Who is Secretive about their Ferrari Ownership?

If I told you about my Ferrari I'd have to kill you....

But Seriously,
I don't own a Ferrari yet but I live in a wealthy suburb (Clarence) of Buffalo, NY where all the businesspeople, politicians, athletes live. In my area, I've seen many different Ferrari's, Lamborghini's, Bentley's etc. And to be honest, some people who own Ferrari's deserve to have them keyed (well not really, but these people are pricks).

I have a 25 year old friend who has a Gallardo. He hides the car in his garage and drives a 115hp VW Golf Mk3 2.0 from 1995 as his daily driver. He didn't tell me he has this lamborghini until after months of knowing him. He ended up selling the gallardo because people were dicks to him about his car even though he is a down to earth hardworking guy.

Now on the other hand, there is a chain of supermarkets (4 stores) in Buffalo that i used to work for last year when I was 16/17. The owner of the stores has other business ventures on the side with people like Dan Marino. So he has a lot of money and is the owner of several F-cars. I know he has at least 4. When he visited my store he would park his 360 spyder under the Portico of the store, where the only entrance is, where there is a handicapped parking zone only. He would leave the car there, not allowing handicapped people to go to their spots. And he would leave the car there, not for 15 minutes but hours on end. Once I witnessed him ask a cart pusher to park his car and the kid said YES! and owner said NOT! and laughed his ass off.

I am friends with this man's nephew who told me that his uncle had once driven his F-car to his ski resort home 45 south of Buffalo. He was drunk and parked the car, not in gear, not even with the handbrake on, on the sloping driveway. The car rolled down the hill and flipped end over end. A couple of weeks later he shows up in a brand new replacement Ferrari. At this same time, all the employees were notified that their 6-month raise of $0.50 was to be decreased to $0.10. Coincidence? Maybe. Maybe not

Either way it's people like this man who give Ferrari owner's a bad name, because of actions like these. I fully respect anyone who is successful and modest.

 

I grew up on the Canada side a few miles away. Never saw a Ferrari there. My stepdad's uncle had a 328 and a 70s Maserati and would never ever drive them for fear of haters. I never even saw the cars, although my siblings did.

 

I shared my purchase and early ownership with the group of friends and family that we're enthusiasts. Most like the stories, some were just not interested. I was never accused of bragging, but I now send out very little information except to those that are as excited as I am. I didn't just purchase it for me, I purchased it so my friends and family could share in the experience. I have a buddy coming in a week and a half who will get to drive it. He collects the used parts that I remove from the car. He has one of my used hood struts that says FERRARI on it hanging in his work cubicle.

 

when i got my first ferrari, i also happened to win one of the 28 parking spots at work...so i parked the car there. then i went to find the president of the division, who had hired me, and i brought him to see the car. he was somewhat taken aback. but i told him that as he knew, i had earned the money, and that i was passionate about cars like he was passionate about golf. and then i told him that everybody would see this car, especially the younger guys, and it would give them something to shoot for, an inspiration to working harder. he bought that, and that was it. i got no issues from anybody after that.

and 2 years later there were 8 other ferraris in that garage !!

nowadays, i usually dont say that i have 4 ferraris. it usually comes out that i have 1, and i will talk about that one, but i wont let on about the others. the good result of that is that many people know that i have 'a' ferrari, but virtually nobody other than my ferrari buddies know about all of them.

you cant hide forever, but you can camouflage !

 

It will remain happy for the husband as long as she doesn't find out about the F car

 

I only reveal if someone asks me, I don't announce it to the world....I live in a small city so it is hard to keep it a secret.

 

Ferrari? Ferrari? What Ferrari? That's a Corvette. Pretty good replica, huh? Oh, that horse. It's the new Mustang sports car; Ford decided they needed something to compete with Corvette. Oh yeah, it's a Ferrari alright. I got it just for the day; one of these "silent auction" items for a local charity. Pretty cool, huh?

Sorry, except for enthusiast friends, most people just don't understand, so I just don't tell them. They can't distinguish between different models and all think these cars cost $200k+ to buy and only go up in value (how I wish that were true, now that I have one!), so in their eyes I "must have" spent at least that much on this frivolous thing that isn't even as useful as a Prius.

I do like some of the better explanations by other members above, however. Gotta use that value-instead-of-money explanation next time. Of course, all of this is ridiculous; most of the people I know spend more on their 7 series BMWs or S class Mercs than I did on my 360.

 

I don't tell anyone about my Ferraris. I tell them I'm strictly a Lambo guy.

So far, nobody is the wiser.

