out" with mileage. What really happens is people buy vehicles and neglect them. I'd gladly take a well maintained 200K mile '88 TR, and I'd pay more for it, than a 5K example of similar exterior/interior condition and year. Luckily for me, there's enough of you "I have no idea what I'm talking about" types out there to make the cost to me much lower for the car in better mechanical condition.

Bill in Brooklyn

 

Bill thats a little harsh, no? Jerry just bought a gorgeous car that has had its proper servicing recently (he didn't say those were the ONLY services, but those are the major ones people look for, typically) - and just because of that you accuse him of not being mechanically inclined? and insinuate he/we are stupid? While I think everyone on the board knows there is potential risk to a super low mileage car, if the car has been recently serviced by a qualified tech and runs great why not?

Jerry wanted as close to brand new TR as he could get...and thats what he got, his dream car.



Jordan

 

Bill Ng -- And exactly which model Ferrari do you currently own? How many miles were on the clock when you bought it? How many now? How many F-car belt services have you performed? If you're "between" cars, give us some background on the previous cars you've owned and mileage issues you've faced.

The true mark of FerrariChat is the enthusiasm we share. Whether we own 1:18 models, or a 1:1 Enzo, be careful in your criticism of these members.

Jerry -- I'm in your camp. Enjoy the car HOWEVER you choose.


-Daniel

 

I drive my cars as much as I can as I enjoy them. I share my cars with other F-Chatters as much as I can - I would say 10 different F-Chatters have been in my 2 F-Cars in the past year. 4 different ones have driven them. I will drive my new TR as much as I can & if I need to spend a little more getting any mechanics straightened out, I am prepared to do so.

If making others feel bad about there cars makes one a good enthusiast - Count me out.

Weather it be a low mileage or high mileage Ferrari, I am happy for the owners. For me, I just wanted a low mileage car that felt new.

 

BOY DID YOU WAKE UP ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE BED TODAY!
Call the FC police on this one, I hear threats of physical violence!
He's gonna run you over man!

 

lol, He did say the prior owner.

Why he would want to though I'm not sure - The prior owner was one of the nicer guys I have ever met. I guess I can think of better things to take ones life over than not putting miles on a car.

 

I have restored enough cars to have come to the conclusion that it is a lot easier and monetarily more efficient to restore mechanicals rather than paint, leather, and interior fixtures. Unless you have the deep pockets to go for Pebble Beach professional restore jobs, undoing interior and exterior wear from high mileage just does not come out as good as original.

Even when I have tried for cars (and other types of work), it seems like even buckets of money can not motivate paint/interior shops to do a very good job. Redoing mechanical issues from automotive-idleness vastly easier since you are not talking about wear and machining, just taking apart to replace the occasional seal, and tuning it back into spec.

As mentioned above, one does not rely on the odometer alone to evaluate the number of miles a car has gone. It seems to be quite easy to visually see the difference between 5K and 25K miles on a car.

 

Bill, just chill!
Have been restoring cars and showing cars for over 40 years. My dad was a founding member of CCCA. The Low millage cars ARE A COLLECTOR ITEM, the owners where not sick or stupid. If you only have one car you drive it till it drops then get another. When you are a collector you DO NOT BURN UP INVESTMENT QUALITY EQUIPMENT for your EGO. A TRUE car collector will drive the cars WHEN THEY Need to be driven OR to a special function. Being BORN in Jersey City and growing up in New York area the ONLY way we took our cars around up there was in a TRAILER, enclosed and LOCKED. Did not need the windshield washed at every stop light.
This forum like many others is to HELP PROMOTE the marques that is featured. I do not talk about any of our collection other than the TR. WHY? simple there maybe someone who wants a Ferrari very bad and if you IN YOUR FACE how much you have you MAY JUST LOSE a very nice addition to the forum.
My cars are GARAGE QUEENS and I lIKE IT THAT WAY. My father had 29 cars when he died. Try DUENBERG, AUBURN, ROLLS ROYCE, BENTLEY, CORD, PACKARD, MERCEDES BENZ. And they where ALL low milage Garage Queens and many time National 1st prize cars. 3 are in musuems now.
Please allow a person to enjoy there car as they wish. If you buy the car then you can POUR ON THE MILES but some people do not want to do that.
P.S. I do 100% of my own work.
Take Care
George P.

 

Hi George - Always nice to see you here - I'm still enjoying your products & placed another order the other day.

I definitely place a lot more weight on opinions like yours that come from experience! Not someone who has never owned an F-Car......

sandersja also makes some excellent points.

A garage queen may take a few extra dollars up front making sure the mechanics are all 100%, but if you want a perfect looking car interior and exterior, there is nothing better.

Now if you are going to drive the car a lot, there is no reason to pay a premium for a garage queen because it will depreciate a lot faster. Unless you have some money to burn & want that "new car" experience.

Just depends on what you plan on doing with the car.

I don't think anyone here is arguing that a car that has been sitting for 5 years is going to run better right out of the box than a regularly excercised F-car.