I have a passion for Ferrari, but sold mine, do you agree?

Not just a Ferrari problem. I read an article a few years ago in a Corvette magazine that said the same thing. A guy restored his '66 big block Corvette to the point of perfection, then was afraid to ever drive it. Too much money tied up in it to become a garage queen. So it became a frustrating ownership. Go back about 30 years and I read the same thing about a guy who restored a P-40 Warhawk fighter plane. Just too much money spent for the minor time involved in enjoying it. I guess it pays to be rich so you don't have to worry about it. "A scratch in the fender? Oh well, I'm bored with it. Sell it and buy something else. Ho hum...."

 

You claim to have a passion for Ferrari but I really doubt it's a passion. Practical things like using the car once a week doesn't enter into the equation when you are talking about wanting something with a passion. I have a 360 CS which I drive about 100 miles per week (about 2-3 times per week). I enjoy every aspect of ownership , the driving is just one part of it. I enjoy with a passion knowing it's in the garage and is there whenever I decide I want to use. it. I enjoy it when I see it , I even enjoy it enormously when my wife is driving it and I am following her in my go-fer Mini Cooper S. It looks great!.

If you were really passionate about having a Ferrari, bottom line is, you would have it. It's that simple.
"That's just my opinion, I could be wrong".

 

passions can fluctuate over time just as life has its ups and downs

you did what you needed to do at the moment and you should have no regrets

one day soon, you will see your next F-car and it will reignite your passion and you will be an owner once again

don't think about it for another minute--the future holds endless possibilities

 

The sight of an MC12 plowing through the snow and ice in England rings a bell!

Seriously, though... I'm sure you're not the first one to ever feel this way, and you most certiainly won't be the last.

 

Sounds like your priorities have watered down your passion. Unless you have independent funds to feed the beast you will always have a hard time justifing the car. I enjoy my little 308 but it is in the cost class that I can contend with. I'm comfortable with my house and cars paid for and no loan or credit card debit so the couple of $$ I need to shell out a year to feed my ego is insignificant. You have other things on your mind that you want more then the Fcar. Go have fun and all you need to remember is you once owned a Ferrari. Enjoy the ride

 

If you own your posessions/toys...enjoy

When your possessions own you...time to reevaluate


You made a wise choice.

 

With all due respect... when you decide to buy a car of any high end value you need to use “F--- you money”. What I mean is that everything else in your financial world is covered and that the cost of driving, buying/leasing, and maintaining the car is totally discretionary dollars. If not you will never really enjoy the car. Without sounding like a snob it took me until I was 40 to get to that point. Up until then my mind set was that I had not earned the right to drive a car like an F or P car. I do and can now. I enjoy the car. Never worry whether it will get hit, never concern myself with possible unforeseen costs and alike. But like I said I waited until it was well within my financial means to feel I could EARN the right of passage. I don't know or care to know your financial situation but I do know some people that a "new car poor" No car is worth putting yourself in that kind financial hardship. Just MHO.

Take care and good luck in your future endeavors.

 

I think you have probably misunderstood "passion" in the sense that you describe it. What you have (had?) was need to own a Ferrari. You did that and the practicalities of having it were clearly too onerous, so you made the right decision to sell it.

I'm not sure who said this, but to paraphrase, the quote went something like this: "If these cars are worth so much, then it's worth it to fix them if you break something"
It may have been Nick Mason (Pink Floyd) who uses his 250 GTO a grocery shopper.

 

Could not have said it better myself. Totally agree, and nice 430 by the way!!

 

Exactly.

Being passionate about them means you don't flinch when the insurance bill shows up, something breaks, you're left stranded or you start wondering what to do with all of those membership rewards points you accumulated from Ricambi America and Ferrari UK...

As has been said numerous times before, these cars aren't for everyone and that's okay.

 

Like with women, HAVING is sometimes just not as satisfying as WANTING.

 

True. I just had the 30K major done on my car, and I slept better knowing I had done right by it and would have some great drives as a result. I wasn't losing sleep over the several thousand dollars, because I went into this with my eyes open.

At heart, I like gorgeous exotic cars. Period. I got one I could afford without taking on car debt, and I still contribute the maximum to my 401k, pay the fixed rate mortgage, set aside my monthly mutual fund investment, etc. There's a lot of expensive discretionary stuff I DON'T do, because I don't have endless money.

Last thing I would ever do? Talk ANYONE into buying a Ferrari. You have to decide. And you decided. No worries. (You'll be back, though! )

 

At least you were brave enough to taste Ferrari ownership, something im sure plenty dream about, but never do.
It doesnt matter what we think.
I can relate, im selling my boat i just bought last year. I am keeping the Mondial though!

