Inane Ramblings: The Ford GT and Ferrari Lust

[w. mitty]

I innocently presented myself at my local Ferrari dealer the other day. Wonderful, interested guys whom I've come to know well enough over the past four years to conclude that they defy the stereotypes associated with F-car dealers. While there, and without warning, I was assaulted by a 458, in all of its lean and sharp edged glory. Its not the first time it has happened Oh Guinevere! My mouth went dry, my heart started ratcheting. Casual conversation resulted in yours truly concluding that if I had the guts, it wouldn't take much (beyond a couple hundred large) for me to call myself a Ferrari owner for a second time.

My fevered mind began putting numbers together, and a thought came unbidden to me: If I traded my lovely GT for the 458, I could make it work without much of a sweat. I quickly shelved the idea for further contemplation in a calmer environment. On my drive home, I gave it some careful analysis.

My mind went back to the Ferrari Showroom. The 458 was surrounded by other lovely Ferraris, including a couple of pristine 430s. It's funny, I thought, that I didn't even give them a look. I mean, they didn't even register with me. Why? Because the 430 is now the unloved, replaced mistress along side the latest, greatest, 458.

Then I visualized the 458 in my garage, in the place that my GT has occupied for the past five years. The angel of reason then whispered in my ear: How will you feel about this trade in five years, when the 458 is yesterday's car? How will you feel when you see the magnificent GT that you no longer own whistling past, hunkered down, and after all those years, still looking as mean and purposeful as the day it rolled off the line?

The decision was made, and quickly. No trade. Then the devil on the other shoulder chuckled. Okay, it said, you've have a Ferrari and the GT at the same time, and it worked out okay. I smiled, and turned my attention back the financials.

The Ford GT. No car like it, and never will be. NOT FOR SALE OR TRADE!

 

[MNJason]

Well said!

 

[Superfly]

I do love reading your posts. You're like Road & Track's Peter Egan, for our Ford GT's. Well said my friend. And I do hope that you find a 458 BESIDE your GT. :thumbsup

 

[soroush]

I like!

 

[standj]

Sanity has prevailed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Kingman]

Because the 430 is now the unloved, replaced mistress along side the latest, greatest, 458.

The FGT was just as gorgeous in the 60's as it is today! That's epitome of timeless.:thumbsup

 

[Apollo]

I do love reading your posts. You're like Road & Track's Peter Egan, for our Ford GT's. Well said my friend. And I do hope that you find a 458 BESIDE your GT. :thumbsup

I agree. Well said!
I really have warmed up to the 458. Seeing it in person really does get the heart pumping. I was just looking at the one on Shelby's site and thought, man, if only.
Not taking anything away from the 458, but I realize that as much as that Ferrari gets my heart pumping, The GT wins my heart over every time. I especially realize this when I get home from a business trip and see the GT close up after being away :thumbsup What a car!

 

[djs]

"The FGT was just as gorgeous in the 60's as it is today! That's epitome of timeless"

Kingman hit the nail on the head. Once I had the side stripes removed from my car, as Shelby predicted, no one but for the real enthusiast, knew what the car was. However, when you tell the onlookers that the car dates back to the original GT40 from 1965-1969, they can't believe it. Ford nailed the design (with obvious racing benefit tinkering) back then, and Camillo and his group knocked the cover off the ball updating the current version. No other manufacturer has had such an exacting recreation of a terrific original. At a show last summer, a friend had his MkV Safir parked not far from my '06 GT. The onlookers thought they were one in the same until I pulled the GT next to the MkV.
Much as I admire/desire many F cars, I can't think of any that I would want with the same daily drivability that the GT has. I'd love a 275GTB (and like my friend his Safir GT40), but after about 20 minutes driving one, you realize how dated they are. I'd love a 430 as well, but I'm sure glad I didn't drop $230Gs on one2 or 3 years ago to see them for $140Large now.

 

[skyrex]

Car lust and car sense should not have to wrestle in the same brain. :willy It is truly an unfair situation for an upstanding man to have.

For the first time in my car lusting/buying life I look at the latest and greatest as a potential addition to my FGT and never a replacement. It is the first and only car I can see feeling that way about. I never gave much of a second thought to any of the cars I have sold. They are mostly pleasant memories......well except the NSX and Corvette engine rebuilds I had to do while learning that most cars can not handle power adders well :lol..... but like old girlfriends when they were gone I realized I did not miss them all that much.

