Your first Ferrari, how did you feel?

She'll always be my "First Wife"....no one can ever take that away from her.......

 

Went to a dealer to look at an Aston (AMV8) and came home with and F430. All it took was the first twist of the key, the sound, the vibration, the "essence".
Have gone through the ownership of multiple 60's muscle cars, Healey's, many U.S. "sports cars", many Vettes, a series of Porsche's, Merc SL65, M3's and 5's, Vipers and a Ford GT. Over 60 cars in all, in my lifetime. The closest, from a somewhat different perspective, was a wonderful Z8, which I wish I still owned.
To sum it all up, as I drove the F-car home, I asked the dealer..."with this level of car...where could I possibly go from here..."!
As many have noted, a true sense of accomplishment and satisfaction. Not because of the cost of the car, but more because it is a true drivers car and offers such a fine combination of speed, quickness, comfort, handling, overall driving "feel" and style. For someone who either has never driven one for any length of time and/or does not appreciate a great drive, they will never understand the total feeling.

Happy and safe motoring,
StuM

 

Well, I don't own a Ferrari, but I can tell you what it felt like the first time I drove one.

Well, no, actually I can't....it's indescribable. Heck, I only drove the car (a 612) through a PARKING LOT and received more attention in that few minutes than I have ever in my life put together. People staring, people taking picture with their cell phones, girls I didn't know literally HANGING out their car windows waving at me. (Yea, that really happened.)

But apart from the attention thing, the Ferrari just seems to hold you. Like it wants you to be there. I thought off all the fun I could have with this big V12 under the hood. It's nerve wrecking, but somehow euphoric and calming.

That experience (plus this thread) has made me want a Ferrari more than ever. Maybe someday I can be lucky enough to purchase one, even on a teacher's salary. It doesn't have to be new at all, or even relatively new. It can be old as the hills for all I care, I think they're beautiful no matter what year they were made.

 

For me, purchasing my first (and at this time only) Ferrari was a fun and also a scary adventure. I also come from a working background and I had many ridiculous jobs in my life ... I fell in love with Ferrari probably sometime in 1996, so to buy my own one ten years later was just great. It also took a lot of belief in myself because I did not know any other Ferrari owners and it is hard to talk to anyone in your family and say ... well, so I'm going to write a check for a Ferrari ... and you can see the fear in their eyes. (On a later note, when I got my car I do get many pats on my back of family owners being supportive now) ..... so it took confidence, saving and saying that you live on this earth once ... I wanted to leave this planet saying that I owned a Ferrari, period. None others in my family ever did.

I will add, that I bought my car with a major service and some minor cosmetic work that needed to be done. While I internally belived that I bought a good car - I did not get the get into the shiny Ferrari and drive 200 miles thrill. I AM however getting that now when I did most of the "Stuff that needed to be done" and I really enjoy my car now. In a weird sence, I feel great as an owner - it brought the quality of my life up and it also makes you think big! .......... now, if I only stopped visiting F-chat, daily .....

 

The very first time I drove a Ferrari was the day I bought mine -- AFTER I paid for it.

Honestly I was terrified, I had to get it home in rush hour traffic, and didn't know what to expect. Turned out to be louder, slower and more fun than I expected. I also couldn't see anything out the passenger mirror. Still, I was in the car I had wanted since high school.

As it turned out, there was the first DFW Exotic Car Night that evening, so I just pulled up in it. My buddy said I had a grin from ear to ear. It's the grey one at the end.

Oct 26, 2002. The day before my ex-wife's birthday
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It is still somewhat surreal. I mean, I have wanted a Ferrari since I was a little kid, and how would you feel if this car was now yours? I feel like I did when I was a young kid and I saw Magnum P.I. driving around his 308 - my mom loved that show, and I could have really given a crap until I saw it for the first time and he was hauling around fishtailing it in the intro.

When I finally picked it up from Gary Bobileff's in CA, I really couldn't believe it was mine, and every time I pull the cover off of it now it reminds me of how lucky I am to have it. As I was told by the folks who provided me the guidance on my search can tell you, it is worth buying a Ferrari because it is just different than any other car on the road...true statement.

