will a ferrari ever satisfy me?

Probably more than will actually admit it....

 

Firstly, don't get too overly hyped about it. Depending on your budget and the cars that brings into play, some models may dissapoint. Everything from performance #'s to cost of ownership to insurance can dull the shine...

Keep things in perspective, and you'll be fine.

 

I've allways thought half the fun of having it would be earning it.

 

Grasshopper,

Lasting happiness and fulfillment is not found in material things.

Seek relationships with other people. Therein lies happiness.

Of course a ride in a 427 Cobra will rock your world.

 

I have been down that road. I have done that with so many things from a hobby toy, motorcycle & cars. I get worked up and into something and then after, the excitement goes away, weird, huh. I have had BMW, Mercedes & now a Ferrari and I think it is almost more fun dreaming about it than owning it. Sounds weird but kind of true for me. The first few months were a blast and then something happens, maybe it's knowing that you have this 6 figure car in your garage and with that big payment, you don't want to drive it & put miles on it, but you do cause there's nothing like it! I'm sure not everybody is like this but some may be but not admit it. If I was a billionaire with no worries, thoughts may be different...

Oh and I am selling my Ferrari now if anyone is interested.
http://www.ferrarichat.com/ferrariads/showproduct.php?product=1448&sort=1&cat=11&page=1


PS. see this interesting thread
http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=109260

 

Since college my dream was to get a 328 and it took me 15 years to realize it. I've owned the car for a year now and love it as much today as the day I took it home! It will never grow old for me and I plan on keeping it as long as I live. Even if I could afford a newer model, I would not trade in this car. The 328 has a style that I've always wanted and it doesn't grow old to me. It's also pretty reliable with reasonable maintenance costs compared to newer Ferraris.

If you buy a particular car because you can afford it, or you think it's a status symbol because other successful people have them, or you do not feel passionate about it before you get one, it will grow old on you.

 

Sometimes the desire and the search are more exciting than actually having, regardless of whether it's a car, house, spouse, etc.

I'm guessing I am much older than you and it's interesting which cars I have owned that I miss. 1978 280Z, 1989 Toyota Pickup, etc. I believe you can actually "bond" with a vehicle and some just don't work. I want to offer encouragement, so here is some personal car history that I hope will encourage you in your quest whether it be a Ferrari or another marque. I had a 99 M3, and, despite being a great car, I just didn't enjoy it and sold it pretty quick. At the other end of the spectrum, I was really excited about getting a Lotus Elise (a very cool car) but it did not meet my expectations and sold it in 6 months. Nine years ago, I bought my first 328 which I really liked, but kept it only 18 months and bought a 348 figuring that would be better. But I immediately missed the 328 and never really warmed to the 348. So, after a long search I bought what I believe to be the ultimate 328, an 89 GTB which I have now had about 5 years and plan to keep forever. 328's are slugs compared to modern performance cars, but I just like the way it looks and drives. A year ago, I added a 430 coupe. Being my first brand new Ferrari, it is special and the first year has been encouraging, but I don't know if it is a life long "keeper" yet. The M3 turned into a Subaru STI which I have really enjoyed, especially on track days. It is now 2.5 years old and don't expect to keep forever, but I do think it will always be remembered very fondly. Cars need not be expensive for me to really enjoy them. So, don't fret about getting bored with cars. The search and "serial collecting" can be fun. Some cars will really get under your skin and others will not. Many people buy Ferraris and quickly find out they really aren't Ferrari people. That's OK. But for those of us with bad cases of "red car sickness", there is no substitute. Try not to have any real expectations and treat buying a Ferrari as an adventure or discovery. That way, even if you don't like it, it will still have been an enjoyable adventure.

Good luck,
Dave

 

Of course, after you get a Ferrari, you can still dream of a fancier Ferrari. At least until you get an Enzo. Or an FXX.

All things considered, a Ferrari is just a car ... if you use it that way.