 

When I bought my first ferrari (550) I was living in a rather poor suburb nearby paris, so no way to park this car in front of my house so I was obliged to park it in a private parking inside paris and to visit it regularly!
Then I moved to another rather wealthy area nearby Chantilly, my closest neighbourg was having at this time a 575, so no problem to park my car where I wanted, even going during week end to pci up bread to the local little village.
Then with the F40 I was used to bring my kids to school, for real fun, but kids at this time in this area were used to see 575, 360, 612, bentleys, lamborghini during the week end.
With the stradale there was a "noise problem" as my neighbours regularly claimed againts myself for the "nice noise" coming from my car in the morning when I was leaving house for the office.
At that time I was used to go to the office with both the F40 or the stradale.
But in any case my mother in law never accepted that I bring any "red" cars in front of his house!!
I even get married in a BMW M5, not a ferrari, forbidden by the family!
And now in the countryside where I live I used my Toyota land cruiser to avoid any question, stupid socialist mentality here!!

 

it always amazes me that wealth is looked down upon in france. that attitude seems to be so pervasive that they dont even bother aspiring to make money since it wouldnt be cool to be rich. very sad thing. must be a hold over from the revolution and the ww2 resistance movement. every time i am in france with one of my cars i am worried; always have to find an off-street parking area at the hotel or restaurant. almost as bad as naples. too bad.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jante_Law

 

I hadnt responded to this thread before, but I bought my Ferrari last year. I picked it up at the end of July.

As soon as I signed the papers on it I started telling my friends. They all knew that I had been a die-hard Ferrari fanatic for years. Even two years before I bought it I had told them I was going to buy one - I was living in Europe and knew I would be moving back to the states and had forecast out enough to know I could afford to buy one.

I work for the gubment and I know exactly where I am with money at any given time. So, if I need to document anything I have that perfectly sorted. Its a non-issue. That being the case I try to use it to inspire others and show that you CAN achieve your dreams, you just have to figure out how to do it.


PDG

 

I think it's natural to be a little squeamish about letting people know. A Ferrari essentially tells people that you are successful ... perhaps to the point where you are capable of dropping an unimaginable amount of money on something people have no need for whatsoever. Sure, if you think about it harder than that, the decision to own is more complicated and nuanced. But we're talking about first impressions. To some people you might as well be waving a bank statement in the face of someone you don't know.

It requires some strength of character to buy the car, and I think the slings just come with the territory. I agree with others that the healthiest thing to do is be open with your love of the car and make it part of who you are.

 

there are 2 types of people --
ferrari guys that need them to be big shots / chick bait / get that great parking spot at a bar/club
ferrari guys that love the history, the engineering, the construction , and a mountain
of joy driving brings ( they probably started out a long time ago with a countach picture on the bunckbed bedroom wall )

 

I would say the majority of that second group makes up most of the pre owned, classic and vintage crowd....

 

I certainly put myself firmly in the second camp and own a vintage (330GTC), classic (Boxer) and 550 (pre-owned).... maybe there is something to your theory!

As for being secretive - I'm not in the least bit secretive about it. But I always try to be normal, act like they are just cars. I find if you're upfront and friendly people treat you like they always did. I'm sure folks in the village (the ones that don't know me personally) vilify me sometimes but I've never had a bad personal interaction so far. I think it also helps that I'm not in the first camp, I don't go around to try and confront people with my hobby, and I always drive very very slowly through the village.


Onno

 

+1.

--Grant

 

Interesting: when I was living in Paris (late 80s) my 7 series Bimmer would regularly be keyed but my then new Ferrari has never been touched, even when parked in a questionable way.

 

You worry too much. I never had a problem driving and parking the Stradale in Paris.I only worried about not scratching the wheels. Sure you can get vandalized, It happened once to my dad who had one tire on his BBi slashed in the 80s but it can happen anywhere as i got my 997 keyed in Chicago in the middle of day in the Gold Coast area, while the car was parked on a parking lot (so no parked like an *******..).

 

Well put! This statement rings so true. I just bought a 2004 360 and I feel like there are large "balloon like" dollar signs hovering over the car as I drive it through the modest neighborhoods where I live. I do not say anything to work colleagues (unless they are die-hard car buffs and don't work for me). But, around my home town, if someone wants to see it, take a picture, talk about it, go for a ride or play "guess the price" (I never reveal the truth), I'm open to sharing my love for the car.

 

I once heard a quote that said, "Those who are jealous fail, those who admire succeed." Something similar to that and have no idea who said it.

 

Daily driver....can't hide it....;=)

 

Unfortunately most people are not educated enough to know that you can purchase a Ferrari (used) for less than many classic cars. You need not be rich (I am a PERFECT example). Nonetheless, people always surmise you are wealthy and the attitude seems to come out........

 

I keep my Ferrari ownership very quiet. A few of my closest friends know but my work partners and staff do not know.