Mitty once you bang out a few 200mph runs in two weeks those fleeting thoughts of a FGT trade in will fall farther back in your head. :cheers


........by the way.......I may be the only one that does this, but when I look at cars I look at the used listings and see which ones have miles on them. Meaning which ones have 15-30K miles on them as a used car. You see that regularly with FGT's, Audi R8's, Mercedes SLR's, Aston's and Porsches. It may be completely off base but my head says there is a car that is able to be driven and is not ridiculous to maintain. I see a Ferrari or a Lambo with 18K miles and I go wow that hardly ever happens. For some reason I don't trust cars that you hardly ever see higher miles on the odometer. I may find them beautiful and even fun to drive, but I don't trust them.

 

[w. mitty]

Mitty once you bang out a few 200mph runs in two weeks those fleeting thoughts of a FGT trade in will fall farther back in your head. :cheers


......

Counting the days, already prepping for the full write up

 

[skyrex]

In fairness I guess I am on my fourth version of my GT in 3 years of owning it. Stock, pulley/tune, TT and finally wrapped :willy:willy.......and another thing I love about my GT......it evolves. :banana :lol

 

[Superfly]

In fairness I guess I am on my fourth version of my GT in 3 years of owning it. Stock, pulley/tune, TT and finally wrapped :willy:willy.......and another thing I love about my GT......it evolves. :banana :lol

5th Gen actually Tom. Hoosiers are almost like having traction control, or more like an extra 200hp since you can actually put the power down...... :banana

 

[Kayvan]

It wont age well.

 

[ByeEnzo]

My Ferrari Observations:

The 458 is a wonderful car performance wise, but to me lacks something cosmetically compared to the 360's. There's always going to be another model that trumps the previous model. I bought a 360 CS 2 summers ago and it had been babied with only 7600 miles on it after 4 owners. I have driven it over 5000 miles and it is a wonderful car. Raw, loud, just short of a full on racecar. I would have never thought of trading a GT for it, a 430, or even a 458. I agree with Skyrex that modern supercars I lust for now are ones I would add to accompany my GT's, not to replace them. I find myself getting bored with the CS. I go out to the garage and hop in the GT over the CS. The CS would be the car in my little collection that I would part with if need be. I have thought about trading it in on a vintage 330 GTC, or a Daytona. Enzo era cars hold their value and are elegant machines. Nothing like the sound of a front engined V-12.

When it comes to Ferrari's there is a weird relationship that exists between the client and the dealership (my observations are of the dealership in Dallas). To get a new car (say a 458, Cali, or 599), you first have to prove loyalty and buy a used one over sticker. You then trade it for the 458 after getting on that list. Once you get the 458, you drive it a little but keep the miles low. After a year or so the dealership calls and wants "their" car back as there is someone out there willing to pay over sticker for a low miles pre-owned car. I had lunch with 3 guys at our last C&C in Dallas. They all have gotten "the call" from the dealership wanting the 458 back for interested buyers. The cycle starts over once you turn the car in...you're back on the list again. This may be something that only occurs here in Dallas. I'd end up pissing off the dealer by wanting to keep the car...or God forbid I sold it privately to someone else.

 

[w. mitty]

ByeEnzo,

Your excellent post brings to mind what I call the Ferrari Paradox: A guy buys the latest, greatest F car (in this case let's use the 458 as an example), but then won't drive it because he's already thinking of the day he's going to get rid of it. He wants to experience the Ferrari mystique, but in the back of his mind he's not sure how the car will age (thanks Kayvan). Also rattling around in his head is the fact that he just paid the price of a very nice home for the car. So, he brings the 458 home, puts it in the garage, and stares at it. For the first few months, this is enough. Sure, he takes it out to Cars and Caffeine, but not a whole lot more than that. The accolades are great, and he feels a certain thrill of ownership as the admiring crowds look on. He even buys Ferrari underwear. A couple of months in, his wife asks him to take her to Vegas in the car. The the fear of putting miles on the car sets in. Here's the conversation:

Wife: "Hey, take me to Vegas in the Ferrari"
Husband: "Um, well, dear...um, wouldn't you rather take the Lexus? It has a much bigger trunk, you know."
Wife:"No, we paid so much for that car, let's use it for something fun."
Husband: "Yea, we really should. But where will we park it? And what if we have to have to valet drive it? Did you not see Ferris Bueller's Day Off?"
Wife: "Oh, I'm sure we can figure it out. Com'on. It'll be fun!"
Husband: "How many miles is it to Vegas and back?"
Wife (voice rising): "So that's what this is about? The miles? Why did we buy that stupid car if you'll never drive it?"

