Looking for a friendly 458 owner in San Diego | FerrariChat

Looking for a friendly 458 owner in San Diego

Discussion in 'California (Southern)' started by jc1, Mar 16, 2021.

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

  1. jc1

    jc1 Formula Junior

    Feb 9, 2021
    266
    Greenville, SC
    Full Name:
    Joey (2012 458 Spider)
    Hi all,

    New to the forums and considering purchasing my first Ferrari, a 458 spider. I’m in San Diego.

    I’d love the opportunity to chat with you about your 458 and general Ferrari experience. I’m trying to educate myself as much as possible prior to the purchase.

    Thanks!
     
    rob5819 likes this.
  2. rob5819

    rob5819 Formula Junior

    Dec 12, 2017
    815
    San Diego
    Full Name:
    Rob Barry
    Post your questions and I'll try to help out. Plenty of other 458 Spider owners in San Diego, pretty much the best place to own a convertible. If you look carefully through the 458/488/F8 section (https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/forums/458-italia-488-f8.204/) you'll see a couple other active 458 owners here in San Diego as well that will probably join in to help you out.

    Image Unavailable, Please Login

    Rob
     
    jc1 likes this.
  3. axlesofevil

    axlesofevil Formula 3
    Silver Subscribed

    Jan 14, 2012
    1,669
    San Diego, CA
    jc1 and rob5819 like this.
  4. rob5819

    rob5819 Formula Junior

    Dec 12, 2017
    815
    San Diego
    Full Name:
    Rob Barry
    Wow, that is an amazing picture.

    We just put in an order for a Portofino M in Rosso Portofino with the black roof and red brake calipers, nero interior:

    Image Unavailable, Please Login

    We went to the dealer showing two weeks ago and my wife just loved it.
     
    jc1 likes this.
  5. axlesofevil

    axlesofevil Formula 3
    Silver Subscribed

    Jan 14, 2012
    1,669
    San Diego, CA
    Beautiful. We were there too but the girlfriend is going to have to make due with her Nissan for a little while longer. :p
     
    jc1 likes this.
  6. rob5819

    rob5819 Formula Junior

    Dec 12, 2017
    815
    San Diego
    Full Name:
    Rob Barry
    (Hopefully not derailing JC1's thread, just showing how friendly San Diego 458 owners are)

    Don't you have two drool-worthy BMWs in your garage? Why is she driving a Nissan?

    My wife did not want to go to the Portofino M showing. It had been raining hard at our house all day and she wasn't that interested in the car. She saw the Maserati MC20 last October and has been waiting for the convertible version to come out. Fortunately it's only about 20 minutes to SD Ferrari so I convinced her to go (I did turn the manettino on the 458 from Race to Wet). One look at that car in Rosso Portofino and it was a done deal. I love my 458 in Rosso Corsa, but wow did that car look spectacular. She actually did the config for our build and it will look fantastic:

    Image Unavailable, Please Login
     
    jc1 likes this.
  7. axlesofevil

    axlesofevil Formula 3
    Silver Subscribed

    Jan 14, 2012
    1,669
    San Diego, CA
    Haha well we've only been dating since December so we're working on it. ;)

    Sounds amazing. Glad you convinced her. Gonna get it before the FOC tour of the Car Museum at Balboa Park at the end of April? :p
     
  8. rob5819

    rob5819 Formula Junior

    Dec 12, 2017
    815
    San Diego
    Full Name:
    Rob Barry
    SD Ferrari thinks six months to delivery is a possibility. I'd be pretty happy if that happens.
     
  9. jc1

    jc1 Formula Junior

    Feb 9, 2021
    266
    Greenville, SC
    Full Name:
    Joey (2012 458 Spider)
    Hey guys- thanks for the replies!! Absolutely beautiful cars :D. My questions are pretty general and may vary from owner to owner.
    • Curious of your overall opinion of the car, favorite things, least favorite things
    • When you purchased, how often you drive it, where do you drive it in town, fun roads, places to avoid, experience with valets/ parking
    • Issues to look out for pre purchase (I have a running list)
    • Anything you wish you had known when you were making your first Ferrari/Supercar purchase
    • Opinions on negotiating with dealers or privately
    • Service experience
    • Must have options or options you may skip in future
    I really appreciate the insight and look forward to possibly meeting you guys in the future!

    Also, curious about the tour at the car museum in April? Is it inside the museum or external? I don't see it listed on their site.
     
    rob5819 likes this.
  10. rob5819

    rob5819 Formula Junior

    Dec 12, 2017
    815
    San Diego
    Full Name:
    Rob Barry
    Short answer, do not hesitate to find and buy a 458 Spider.

    Longer answer: I bought my 2014 458 Spider in 2017, certified pre-owned from San Diego Ferrari (they were in La Jolla then). It had 3900 miles on it and had been ordered/sold/serviced entirely at SD Ferrari. The spec was pretty much what I would have done if I had ordered it myself: rosso corsa exterior / nero leather interior / grigio chiaro (light gray stitching), giallo modena (yellow) calipers and rev counter. I waited until I found the spec I wanted at a price I could easily afford. The only negotiation I was interested in was adding an extra year of power warranty.

