F Owners and multiple owners... Biggest Lesson Learned?

Buy a good automotive technology book, parts manual for your car and a quality set of basic tools and do the small maintenance yourself - you'll learn a lot that way.

It's not a shrine, a rare diamond or the 8th wonder of the world...it's just a car, so drive it, enjoy it and fix it when it breaks. Repeat often.

There is no such thing as a "perfect" car (see #2)

 

I think the most important lesson I have learned is to take the time to be sure exactly what car you want and why. I really wanted a Ferrari and bought one. In less than a year I found that I loved Vintage Ferrari's and really didn't care at all about the modern cars. If I had waited and pondered a little while longer, I would have one more vintage car in the garage right now.

 

Just go get one.

Life's too short to overanalyze things. I bought mine in a week, without a PPI, and I run the wheels off of it. The resale value is about nil, but I'm having fun.

I have coworkers and friends that want one and could easily afford it if they'd just go get one, but they dither and flitter and consider and still aren't driving their Ferrari.

Pity.

 

The most valuable lesson I have learned has been more of an attitude adjustment - before I bought my 308 I was concerned (especially after reading some of the threads on F chat) that my car would either spend most of the time in the shop or cost $$$$$$$ to keep it running. In the last year and a half I have realized that it's just a car - things will break and wear out but there isn't anything that can't be fixed and while the parts are expensive, if you have any mechanical ability at all, they aren't that difficult to work on.

 

Unless you absolutely have to, don't buy a current model. Instead, be 6-7 years behind the curve. There are hundreds of examples available, most with low miles. And you'll save up to 50% - enough money to buy an extra Ferrari.

 

If you can do it get a car under full factory warranty. Otherwise you're a sitting duck.

 

Wow, there is some good info in this thread,
Very nice.

 

Tell the wife before you buy #3, not after...

 

Buy one with a fresh major service (or the service done within the previous year).

Buy one that has been driven at least 2000 miles in the previous 12 months.

Read the owner's manual (at least the English part).

And buy new shoes, you'll be parking way out in the parking lots.

 

Gerald Roush's mantra about buying Ferraris is: Condition, condition, condition.

It really doesn't matter if the car is low miles or high miles, crashed or not crashed, garage queen or daily driver. What really counts is the condition the car is in right now. For example, yes a garage queen can have problems. But if the car has been sorted out, it should be good to go. The point is that once you know the car, you can then adjust your offer to reflect these other issues.

What's implied in this comment is that you should only buy known cars. Has the car been well maintained, who did the work, and so forth and so on. Buying a used Ferrari with an unknown history is only for the brave.

Sme of us are like carreaper who can put elbow grease into a project and come out ahead. This doesn't work for me because I lack the 3 Ts: Time, Tools, and Talent.

This is why buying from a dealer makes sense for me. If something goes wrong, I at least have a shoulder to cry on.

This is also why it makes sense to subscribe to the Ferrari Market Letter if you're looking at buying an older Ferrari. One thing that Gerald does for his subscribers is to share whatever his database shows about a specific car.

Again, you need to find out everything you can about the specific car that you are considering. It doesn't happen that often, but Ferrari does occasionally make the car from hell. Your job is to make sure that the car you buy is not one of these.

Dale

ps If you use Gerald's comment in an article, please remember to mention the Market Letter.

 

The single biggest thing I have learned was that it's just a car. By that I mean you can work on it just the same as any other car. It works basicly the same, and not to hard to work on.

When I bought my car I though I was getting a good deal. As others have said there is no such thing as a "cheap" Ferrari. I bought it on emotion, and man am I "paying" for it. I have fixxed just about everything you can fix on this car. But when you get a lemon, make lemonade. I'm probably on my 12th pitcher of lemonade now. LOL. Anyway, if I had gotten a car that was in perfect shape I wouldn't know as much as I do about 348's, and wouldn't have been able to pass the mechanical knowledge on to the rest of the brotherhood. But on the other hand, it would have been cheaper on the wallet.

So to help keep the cost of ownership down, I decided to buy a set of tools and start working on my car. After all real men work on their own cars. That was the smartest thing I could have done. I have saved well over $20,000 by doing my own work, as compaired to taking it to the dealer. Yes really $20K. All because I said "Screw it! If we can put a man on the moon, I can fix this stinkin Ferrari."

