financing ferrari

I just recently purchased a 2004 360 Spider. I financed it through Ferrari Financial.
I just filled out a simple credit app and nothing else was required. I was surprised how uneventful the whole process was.

 

Great question. Obviosly I like the F car better since I own one and they are more fun. The corvettes have down sides and upsides. If someone is buying an F car and he or she has limited financial reserves they could get stuck with a najor expense they are not able to handle. The Corvettes are everywhere so pride of ownership is diminished but the Zr1 is a little more refined and very quick. You can also beat them to death and they could care less. The Upkeep costs are bassically Chevy costs. The ZR1 is the xupercar bargain of the century snd much quicker than a F430.
As you point out the $14000 may be neglect but the charges include, belt change, new oil battery and brake fluid change. I only had the car for 3 of the 4 years since it was born. I gave it the maintence the factory recomened. The F430 should be less, no belts for example. I traded in the 360 for the F430. I own 16 vehicles so I view them as machinery.
PS the corvettes untill 2008 where not fun at all. They had numb steering and poor manual 6 speeds that all changed with 2008.

Lee

 

If the items you list cost 14K, somebody got screwed.

Dave

 

Sorry I fear I did not answer the question you asked. The F car is better in my view because;
The ferrari has crisp, tight handling, the Vette while good does not match. The ferrari has a much better engine sounds than any car I own. I tingle whe I start it and run the magitino swirch in sport so I can play the throttle for that harmonest sound while driving. Also the Ferrari has very high pride of ownership. Car people always stop and talk to me about my car and theirs. I enjoy that. The Ferrari lines are stunning on my view. The new 458 at least in pictures is breathertaking.

I never likes vettes untill they chagned in 2008. They are now good cars. The ZR1 is stunning in its refinement and power. As good as any Ferrari. I drove a 599 at the dealership twice and the car is very fast but acording to car and driver the only car that can beat the ZR1 is the LP640. The LP640 has all wheel drive so better traction. In a rolling start the vette won. C&D called it a draw.

Lee

 

Dave that might be true. I had another shock on my F430. For a battery change and oil, I was charged $1100.

I was on the ferrari owners club Board of directors. The few people I discused upkeep costs had similar experiences. I live in the Central Florida area and there were 4 companies who could do maintenace.

This is why I caution people to be sure they can afford those wallet thining days. I would love to buy a Testrossa but I am put off by the belt change requirement every three (or 5) years. This is the car they must remove the engine to do the work, very expensive

I noticed in your profile that you had a Lotus Elise a 1005 if remeber correctly. I have a 2006 Lotus Elise Sport and I love the car. I have not had any problems so far. Did you have any issues with the car? Some of my freinds are having cam gauling probles

Lee

 

Congrats, nice car!

 

I sold the Elise pretty quick. We just didn't bond.

Dave

 

I leased mine using Premier. I drive it for work often and write off a significant portion of the vehicle. I think the key is being ABLE to write the check but then choosing the payment method that makes the most sense for you and your situation.

 

I am considering that same.. and for me, its not about having or not having the money...

I could wire funds for a car and it would not change my life or standard of living one bit.. I guess it would just be piece of mind taking a note. KNOWING that I could pay off at any time, but if a better investment opportunity came along, I have the extra cash to jump at it. However, the interest is substantial on this purchase size. On a $150k purchase, interest is in the $900-$1k per month range INTEREST ONLY for the first 12 months. So, its a pretty big amount. And of course (unlike mortgage interest which is tax ded.) Its just lost money.. $10k per year gone.. No principal reduction at all.

 

I would hope the majority of people who actually own a Ferrari, can afford to pay cash for them, whether they elect to finance or not.

If you do not have the cash on hand to pay for the car, even if you finance it, and your financial circumstances degrade, your "dream" will become a nightmare.

Financing today is more difficult than ever before.

Best

 

Agreed! The maintenance adds up QUICK and can be LOTS!

 

That must be the case because I surpassed all the above criteria.

 

if not already mentioned www.penfed.org offers 3.9% used car loans up to $100,000 for 60 months.

 

I was about to say, 14k? what exactly was up with your modena when you traded her in? sounds like 2 majors and a clutch to me! with some brakes thrown in!

 

No wonder you're afraid of a TR, you're being r*ped!