 

I hope you got pictures.
You lived the dream,
and now you will move on.
Its all good.

 

As CLINT once said,"Every man must know his limitations", or something like that!!

 

I too have a passion for exotic cars and driving them, but
I do not have a passion for owning them.

 

"A man's got to know his limitations" - Dirty Harry, Magnum Force

 

This is a very interesting thread. My opinion is worth zip, but...:

Owning the car then deciding to sell it seems logical. In both going in and coming out you made a decision that was correct at the time.
I am a sorta new owner of a TR. What great fun, notwithstanding an expensive 30k service, and stupid speed limits...
But ......there are problems to owning these cars. Maintenance must be a high priority ; one tends to spend ALOT of time just being around the car ( when it is in the shop I don't get anything else done); so other projects start to slide.
So one thing about this is that (forgetting the expense for a bit) is that this must become an avocation. One needs to budget the TIME. For some of us, that is really the hard part.
Have been getting a bluewater sailboat ready for a circumnavigation. Expect to be gone 6 months, on the hard 6 months. Realize with a start that having the TR in storage for half a year at a time may be simply awful for the car. Illogical for various reasons.
So like you, I have to try to make a logical decision...... try to keep the car healthy even if half the time it is stored (read timing belts....) or sell the car...hating the very thought.....in the interest of it's mechanical health.
Sounds like a nice problem to have, but it is STILL a problem.
I applaud your logical determination!

Regards,

NAL

 

Well, they definately outgrow the normal niche of "dependable transportation"...and come to resemble a needy mate!

The comparison to more specialized machinery such as airplanes and speedboats is very true....

That's most likely the cause of your discomfort in "using" the car. Two points of view can be made there. You are either using it and maintaining it, or....you are using it up, to be tossed down the ravine at the end, with the broken refrigerators and washing machines.

Either view is valid.

When I tally them, I do not list them on the asset side of the sheet, but as liabilities!

It's two quite different things to admire the company's acheivements and competition history, than it is to accept responsibility to maintain and finance a fairly complicated and finicky machine!

Keep the hat and jacket.......come on out to the Club events. It's still the same...

 

It seems that Ferrari ownership was a passion, but certainly not your primary passion. Most of us have limited funds so we have to pick and choose. You tried the Ferrari thing, it wasn't all you hoped, so you moved on. I have a friend that sold all of his exotics to finance a yacht purchase.

Das Boot sits 340 days a year and costs several thousand a month just to park. I could careless about boat ownership, but he seems happy even with his low utilization rate. He is very passionate about this boat, even if it is docked 60 miles from his home and he only visits it every other weekend.

You'll find other things that you will be more passionate about. If she turns out to be 25 and blonde don't tell the wife. LOL

 

while you may have a passion for Ferrari, you still have your head on straight. I use the word "passion" alot when I try to explain me and Ferrari's to someone else. Most don't get it, but I am very passionate about Ferraris. I don't know weather the Ferrari was causing a financial drain on you or you just didn't want to spend the money on it, but you had to do what you thought was right.


If it were me, I would make the wrong decision (arguably). I would work longer hours, learn to do everythign myself on the car, and make it work. I am 22 now and have dreamed of, set a goal of owning one and worked toward ownign one since I was 14. I am hell bent on getting that damn car. Once I have it, it will take God himself to rip me from my dream of ownership That to me is my passion



Cheers
Chris

 

I hear you; you aren't alone. My Lotus cost nothing near what a Mondial cost to buy, but repairs were similar the first two years. I was getting tired of the whole routine, and every drive I'd worry more about getting home than enjoying the ride.

After one scary breakdown in the worst neighborhood in Chicago but getting home safe and sound, with unexpected help and kindness from the locals, I realized I should enjoy life and the car more, and worry less. Since then I've done just that!

It's a toy. I have a Honda for the rain, snow and hauling. Being my own mechanic now has kept the expenses way down. I take the attirude I might die tomorrow so I might as well enjoy the ride!

BTW, paying down a mortgage is silly; I have a 5.125% rate and any extra cash will net me far more than that!

Ken

 

Boy do I struggle with the quote above every time I get in my F-car, so far no tickets and I'm still alive

"Passion" is an understatement, I'm putting 100 miles a week on the car and my guess is I'll probably start driving it to work every day, I'm talking addiction here

 

You think Ferraris are a waste because of lack of ussage....wait until you get the HOT TUB. I use mine once a month at the most.