My First Ferrari....
Discussion
Having always been a bit cautious about expensive purchases I really didn't see this coming...
Couple of weeks back I was about ready to buy a 2015 V12 Vantage S, which to be fair is an awesome car, but before setting sail I decided I had to look at some other stuff in the same ball park from the bucket list, just for due diligence, really not expecting to change my mind.
Looks at a variety of things, the most lustful being a Diablo but virtually unusable compared to the Aston. California came up too, I know they are a bit marmite, but I love them. Bit concerned about resale with those, and there's a lot of them around so didn't look that hard.
Took a trip to a Ferrari garage to have a look at a 599Gtb, my friend just got one and he's pretty astute with his car purchases so thought why not...
30 minutes later I'm leaving a deposit, and working through the finance agreements.
Fast forward a couple of weeks and I picked up my 2007 599! Jumping in at the deep end and all that....
Only done 100 odd miles so far, my main concern about getting on with the gearbox went away within 10 of those, traffic takes a bit of getting used to with the "clutch preserving" way of driving but it's no big deal. I've always been a manual lover and after taking so long to teach my clumsy feet to heel and toe correctly I didn't want some fancy computer doing it for me. Frankly I have no clue how you could drive a car this fast with a clutch... it blows everything else I've ever driven into the weeds. I knew it would be quick, but I really hadn't got my head around just how quick... everything is a blur, hold on tight, when there's lots of red on the wheel flick the paddle. My 996tt was probably easier to drive at big speeds, smaller, lighter, more agile, etc. but on an open road I think the 599 would be a dot on the horizon.
Then there's the noise, it's loud, perhaps not as loud as I'd like, but the quality of the noise is spectacular, stunning stuff. I find myself playing with the gears hopping up and down just to hear some v12 songs. probably a habit I need to break fairly quickly. Driving in a gear lower than needed is another one I need to stop!
Did a few fairly tight country roads, not struggling with the size of the thing, it's a bit of a beast, but on paper it's about the same size as my XF, and having had an S8 barge before no real worries here. It's not really a B-Road blaster anyway, got the TVR for that.
Christ, it smells nice too... even from the outside??? is there something in the paint? just a constant stink of ferrari.. cant explain it! Only having 11k on the clock it's still very much a "new car" and in lovely condition, I really hope I can keep it like that. Being a big lad I am a bit of a seat bolster bum grazer...
So far loads of positive reactions which is nice, I was scared of being called a tosser every mile. I'm sure that'll come, although the dealer seemed to think v12's and not red = less attention???
Cant stop thinking about when I can drive it next... probably going to head to the cotswolds on Friday, I probably wont sleep Thursday, like a child at Christmas!
Trackers are a pain in the arse... at least getting it all activated. Thought we were ready to go, then I moved it into the garage and go the call... turns out the fob things were "attached" to the car. Took 20 minutes to get the first one done, still need to get the second one registered. I know I'm going to forget to take the thing with me many many times.
Anyway, Just thought I'd say hello and share my first 100 miles of ferrari ownership.
Cheers
Couple of weeks back I was about ready to buy a 2015 V12 Vantage S, which to be fair is an awesome car, but before setting sail I decided I had to look at some other stuff in the same ball park from the bucket list, just for due diligence, really not expecting to change my mind.
Looks at a variety of things, the most lustful being a Diablo but virtually unusable compared to the Aston. California came up too, I know they are a bit marmite, but I love them. Bit concerned about resale with those, and there's a lot of them around so didn't look that hard.
Took a trip to a Ferrari garage to have a look at a 599Gtb, my friend just got one and he's pretty astute with his car purchases so thought why not...
30 minutes later I'm leaving a deposit, and working through the finance agreements.
Fast forward a couple of weeks and I picked up my 2007 599! Jumping in at the deep end and all that....
Only done 100 odd miles so far, my main concern about getting on with the gearbox went away within 10 of those, traffic takes a bit of getting used to with the "clutch preserving" way of driving but it's no big deal. I've always been a manual lover and after taking so long to teach my clumsy feet to heel and toe correctly I didn't want some fancy computer doing it for me. Frankly I have no clue how you could drive a car this fast with a clutch... it blows everything else I've ever driven into the weeds. I knew it would be quick, but I really hadn't got my head around just how quick... everything is a blur, hold on tight, when there's lots of red on the wheel flick the paddle. My 996tt was probably easier to drive at big speeds, smaller, lighter, more agile, etc. but on an open road I think the 599 would be a dot on the horizon.
Then there's the noise, it's loud, perhaps not as loud as I'd like, but the quality of the noise is spectacular, stunning stuff. I find myself playing with the gears hopping up and down just to hear some v12 songs. probably a habit I need to break fairly quickly. Driving in a gear lower than needed is another one I need to stop!
Did a few fairly tight country roads, not struggling with the size of the thing, it's a bit of a beast, but on paper it's about the same size as my XF, and having had an S8 barge before no real worries here. It's not really a B-Road blaster anyway, got the TVR for that.
Christ, it smells nice too... even from the outside??? is there something in the paint? just a constant stink of ferrari.. cant explain it! Only having 11k on the clock it's still very much a "new car" and in lovely condition, I really hope I can keep it like that. Being a big lad I am a bit of a seat bolster bum grazer...
So far loads of positive reactions which is nice, I was scared of being called a tosser every mile. I'm sure that'll come, although the dealer seemed to think v12's and not red = less attention???
Cant stop thinking about when I can drive it next... probably going to head to the cotswolds on Friday, I probably wont sleep Thursday, like a child at Christmas!
Trackers are a pain in the arse... at least getting it all activated. Thought we were ready to go, then I moved it into the garage and go the call... turns out the fob things were "attached" to the car. Took 20 minutes to get the first one done, still need to get the second one registered. I know I'm going to forget to take the thing with me many many times.
Anyway, Just thought I'd say hello and share my first 100 miles of ferrari ownership.
Cheers
Thank you!
Have you modified the exhaust baffles ? Or just use the lower gear?
I've looked at various kits to manually switch the baffles, or just disconnect and cap the vacuum hose.
The cars under warranty and the dealer were pretty good about the idea "if there's a problem we remove any 3rd party exhaust bits"
But frankly didn't want to push my luck.
Have you modified the exhaust baffles ? Or just use the lower gear?
I've looked at various kits to manually switch the baffles, or just disconnect and cap the vacuum hose.
The cars under warranty and the dealer were pretty good about the idea "if there's a problem we remove any 3rd party exhaust bits"
But frankly didn't want to push my luck.
_Leg_ said:
Welcome to the club.
Ive been using Gliptones Liquid Leather cleaner and conditioner on the leather seats in all my cars for years and with regular treatment all the bolsters look like new. Cant recommend it highly enough.
http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/interior/leather-car...
http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/interior/leather-car...
Cool! TY! Have ordered some! Ive been using Gliptones Liquid Leather cleaner and conditioner on the leather seats in all my cars for years and with regular treatment all the bolsters look like new. Cant recommend it highly enough.
http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/interior/leather-car...
http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/interior/leather-car...
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