Living vicariously...
Discussion
I thought I’d start a slightly different style of thread and lean into the supercar owners obligation to share their cars experience, specifically buying your first supercar - what was the story behind it?
What did you get, why that car?
What was it like picking it up and what was your first drive in it?
Why did you get it, was it to celebrate a major life event? Sale of a business? Lotto win?
Was there any buyers remorse?
Most memorable experience?
What did you get, why that car?
What was it like picking it up and what was your first drive in it?
Why did you get it, was it to celebrate a major life event? Sale of a business? Lotto win?
Was there any buyers remorse?
Most memorable experience?
I'll bite.
I had a Carrera C2 for a couple of years which I loved, great car, I think this would have been about 2006. Then they announced the 997 and I ordered a Turbo, would be 9 or 10 months before I got it.
This was my dream car, bedroom wall poster stuff, was absolutely amazed I'd got myself into a position to be able to buy something like this and the wait was torture. It finally arrived and was like a dog with two dicks, for about a month. After 10 weeks I was completely bored of it, for some inexplicable reason I just didn't connect with it. The point and squirt was fun but everything else about it left me cold, hated the handling and the ride and could never get comfortable in it.
Me and my other half drove up to the Porsche Center on a Saturday to see if there was another Porsche I might chop it for, the C2 had been such a great car I was even thinking of going back. Didn't see anything that raised my pulse and then leaving the showroom I looked over at the Ferrari dealership.
This was not in the plan, I'd never even considered a Ferrari or even really took notice of them.
A Ferrari? What? Dont be ridiculous!
We walked in and right in the middle of the showroom was a Rosso Corsa F430 F1.
Oh
My
f
king
God.
I went over and started walking around it and I felt like someone would arrive at any moment and say "Could you leave the building please, we're expecting an actual buyer".
It was nearly new, had been bought by somebody who would buy 4 or 5 new cars a year and then return 2 or 3 of them, it had about 400 miles on it and it might as well have been a space ship in my eyes. A salesman wandered over, started being very nice, running through the spec and asking me to sit in it.
I couldn't even talk.
I remember the scent of leather, the sumptuousness and the complete other worldlyness of just sitting in the thing and running my hands over the wheel.
I started it up and blipped it (do they even let you do that in the showroom now?) and my heart rate hit the roof.
I can't remember the exact price, I think about 150K, the Turbo had cost me 104 and of course I wouldn't be getting that sort of money for it now. I had paid outright for the Turbo so my brain was going "Okay, its a stretch but you won't need *that* much finance". Quickly followed by "What the actual fk are you even thinking you idiot!*
After a while of this weird, spacey feeling I got a bit of a grip and looked at my partner, she said "Do you want it? it is beautiful"
Oh my god you absolute star! I wasn't going to have to talk her into anything.
I had just had a pretty serious health scare and that was in my mind, who knows whats out there? Why put off till tomorrow and all that stuff which did really help swing it.
I finally remembered I actually owned a business and started talking turkey to the salesmen and scratching my chin, although he knew full well I'd almost given birth in it with excitement. I said I'd consider and come back later.
Rang them in the week and they offered 80 for the Turbo, so a 24K loss in 3 months, and that was back when 24K was still considered a lot of money!
I returned the next week and made a serious punt but said the price would have to move, they called the seller and he said he'd drop 10k there and then if I wanted it, I got the impression this was not a big deal to this guy!
So I did it by fk, I bought a Ferrari. I'd rustled up some more cash so in the end I think I only had about 30 finance and that was on a short term because I had funds incoming.
I can't remember if I took it then or came back later. I do remember they'd brought it round to the front of the showroom and we jumped in and started it up under every dealership employees gaze! And then I couldn't work out how to get it moving! I don't remember what I was doing wrong but it wouldn't go in gear. I was cringing and just as the guy finally got up and started striding toward me it engaged and we were off!
As I came into my home town I stopped in traffic right next to one of my oldest friends, he looked over and mouthed "What the fk!"
Many great times in that car but taking it to France on long trips with my other half would be the highlights.
I've had plenty of other Supercars since then but I never bought another Ferrari.
Buying that one though was real deathbed memory stuff, if there's time.
I had a Carrera C2 for a couple of years which I loved, great car, I think this would have been about 2006. Then they announced the 997 and I ordered a Turbo, would be 9 or 10 months before I got it.
This was my dream car, bedroom wall poster stuff, was absolutely amazed I'd got myself into a position to be able to buy something like this and the wait was torture. It finally arrived and was like a dog with two dicks, for about a month. After 10 weeks I was completely bored of it, for some inexplicable reason I just didn't connect with it. The point and squirt was fun but everything else about it left me cold, hated the handling and the ride and could never get comfortable in it.
Me and my other half drove up to the Porsche Center on a Saturday to see if there was another Porsche I might chop it for, the C2 had been such a great car I was even thinking of going back. Didn't see anything that raised my pulse and then leaving the showroom I looked over at the Ferrari dealership.
This was not in the plan, I'd never even considered a Ferrari or even really took notice of them.
A Ferrari? What? Dont be ridiculous!
We walked in and right in the middle of the showroom was a Rosso Corsa F430 F1.
Oh
My
f
kingGod.
I went over and started walking around it and I felt like someone would arrive at any moment and say "Could you leave the building please, we're expecting an actual buyer".
It was nearly new, had been bought by somebody who would buy 4 or 5 new cars a year and then return 2 or 3 of them, it had about 400 miles on it and it might as well have been a space ship in my eyes. A salesman wandered over, started being very nice, running through the spec and asking me to sit in it.
I couldn't even talk.
I remember the scent of leather, the sumptuousness and the complete other worldlyness of just sitting in the thing and running my hands over the wheel.
I started it up and blipped it (do they even let you do that in the showroom now?) and my heart rate hit the roof.
I can't remember the exact price, I think about 150K, the Turbo had cost me 104 and of course I wouldn't be getting that sort of money for it now. I had paid outright for the Turbo so my brain was going "Okay, its a stretch but you won't need *that* much finance". Quickly followed by "What the actual f
k are you even thinking you idiot!*After a while of this weird, spacey feeling I got a bit of a grip and looked at my partner, she said "Do you want it? it is beautiful"
Oh my god you absolute star! I wasn't going to have to talk her into anything.