You may be disappointed if you think you'll change your life by taking a Ferrari out into traffic with SUVs, hybrids, cars that haven't been tuned in a decade, trucks with underinflated tires, city busses, delivery vans, and people who don't know or care about performance driving and think that any motion in a motor vehicle is "too fast".

Having a Ferrari for urban commuting is going to change your life like having an autographed first edition of Cyrano if you don't read French. If you're not using it for what it was designed for, it's just a novelty paperweight.

So -- do you track your cars? Or do you get bored with driving performance cars on the street? Maybe it's the street that's boring.

After nearly a year of using the 328 as a daily driver, I did realize that I was thinking of it as "my car" instead of as "A (flourish of trumpets) Ferrari".

But, for me, it's still better to have one to drive than to sit around wanting one.

"After a time, you may find that having is not so pleasing a thing, after all, as wanting. It is not logical, but it is often true." -- Spock, Star Trek: Amok Time

 

I suffer from the same problem, except it includes girls too. I would like to know how to cure it myself.

 

I was scared too-- but I got rides in a 355 and a 348 and I'm not scared anymore-- Amazing cars. Get some passenger seat time. It's great!

 

I think it's better to see anything in my garage than in my dreams. I would never buy a car without trying it first, to make sure it satisfies whatever need I have for it. Once it has, it will always have that place for me and never not satisfy, even though I may go dream about the next car. Whether you keep one car or the other, it has then served its purpose.

 

I waited 20 years to get my 308 and the day it was delivered I was sick with the thought that maybe the reality wouldn't live up to the dream - I was worrying about nothing! 4 years on I still love it to death!

 

Good things come to those who wait.......

 

"The reward lies in the journey, not the destination." I feel a lot of the excitement of getting a Ferrari is the process of getting your finances to the stage where you can purchase it and afford to maintain it properly. But it is still a hell of a lot of fun driving it - welcome to Disneyland for adults, this is the E-ticket ride.

 

I have the exact problem with women, seriously i'm 39 and have never been married no matter what I get board with all of them, and I have had them all from the trophy's to the educated etc. With cars its easy just buy them all and switch off when the mood strikes.

 

I think that many people who become bored of their Ferraris are owners of newer models. That may not be true, but I seem to tire quickly of newer cars because they present little challenge to drive and as the newness wears off, they are just cars.

Although I have not driven many "modern" F-cars, I have driven a number of newer Porsches, BMW's, and others fairly extensively. Even cars like EVOs and Miatas I tire of quickly. They are civilized, quiet, the controls are easy to use, and they require no untoward skill to drive cross country.

Older cars however, like my family's 246GTS, are not cars but events to be savoured. Although capable of being driven daily, the Dino isn't. The sounds, smells, and feelings the car delivers almost force you to ration it into an experience that you enjoy only a few times a month. I think this is what makes all the difference.

A new E46 M3, 360, or 430 (especially when driven frequently) are cars that can excite, but do not leave you with that feeling of something sacred. They are easily exploitable on the road (although perhaps not as much on the track) and they are capable of shuttling you on a 100 mile round trip with no fuss, physical strain, or inconvenience.

With the Dino, after 100 miles you clothing smells like a combination of motor oil, exhaust, and 30 year old leather; you may have heard a couple of noises that caused concern; you had to drive the car very conscienciously...aware of every turn, gearchange, and application of brakes and throttle; you worry about the other drivers around you and drive defensively; your ears have been assulted with the exhaust. Maybe you had a moment where the car took a couple attempts to start. Maybe you had a tricky time finding a suitable parking spot. And at the end of the trip, you are mentally and physically exhausted. You feel like you earned your after-drive beer.

This simply can't be had in many modern cars (with the possible exception of the 360CS I haven't driven).

 

it's much better if you make the car meaningful to you.

i can't imagine getting a modern ferrari/lambo/whatever and really loving it to death... it'd be a matter of enjoying it until the next model comes out.

what you have to do is build the car you want, and you'll always treasure (or hate!) it. let it drag out over a few years and a couple frivilous car purchases if you have to.

long after i get bored of a car that off the showroom floor can do 0-100kph in <4sec and 1.1 lat-g's i'll still love my crappy little fiat.

