458 - Am I crazy or not | FerrariChat

458 Am I crazy or not

Discussion in '458 Italia/488/F8' started by WIKKID, Oct 1, 2020.

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  1. WIKKID

    WIKKID Rookie

    Sep 28, 2020
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    Goodyear AZ
    I’ve owned a bunch of corvettes and a couple Vipers. I’m 61 years old retired and just moved to AZ.
    I have about 600k in my portfolio and I’m considering to just say screw it and find a 458.
    I know it might sound crazy, but what the hell, you only go around once, I just love this car.....
     
  2. WIKKID

    WIKKID Rookie

    Sep 28, 2020
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    I would also do as much maintenance as I can, I’m a pretty good wrench
     
  3. SoCal to az

    SoCal to az F1 World Champ
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    John,

    Not knowing the rest of your finances, if you have no other income than what is coming off the 600k, I would not blow a 1/3 of that on a car. There are plenty of ways to get a car fix without leaving yourself destitute.

    There are a couple of car meetups this weekend. One in DC Ranch market place in north Scottsdale. Then at Fashion Square in old town. Swing by. Find me- I’ll be in the Blue Pista. I’ll talk you out of this mistake in person and buy you a coffee. :)
     
  4. RayJohns

    RayJohns F1 Veteran
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    #4 RayJohns, Oct 1, 2020
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 3, 2020
    I'm in! Let's do this.

    458 is a great car. Special is nice also, but one of the nicest features of the 458 Italia is that you can turn the exhaust note down in sports mode or open it up in race modes and above. I don't believe you can accomplish that in the Speciale.

    When I was shopping for a 458, it came down to the 458 Italia vs. the Speciale. I had seen a Speciale and absolutely fell in love with it. However, after doing a lot of research on here and on line (mainly watching videos, etc.) - and also in speaking with people who owned both - it basically came down to this:

    If you are single and wanting a very raw car on the street and/or you plan to track the 458, then the Speciale is probably fine. But if you are older and have to consider things such as taking your wife or girlfriend (or both) out to dinner, then the Italia is probably the way to go. My 458 had heated seats and that alone was worth the purchase price. Nothing against the 458 Speciale, but just know what you are getting yourself into.

    For me (and I think I was about 52) when I had my 458, the Italia was plenty fast and fun to drive, but yet also brought some level of refinement and comfort too. And, as someone who had owned many hot-rod, lowered cars, I can tell you sometimes less is more.

    Whatever you decide, I think the 458 represents perhaps one of the best Ferraris ever made. I would certainly take it over a 488 or F8. They are currently holding their value and being snapped up very quickly for a reason.

    Good luck in the search and welcome to the forum!

    Ray
     
  5. dustman

    dustman F1 Veteran
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    Jun 12, 2007
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    Counter point is you are just parking the $180k and can sell the 458 any time. Strong market for these cars.
    IMO if you are a car lover you should scratch the itch, get the memories while you can enjoy it.
     
  6. RayJohns

    RayJohns F1 Veteran
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    Don't listen to this guy!

    It's not like you are blowing $200K. Rather, just converting it into a Ferrari for a while. I'd like to think of this as more of a Forex trade myself.

    Ray
     
  7. RayJohns

    RayJohns F1 Veteran
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    I've often said everyone should own a Ferrari at least once in their life before they bite the dust. The joy of driving a 458 Italia is hard to put a price tag on frankly.

    Ray
     
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  8. RayJohns

    RayJohns F1 Veteran
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    #8 RayJohns, Oct 1, 2020
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 3, 2020
    You should go read my post about the first time I ever saw a 458 in the flesh. I think you'd get a kick out of it. Let me search and see if I can find it.

    Ray
     
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  9. SoCal to az

    SoCal to az F1 World Champ
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    there are operating costs- the 180k costs you 9k in lost opportunity cost as that money could be invested and 5% is 9k a year. Then you have taxes on the 180k for the purchase. Then you have yearly registration of 3k and insurance of 3k. So minimum of 15k a year not counting gas, depreciation etc etc.

    But hey, it’s not my money. Knock yourself out and enjoy the car.
     
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  10. RayJohns

    RayJohns F1 Veteran
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    Speaking of knocking yourself out.. have you ever heard of a Soldier's death?

    Ray
     
  11. RayJohns

    RayJohns F1 Veteran
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  12. RayJohns

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    Could be just me, but I think it's rather unwise to take any advice from someone who is only returning 5% on their money...

    Besides, the chances of the 458 going up more than the ETF's in you SEP IRA are probably about 50/50.

    Roll the dice; you only live once John!