Everytime I get in it, start it, and drive it, it is just so freaking cool I can't believe it. Even better is I can't stop anywhere without having "Car guys" come up to me and talk about cars and what type of cars they have or love. It just CREATES car conversations, and I love that, but I digress.

When I first drove it away from Gary's I was very worried I would shift it incorrectly due to the different shift pattern or that some idiot was going to hit me from behind. I made it back to Coronado safely, but the worry of some idiot hitting me hasn't changed, and it has almost happened on multiple occassions. It was awesome the first time I drove it (test drive from owner) and it hasn't changed except I am slowly pushing the limits on it more and more (BIG smile).
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Well it's interesting. I bought a 1994 348 Spider from a dealership in Pennsylvania and the car was shipped to California. I was so excited to pick it up at the transporters yard that I couldn't sleep that night. There she was all clean and polished and everyone looking and congratulating me. I waited for the battery to be charged and off I went. Within 2 miles I was out of gas, dead battery and check engine lights on. I felt like screaming and called AAA. Turns out while at the shipping yard in Pennsylvania someone siphoned out a full tank of gas and stole the fuel cap while the car was sitting for 2 weeks waiting for storms to pass. Finally the next day and a full tank of gas and a new battery I was off and hit that little pedal on the right with the top down and I was in love. Enjoyed 1 great year of trouble free driving and meeting great friends (many right here) I sold her and picked up a 355 Spider. The sound and power and conveniences over the 348 are nice. One is not better or worse, just different. The 355 will be a keeper for a while. I have had it for 1.5 years and I still am amazed!! There is nothing like it!!

 

Proud.........

 

........that's one helluva cocktail.

 

The 355 was my motivation through 6 years of college. I REALLY don't think I would have made it otherwise. Soon the dream will come true. I love this thread because it puts me at ease.... I'm not crazy for the way I feel about a series of metal and plastic parts (or at least not alone in my craziness).

 

It was, trust me.

I didnt follow the 'golden rule'......."Dont get high on your own supply"!

 

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH! thats "don't" get high on your own supply well that makes more sense now oops my bad.

Why is there blue monkeys all over my house?????

 

No you are not crazy...these cars have souls! Nothing like just staring at it in my garage. The sight, sound and feel of a Ferrari is tough to match.

For me, my 355 is a much fun to drive as riding one of my sport bikes!!

and I ride them all...www.SouthBaySportBikeRentals.com

 

Lol!!

Cool man!!

 

ha ha ha ... too funny. Yeah, the wifes love when you slip away into the garage and drool as you polish the "other" baby.

 

Off load from the delivery truck, jump in and wife took a pic of me with a Kool-Aid smile. Could not stop felling accomplished after staring at the picture of this very car on my office wall for a year. Ecstatic, every time I take her out. "Nothing left to do but smile, smile, smile."

 

Words can't describe the feeling. The happiness felt upon the first drive was magical. Every time after has been almost the same. It was a dream, then a desire and finally an accomplishment. I truly love my car, and will continue to do so for a long time.

 

That reminds me of my initial search for a 308 in 1995, I happened to call Algar. Turns out, it was the owner (I think his name is Bob Siegel) who picked up the phone and we had a long conversation about my quest and Ferraris in general. At one point he said "these cars have souls and people miss them when they sell them". That always stuck with me as did his kindness in taking the time to talk with me when he didn't even have a car to sell me at the time.

Dave

 

There were two factors. One was budget, I didn't want to be car poor. The other was that I wanted a 308 since they had come out. I just loved the style. So, I read all I could and talked to dealers. I tried a couple of carbureted cars which were fun, an 81 2 valve which was disappointing and a QV before settling on an 84-85 QV. I planned to drive it about 2K/year but even though I bought it in January, I put that much on it by May! I enjoyed the experience so much that I then became a "serial collector" buying 3 more in less than 3 years but that's another story.