I had just had a pretty serious health scare and that was in my mind, who knows whats out there? Why put off till tomorrow and all that stuff which did really help swing it.
I finally remembered I actually owned a business and started talking turkey to the salesmen and scratching my chin, although he knew full well I'd almost given birth in it with excitement. I said I'd consider and come back later.
Rang them in the week and they offered 80 for the Turbo, so a 24K loss in 3 months, and that was back when 24K was still considered a lot of money!
I returned the next week and made a serious punt but said the price would have to move, they called the seller and he said he'd drop 10k there and then if I wanted it, I got the impression this was not a big deal to this guy!
So I did it by f
k, I bought a Ferrari. I'd rustled up some more cash so in the end I think I only had about 30 finance and that was on a short term because I had funds incoming. I can't remember if I took it then or came back later. I do remember they'd brought it round to the front of the showroom and we jumped in and started it up under every dealership employees gaze! And then I couldn't work out how to get it moving! I don't remember what I was doing wrong but it wouldn't go in gear. I was cringing and just as the guy finally got up and started striding toward me it engaged and we were off!
As I came into my home town I stopped in traffic right next to one of my oldest friends, he looked over and mouthed "What the f
k!"Many great times in that car but taking it to France on long trips with my other half would be the highlights.
I've had plenty of other Supercars since then but I never bought another Ferrari.
Buying that one though was real deathbed memory stuff, if there's time.
so a short summary
I always loved cars, been reading Auto Motor und Sport since a young age and then later Evo every month - it excited me no end to read about special cars.
When I was at university I had a Z3 M Coupe and loved it
Then I moved to London and at some point wanted a Ferrari or a Porsche GT car, I sold the M Coupe for a pittance at some point due to financial issues. I looked at a 550 Maranello initially as I always loved the looks at the V12. On the way to view one the rear upright of the M Coupe packed it in on the highway.... I eventually made it to the test drive of the Maranello and obviously loved it, but after receiving the quote for repairing the BMW, I decided maybe buying a similar age Ferrari was not the most prudent decision. I then sold the M Coupe (for 15k Euros btw, ouch).
I could not really afford it, but I kept coming back to cars. I nearly bought a 997 GT3 for 66k, but the dealer did not want to move on price by 500 quid when I was there and when he called back a week later, I kind of had become more sensible (briefly), so said no.
Then I found a silver 355 and fell in love immediately, bought it unseen after a PPI and picked it up about 3 weeks later. The drive back was the most amazing experience of my life - I was so so happy and the car was all I ever imagined. I spent a metric ton of money on it over the next 2.5 years and c. 20k miles - but I do not regret any of it. It probably cost me the same in running costs as the total purchase price, but I did not care. It was amazing. then I lost my job and had to sell it, I think I literally cried a little when the dealer drove it away. I still miss that car and keep tracking the number plate to see where it is.....
Move on a few years without a car and then I bought a 997 GT2 CS, I managed to drive it more than 10k km in 4 months during December to April in Germany, including a trip from Germany to Scotland. Unfortunately, 4 months to the day from delivery I had a rather spectacular accident and ended up in hospital (Cup 1 tyres are the devil btw.... my dog was outside the car when I woke up and no glass left in the car). Once I got out of hospital I looked at a new G63 (due to my parents having some reservations about sportscars) and spoke to Singer about ordering one of their cars - which even at that time was a little to rich for me once you add import taxes etc. In the end I convinced my parents, that the FF is kind of like an SUV - 4wd, 4 seats, large, heavy etc. and I bought one of those, which I still own nearly 100k km later.
Other cars followed including a Scuderia and a 430 Challenge - I enjoyed all of them immensely and I do regret selling them as I just wasted the money - would much rather have the cars in retrospect. but that is life.
I regret selling every one of them, some out of necessity so less of a regret, but I loved them all for the experiences they provided - does not matter if it is a "supercar" or not. That definition is just for showing off imo, the key is the driving experience the car provides. My current favourite is a 1971 911 Targa with c. 130 hp, it looks cute and it is so much fun too drive in summer - and that is as far as you can get from a supercar. But what it does is, it enables me to drive it hard without losing my license or looking like an anti-social prick. So horses for courses, but it does not have to be a "modern" supercar to give you a lot of pleasure.
Having said that, I really want a Murcielago Roadster (missed the boat) or my favourite ever a Carrera GT (missed the boat and it is across the ocean by now...) . But that is ok, sometimes you win and sometimes you loose
I always loved cars, been reading Auto Motor und Sport since a young age and then later Evo every month - it excited me no end to read about special cars.
When I was at university I had a Z3 M Coupe and loved it
Then I moved to London and at some point wanted a Ferrari or a Porsche GT car, I sold the M Coupe for a pittance at some point due to financial issues. I looked at a 550 Maranello initially as I always loved the looks at the V12. On the way to view one the rear upright of the M Coupe packed it in on the highway.... I eventually made it to the test drive of the Maranello and obviously loved it, but after receiving the quote for repairing the BMW, I decided maybe buying a similar age Ferrari was not the most prudent decision. I then sold the M Coupe (for 15k Euros btw, ouch).
I could not really afford it, but I kept coming back to cars. I nearly bought a 997 GT3 for 66k, but the dealer did not want to move on price by 500 quid when I was there and when he called back a week later, I kind of had become more sensible (briefly), so said no.
Then I found a silver 355 and fell in love immediately, bought it unseen after a PPI and picked it up about 3 weeks later. The drive back was the most amazing experience of my life - I was so so happy and the car was all I ever imagined. I spent a metric ton of money on it over the next 2.5 years and c. 20k miles - but I do not regret any of it. It probably cost me the same in running costs as the total purchase price, but I did not care. It was amazing. then I lost my job and had to sell it, I think I literally cried a little when the dealer drove it away. I still miss that car and keep tracking the number plate to see where it is.....