    I drive it much as possible as long as I know where I will be parking (I'm up in Santaluz). I've been full time work from home since 2003 so I probably don't drive as much as most people, but I've been averaging about 1,500 miles a year since I bought it. People will notice your car and come talk to you, but it's always been positive for me. The first time I drove it to the store I had someone follow me out to the car to take pictures of it (her son was a Top Gear fan). I had an absolutely amazing encounter with two SD County sheriff's deputies in that same parking lot when they walked up to me and said I was clearly speeding just parked in the lot and should surrender my car keys, but they would return it when they ran out of gas. They were laughing and super friendly the entire time we talked and just wanted to look at the car (and never said a word about not having a front license plate). Pre-pandemic I would drive it down town for Comic Con and see how disappointed people were when I was not a celebrity. Also pre-pandemic, picking people up from the airport always gets some attention and the front trunk has a surprising amount of room.

    Service at SD Ferrari/Maserati is the best. Other than the passenger air bag recall I have had zero issues and all my service has been covered under the 7 year plan (that will change at my next service). I've been going there for over ten years and they have taken great care of my cars. Plenty of other people on ferrichat have said the same thing. I've only ever done valet parking one time and that was at the private showing of the Maserati MC20 last year so no issues. You will need to keep it on a battery tender, I highly recommend changing the Ferrari provided tender with a CTEK 7002.

    Absolute must have options on the 458 (for me):

    OUTER CARBON-FIBRE B-POST TRIM (CERF)
    CARBON FIBRE REAR MOULDING (GRDC)
    SUSPENSION LIFTER (ELEV)
    CARBON FIBRE CENTRAL BRIDGE (CIRL)
    CARBON FIBRE DRIVER ZONE+LEDS (CIDL)
    FULL ELECTRICAL SEAT (RSFE)

    The exterior carbon fiber just looks better to me. The LED steering wheel is 100% a deal breaker. The five LEDs are: 5500, 6250, 7000, 7750, and 8920 rpm. I drive in race/manual mode and aim for 4 - 5 LEDs on the first few shifts. Same with the full electrical seats. I pretty much drive with the top down at all times and having heated seats, especially this time of year is a must. Plus you can save a seating mode for "sitting n the car" and another for one for "getting in/out of the car." I added most of my 458 options for the Portofino M we are ordering for my wife, although we did more interior carbon fiber and less exterior based on what looked better. Since her color is a darker Rosso Portofino we went with red stitching/piping, red calipers/rev counter, and red alcantara inner seat trim.

    Depending on how much you listen to music you will want to search for the many, many threads on the infotainment center. You cannot stream bluetooth. You may (if you have FERRARI IPOD IPOD $925) be able to listen to an iPhone/iPod/use a Bovee bluetooth adapter. I recommend the hard drive, but an FM transmitter has been pretty popular lately. Again, extensive discussion and reviews in the 458 section are well worth your read.

    I could keep going. The only thing I enjoy more than talking about the 458 is driving the 458.

    Image Unavailable, Please Login

    Rob
     
  11. jc1

    jc1 Formula Junior

    Feb 9, 2021
    266
    Greenville, SC
    Full Name:
    Joey (2012 458 Spider)
    Rob, you’re the man. Great insight and you’ve managed to get me even more excited about the car. I am looking for something almost identical to yours, hoping to get something under 8000 miles. I’ve got Mike at yellow compass on the lookout for me.

    Ferrari SD has a nice white one that’s a good spec for me, but I’ve got my heart set on Rosso Corsa. They also had a red one on consignment last week but it wasn’t in great shape so I passed. Glad to hear you’ve been happy with the sales and service team there.

    I’m a big music guy so yes I’ll make sure I get one with the iPod cable. If the perfect deal comes along without it I’m sure I can make due with the HDD. For a while I doubt I’ll even listen to music. In fact I’ll probably record the engine sounds and stream it in my DD.

    How do you feel about the turn signals on the steering wheel? I didn’t love them when I drove the car but I’m guessing it’ll grow on me or at least become tolerable? The fact that they are still there on the 488 and F8 leads me to believe that most people end up enjoying them.

    Really appreciate your thoughts! Thank you!
     
  12. rob5819

    rob5819 Formula Junior

    Dec 12, 2017
    815
    San Diego
    Full Name:
    Rob Barry
    Here's the latest music discussion: https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/458-bovee-bluetooth.635944/. I posted some of my experiences and there is some really good stuff from our other frequent San Diego 458 poster. He found a $13 FM transmitter that is surprisingly good. I actually find the infotainment center pretty good, now that i know how to use it. I can do almost everything without ever taking my hands off the steering wheel. I keep my playlists on the hard drive and my wife's playlist on a 2005 1st generation iPod Nano. I can switch sources from hard drive to iPod using the button behind the right steering wheel instantly. The owner's manual will refer to a separate media guide system. it will NOT be included with your car (I don't think it was in any American cars). Plenty of people have posted electronic versions in the forum or I can e-mail one to you. It's not great, but it's better than nothing.

    I love the turn signals on the steering wheel. Now when I drive any of my other cars I complain about how stupid the turn signal stalk is. My wife is a little concerned about the same setup on the Portofino M, but once you start doing it that way it just makes more sense.

    When I first started looking I wanted a nero 458. My wife told me I could get any color I wanted, as long as it was Rosso Corsa. She was 100% correct.

    Rob
     
    jc1 likes this.
  13. jc1

    jc1 Formula Junior

    Feb 9, 2021
    266
    Greenville, SC
    Full Name:
    Joey (2012 458 Spider)
    Thanks for the link, learned a few things there. I'm pretty savvy when it comes to tech, so I'll rig something up that works for me. I've probably listened to the same 20 albums since college so I'm not afraid to just load them on the HDD via USB and call it a day.

    Good insight on the signals!

    That's pretty funny about your wife's color preference! :D My wife said TDF Blue or Rosso Corsa are her picks.
     

Share This Page