FWIW, I think you need to seriously evaluate where you are having your service done. My TR engine out and a bunch of "while we're in here's" was less than half of what you were quoted for the 360 major. And mine was done at a very reputable shop here in S. FL.

 

Vehicle? Did you buy a Ferrari? How much did you finance with USAA?

 

Up to a max of $75k...

 

For me it was putting 2 new service rigs on the road for my company.

I had a choice, buy what my biz needed and finance an F430, or wait another year to have the cash in hand - as not adding to my biz fleet was not an option as I was turning away about 25% of the work coming my way without them.

I wanted an f430 - had the money to purchase - but elected to buy the service vehicles and respective equipment to add to my fleet with a check, and finance the F430.

The 200k in new additions to my company's fleet should return somewhere between 200k and 275k this year, and add much needed tax relief for me in a gangbuster year.

Financing it was the sensible choice so as not to wait another year.

I had a lot of resistance in getting financed >800 score, wads of disposable income, but recent loans were the killer.

Found a GREAT leasing firm that looked at reality rather than "data" and made it happen - anyone interested in their info can PM me.

 

I have a business as well and (in the past) preferred to use credit for expansion rather than personal use. For one thing, it is deductible but more importantly, I always had credit remaining I could use quickly when business opportunities arose. It sounds like you are extended about as far as you can go. No room for error.

Dave

 

Don't know what model/cost you are looking at. Some folks have posted that you should not consider financing a Ferrari - some of these were rather brutal and discouraging but I think they were meant with good intent.

To answer your question, actual Ferrari financing through your dealer is a bit tricky as they will finance almost any year car BUT will not finance anything less than $50K USD. So for example, if you are considering a $90K 360 and plan to put 1/2 down Ferrari will not finance you. That said, I financed a very small portion of my 355 purchase and my dealer got me a good interest rate through Wells Fargo. No early-payment penalty so I paid it off in 3 months. Helped my credit and established a relationship with Wells Fargo.

As far as the "if you have to finance you can't afford it" statements when these folks are saying is somewhat true but should be taken with a grain of salt. What they are saying is it is probably not a good idea to sqaunder every penney you have for a down payment and then get into a Ferrari - especially a Ferrari that is still depreciating - in an upside-down financial situation with no money in reserve for unexpected repairs and/or maintenance.

If you are in a position to put a significant portion down (cash down or trade etc.), have the means to make whatever the payment is without any stress and have a chunk of easily-accessible money to tap into for repars and maintenance then go for it!!

You just don't want to get into an upside-down, huge monthly payment and no cash reserve situation on a Ferrari - or any car for that matter - but the "cash reserve" factor is more important on a Ferrari than it is on a non-exotic.

Hope this helps - Cheers

 

This topic has been discussed ad-nauseum on this forum. In the end it boils down to your unique circumstances and tolerance. Some have posted questioning their ability to own a ferrari making a million dollars a year on this forum.. you can take this to incorrectly read that Fcars are soooo expensive even a millionaire can't afford one, or you can read that they're making a boatload but have no equity and no job security. The latter begs against an FCar purchase in my eyes.

If I personally found myself asking how the money from this car could be used to improve my business.. I would simply not be able to buy the car. If my personal income from my company allows it then I buy one.

As far as financing a fully depreciated car. Why not? It's other peoples money and if you can afford the payments and still have money for savings, vacations, etc. then how is it different from financing a used (1-2 year old) daily driver? Why not use other peoples money when interest rates are only going to go up and interest rates on savings pose such a low opportunities cost? If you can afford it.. go for it. I personally didn't want to wait until I could buy the car for cash.. only to have back issues getting in and out.. and have to use the ash tray as a place to store my viagra... ;-)

 

Agree to disagree...
Spewing grossly exaggerated expectations of cost can be also misleading. I'm a country doc and that number you have above is FAR in excess of my lowly income. 200k AFTER taxes? wow! I guess I need to find a nice Alpo recipe to hold me for retirement. ;-)

Despite the poverty (hehehe), my little 360 and I are doing just fine. The 360 is just as reliable as any 993 or 996 porsche. Yes it is more expensive for parts.. but it is just as reliable. If you're paying that much (and my car needed some love to when I bought it) for repairs, you need to stop taking it to the dealership that is raping you and find a mechanic that is honest. ;-)