More comments at the gas pump, not all at one time, however I have heard them all. What is the gas mileage like on "that thing"? Why did you buy "that Thing"? How fast have you driven "that Thing"? What did you pay for "that thing"? What is the year of "that thing"? How long have you owned "that thing" This isn't everyone, there are people like the car and make positive comments. There are others who can't seem to say the word Ferrari
I just hate the "how much did you pay for it?", no way to answer it with a positive outcome in my opinion.
The most questions I got asked on my F430: 1. What year it is (most think it's a recent, 2010-up Ferrari) 2. How fast I've driven it 3. If I got any speeding ticket yet 4. MPG 5. What I do (usually the last question asked) Check out this vid (it's staged but believable): [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yzVVN43Z5o]Getting Gas in a Ferrari 360 Modena - YouTube[/ame]
I have always answered this with the truth. "$118k + tax, I bought it used, brand new the car is about $210k." These are the most common for me too, along with the price. I have come to accept that driving one of these cars comes with the territory of attention, wanted and unwanted. Sometimes I would rather be left alone - but will always try to smile and answer the questions. I find myself getting gas at 2AM at the local 24 hour spot to avoid attention.
When people throw the how much did you pay for it comment I usually say "it was enough". That way your not being rude but your also not reviling cost.
When I get that question, or the how much is it worth variant I usually just respond: "Don't know, it's stolen".
While pumping gas in a VERY small town north of Austin, the local at the next pump said: "Now Thar's something you don't see everyday in Taylor... a fararee."
I always get two. 1) How many miles per gallon? That one just bugs me....I mean it's a red Italian Sports car with 400 HP that goes 185 MPH. Who really cares? No one in their right mind would buy any sportscar, Ferrari included, because of how well or not it does on gas....just a bonehead question. 2) How much did it cost? Another one that bugs me. What difference does it make if it's 30K or 300K? Any way you say it, it doesn't come out right. But I can kind of understand if it's their goal to save for one (or any sportscar) Most of the time I'm nice and say I don't know on the gas, and a lot for the price, but sometimes I just get annoyed with the repeated questions and say if your driving a Ferrari you don't really worry about how well it does on gas......and then for number 2, it was 180K brand new.
Saturday I needed some gas really bad so I happened to come up to a Costco and pulled in. Well as I was getting my gas a young boy very politely asked if he could take a picture and I said sure. I asked if he wanted me to take a picture of him and his mother next to the car and they were delighted. Then the Costco agent said he would like to take a picture for the Costco news and say that even hi-end cars come to Costco! This was a delightful day at Costco with no questions just a cool photo-op!
Take a picture of the window sticker, keep it on your phone, and show it to them when they hit you with the barrage. Has price, options, and EPA mileage on it. Me, they just say "Boy that thing is a PITA to get gas in isn't it!"....
Wait a minute...You do know? We all talk about how tough it is to fill the tank up so I am sure there is a variation between fillups and then there is how much time you spend above 5K RPM. Maybe you did a few high speed runs this tank or last. How are we to know? lol "Oh about 20" "Really, I thought these things sucked gas" "Well they are so light, all aluminum you know" "Oh I didn't know that" "Yeah Ferrari is way ahead of their time, always have been. Like take these logos for instance; they are are placed to maximize air flow around the car" "Wow, I didn't know that either" "Like I said brother...way ahead of their time"
Too bad the EPA didn't know about that logo air-flow thing.. could of saved the $4500 Gas Guzzler tax!
I don't have a problem telling them how much i paid for it, never understood why it bothers someone when they get asked. But its not something I would ever do.
With the 430: At a Shell station in South Carolina along I-95 "Around here we only see cars like that on TV" At a convenience store here in Raleigh: "I'd rather have me a Cadillac"
I've had people ask me at the gas pump if I paid a million dollars for my car. When people ask me about MPG, I say, "Well, the documentation says you're supposed to get between 8 and 18 miles per gallon, so when I drive it, I get 7", and that gets some laughs. When they ask me how fast I've been in the car, I tell them the truth, 182 feet per second. I heard a good one about the price - if they ask you how much you paid, just say something like "Three million nickels!" and let them figure it out.
I'm in the UK, had my 430 for almost 5 years and in that time i've never had someone come up and talk to me about it in a gas station. John
Do you own your own fuel stop? I'd say 2 out of 3 fuel stops ends up in a conversation. Often with opposite sex. Maybe it's the ear to ear grin on my face when I'm out in the car that attracts people.