Move on a few years without a car and then I bought a 997 GT2 CS, I managed to drive it more than 10k km in 4 months during December to April in Germany, including a trip from Germany to Scotland. Unfortunately, 4 months to the day from delivery I had a rather spectacular accident and ended up in hospital (Cup 1 tyres are the devil btw.... my dog was outside the car when I woke up and no glass left in the car). Once I got out of hospital I looked at a new G63 (due to my parents having some reservations about sportscars) and spoke to Singer about ordering one of their cars - which even at that time was a little to rich for me once you add import taxes etc. In the end I convinced my parents, that the FF is kind of like an SUV - 4wd, 4 seats, large, heavy etc. and I bought one of those, which I still own nearly 100k km later.
Other cars followed including a Scuderia and a 430 Challenge - I enjoyed all of them immensely and I do regret selling them as I just wasted the money - would much rather have the cars in retrospect. but that is life.
I regret selling every one of them, some out of necessity so less of a regret, but I loved them all for the experiences they provided - does not matter if it is a "supercar" or not. That definition is just for showing off imo, the key is the driving experience the car provides. My current favourite is a 1971 911 Targa with c. 130 hp, it looks cute and it is so much fun too drive in summer - and that is as far as you can get from a supercar. But what it does is, it enables me to drive it hard without losing my license or looking like an anti-social prick. So horses for courses, but it does not have to be a "modern" supercar to give you a lot of pleasure.
Having said that, I really want a Murcielago Roadster (missed the boat) or my favourite ever a Carrera GT (missed the boat and it is across the ocean by now...) . But that is ok, sometimes you win and sometimes you loose
Some three years ago in the midst of the pandemic, one morning my phone gave its usual shudder to yet another notification. (Audible notifications are surely a pre-pandemic phenomenon, right?).
Instead of another obscure group message, family update or some work related information, this time it was a link to the launch of the Lotus Emira, and more importantly, a way to get on the 'list' at a very early stage via their website for a relatively small amount of money. This initial deposit, plus the second relatively small amount that was due some months later, happened to be fully refundable right up until the latter stages of car purchase.
Having never had a brand new car, never had a Lotus, never spent anything like the advertised price on anything other than property, I did the honorable thing and immediately signed up! By this point I had been saving a little while for my next financial mistake in the form of something sports/super car related and with some research, a good look around a car at Goodwood and my £2000 'well spent' at this point, I was excited for what was to come. An Emira First Edition was surely the best decision of the week....
As many of us often do, as soon as we make one decision, we immediately research in depth, the alternative possibilities. Its essentially the first day of an economics A-level, the opportunity cost....
So alongside looking at the colours, options, wheels and interior trim for the incoming (or so I thought) Emira, I did my homework on various other options. R8's, M3/4's, McLarens, 911's, all the usual options plus a couple of others seemed sensible to look at.
Fast forward a few months, information and timings were slow to come forward from Lotus, the inevitable new car development work, coupled with the Covid chip and component/supplier issues meant that Lotus were not able to commit to dates for delivering the first of the UK cars. How frustrating, but having worked in Motorsport and knowing the effort it takes for low volume cars in particular, perhaps not surprising.
Could I wait? Maybe. I paid my second deposit to keep me in the game, selected the dark green with alcantara and some yellow bits here and there, and of course the V6 manual powertrain. I also test drive a car with my local dealer and to be fair, it was great!
However, all was not to be. During my research of other models, I couldn't help but come across the depreciation curve to date of some of the early McLaren models, in particular early 570's, 12C's and 650's. It seemed impossible that any McLaren could now be changing hands for the same amount or less than what I was committing myself to with the Emira, and that appeared to represent unbelievable 'car for the money'. Get the right car, timed with the not inconsiderable depreciation already behind it, and what's not to like?
And then it happened. I was on my way to West London to collect a 12C I had never seen, from a private seller I had never met.....perfect.
Within a few hours, with the deal done and with a Kiwi embossed carbon key fob in my pocket, I closed the door and set off in my very first nice car. (Ok I had nicely spec'd Golf R for a while that was worth perhaps a third of the value of the McLaren, but that was the most capable road car I had owned to date....)
Driving home was somewhat unreal. A few miles through small B-roads had me on full alert, working out how wide it was and where the wheels really were in relation to everything else, as well as having to look up at virtually everything and trying not to get anywhere near another vehicle was a challenge. One the roads opened up, a bit less traffic and a bit more space, I relaxed and the car came alive. It rode the undulations incredibly well, had an insanely responsive throttle, and when the rock hard brake pedal was pushed with a little more effort than normal, the rear wing appeared in the rear view mirror. Nice.
Other cars waved and flashed their lights, people asked me what it was when stopped at traffic lights and every second BMW wanted to race. And of course it was, and still is I might add, ferociously fast. Having to speed the brain up to keep pace with where the car was going was something I was looking forward to getting used to. With the snug cabin wrapped around you, all the controls in exactly the right place and with 620hp available with a push of the right pedal, I was sure it was a great decision!
This did leave me with a rather nice dilemma, but a dilemma none the less. I was £5k and nearing 12 months into an Emira order, with a 12C in the garage. What to do.
The 12C was well spec'd, low mileage, in great condition with lots of prior service history. With the recent rise of a few independent specialists, low(er) cost fixes for known issues and more and more information online for these cars, with a bit of luck it wouldn't be ruinous to run and if I looked after it, the car might not depreciate any further. The Lotus on the other hand, would be brand new and immaculate, any issues wouldn't cost me anything as the warranty would take care of it, it would stick out a little less than Woking's effort and surely it would cost less to insure and to replace the tyres etc.
However, this was now mid-2022 and normality was starting to return to projected values, my guess was the Emira would not only not be a patch on the 12C to drive, but it would also lose a chunk of money during my ownership. Once optioned, it would cost more than what I paid for the 12C and it just wasn't a McLaren. So, I asked for my deposit to be retuned and continued to be someone who never owned a Lotus.