And so the conversation goes. My point is that the Ferrari culture, as well as the used F-car market, considers 10,000 miles to be "high." Factor in the wild market plunge that the previous model experiences when the new car comes out (check out the Scuderia) and add the "high" mileage on top, and its a great way to flush a hundred large down the terlet for nothing more than a few nerve racking drives to C&C. Its no wonder some of the F car guys are so neurotic. A quick visit to Ferrarichat is a great object lesson.

You were smart to buy a CS used, as it has already gone through the worst part of this cycle. I better be careful here, I think I'm about to talk myself out of the 458

My GT now has 10,000 miles on it, and I can tell you with a straight face that I've NEVER turned my wife down for a ride because of miles. Each one of those miles has a happy memory behind it, and when the odo turns 100,000, I'll be the all the happier for the experiences.

P.S. Having dealt with both the big city F dealer and the smaller market F dealer, I am convinced that it is a different world between the two. So much of it is because F dealers can't sell out of area. This means that the Orange County dealers may have a line out the door, and the smaller markets may allow a qualified guy to step up to the plate much more quickly, especially in these lean times. The only solution for the die hard Ferrari fan is to pack that Ferrari underwear and move to a smaller market.

 

[SteveA]

The GT is the only car I have ever purchased that I got the feeling that "I'm done". As time goes by I get the urge to buy this or sell that but never with the GT. I played this game with manufactures all throughout my life and was obsessed with having the latest or fastest of such items as home stereos, cars, street bikes, dirt bikes race boats and even clothes. If Ford came out with a GT1A (God forbid) maybe that would change my feelings towards this car. If they make another supercar I hope it's nothing like the GT MKI....... however a MKIV might be cool.:thumbsup

 

[Neilda]

Interesting (as always) post Walter. Coincidentally I also drove the 458 recently and, for a while, was tempted by this younger woman, her fine undergarments and fast moves. But would I trade? No. Would I have it as an addition? Yes. However the recession has not been overly kind, so I couldn't have both.

The GT is fully evolved, any further development would be superfluous. I drove mine today, it IS the daddy.

 

[canuck]

My friend just bought a 458 italia this week. Used with less than 1000 miles. Paid premium price to a ferrari dealership. I arranged to meet up with him several months before and at that time he wasn't buying a Ferrari. His plan is to drive it for a year and then return it to the Ferrari dealership and get his mclaren mp4. What will it cost him for one year of ownership? I figure 20K which is less than 2K per month. He will be able to drive it for 12 full months. I know lots of people who drive a car for more per month. The only additional loss is the loss of opportunity of doing something else with the money.

The Ferrari is all about technology, performance and joining the culture. It provides incredible performance for its era which outdates in 4-5 years. During the run of a given edition it is usually King. Mclaren messed that up for them. Much like the ford gt messed up the 360 and 430.

Well i will hopefully know first hand just how incredible the 458 is soon enough.

 

[ByeEnzo]

My buds who own 458's drive them till they hit 1000 miles and then park and cover them...and wait for the call from the dealership. I lurk on Ferrarichat, I have a few Ferrari shirts, but no underwear. I view myself as being on the fringe. I do have several pairs of Ford GT boxers.:biggrin Vintage F-car ownership is a different experience than owning a new one. I'm not sure I'm cut out for the process of getting the latest model. Mitty's observations are spot on regarding depreciation, etc.

 

[skyrex]

My buds who own 458's drive them till they hit 1000 miles and then park and cover them...and wait for the call from the dealership.

That seems like no fun to me. I feel like I am just getting acquainted with a car at 1,000 miles. I could not fathom getting a new car, especially a new Ferrari, and driving it less than 500 miles and giving it back to the dealer. I don't want to say I owned a car, I want to say I drove the car.....a lot!!! :driving:

I spoke to a couple of F-car dealers before I bought the GT. (I was interested in a 575 or a 430 at the time) Now mine were the big city dealers but I did not like feeling like they were gracing me with their time in my quest to get answers/potentially buy a car. That and learning about the "service" records. How everything that encompassed servicing the car had to be documented perfectly or it would affect the resale value. It is not that I don't maintain my cars (As Kendall can attest to by my frequent visits) but it seemed like more work than I wanted for a fun car.

I would still like a Ferrari some day, but short of a big lottery win it will be an older one that has been driven. Enzo it seems like you have put some miles on yours. Has your maintenance been mostly routine or has there been more involved if you don't mind me asking?