Drive or Ship It?

drive it.

stone chips or a cracked windshield? it happens! fix it when you get home (window) or just live with it (stone chips) and treat it like a car, not a painting.

 

Bought the 360 Spider in Denver at the dealer and drove it home to Aspen. Would never consider having it shipped. 3.5 hours of some of the best twisty and scenic roads in the world. Stay off the Interstates as much as possible. More policia there. It was wonderful.

Have 3M put on before you drive it. Get 100% coverage on the glass.

Life is good. Enjoy.

 

you only live once.

It's a car, they're supposed to be driven.

 

I think the signature on Napolis' posts answers the question of this thread!

 

If driving a Ferrari a long distance is a chore, I don't even see the point in owning one.

 

Drove my car home from San Diego to Seattle over 2 fall days.

Would do it again in a heartbeat. I bought it to drive it. Drove it up the coast to SF, stayed the night in Sausilito and then took the freeway the rest of the way the next day.

Awesome drive, made me love the car even more.

I did take it to an F-car mechanic before starting out and had him change the oil and go over everything just for the piece of mind.

And it gave me a chance to open it up on some of the open stretches of road.

Coast highway twisties in the late afternoon on a sunny day, top stowed and minimal traffic?

Heaven on earth.

 

Well said!

 

great to drive,but do you have the time to drive from l.a. to new york ?,what if it blows a coolant hose?,what if some drunk hits it?,what if it get stolen?

 

All of which could just as easily happen a mile from home so does it make a difference. If you don't want to drive your Ferrari what's the point of owning it?

 

You buy it, I'll drive it home for you....heck, I'll even drive it to your home, I'm just saying.

 

As opposed to what? Your home? lol

 

Yeah BABY!!!

On serious note, in my opinion anything over 200 miles would be too far.

 

That's what I do, transport enclosed cars, that said I think it would be a blast to drive the car, but I can also say there has been times when someone will ship one car and do what your thinking and decide to drive the other, usually it's a collectible, street rod, ect. that normally wouldn't see a trip that long and I end up getting a call asking "where are you? we broke down, do you have an extra spot on the truck? can you pick us up? oh, your almost to our house, can you wait for us? shouldn't be more than a couple of more days! I'd say drive it but not more than 300 miles, just my .02.(When I bought mine I didn't drive it, but then again I have a truck and knew the guy hauling it wouldn't hurt it!)

 

If you have it shipped, take some pictures of the front,back and both sides just before it gets on the truck. When it gets dropped off take the same pictures again. Check it out very well before you sign the papers saying it's ok. I didn't look close enough and it cost me.

 

If you can take the time, drive it. I don't care if it is on a different continent. Road trips are the only good reason to have these cars.

 

What a beautiful, beautiful car, Edeo....

Very nice.

Mike

 

I just want to say great thread and terrific responses.

I have done both. I have had cars shipped and touch wood all went well. I have also driven cars long distances, over 500 miles and touch wood all went well.

My first advice would be to ask yourself several questions. Like, do you like to drive long distances? Do you have someone to share a trip like this with? Are there places along the way you want to visit?

On my long trips I have driven straight home non stop. Not so much fun. And I have planned driving trips. As I was reading all the comments I was surprised by a few that feel 200+ miles is too much. I would ask these people how long of a drive do they drive their Ferrari. I have driven that on days I just feel like taking the Ferrari for a drive. As they say each to their own. Great thing about freedom of choice.

Back to your question. Personally if you have the time and possibly have someone to share the trip with. I would drive it. It is easy to go online and map your route and find nice places to stay along the way and places to see. It is easy to mix the types of roads etc. Think of some of the articles in numerous car magazines. EVO comes to my mind when they take one or multiple cars for a several days test through France or Italy etc. In those articles they have the same worries to some degree as we do about the cars being safe over night. They may drive the press cars harder than we will drive our new baby home, but it doesn't do them any good if the cars get vandalized or stolen while doing their story. And when I have finished reading these articles I think wow how much fun would a trip similar to their's be. I have many fond memories of driving my cars home from long distances. My last one was over 1,000 miles and I spread it out over several days. It was terrific and I would do it again. And as I sit here thinking about possibly my next car purchase it is extremely likely that it will be far away and yes I will absolutely be driving it back.

As so many have said these cars are meant to be driven. If you are purchasing a F355 all the way up to any current Ferraris it will be fine to drive them back to your home. The modern Ferraris perform beautifully and are relatively problem free. On a last note one of my past Ferraris I drove to Montreal for the Grand Prix weekend. It was so much fun driving through Vermont on windy roads. It is a trip I will always remember fondly.

Best of luck and let us know what you decide and if it is to drive it back I look forward to reading your thoughts.

Cheers,

 

An AAA membership should take care of those worries.

Heck, with their premium membership, they'll pay for you to overnight somewhere, even buy a meal and a change of clothes for you!

 

Wow! I love the color and I definitely love spiders, looks like a great car, congrats and have fun driving!

 

Agree with those that say not before a THOROUGH inspection. Of course, there will be others that will say, rightly, don't buy the car without that thorough inspection. But I didn't and I didn't. Hindsight's 20/20. I don't regret the purchase at all, but it definitely needed work and should have been trailered all the way. I had it trailered to Buffalo, then drove it to Toronto (about two hours) to save a few bucks. Should have had it delivered door to door.