Fast forward to 2024, the 12C still amazes me every time I get into it. The sharp steering, crazy power, compliant suspension as well as the options of 'sport and track modes' make any drive a real event and although we never really know if the decisions we make are the 'right' ones, so far this one worked out.
Instead of another obscure group message, family update or some work related information, this time it was a link to the launch of the Lotus Emira, and more importantly, a way to get on the 'list' at a very early stage via their website for a relatively small amount of money. This initial deposit, plus the second relatively small amount that was due some months later, happened to be fully refundable right up until the latter stages of car purchase.
Having never had a brand new car, never had a Lotus, never spent anything like the advertised price on anything other than property, I did the honorable thing and immediately signed up! By this point I had been saving a little while for my next financial mistake in the form of something sports/super car related and with some research, a good look around a car at Goodwood and my £2000 'well spent' at this point, I was excited for what was to come. An Emira First Edition was surely the best decision of the week....
As many of us often do, as soon as we make one decision, we immediately research in depth, the alternative possibilities. Its essentially the first day of an economics A-level, the opportunity cost....
So alongside looking at the colours, options, wheels and interior trim for the incoming (or so I thought) Emira, I did my homework on various other options. R8's, M3/4's, McLarens, 911's, all the usual options plus a couple of others seemed sensible to look at.
Fast forward a few months, information and timings were slow to come forward from Lotus, the inevitable new car development work, coupled with the Covid chip and component/supplier issues meant that Lotus were not able to commit to dates for delivering the first of the UK cars. How frustrating, but having worked in Motorsport and knowing the effort it takes for low volume cars in particular, perhaps not surprising.
Could I wait? Maybe. I paid my second deposit to keep me in the game, selected the dark green with alcantara and some yellow bits here and there, and of course the V6 manual powertrain. I also test drive a car with my local dealer and to be fair, it was great!
However, all was not to be. During my research of other models, I couldn't help but come across the depreciation curve to date of some of the early McLaren models, in particular early 570's, 12C's and 650's. It seemed impossible that any McLaren could now be changing hands for the same amount or less than what I was committing myself to with the Emira, and that appeared to represent unbelievable 'car for the money'. Get the right car, timed with the not inconsiderable depreciation already behind it, and what's not to like?
And then it happened. I was on my way to West London to collect a 12C I had never seen, from a private seller I had never met.....perfect.
Within a few hours, with the deal done and with a Kiwi embossed carbon key fob in my pocket, I closed the door and set off in my very first nice car. (Ok I had nicely spec'd Golf R for a while that was worth perhaps a third of the value of the McLaren, but that was the most capable road car I had owned to date....)
Driving home was somewhat unreal. A few miles through small B-roads had me on full alert, working out how wide it was and where the wheels really were in relation to everything else, as well as having to look up at virtually everything and trying not to get anywhere near another vehicle was a challenge. One the roads opened up, a bit less traffic and a bit more space, I relaxed and the car came alive. It rode the undulations incredibly well, had an insanely responsive throttle, and when the rock hard brake pedal was pushed with a little more effort than normal, the rear wing appeared in the rear view mirror. Nice.
Other cars waved and flashed their lights, people asked me what it was when stopped at traffic lights and every second BMW wanted to race. And of course it was, and still is I might add, ferociously fast. Having to speed the brain up to keep pace with where the car was going was something I was looking forward to getting used to. With the snug cabin wrapped around you, all the controls in exactly the right place and with 620hp available with a push of the right pedal, I was sure it was a great decision!
This did leave me with a rather nice dilemma, but a dilemma none the less. I was £5k and nearing 12 months into an Emira order, with a 12C in the garage. What to do.
The 12C was well spec'd, low mileage, in great condition with lots of prior service history. With the recent rise of a few independent specialists, low(er) cost fixes for known issues and more and more information online for these cars, with a bit of luck it wouldn't be ruinous to run and if I looked after it, the car might not depreciate any further. The Lotus on the other hand, would be brand new and immaculate, any issues wouldn't cost me anything as the warranty would take care of it, it would stick out a little less than Woking's effort and surely it would cost less to insure and to replace the tyres etc.
However, this was now mid-2022 and normality was starting to return to projected values, my guess was the Emira would not only not be a patch on the 12C to drive, but it would also lose a chunk of money during my ownership. Once optioned, it would cost more than what I paid for the 12C and it just wasn't a McLaren. So, I asked for my deposit to be retuned and continued to be someone who never owned a Lotus.
Fast forward to 2024, the 12C still amazes me every time I get into it. The sharp steering, crazy power, compliant suspension as well as the options of 'sport and track modes' make any drive a real event and although we never really know if the decisions we make are the 'right' ones, so far this one worked out.
Edited by RDMotorsport on Thursday 8th August 20:30
Edited by RDMotorsport on Thursday 8th August 20:31
Have mentioned a similar account of this some years ago but but baring in mind the title of the thread thought i might tell my story of my first
Ferrari purchase for those who didn't see the first one and try not to bore the pants off the ones that did,
On a very hot day back in 1980 wifey myself and our son was getting ready for a day at the beach that was until i went out and bought a copy of the
"Sunday Times" ,with no internet ads the Times was crammed with prestige cars in the classified ,
Having missed the boat on Dino's i was looking at the time for the next best thing, a 308 GT4,
There it was a 74 blue GT4 in my price range at £5,750 ,now how do i make a 2 hour drive to Birmingham to see a car sound a better idea on the
hottest day of the year than a hours drive to the beach,
With no easy way round this i showed the ad to wifey and to my surprise not only did she agree to going to view the car she amazed me by saying
we will go only if i intend on buying it not just to have a nosy ,
After owning various odd bod cars like Aston's,Jenson's,E Types ,Porsches and even a Espada that needed a restoration which unfortunately
i had to admit defeat and sell as a Meccano kit this would be my first Ferrari , Her knowing that once i have owned a certain make of car i had got it
out of my system and would tick the next box with something else so with her thinking why should this be any different and lets get it over and done with,
With that the three of us crammed into her TR7 and drove to Birmingham , The car was much better than i thought it would be so my idea of chipping
the seller down to a price i was comfortable with and at the same time keep her indoors happy. wasn't going to be easy .