Dave

 

Had my Maserati GranSport and thought that it would be "all that I need."
In the back of my mind though I kept wondering about a Ferrari.
I don't like a car that grabs too much attention, I like front engine cars, and I like the "historical" panache of the marque.....that left few options.
I can't really give a vintage car the true love it deserves, maintenance, restoration, etc.
I wanted therefore a more modern front engine car....that leaves 550, 575, 599, 456, 612.
I thought long and hard about 2+2...but since I was keeping the GranSport...excellent functional 2+2...I decided the Ferrari should be a 2 seater.
I started reading the 550/575 section here on FChat and the consensus and advice from people like Rifledriver was stick with the 550....classic 6-speed...will be a better "keeper." My GranSport has an F1 shifter , which is fun, so I thought my other toy should be classic 6-speed with classic Ferrari gated shifter.
I love the classic color combination of silver on bordeaux.
I watched the internet for awhile, and there appears a titanium on bordeaux 2000 550 Maranello at the only dealer I would consider buying from...Steve Barney at SportAuto in NC.
I know and trust Steve.
The car had the right amount of miles, therefore it was driven, which is much better than a garage queen.
The owner of the car was the co-owner of the dealership so I know it got regular maintenance with their excellent wrench Tom Jones.
I then thought about it for a few months...the stock market began to really tank and I figured the time was right to "hide" some of my money in a depreciated Ferrari.

Delivered on a Saturday am. Sun was shining and I was like a little kid jumping up an ddown as the door of the trailer opened.
The back of a 550, with the sun shining on it, at just below eye level is a thing of beauty to behold!
My first drive was dominated by some bad shifting on my part...car cold, first time with gated shifter, had become lazy with F1 paddles.
It was later that day that I truly appreciated the car...and realized I had entered a whole new world of cars...the GranSport, while excellent, isn't in the same league as the 550.
Everytime I start the car, in the garage, with the Tubi...I get a chill.
I get up on a weekend and look fo rplaces to go...I don't car ehow small the errand...I'm on it! (Just like when I turned 16 and offered to drive to the store to get my mom milk!)
I don't think about my accomplishments when I drive the car, I just drive it and enjoy every moment.
When in the garage at night I think, with some satisfaction, that all my years of going without, late nights, always doing more than I had to....that it was worth it.

Sorry if typos...have to get back to work....

 

Great post, thanks!

Its very inspiring to read for people that are starting from scratch but have big dreams and goals ahead.

 

Believe it or not the idea of buying a ferrari had never really occured to me. I guess I always felt that cars like that were out of my league. The whole idea was so foreign to me that I had never once even contemplated the idea of owning one. A series of events just seemed to come together to make it happen. I had sold my business and gotten married for the first time to a woman that enjoyed sports cars almost as much as me. I had always been a Porsche 911 Targa guy. My only exposure to Ferrari was the new TV series Magnum PI. When I saw that red 308 GTS for the first time I fell in love. It had everything I always wanted. It was red, it was a T top and the styling blew me away. I was attracted to that car on an emotional level that went way beyond anything I had experienced in owning a Porsche. I drove my Porsche that weekend to the ferrari dealer with my wife in tow. I approached the receptionist and the first thing she said to me was, "Are you in the market to purchase another exotic?" It was at that exact moment that I realized for the first time that I had come to buy and not just look. There was a brand new 308 GTS on the showroom floor and I walked directly to it. Within minutes I began a serious discussion with the GM who would become one of my closest and best friends in life. We talked price and we talked trade in. I was disappointed to learn that the car on the floor was already sold. John said that the upgraded version, the 328 was already on the boat from Italy and I could have the first one. It was faster than the 308, fully loaded and red and tan. I never even bothered to test drive one. I signed the paperwork that afternoon and took delivery two weeks later. I have never felt so connected to a car both physically and emotionally as I was to that little 328. Until that exact moment in time, I never realized what it really meant to experience an automobile on such a personal level either before or since. I have been fortuanate to own a couple of other Ferraris over the years and many Porsches. But the driving experience of your first ferrari can never be equalled and will last you a lifetime.