There is something special about owning a Ferrari. But, there is something even MORE special when you can fix your Ferrari, with your own two hands.

So what ever kind of Ferrari you have, put a wrench in your hand and fix it like a MAN!!!

 

I could have written this myself. I bought my Lotus with NO mechanical knowledge at all about cars. No tools either. I wanted a cheaper toy car and the Europa was a good choice. It's just a car and after having my so-called mechanic screw up everything he touched, over and over again, I came to realize this mantra:

"I can screw up my car for a lot less money than my mechanic can"

So, I bought a lot of GOOD tools, and got rid of my fear of tearing into the car when something went wrong. I remember the second time I got stranded, and instead of towing it to my mechanic I thought, "Hey, I can fix this; it's a car. Have faith." So I towed it home. Turned out it was just a stuck float valve and an hour or so later I'm driving again. My mechanic would have had it a week and charged several hours of labor for sure.

Since then, I don't think twice about doing my own work. I know if I get stuck I can always tow it to a mechanic anyway so why not try and fix things myself? I've saved many thousands of dollars. Many!

So, I'd say if you want an older Ferrari, don't be afraid you can't learn to fix it yourself. Don't let the mechanical side keep you from buying the car you really want.

Ken

 

dm_n_stuff - I started a thread here asking about PPI etiquette and if it's okay to ask the seller to pay half. What you said makes the most sense to me. Most of the answers in that thread went along the lines of, "No. It's the buyer's responsibility to pay for a PPI." I guess my question should have been, "If the car turns out to be a dog and they don't disclose it, is it okay to ask the seller to pay half?"

My search is ongoing for my first F-Car. This thread has a lot of useful information. Keep 'em coming, owners!


Thanks,


AP

 

When reading through this thread, I've noticed lots of people are performing their own maintenance and repairs--that's encouraging to me. But I've also seen at least one bit of advice for someone when buying a car "...who has done the service?".
I haven't made the plunge, yet, but when (not 'if') I do, I will be doing my own service, etc.
Would a self-serviced Ferrari be reduced in value compared to one that had a service history from an authorized facility or qualified independent shop?

 

Probably, but the real question is 'is the loss in value less than the cost of the services?'

In my case, the high mileage I put on the car is killing the value faster than any oddities in the service history (82,000 and counting!)

 

That is an angle of thought I hadn't considered. Hope this isn't too dumb a question, but would you think the '...loss in value...' would be much greater in a self-serviced 360 over, say a self-serviced 355 or 348? It probably would, but what's your feeling?

 

I don't think there would be much loss of value if you "document" absolutely everything that you've done to the car and have receipts for the parts.
I find the more time I spend working on the car , the more I bond with it.
I've only had my 308qv for a few months now and actually look forward to "tinkering" on it nearly as much as driving it.
Steve

 

a very inspiring thread!

 

This question is very broad and thats why the answers vary so much. I think that self service on a new or modern Ferrari is a no no. However with any Classic or Vintage car it is much more acceptable, and usually the preferred method. Very seldom does a dealer care as much about a vintage car as the owner does. This of course does not apply to independents that make a lot of their income servicing vintage cars, and are usually enthusiasts themselves.

 

Same with shade tree mechanics. I do lots of stuff two and three times before I get it working right sometimes, but I also don't want to be a DPO, so I use the right parts, fasteners, etc. and eventually things are how they should be. This attitude is important as it's too easy to do quick fixes with duct tape, poor electrical connectors, cheap bolts, etc. that in time come back to bite you.

Ken

 

My first ferrari needed a lot of work but I didnt care, I had a pretty good idea what I was getting into but I have learned that when I bought my second ferrari I had higher standards. I dont regret buying the first one but dont really want to go through that kind of restoration again if I can avoid it. So, because I wanted a ferrari really bad, I bought something that others wouldnt have touched with a ten foot pole but on the up side, I have learned a lot about 308's but it was an expensive process. If you can restrain yourself and wait, you will get a better car than if you jump the gun and let your heart make the decision.

 

My biggest lesson learned was that I found out that the specialist who was performing the PPI on my Testarossa was mostly interested in promoting his own Testarossa that he had for sale.