Went for a good long run while the two wives chatted, While trying to negotiate the price down the seller reached up to a cupboard hanging on the
wall above his prized 246 Dino ,can't remember what he wanted to show me now but something to do with the 308 and to our horror the cupboard fell
off the wall and ended up on the bonnet of his Dino leaving it dented ,
OMG what thing to happen ,Feeling sorry for the guy I thought how do i offer him less now than he had come down to ,looks like i am just taking
advantage of a bad situation and if i leave without buying it i now will feel terrible,
So i did the only thing that you can do and agreed to buy the car at the figure he was happy to accept ,
A few days later yet another very hot day i was on the train to Birmingham with a very good friend of mine to collect my first Ferrari ,
Only got a few miles up the road to realise that the air conditioning wasn't working and opening both windows just let the hot air in,
having dark blue interior didn't help either , We made a stop in Oxford and ordered the biggest Knickerbocker Glory ice ice from a local
Wimpy Bar to cool us down ,anyone remember them. The reason we called into Oxford was my friend wanted to see a bright yellow original
Mini that he had seen advertised at a main dealer for his wife , Lucky for us he bought the car and he followed me until just outside Oxford the
water pump seized on the 308 breaking the belts, With no AA relay at that time we were forced to abandon the car , some kind man let us
leave it in his driveway rather than on the road with my only worry being it was feet away from his kids climbing frame but needs must and all that,
As i said before lucky we had the little Mini to continue our journey otherwise not quite sure how we would have got home after a very hot
long sticky day ,
We retrieved the car from the garden around 6 am the next day , with the fear of someone i know seeing me in my first Ferrari behind a tow rope we
disconnected the rope about a mile from the workshop and drove it under it's own steam with no problems ,
A couple of days later i was back on the road with the biggest grin on my face forgetting all that had happened,
Oh ,her indoors probably wished we had gone to the beach that day and had never given me planning permission as it turned out that it wasn't
just a fad that i was going through but a long life passion that i never grow out of with many Ferrari's since,
Wifey (divorced not died ) has long gone but i am happy to say i still have two Ferrari's in the toy cupboard ,
Ferrari purchase for those who didn't see the first one and try not to bore the pants off the ones that did,
On a very hot day back in 1980 wifey myself and our son was getting ready for a day at the beach that was until i went out and bought a copy of the
"Sunday Times" ,with no internet ads the Times was crammed with prestige cars in the classified ,
Having missed the boat on Dino's i was looking at the time for the next best thing, a 308 GT4,
There it was a 74 blue GT4 in my price range at £5,750 ,now how do i make a 2 hour drive to Birmingham to see a car sound a better idea on the
hottest day of the year than a hours drive to the beach,
With no easy way round this i showed the ad to wifey and to my surprise not only did she agree to going to view the car she amazed me by saying
we will go only if i intend on buying it not just to have a nosy ,
After owning various odd bod cars like Aston's,Jenson's,E Types ,Porsches and even a Espada that needed a restoration which unfortunately
i had to admit defeat and sell as a Meccano kit this would be my first Ferrari , Her knowing that once i have owned a certain make of car i had got it
out of my system and would tick the next box with something else so with her thinking why should this be any different and lets get it over and done with,
With that the three of us crammed into her TR7 and drove to Birmingham , The car was much better than i thought it would be so my idea of chipping
the seller down to a price i was comfortable with and at the same time keep her indoors happy. wasn't going to be easy .
Went for a good long run while the two wives chatted, While trying to negotiate the price down the seller reached up to a cupboard hanging on the
wall above his prized 246 Dino ,can't remember what he wanted to show me now but something to do with the 308 and to our horror the cupboard fell
off the wall and ended up on the bonnet of his Dino leaving it dented ,
OMG what thing to happen ,Feeling sorry for the guy I thought how do i offer him less now than he had come down to ,looks like i am just taking
advantage of a bad situation and if i leave without buying it i now will feel terrible,
So i did the only thing that you can do and agreed to buy the car at the figure he was happy to accept ,
A few days later yet another very hot day i was on the train to Birmingham with a very good friend of mine to collect my first Ferrari ,
Only got a few miles up the road to realise that the air conditioning wasn't working and opening both windows just let the hot air in,
having dark blue interior didn't help either , We made a stop in Oxford and ordered the biggest Knickerbocker Glory ice ice from a local
Wimpy Bar to cool us down ,anyone remember them. The reason we called into Oxford was my friend wanted to see a bright yellow original
Mini that he had seen advertised at a main dealer for his wife , Lucky for us he bought the car and he followed me until just outside Oxford the
water pump seized on the 308 breaking the belts, With no AA relay at that time we were forced to abandon the car , some kind man let us
leave it in his driveway rather than on the road with my only worry being it was feet away from his kids climbing frame but needs must and all that,
As i said before lucky we had the little Mini to continue our journey otherwise not quite sure how we would have got home after a very hot
long sticky day ,
We retrieved the car from the garden around 6 am the next day , with the fear of someone i know seeing me in my first Ferrari behind a tow rope we
disconnected the rope about a mile from the workshop and drove it under it's own steam with no problems ,
A couple of days later i was back on the road with the biggest grin on my face forgetting all that had happened,
Oh ,her indoors probably wished we had gone to the beach that day and had never given me planning permission as it turned out that it wasn't
just a fad that i was going through but a long life passion that i never grow out of with many Ferrari's since,
Wifey (divorced not died ) has long gone but i am happy to say i still have two Ferrari's in the toy cupboard ,
Edited by ratrod 2 on Thursday 8th August 19:53
DeejRC said:
How about a story involving Magnums Ferrari, buying sight unseen, driving it straight back across Europe, sleeping in it, accidentally forgetting to tell one’s wife, driving the wrong way up Zurich Bahnhofstrasse, broken foot, a Dalmatian puppy and a V8 ML?
Yes please, sounds interesting not to mention a bit of a riot .[
- specifically buying your first supercar - what was the story behind it?
