Getting back in the saddle again!

After an almost 10 year hiatus I'm ready to put another Ferrari (8th?) in the garage. Instead of having to store it 6 month out of the year as I did in Upstate NY, I've retired to the Hilton Head area and now enjoy year round convertible driving.

Like many, my first Ferrari was a 308 GTSi in red; almost a cliche right? Except now I actually wear Hawaiian shirts. My current car is a Quartz Blue Metallic 40th Anniversary Mercedes SL320. Chick car, right? I bought it solely for the color which is most like the current Azzurro California.

My last Ferrari was a Mondial t Cabriolet in Blu Sera and Navy. My all time favorite was a 328GTS that was wrecked two weeks after I sold it to a kid who kissed a stone wall instead of negotiating a curve. My ugliest Ferrari was a Prugna Metallic and Crema 3.2 Mondial Cab. I remember parking it in the "corral" at the 1990 FCA annual meet in Watkins Glen amongst many others. Returning to drive it away one afternoon I decided I really needed to sell it.

I am most interested now in a 360 Spider, but at 6'5" I am keen on trying one on for size before wasting anyone's time shopping online. I do enjoy the research mode and have learned quite a bit already from this website. Ferrari related websites have been an interesting development over the years.

Back in the early 90's I was just getting into the internet thing. The only Ferrari website was Ferrari.it, the factory site. Ferrari.com was owned by some guy in Massachusetts who was trying to hold it for ransom to Ferrari NA. At one point he had it pointed to Lamborghini.com, probably to annoy the guys in Englewood Cliffs.

I registered Ferraris.com and started the first online Ferrari Magazine. I was soon tipped off by a very nice authorized dealer (who loved my site) that I was going to get a "cease and desist" letter from Ferrari's attorneys. Indeed I did, but since Ferrari NA did not have a website, I turned the situation around and ended up producing the original Ferrari.com. They ended up with the name after a reported $5000 pay off the then domain owner. They got my Ferraris.com domain as part of my production deal.

During my year and a half tenure with Ferrari NA, I was offered the red Mondial t Cabriolet with the Valeo clutch that was in the movie "Scent of a Woman". It was the "press car" to introduce the Valeo and I was tipped off by one of the in house mechanics that it had been trashed many times by reporters. Their favorite game was to rev the engine up to redline and then move the shift lever into first to see what happened. It was also a bit worn for wear so I passed. They ended up repainting the car, put in a 3rd clutch and shipped it to their new Factory store in Beverly Hills. Last I heard it was rental.

I ended up buying a "t" cabriolet I saw in AutoWeek. My mechanic and I flew out to Chicago, checked it out and then drove it (all night) straight home on I-90. After a couple of years of pleasant ownership, Pete Sweeney of Forza called me up and asked it I wanted to sell it and I said "not really". He insisted there was a number at which I'd let it go so I added $5k to what I paid for it and he said he'd call me back within the hour. SOLD! It left on a flatbed a few days later and that was my last Ferrari.

So much has changed in the last dozen years; its almost like buying one for the first time again. Thrill of the hunt! Bear with me if I appear to act like a newbie; I'm just having fun!

 

Sorry, I'm really new and I know you're looking for advice, but it seems like you have experience with a purchase I'm considering. If I could bother you for some valuable information that would be great. I want to buy a 308 GTSi and was wondering if you could PM me with some advice. Thanks in advance.