458 My first Ferrari: 2012 458 Spider - Rosso Corsa

I have always dreamed about owning a red/ tan Ferrari convertible. I grew up with the classic "Justification for Higher Education" poster on my wall. I am thankful and lucky to say that age 34 I was fortunate to be in a position to purchase my first exotic.

I started my search for the right car in early 2021. I considered the F430 and 458. It had to be a convertible and it had to be red. I also briefly considered a "less flashy" 992 911 Turbo but quickly reconsidered after my first test drive in the 458 at Ferrari of San Diego. My goal was to get one with under 10k miles. Must have options were the diamond cut wheels and carbon steering wheel. My wife also wanted the full electric seats because she has a borderline unhealthy obsession with heated seats.

Although I did not end up purchasing something from @Yellow Compass, Mike was a huge help and great to work with. Unfortunately I just don't think he had someone selling exactly what I was looking for at the time. 2021 has been a wild market. I would highly recommend Mike to anyone looking to purchase a Ferrari.

A few months into my search, I saw a car pop up at a Porsche dealer across the country in DC. It was a 13 458 spider. Rosso Corsa, 16k miles, carbon wheel, diamond wheels and heated seats and some other options ($320k MSRP). I put down a deposit immediately and booked a flight that weekend. The car looked great and drove perfect. I proceeded with all the paperwork but the deal was contingent on sending the car to Ferrari of Washington for the Power Warranty inspection. It took a little convincing, but Porsche ultimately agreed. Long story short, I'm glad I did because within 2 hours of the inspection James called me to let me know the car had a leaky gearbox and it was going to be a pretty costly repair. I decided to pass on the car.

I was getting discouraged because prices were up, and the options were limited. I started considering the 992 Turbo again. A couple weeks after the DC car fell through, I bumped my "wanted" ad here on FC. Come to find out it was absolutely perfect timing. I received a private messaged shortly after from someone who had just happened to log in because he was considering selling his 458 with 4600 miles and he saw my post at the very top of FC. The user had almost no post history so I was a little skeptical at first, but after a few PMs we decided to FaceTime so I could see the car. His story checked out and it was the car of my dreams. Red, tan, carbon wheel, diamond wheels, almost every carbon fiber option imaginable. The MSRP on the car was a whopping $363k, and that was before the diamond wheels and carbon fiber door panels. Probably one of the highest stickers on a 458 ever.

I flew to check out the car and it was in excellent shape and drove great. I wanted it to work out so bad that I considered skipping the inspection to make sure I didn't lose the car. But after my first failed inspection, I knew I needed to make sure this one checked out under the hood. I explained my reasoning to the seller and he was understanding and accommodating. We sent it from Arkansas to Boardwalk Ferrari in Dallas, where Chris Williams was incredible. He helped facilitate the inspection, service and sale. I added 1 year of factory Power Warranty for peace of mind. A couple days later Plycar picked it up and it was to San Diego within about 36 hours.

I've had the car for a couple months now and it's a dream. I love the timeless design, agile handling and the sound of the naturally aspirated V8 right behind my ears. The car is surprisingly comfortable and practical enough for some trips up and down the California coast with my wife. I'll plan to update this thread as time goes on with my experiences and plenty of photos!

You can also follow along on my instagram here.

 

A couple photos from when I went to check it out in Arkansas.

Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

The window sticker and options list:

Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Here are some photos from golden hour the other night in San Diego.

Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

I wouldn’t purchase without PPI after my experience with the first 458 that I posted about above. It’s just not worth the risk. Keep me posted, would love to meet up in the future.

 

I wanted to share a couple photos taken by a friend.

Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
You can see more of his work here.