- What did you get, why that car?
Was an R8 V10 - was during lockdown when the kent variant came out and we were all "instructed" not to go to kent. I was bored, fancied a change form my Griff 500 to something more comfortable and better built (hehe). I was chatting to a mate about buying a Gallardo pre-LP and he said he'd driven an R8 V10 and it was epic - "get one mate - it's the same engine as the Hurracan but less than half the price".
So I did a bit of googling and found the car I have now, at a dealerhsip in... Kent. The inside is burgundy but in the photos it looked garish red, so the car was still for sale at a great price. So I went to Kent :-) It was "only " £45k, but the most I'd ever spent on a car before was £20k, so it was a big step up for me.
- What was it like picking it up and what was your first drive in it?
At the dealership in Kent I was not allowed inside (covid) so he had a table in the garage entrance with all the paperwork on. I gave the car a quick look over (honestly, I had no idea what I was buying), made sure it looked clean, and paid.
The weather was aweful (wet) and the first part of the drive home was fairly timid. When I joined the motorway I put my foot down but was a little underwhelmed. So I dropped a gear... that's better. I dropped another gear... bloody hell!!! It truly comes alive at around£4k rpm. Mine is mapped to 580ish BHP - only found this out when trawling through the paperwkor at home .
I came down the A303 and once I'd got used to the engine and gearing, well, i was absolutely blown away. I'd never driven anything that is so "persistently" fast. Its linear, and bloody mental. For the first few weeks/months I actually could not help myself guffawing out loud when going fast round roundabouts and the likes. Sheer disbelief.
- Why did you get it, was it to celebrate a major life event? Sale of a business? Lotto win?
Bored - coved. Fancied a change. No kids, godo disposable income, so wasn't really a risk.
- Was there any buyers remorse?
None at all. 4 years in so far. I'ev thrown £3k at sorting a minor oil leak over the last year (made the epic mistake of using an Audi dealerhsip who burnt £2200 of my money on fixing nothing much. They then quoted £10,000+ VAT to fix the leak in question - engine out job apparently. My local indy sorted it recently for £560 - same job - engine most deinitely NOT out :-).
- Most memorable experience?
Driving along the river Exe, often :-)
Coming of large motorway junctions, snicking down through the gears braking late and hard, and then traversing the roundabout as fast as I can, often :-)
- specifically buying your first supercar - what was the story behind it?
- What did you get, why that car?
Was an R8 V10 - was during lockdown when the kent variant came out and we were all "instructed" not to go to kent. I was bored, fancied a change form my Griff 500 to something more comfortable and better built (hehe). I was chatting to a mate about buying a Gallardo pre-LP and he said he'd driven an R8 V10 and it was epic - "get one mate - it's the same engine as the Hurracan but less than half the price".
So I did a bit of googling and found the car I have now, at a dealerhsip in... Kent. The inside is burgundy but in the photos it looked garish red, so the car was still for sale at a great price. So I went to Kent :-) It was "only " £45k, but the most I'd ever spent on a car before was £20k, so it was a big step up for me.
- What was it like picking it up and what was your first drive in it?
At the dealership in Kent I was not allowed inside (covid) so he had a table in the garage entrance with all the paperwork on. I gave the car a quick look over (honestly, I had no idea what I was buying), made sure it looked clean, and paid.
The weather was aweful (wet) and the first part of the drive home was fairly timid. When I joined the motorway I put my foot down but was a little underwhelmed. So I dropped a gear... that's better. I dropped another gear... bloody hell!!! It truly comes alive at around£4k rpm. Mine is mapped to 580ish BHP - only found this out when trawling through the paperwkor at home .
I came down the A303 and once I'd got used to the engine and gearing, well, i was absolutely blown away. I'd never driven anything that is so "persistently" fast. Its linear, and bloody mental. For the first few weeks/months I actually could not help myself guffawing out loud when going fast round roundabouts and the likes. Sheer disbelief.
- Why did you get it, was it to celebrate a major life event? Sale of a business? Lotto win?
Bored - coved. Fancied a change. No kids, godo disposable income, so wasn't really a risk.
- Was there any buyers remorse?
None at all. 4 years in so far. I'ev thrown £3k at sorting a minor oil leak over the last year (made the epic mistake of using an Audi dealerhsip who burnt £2200 of my money on fixing nothing much. They then quoted £10,000+ VAT to fix the leak in question - engine out job apparently. My local indy sorted it recently for £560 - same job - engine most deinitely NOT out :-).
- Most memorable experience?
Driving along the river Exe, often :-)
Coming of large motorway junctions, snicking down through the gears braking late and hard, and then traversing the roundabout as fast as I can, often :-)
DeejRC said:
How about a story involving Magnums Ferrari, buying sight unseen, driving it straight back across Europe, sleeping in it, accidentally forgetting to tell one’s wife, driving the wrong way up Zurich Bahnhofstrasse, broken foot, a Dalmatian puppy and a V8 ML?
Cmon you need to say more about the puppy..... This is Bella, pic is from around 2014. My wife bought her Doggles so she could drive around with Bella in the passenger seat of my slk55 when they nicked it.
We all have our Ferrari “ages”. For some it might be 250GTOs, for others it might be 355s or 458s, etc. For any, current, bloke in their 40s though, only one mattered: Magnum’s 308GTS. Yes C&T had their white Testa, but MB was on a bit late for us to watch and anyway, even back then we knew a big white Ferrari was a bit…semi naff.
Magnum though was Tom fking Selleck. On Hawaii. In colourful shirts. Roofless! And it was on family/kid friendly prime time viewing. This was the epitome of awesome.
If any bloke in the mid 40s tells you they did not want to be either Michael Knight or Thomas Magnum they are lying. It’s that simple. It’s just the law.
So, back some 14yrs ago I received an offer to go work out in Switzerland. It took me a 10min phone call with the company a cpl of weeks before Xmas to accept and then I told my wife I was off to work in Zurich in the New Yr.
