Well, my ~10 year adventure with Ferrari's has has some ups & downs.
Here's
a brief history:
The 348 years....
In late '97, I was able to convince my wife that I needed to upgrade from
my
'70 Plymouth AAR Cuda to an Italian car. I came across a white/tan '92
348tb with about ~11K miles for a "reasonable" price. "Reasonable" is in
quotes as I've learned that one must recalibrate their definition of
"reasonable" when dealing with any aspect (purchase, maintenance, etc.) of
a
Ferrari. All in all it was a decent car over the ~2.5yrs that I owned it.
I put about 7K miles on it, many at the track (TWS - Texas World
Speedway).
During this time, I was also "fortunate" enough to pay for tires, several
oil changes, timing belt change, ECU replacement, and, unfortunately, some
bodywork to the front valence. They say that Ferrari's have low ground
clearance. I proved that this car, with ~5 inches of ground clearance,
was
incapable of clearing an ~6" diameter stone at ~40 mph. Very unpleasant
sound...
Highlights: Popped my Ferrari cherry with this car.
Lowlights: Electrical system "gremlins", unstable at high speeds
(>140mph)
& somewhat underpowered. Also, Ferrari's just shouldn't be painted
white...
The 355 years...
In early '00, I came across a yellow/black '95 F355 with ~9.6K miles on
the
odometer while getting my 348 serviced at the dealer****p. This was a
fantastic example with the carbon fiber racing seats. I simply had to
have
it! My wife was in a similar disposition regarding having another child.
The deal was made right there in my saleman's office -- I got the car
(traded-in the 348) AND another son out of the deal (that's what I call a
"win - win")! During the 7yrs that I owned it I put about ~12K miles on
the
odometer. As with the 348, many of these were logged at TWS whilst
chasing-down 360's & such. I had the pleasure of shelling out $$$ for
numerous oil changes, 2 sets of Pirelli's, timing belts, CV joint boots,
shocks, brakes, etc. This was not the worst of it, however...
It still pains me to speak of this, but, I'm finding this somewhat
theraputic...
On a fateful Friday afternoon, August 13, 2004, I attempted a U-turn on a
roadway near my house. For whatever reason, a VW Jetta decided to
magically
appear as I was ~halfway thru my U-turn. The resulting sights & sounds
were
the most unpleasant yet. In retrospect, no one was injured and the car
only
suffered cosmetic damage to the front valence, right fender & hood
(bonnet)
damage. Nevertheless, my insurance company & I shelled-out an enormous
sum
of $$$ to Ferraro of Houston for repairs. When it returned to home, after
~6 months, it was better than new! I must say, if you ever
"aerodynamically
alter" your Ferrari, FoH has a first-class repair facility.
Highlights: Absolutely stunning design. Gorgeous body-lines that look
quite modern (until it sits next to a 360 or 430). 385 beautiful ponies
with a fantastic 6spd. Stable up to ~175mph (I seemed to have lost my
"attachments" after hitting that mark on the speedo...). Letting my
middle
son's cub scout troop climb all over it.
Lowlights: See paragraph above. Oh yeah, maintenance costs and feeling
like a "fish in a fish bowl" while driving a fly yellow car. Sitting in
the
passenger's seat at ~140mph at TWS with my 18yr old son at the wheel...
The 360 years...uh, months...
After owning the 355 for ~7yrs, I was beginning to tire of it (the grass
is
always greener...) and it would often go weeks without being driven. Such
a
fine automobile should be exercised regularly, so I decided it was time
for
it to find a new home. In Mar'07 I located a meticulously maintained
6-spd
yellow/black '00 360 with ~19K miles. As with the 355 years ago, a simple
test-drive and hearing that lovely Tubi had me drooling. After some
haggling with the dealer (it had been on their lot for several months --
advantage: me), we were able to reach an amenable trade-in for mine &
purchase price for theirs. In the ~3 months since buying it, I've already
clocked ~2K miles on the odo. I simply can't avoid driving it with the
windows down to hear it. Only word of caution - 3rd gear and a
fully-depressed throttle should only be attempted while in a straight line
unless one is wearing Depends!
Highlights: Absolutely everything about it.
Lowlights: None yet.
Well, that's my "brief" history with this fabulous marque. I must say
that
I've been quite fortunate to own these wonderful machines over the years.
Hopefully I will be able to do so for many years to come.
Regards,
James (aka, giallo355)
"Paul Duffin" <someone@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
news:Nlqei.107291$AX2.13042@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> "James" <giallo355@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
> news:46788a1c$0$8039$4c368faf@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>> Make that the next sign of madness. The purchase of three Ferraris
over
>> the past 10 years were the first signs...
>
> So, daring to bring this group around to its (theoretical, at least)
> subject.
>
> Hey James, howabout letting us know what it's like 'moving up' the
marque?
>
> Is each car so much better than the last? are there things that you miss
> from your previous cars?
> which did you/do you enjoy most?
>
> ...and kindly send me some pics, I'll put 'em on my site in my
forthcoming
> 'toys' section (yes, for long time groupers, it's coming back!)
>
> -Paul
> (308GTS qv for 12 years now... and not sure if my wife will ever let me
> change it.)
> --
> http://www.mc-pd.co.uk/
> Vanity, vanity, vanity.... oh, and some a.a.f. stuff.
>
>
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