 

I think the right question is will YOU satisfy the Ferrari.

 

I thought I was bored w my 512TR road coupe, until we went for a drive,

What a car !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

if you want to get the most out of a car go to a good driving school & then do some track days & join the FCA and you wont be bored

 

If you get a used Ferrari, then buy the best, most sorted and well maintained car you can afford, else the experience may be less than expected. Nothing worse than getting excited about a car and having it in the shop constantly.
I bought my 308qv a year ago and love it, I spent the first couple of months correcting(back to stock) and fixing little things(fuseblock,stereo, etc) that bothered me and now it's pure joy and excitement whenever I take it out, which is usually 1-2 times per week in the Summer. That's what keeps the excitement alive, making driving it a "treat" not something you do everday.

 

Cars, women, houses, towns, kids(o no, you can't trade them!), they is always something better out there.

In all seriousness, learning to listen to yourself when the quest is on is the best thing that can happen. Cutting through our own static and really hearing whats going on behind the desire.

Doesn't really change the fact that I still want an F40 though.....!

 

It is true. But you will get bored with the Ferrari. you seek magic in a car. The Ferrari is not magic, but is about the most fun you can buy on four wheels (other than some custom rides). But at least you will be thrilled for some amount of time.

BT

 

Although not a Ferrari owner, I can definitely relate to the OP. I have owned nice cars both new and used...and the ones that I wish I still owned are the ones that provide nostolgia for me. It seems like I'm on a constant prowl to own perfect examples of cars I owned in the past. I want a white Marquis just like I owned in high school. Big, slow, ugly as sin, but damn that damn car got me around on a cushion of air! My parents were kind enough to provide me with car for a internship in Florida during college. Of all things, it was a 94 Mercury Villager minivan. That's right, a mini-van. It took my friends and I to and from work and parties. It's tires has seen some of the most beautiful Gulf beaches as I tailgated and had fun on the beach. Got me from Florida to Illinois and back multple times, etc. And here I am unable to part with a minivan....the smell of it when I get in takes me back to good memories.

My point is, if you can appreciate your car for what it is...then you will enjoy it and keep it around no matter what. I've always dreamt of havinga TR or a 355 and 360...I know that a TR will not be the fastest or most modern designed car, but I think it's damn sexy and it will be the realization of a dream for me. I will pamper, baby, and drive the hell out of it like I wanted to when I was younger. If you are buying just another toy, then you will get bored of it just like any other toy.

Same with women. If you're just looking for the hotter and younger "toy" then you will get bored of her quickly. If you are looking for a woman that is both beautiful and someone you have a friendship and bond with then you will appreciate and want to keep her around just like that old car that you love no matter what. That magic, as someone mentioned before, will always be there.

My $0.02

 

Lots of good posts here, but I like this one. If you're always focused on newer and faster, there will always be something better out there.

I had and sold a Porsche 993 pretty quickly, just because it was always a 'nice car' to me but too good to be exciting. Then I looked at a Porsche 996 and I realized newer sometimes isn't better.

The 328 I bought late last year really is a different experience than anything else I've owned. You have a unique perspective of the road, literally sitting quite low in a car which is quite low. The gated gearchange is something you'll see/feel only here. Ditto the big V8 behind your head.

So, I'd say you have to really savor the unique experience and not get hung up 0-60, skidpad numbers, etc. Then you will be satisfied.

That said, a car is a car. It's not a marriage, so you can buy one, try it, and move on if it doesn't work out. FWIW, I've always admired the '80s Ferraris, and the 328 looks better every day I live with it.

On a final note, not knowing your finances, I'd say get a used one that you can easily afford. If I had dropped $200K on recent 360 Spider my expectations would be far higher than they were with my 328. You can't psyche yourself into believing any car is worth that kind of money. I was looking at a bunch of new cars in the $50K-$60K range, and they all started to look inexcusably dull compared to the 328/348 that can be bought for the same. So, I think what could have been sitting in the garage and I'm pretty happy.