After earning some nice money for a few months out there, I was approaching my 35th bday and decided it was time to buy myself that 308GTS. Because PH’s very own Loony was flogging one for £27k. Back in Stanstead. The wife probably wouldn’t be overly agreeable to this plan, so I had an idea. No need to bother her about it, I’ll deal with Loon, by the car, fly back into the UK, have him pick me up at the airport, take me to the car, sign the deal and drive her back to Zurich. I still had my other house down in Kent (spousal house was up in Rugby), so I could use that address for all the paperwork. No hassle, no fuss, no arguments, job jobbbed. A foolproof plan.
All the above went to plan. It all happened. She drove back to Zurich just fine. I pulled over into some L’airs along the way when tired, seat back and had a kip as needed. Radio didn’t work, air con didn’t exist but I was in my first Ferrari driving back through Europe - who gave a fk if the radio didn’t work?!
Anyway job jobbed. Except, I made a minor tactical error. In my excited haste I used the wrong sodding house for the insurance. Obviously the policy was default registered to the spousal house and I didn’t ensure the new car got registered to the Kent house.
Which made for a very interesting phone call a few days later when having our regular evening call my wife suddenly asked me: so what is this Ferrari we have insured?
Anyway, that summer involved some awesome driving around Switzerland and very little nagging from back home as my wife and I didn’t talk to each other for a month. Or two. Along the way I got to spank the 308 up and down the Susten Pass, got lost in Zurich on a Sunday and somehow didn’t get either arrested or shot for driving the wrong way down Bahnhofstrasse. Oh and I learnt the absolute contempt that 1970s Italian Communists had for the UK. Or in fact anybody who wasn’t Italian, built like an Italian, drove like an Italian. A 1970s donkey is designed to be lhd, when they were forced to make them in rhd they didn’t bother with any redesign aspect. They just ported the stuff to the other side of the car and plonked it down. As such there is fk all space for your feet to work. Or your body to be vaguely straight. Now some of you are probably those short arse skinny ppl or have weird proportions that just mean you think you can wear “slim fit” clothing, but the rest of us aren’t. We have proportions. That car contorted my legs and ankles like a mutha fka which basically contributed to roughly breaking my ankle/foot. There are other aspects to that, but for the sake of this story - go with it.
Anyway, come the end of that summer and my right foot was fked and my marriage was either, well, the car or her. At this point I was still really really really pissed off. Not with her demand but at myself for fking up the paperwork. I’m a firm believer in what I deem that ppl don’t need to know won’t hurt them and it really annoyed me that it was my cock up. So, eventually I decide I’ve had some fun, the car is killing me, so it can be flogged. I drove her back across Europe at night, a memorable memorable journey, roof off, cruising at a ton up the A5 thru Germany, in total agony.
So, once sold, the wife had to be passivated. The equated to bribery in the form of our first dog, the aforementioned Dalmation puppy Bella. To transport Bella I had to succumb to that 2010s middle class phenomenon- the SUV. I was damned if I was going down without a fight though and managed to make sure it was a twin turbo V8 SUV, hence the Merc SL.
Fast forward a decade and I learnt the lessons from the above for the second Ferrari. I bribed her first with a new Kubota Tractor and a horse. True to form, I’ve sold the F12, she still has the Tractor and the horse.
We all have our Ferrari “ages”. For some it might be 250GTOs, for others it might be 355s or 458s, etc. For any, current, bloke in their 40s though, only one mattered: Magnum’s 308GTS. Yes C&T had their white Testa, but MB was on a bit late for us to watch and anyway, even back then we knew a big white Ferrari was a bit…semi naff.
Magnum though was Tom f
king Selleck. On Hawaii. In colourful shirts. Roofless! And it was on family/kid friendly prime time viewing. This was the epitome of awesome. If any bloke in the mid 40s tells you they did not want to be either Michael Knight or Thomas Magnum they are lying. It’s that simple. It’s just the law.
So, back some 14yrs ago I received an offer to go work out in Switzerland. It took me a 10min phone call with the company a cpl of weeks before Xmas to accept and then I told my wife I was off to work in Zurich in the New Yr.
After earning some nice money for a few months out there, I was approaching my 35th bday and decided it was time to buy myself that 308GTS. Because PH’s very own Loony was flogging one for £27k. Back in Stanstead. The wife probably wouldn’t be overly agreeable to this plan, so I had an idea. No need to bother her about it, I’ll deal with Loon, by the car, fly back into the UK, have him pick me up at the airport, take me to the car, sign the deal and drive her back to Zurich. I still had my other house down in Kent (spousal house was up in Rugby), so I could use that address for all the paperwork. No hassle, no fuss, no arguments, job jobbbed. A foolproof plan.
All the above went to plan. It all happened. She drove back to Zurich just fine. I pulled over into some L’airs along the way when tired, seat back and had a kip as needed. Radio didn’t work, air con didn’t exist but I was in my first Ferrari driving back through Europe - who gave a f
k if the radio didn’t work?!Anyway job jobbed. Except, I made a minor tactical error. In my excited haste I used the wrong sodding house for the insurance. Obviously the policy was default registered to the spousal house and I didn’t ensure the new car got registered to the Kent house.
Which made for a very interesting phone call a few days later when having our regular evening call my wife suddenly asked me: so what is this Ferrari we have insured?
