The potentially ruinous relationship of running a Ferrari...
Discussion
In light of the potentially ruinous relationship between one’s wallet and the little red beasty in the garage, I thought some readers might find the following useful. As someone who took the plunge to buy a Ferrari 355 13 years ago, and has enjoyed driving it ever since, the following may be useful for anyone considering taking the plunge...
And so to the numbers. Below are the total costs (including and excluding depreciation), as well as the costs pertinent the last five years. Costs over the last five years is perhaps more relevant given the age of most of these cars today. The car gets driven regularly, but is not my daily driver – which perhaps explains the relatively low total mileage of 16,000. I don’t make any particular effort to keep the mileage down and just drive it when the mood suits.
Costs over the last 13 years
Servicing and maintenance £34,000 (average of £2,600 per year)
Road tax £2,200
Insurance £16,200
Fuel £4,800
Miscellaneous £3,200
Total £60,400
Average per year £4,600
Cost per mile excl depreciation (16,000m) £3.80
Depreciation over 13 years £65,000 (Bought new £105,000, value today ~£40,000)
Cost per mile including depreciation (16,000m) £7.90
Costs over the last 5 years
Servicing and maintenance £17,300 (average of £3,500 per year)
Road tax £900
Insurance £3,200
Fuel £1,600
Miscellaneous £1,400
Total £24,400
Average per year £4,900
Cost per mile excl depreciation £5.20
Depreciation over last 5 years £10,000 (Value today ~£40,000)
Cost per mile including depreciation £7.30
The highest costs in any individual year for servicing and maintenance was £7,200 in 2010. The lowest costs for the same in the last five years was £1,400 (2008).
Perhaps the only question that really matter is, “Was it worth it?” Absolutely Highlights of owning the car has got to be slicking it down a cog or two every time I go through a tunnel. Juvenile I know, but I just never seem to tire of it...
Happy driving.
Boon
“Life is like a coin. You can spend it any way you wish, but you only spend it once.”
- Lillian Dickson
And so to the numbers. Below are the total costs (including and excluding depreciation), as well as the costs pertinent the last five years. Costs over the last five years is perhaps more relevant given the age of most of these cars today. The car gets driven regularly, but is not my daily driver – which perhaps explains the relatively low total mileage of 16,000. I don’t make any particular effort to keep the mileage down and just drive it when the mood suits.
Costs over the last 13 years
Servicing and maintenance £34,000 (average of £2,600 per year)
Road tax £2,200
Insurance £16,200
Fuel £4,800
Miscellaneous £3,200
Total £60,400
Average per year £4,600
Cost per mile excl depreciation (16,000m) £3.80
Depreciation over 13 years £65,000 (Bought new £105,000, value today ~£40,000)
Cost per mile including depreciation (16,000m) £7.90
Costs over the last 5 years
Servicing and maintenance £17,300 (average of £3,500 per year)
Road tax £900
Insurance £3,200
Fuel £1,600
Miscellaneous £1,400
Total £24,400
Average per year £4,900
Cost per mile excl depreciation £5.20
Depreciation over last 5 years £10,000 (Value today ~£40,000)
Cost per mile including depreciation £7.30
The highest costs in any individual year for servicing and maintenance was £7,200 in 2010. The lowest costs for the same in the last five years was £1,400 (2008).
Perhaps the only question that really matter is, “Was it worth it?” Absolutely Highlights of owning the car has got to be slicking it down a cog or two every time I go through a tunnel. Juvenile I know, but I just never seem to tire of it...
Happy driving.
Boon
“Life is like a coin. You can spend it any way you wish, but you only spend it once.”
- Lillian Dickson
Justices – You are not far out! As the comedian Eddie Izzard once said, "You have to move to the beat of your own drum.”
JasonSF – If I recall correctly, a cam belt service from a main dealer, front end repaint (stone chips), a couple of new tyres and a few other bits and bobs done whilst the engine was out was responsible for the largest annual bill. Other than that it has not suffered any of the usual maladies 355’s seem renowned for, perhaps as a result of it being a late model and a relatively low mileage. Either that or I have just been lucky.
