What do you tell your friends?

The worst is telling people you have owned several but have never owned any.

Rodney
1990 348 TS (and a 88 Mera - 308 replica)

 

Actually.. it is the crux of the thread.

Some Ferrari's are cheaper than a honda (deliberate use of lower case to connote derision) but that doesn't stop people from making an assumption or render a verdict about a person. This is what the thread is about.. that inaccurate verdict.

As far as luck.. luck is winning the lottery. Luck is a component of success.. i.e. who your parents are to instill in you the belief that you can succeed and have the ability to do what you believe you can. You wouldn't have placed your money on the table if you didn't believe it was a calculated risk likely to succeed. And I will remind you that "good business sense", i.e. good decision making ability isn't instilled at birth. It is cultivated in one form or another.

 

I thought the titile of this thread is" What do you tell your friends."........My friends don't ask me questions like......Why did you buy it and how can you afford it and don't you feel guilty about buying it? My answer would be the same to all three.....I bouight it because i wanted it. I never ask my friends to justify their choices in life and I don't feel obligated to justify mine.

 

So dispel the notion. I had a discussion with some co-workers when I bought my Ferrari and I merely told them the ballpark price and the fact that I do all of my own work on it. There was absolutely no judgement or verdict rendered when they realized their German luxury car cost as much or more than my Ferrari. Maybe it reduced some of the 'mystique' surrounding owning a Ferrari, but who cares?

For the guy who makes the sim pedals (you have a link?), just be honest with the crowd and they should have no issue. It's all this hiding what a car costs, hiding your situation etc. that breeds resentment because then people think you have something more sinister to hide. In my life experience, honesty and transparency is almost always the best policy. Trying to hide things, keeping secrets and all that BS creates hostile feelings for one reason or another. It also weighs on you personally and keeps you from fully enjoying life.

BTW, I'm under 40 so all you guys positing that those from a younger generation don't know hard work and 'sacrafice' are full of **** - at least I worked hard enough in school to learn proper grammar and spelling. That's about all I'll say on that, if you want to discuss further, send me a PM.

 

My pals that go out every weekend and Las Vegas several times a year ?
The ones that everything they own is on a credit card ?
I tell them to re-read The Ant and The Grasshopper.

 

I too am in this situation.

My friends, who are not "car guys", I am sure do not care, they know I have been a car guy my whole life, but I still am sensitive to the connotation and shy away from discussing it.

For people that I feel are measuring me, I play it down and I even express that I am embarrased. So far my humility has mitigated a few potential awkward conversations.

As for work, unfortunately I cannot bring it to the office for a lot of the reasons said in this thread. If I were outwardly wealthy and all knew it, I might be able to. But right now too much muck would be started and it's not worth it. Makes me pretty sad b/c it is to & from work that I do most of my driving.

So far have gotten a lot of positive reps from passerbys. I am not looking foward to the haters, I am sure they are around the corner...

 

I really don't understand this fear of taking a Ferrari to work. Mine is in the parking lot daily.

I really believe all of you that are scared to bring it to work would find out its no big deal if your brought it to work.

Yes, there might be some jealousy, yes there will be some envy but nothing bad will happen, you will not lose your job or lose a potential raise over it, you will not have sex with the hot office secretary and after the 2nd or 3rd day of the car in the parking lot, it will be just a car to your coworkers.

You worked hard for your car, why can't you enjoy when and where you want to ? life is too short to not drive the car you want.

 

Sticking to the subject - what do I tell my friends? Well, with the friends I see in person - most of them know since it's kinda hard (and awkward) to hide a car if people come by for dinner, etc. And I do drive my car in my spare time going out, etc. Nobody has any issues with it.

In fact, some of them wish their husbands did the same thing instead of running off with younger women (this happened to at least two friends). I'm at an age where midlife crisis are common place. A stage where there are lots of pressure due to kids, spousal issues, jobs, finances, etc. And some people just take off. So I think people in my stage of life in general understand the whole "red sports car" thing in context and accept it as one of the more benign "vices".

As for my other "friends" such as on Facebook who I see once every ten or twenty years, I don't "tell" them. ie. I don't have a single picture of my Ferrari on my Facebook and no mentioning of it, despite lots of other aviation / motorcycle / boating stuff. And I've had my car for more than 2 years now. Again, it's the whole reaction and judgement / resentment thing that I think would get elevated especially because it's online and not face-to-face.

I did get the car for my own enjoyment. But if it causes negative emotions from people who are not exactly strangers, it's going to impact my enjoyment. You pick your battles.

 

Hello Mike, if you have a Ferrari and are able to drive it to work without any types of problems then good for you. But you cannot say that it will not cause some type of problem for anyone anywhere. Everyone has to look at their own situations and choose how to deal with it in their own way. As I have stated earlier, just having some of my online customers find out I have a Ferrari has been a very negative experience which I feel has probably cost me a small amount of business and a stand off attitude from others. While I am sure it is not a problem for many out there who know me, there are the haters.

 

I have a pretty simple response for all questions similar to this:

It's not always how much you make, but what you do with what you make.

 

I have a 360 and you are correct I can't say that for everyone it will not be a problem, but I can say that I really believe that for the majority of Ferrari owners it will not be a problem, its what I believe. As to losing work, my 360 has gotten me web work because when they questioned how I could afford it (only ONE time but I was ready for it) my standard answer is that I am that good at what I do and I am mid-priced against my competition, its never been a issue for me.

I also happen to believe that he who looks for haters will find them.

Ok, enough off subject...outta here.