The financial reality of Ferrari ownership...

Thanks guys, I am definitely going to buy one, it's just a matter of when!

 

not when you get old I hope ...lol

by the way what is your budget for a car ?

 

Just do it! I (obviously) fall on the life is short rationale...as long as you're in a reasonable situation to be able to afford a Ferrari. My overall situation is in the same ballpark as fmzip, I bought my 355 4 yrs ago and have LOVED every mile! The whole experience...working on it, bringing the kids to school in it, morning drives for coffee with a daughter, meets with other Tifosi every Sunday, driving twisty back roads to Lime Rock...and the best, opening my garage door and seeing it in MY garage.

Now again flaunting financial conservatism I'm noticing 360 CS prices have stopped sliding downward...hmmmm

 

Ideally, I'd be comfortable with $75K but I doubt that would allow me to get into a Spyder. Not sure I could live without the top down....

 

here ya go:

Model: 360 Spider
Price: $75,000
View Full Listing

2003 Ferrari 360 spider convertible 6. Speed 2. Owner all books and records fully loaded garage kept new tires new clutch men new parts all dun at Ferrari of long island clean in and out must see and drive asking $75. New York ad was on ***********. com (I am not familiar with that site - just did a quick google)


You'll never get a Ferrari if you rationalize it. Unless you're irrational. And most passions ARE irrational.

 

+1

Solid advice from itwizard

 

I have read 9 pages of this thread which has been very informative. But no one has yet mentioned extended warranty/aftermarket warranties. Here in Australia, we pay significantly more for cars, so even a 5 year old 997 is priced at $150k (Yes thats more than the new USA price for a 2011 one) due to all the luxury taxes when it was imported. Luxury tax is 100% on high end vehicles. So the idea of Ferrari ownership would certainly be for the wealthy. But for the rest of us, who really want to get into a sports car such as a used 360, you can reduce the downside risk by purchasing and renewing a warranty (like insurance) for about $2000 per annum. Be sure to read the fine print but the few good ones will cover major items. But not preventative maintenance which has been mentioned previously in this thread. For the record, the only way i could afford to buy an Fcar is to import one from Uk even then it will be circa $90k for a F355 Berlinetta. America is THE place to own these exotics.

 

I would move away from Australia for this reason alone. No joke.

He'll, I won't move to California because of 9.5%+ sales tax and annual registration fees of a few thousand on a Ferrari or other exotic. I am spoiled by my 6.75% Columbus oh sales tax and no significant annual tax. Dont even get me started on property price differences. Then again, there is four inches of snow outside right now, but that is what porsche turbos are for .

 

71K miles!!

Agreed....no rational thought will lead you into a Ferrari (or other exotic).

 

Here's ONE reason we stay in sunny, Southern California. It's January 12th and it's bright, sunny and 73 degrees right now...
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Haha, that's true. I live in CA as well, and I figure the 10% sales tax and annual registration fees are more than worth it for the year round driving conditions.

I did my commute top down in mid-December with a warm jacket. Rest assured, during those times, I keep my mouth shut about the extra taxes

 

This is a great discussion as I have been considering getting back into Ferrari ownership, specifically a 355. I am definitely at the low end of the income spectrum, but several years back, I made a large sacrifice buy moving to a rock in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean (the Azores) for 15 months to save up for my first Ferrari, a 328. I absolutely loved the car. I loved driving it and showing it and going to F club drives. However, every time I got in the car, I worried I might break something I couldn't afford. I ended up trading it in on a new Lotus Elise with an extended warranty. I never had a single issue with the Lotus. The Lotus is now gone in favor of kart racing which has a much lower chance of getting me jail time.

I just spent another six months in an even worse part of the world, a small country with the proven hottest temperatures and worst air quality, so again, another large sacrifice to save money. As I stated earlier, I am now considering a 355. After reading all of this, I am reminded of why I sold my 328, the constant worry of something breaking I could not afford to fix. I also sold the Lotus because of the constant worry of landing in jail, I rarely drove the car without hitting triple digits justifying this because the car handled so well. I did not track the car because of insurance and tire expense. Of course, arguments that this is my just the toy and I have three other vehicles for primary transportation would mean fix as I get money and I do about 95% of my own maintenance.

I think the lessons I learned are similar to some other posts here, looking for the car of your dreams can often be the most exciting part. Don't buy it if it will cause you anxiety, these are suppose to be a source of stress relief, not stress build. Racing open wheel karts with fields of 25+ racers at 45-50 mph every weekend is way more fun than occasional high speed jaunts in any car. And finally, racing karts is as expensive as F car ownership, only no-one tells you this in the beginning.

I am not looking for a reply here, just some advice from the low end of the income pool and also of the conservative nature when it comes to spending uncertainties.

 

I can't argue with that. Beautiful.

I need to buy the cars I want in oh, then figure out a creative idea for a trust or Ohio business to own my cars, then move to ca and avoid the sales tax and registration fees on them...

 

Well, since you mentioned it....

Has anyone done this to register their car? http://mtvehicles.com

 

Lots of threads about this kind of thing..

Basically it is illegal, and states are out to bust you if you do it. Tax evasion.

 

I contacted this guy......I wunder y he hasn't dun called me yet?? Maybe he's dewing inventory on his men new parts??

 

I kind of like hearing all the specific advice from various people on the forum. Everybody has their own way of doing it, now I want to do some reading on bonds

 

A bond yielding 10% has in my opinion a high chance of default, you are basically buying junk. Look at Greek Govt Bonds, 10% and junk. 10% for a reason.....

 

high risk, leveraged bond to partially finance a Ferrari - I thought I had heard it all

either way, financial and sense don't belong in the same sentence as Ferrari unless there is also a "not" in there.

 

thanks for all the advice although I haven't a clue as to what this all means.....

Is there a Bonds for Dummies book out there??

 

Someone show me how to get 30% returns first, then I will buy he Ferrari with all the profits in a few short years....

Sounds too good to be true, so that must mean it is??

 

Nobody got the bond joke (or thought it was funny)

 

I got it, was too caught up on the secrets of 30% gains again

 

"I yield to your maturity." AAAHHHH, I just got it. Yield. Maturity. Good one Taylor!

As for all the complex financial strategies proposed earlier for becoming a Ferrari owner, good god, is that really necessary? Many of the fellow owners I have met on this site never needed to devise such an elaborate plan. Does that tell you something?

 

I thought this thread was about the cost of owning a Ferrari. Perhaps the bond part should move to another thread.