    Ray
     
  13. SoCal to az

    SoCal to az F1 World Champ
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    Jesus- Ray. I’m being conservative. Ok so you get 10% return and now the car cost you 18k a year in lost income.
    Happy?
     
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  14. RayJohns

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    SoCal makes a valid point, however. There are taxes. I believe the state of CA charged me $18,000 to register my 458. As far as wrenching on it yourself, yes and no. You can do some stuff, such as oil changes, etc. But at some point you do need to take the car to an actual Ferrari dealer and have them attach it to their diagnostic computer.

    For the most part, stuff like Yachts, planes, Ferraris, etc. aren't for the financially faint of heart.

    My advice would be to look for a low milage 458 (probably a 2012 or 2013 model year) and try to find one which the dealer originally sold to a known customer and/or where they have seen it for service every year and know the owner, etc.

    Anyway, do you have a color in mind or any specific options?

    Ray
     
  15. obbob

    obbob Formula Junior

    Aug 14, 2017
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    "$600k in my portfolio" is a little ambiguous as we don't know what you are counting as in your portfolio and not. But assuming that your total assets excluding the house is $600K net, I would be really cautious on spending $180K of it on a car mainly because you are retired. That money has to last the retirement, and I'm assuming your risk tolerance is low due to your age and situation.
     
  16. RayJohns

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    Nah, you make a very good point. There certainly are costs involved. I think even with my 360, once I calculated that it cost me something crazy like $3 per mile to own and drive it.

    With that said, life is short (I've nearly bitten the dust several times - in fact just night before last, my darn floor jack failed only seconds after I was working practically right under the car. If thing had gone slightly different, that could have easily killed me). So I think you have to balance what your desires are in life and try not to make decisions which will leave you with regrets either.

    Ray
     
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  17. dustman

    dustman F1 Veteran
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    Valid points. But thats small $ vs thinking it’s a $200k loss. And markets do decline.
     
  18. SoCal to az

    SoCal to az F1 World Champ
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    I really don’t care anymore. Apparently it’s ok to blow a 1/3 of your savings on a car.

    Oh wait- I forgot. It’s a 458. The sound makes up for everything. Hell buy 3. There is 600k to spend apparently.
     
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  19. RayJohns

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    #19 RayJohns, Oct 1, 2020
    Last edited: Oct 1, 2020
    Perhaps a better way to look at it would be like this?

    1. Is your home paid for
    2. What financial obligations do you have
    3. If you buy a 458, then you're basically a guy with a Ferrari and $400K in the bank.

    Given all that, can you afford a $10,000 repair bill from left field?

    Let me put it like this: when I bought my first Ferrari, it was $120K and I was making ~ $300k+ per month. So the first one represented only about 2 weeks work. My 2nd car, my 360, cost about $127,500. But that week, I also made an options trade which netted around $288,000. So I just pealed off some of that trade to pay for the 360. With the 458, I think I made nearly 3/4 of a million over a 7 day period on a very large options trade on Apple. I celebrated in part by going shopping for the 458. I paid cash for all those cars.

    With the 488, I wanted to establish a relationship with FFS, so I leased the 488 for about 5 or 6 months. I don't remember exactly what the monthly lease was, but it wasn't too bad.

    Have you considered leasing? Usually FFS is pretty easy to work with. Just keep in mind, if you go through the dealer, when it comes time to sell, you'll be hit with usually a 5% or 6% commission on the sale. But leasing might be an options for ya.

    My general rule of thumb is to spend no more than about 5% of your liquid net worth on toys - and that includes Ferraris.

    Ray
     
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  20. RayJohns

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    Not trying to add insult to injury, but I showed your "operating costs" post to my girlfriend and she sent back this GIF via text message. lol :)

    Ray

    Image Unavailable, Please Login
     
  21. RayJohns

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    There's no arguing with Dustman when it comes to 458's - he's the authority.

    Ray
     
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  22. plastique999

    plastique999 F1 Veteran
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    Just do it!


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
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  23. dustman

    dustman F1 Veteran
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    LOL. More like the village idiot for selling 3 and buying another. SoCal is just trying to help with a diff POV. He and I may disagree on the value of sound vs speed but there’s no wrong or right here. What a wonderful opportunity the OP has, either way, to even be considering this.
     
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  24. m5shiv

    m5shiv Formula 3
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    #24 m5shiv, Oct 2, 2020
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 3, 2020
    Here's the thing. You should have left the value of your portfolio out. Because now we aren't talking about the 458 any longer !

    So after editing that bit out in my mind, stop posting questions and start posting pics of you in the 458 !
     
  25. m5shiv

    m5shiv Formula 3
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    What you missed, was the message from the universe. The $288K was a clear indication that you should have put down a deposit on a GTO !!
     

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