Anyway, that summer involved some awesome driving around Switzerland and very little nagging from back home as my wife and I didn’t talk to each other for a month. Or two. Along the way I got to spank the 308 up and down the Susten Pass, got lost in Zurich on a Sunday and somehow didn’t get either arrested or shot for driving the wrong way down Bahnhofstrasse. Oh and I learnt the absolute contempt that 1970s Italian Communists had for the UK. Or in fact anybody who wasn’t Italian, built like an Italian, drove like an Italian. A 1970s donkey is designed to be lhd, when they were forced to make them in rhd they didn’t bother with any redesign aspect. They just ported the stuff to the other side of the car and plonked it down. As such there is f
k all space for your feet to work. Or your body to be vaguely straight. Now some of you are probably those short arse skinny ppl or have weird proportions that just mean you think you can wear “slim fit” clothing, but the rest of us aren’t. We have proportions. That car contorted my legs and ankles like a mutha fka which basically contributed to roughly breaking my ankle/foot. There are other aspects to that, but for the sake of this story - go with it.Anyway, come the end of that summer and my right foot was f
ked and my marriage was either, well, the car or her. At this point I was still really really really pissed off. Not with her demand but at myself for fking up the paperwork. I’m a firm believer in what I deem that ppl don’t need to know won’t hurt them and it really annoyed me that it was my cock up. So, eventually I decide I’ve had some fun, the car is killing me, so it can be flogged. I drove her back across Europe at night, a memorable memorable journey, roof off, cruising at a ton up the A5 thru Germany, in total agony. So, once sold, the wife had to be passivated. The equated to bribery in the form of our first dog, the aforementioned Dalmation puppy Bella. To transport Bella I had to succumb to that 2010s middle class phenomenon- the SUV. I was damned if I was going down without a fight though and managed to make sure it was a twin turbo V8 SUV, hence the Merc SL.
Fast forward a decade and I learnt the lessons from the above for the second Ferrari. I bribed her first with a new Kubota Tractor and a horse. True to form, I’ve sold the F12, she still has the Tractor and the horse.
ok so while waiting for the puppy story here is mine. The car was a Lamborghini Espada.
I'd always been mad about cars since I was small. I remember seeing an Espada parked in a street in Folkestone when I was maybe 7 years old and it made an impression on me, being impossibly low, wide and exotic. Of course, I saw the odd supercar from time to time but even a 911 was a rare sight back in those days and I don't remember seeing another Espada for many years.
Anyhow, insuring anything speedy was quite difficult when i was youngish, but classic policies didn't really have the same issue and so I figured out I could get a classic supercar when I was 25 and qualified for a classic policy. I'd always wanted a 308 GTS, ideally in black as the roof was always black in any case, but they were out of budget. I did think about a 308 GT4 but always felt I'd be unhappy with it simply because it wasn't a GTB/GTS. Then, an Espada turned up in C&SC just down the road from me. So I went to have a look.
I had never seen it around, but the owner had it for many years, and had quite a bit of work done on it, especially mechanically. It had also been painted but needed doing again. It was a fairly average driver quality car, but mechanically strong. He was selling due to divorce.
When I got there, I was slightly awestruck. It just looked like nothing else and when he opened the bonnet there was the six carb four cam twelve cylinder engine. Wow!
We went for a test drive and it sounded amazing and felt quick (350 hp in those days was a lot). I absolutely had to have it. Fortunately there was some flexibility on price and we came to an agreement on the phone afterwards. Then, because I had FOMO, I went round to actually give the seller a deposit and sign. There was then a week or so of sleepless "nights before Christmas" before collecting it.
When I did get it, I drove it a lot, going out many times with friends (an advantage of a four-seater) and most of my memories of that car are actually of adventures shared. I also remember doing some jobs on the car and learning about the scale of 12 cylinders. The 14-odd litre oil change, the 24 tappet clearances etc and of course chasing down obsolete parts in pre-internet days. I remember driving around a built up area going to a wedding and doing 8 mpg.
I've had quite a few cars since but I'm not sure I enjoyed any of them more than that one. It looked and sounded like nothing else.
Bear in mind at the time it was a bit over 20 years old and now it is 50+ years old. It was really quite quick in absolute terms in those days compared to the average car. Now, things have changed of course.
I kept it for about five years before finally getting my black 308 GTS (in fact, a slight deviation to a 328GTS), but that is another story. I sold the Espada to Malaysia for what in modern terms was peanuts, and I think it was recently re-imported and went to auction but didn't sell. I'm still curious to know what happened to it, for nostalgic reasons.
I'd always been mad about cars since I was small. I remember seeing an Espada parked in a street in Folkestone when I was maybe 7 years old and it made an impression on me, being impossibly low, wide and exotic. Of course, I saw the odd supercar from time to time but even a 911 was a rare sight back in those days and I don't remember seeing another Espada for many years.
Anyhow, insuring anything speedy was quite difficult when i was youngish, but classic policies didn't really have the same issue and so I figured out I could get a classic supercar when I was 25 and qualified for a classic policy. I'd always wanted a 308 GTS, ideally in black as the roof was always black in any case, but they were out of budget. I did think about a 308 GT4 but always felt I'd be unhappy with it simply because it wasn't a GTB/GTS. Then, an Espada turned up in C&SC just down the road from me. So I went to have a look.
I had never seen it around, but the owner had it for many years, and had quite a bit of work done on it, especially mechanically. It had also been painted but needed doing again. It was a fairly average driver quality car, but mechanically strong. He was selling due to divorce.
When I got there, I was slightly awestruck. It just looked like nothing else and when he opened the bonnet there was the six carb four cam twelve cylinder engine. Wow!
We went for a test drive and it sounded amazing and felt quick (350 hp in those days was a lot). I absolutely had to have it. Fortunately there was some flexibility on price and we came to an agreement on the phone afterwards. Then, because I had FOMO, I went round to actually give the seller a deposit and sign. There was then a week or so of sleepless "nights before Christmas" before collecting it.
When I did get it, I drove it a lot, going out many times with friends (an advantage of a four-seater) and most of my memories of that car are actually of adventures shared. I also remember doing some jobs on the car and learning about the scale of 12 cylinders. The 14-odd litre oil change, the 24 tappet clearances etc and of course chasing down obsolete parts in pre-internet days. I remember driving around a built up area going to a wedding and doing 8 mpg.
I've had quite a few cars since but I'm not sure I enjoyed any of them more than that one. It looked and sounded like nothing else.
Bear in mind at the time it was a bit over 20 years old and now it is 50+ years old. It was really quite quick in absolute terms in those days compared to the average car. Now, things have changed of course.
I kept it for about five years before finally getting my black 308 GTS (in fact, a slight deviation to a 328GTS), but that is another story. I sold the Espada to Malaysia for what in modern terms was peanuts, and I think it was recently re-imported and went to auction but didn't sell. I'm still curious to know what happened to it, for nostalgic reasons.
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