Jonty355 – You are quite correct. I could probably used an indie, but it has been serviced from the same main dealer since new with no problems, so I have been happy to stick with them.
Happy driving
Boon
JasonSF – If I recall correctly, a cam belt service from a main dealer, front end repaint (stone chips), a couple of new tyres and a few other bits and bobs done whilst the engine was out was responsible for the largest annual bill. Other than that it has not suffered any of the usual maladies 355’s seem renowned for, perhaps as a result of it being a late model and a relatively low mileage. Either that or I have just been lucky.
Jonty355 – You are quite correct. I could probably used an indie, but it has been serviced from the same main dealer since new with no problems, so I have been happy to stick with them.
Happy driving
Boon
I have found all the replies most interesting. I recognise that I could have probably serviced the car more cheaply by finding a good independent and I have no doubt they would also have offered excellent service. Nevertheless, whilst doing so would have reduced the costs somewhat, I feel it is likely that the overall costs would still have been significant, which I guess should not be a surprise for a car that cost the best part of £100K new, and is why I thought it useful to post them.
Notwithstanding the above, I have not regretted sticking with the supplying dealer in this case. As a long standing customer, the dealer (Maranello in Egham) have been very accommodating, and I value the service they have provided. When problems have arisen they have been fixed quickly and professionally. I have always attached real value to having a long-standing relationship, particularly given that I intend to keep the car for many years to come.
The above obviously relate to the personal experience of just one long-term owner and it is always interesting to read the experience of others. It is what PistonHeads and other sites are so great. However, one shouldn’t forget that that costs are just one side of the coin. In return for the financial outlay, the car has given me an immense amount of pleasure and continues to do so – be it winding it up down the main straight on the occasional track day or just pottering along with the windows down on a bright summer’s day. Incidentally, I thought 6mpg was bad on one particular track day, until another driver in-front of me at the pumps informed be he was doing 4mpg... I clearly wasn’t trying anything like hard enough. Fortunately, the memory of the costs fades long before the thrill of driving is forgotten.
For myself I continue to thoroughly enjoy the car, in all its guises, and I would not hesitate to recommend anyone considering taking the plunge of buying a 355, or similar, to go for it at some point in their life. They really are wonderful cars and I am genuinely fortunate to be able to own and enjoy one.
Happy driving
Boon
Notwithstanding the above, I have not regretted sticking with the supplying dealer in this case. As a long standing customer, the dealer (Maranello in Egham) have been very accommodating, and I value the service they have provided. When problems have arisen they have been fixed quickly and professionally. I have always attached real value to having a long-standing relationship, particularly given that I intend to keep the car for many years to come.
The above obviously relate to the personal experience of just one long-term owner and it is always interesting to read the experience of others. It is what PistonHeads and other sites are so great. However, one shouldn’t forget that that costs are just one side of the coin. In return for the financial outlay, the car has given me an immense amount of pleasure and continues to do so – be it winding it up down the main straight on the occasional track day or just pottering along with the windows down on a bright summer’s day. Incidentally, I thought 6mpg was bad on one particular track day, until another driver in-front of me at the pumps informed be he was doing 4mpg... I clearly wasn’t trying anything like hard enough. Fortunately, the memory of the costs fades long before the thrill of driving is forgotten.
For myself I continue to thoroughly enjoy the car, in all its guises, and I would not hesitate to recommend anyone considering taking the plunge of buying a 355, or similar, to go for it at some point in their life. They really are wonderful cars and I am genuinely fortunate to be able to own and enjoy one.
Happy driving
Boon
Thank you, Murcielago_Boy. At the time there was a near two-year wait for the 355, and I was a little worried that they might have stopped making it by the time my turn on the list arrived. Don’t get me wrong the 360 is a fantastic, and in many ways a better car, but I just fell in love with the look of the 355. I ordered the car at the beginning of 1997, specc’d it in mid ‘98 and it finally came two days before Christmas 1998. It was a long wait, but boy what a Christmas present! I was like a little boy in a sweet shop, hopping from one foot to the next when the transporter pulled-up outside the house and slowly lowered the rear door.
Happy driving
Boon
Happy driving
Boon
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