Why arent supercars driven?
Discussion
Wha is the point of buying something like a Ferrari and then never driving the thing. I opened a thread earlier regarding a "high" miles F430 expecting 100,000 miles only to be greeted by 6 owners 24,000 miles. Seriously what is the point. That is no where near high miles. I would rather have one with lots of miles as it is obviously not a garage queen. A while ago I saw a DBS for sale with 90,000 miles and that made me smile as it had obviously been well used like the designers intended and had not been a garage queen.
A lot seem to be bought by posers. Also most buyers probably have two or three other cars so they would use a more practical one for nipping down to Greggs for a pasty.
I do see quite a few Ferraris, Astons, Lamborghinis going on trips through the Channel tunnel so some do get driven on nice trips abroad.
I do see quite a few Ferraris, Astons, Lamborghinis going on trips through the Channel tunnel so some do get driven on nice trips abroad.
Let's not get crazy, ok the 430 in question is an expensive car and has higher running costs than a mondeo but you certainly don't need to be 'rich' or have a fleet to own one. Resale is the major pain point for people putting miles on their supercar, i have no intentions of selling my 430 so I've enjoyed my 20000 odd miles in the last 2 years guilt free and will continue to enjoy it come rain or shine 
John.
John.
Personally if I had a supercar (technically I do, kind of, it's just in bits ) I'd only drive it for fun. What's the point in going to your local Sainsburys/Tescos/Morisons/ASDA/Waitrose in a Ferrari/Lambo/Zonda etc?
So once you lose all those little journeys, forget commuting (although some people do) you're left with not that many miles. Then if you're not careful it becomes something where you have to make an extra effort to use it and because of that it gets used even less than it might.
Its similar in fact to most bikes where plenty do <2k/year. Yes there are exceptions (aren't there always) but I perfectly understand why they don't do many miles. Even if you use it every weekend, take it for a 100 mile blast each time that's still only 5k a year. Or do almost solid trackdays, one each week during say the summer, again probably 5k.
) I'd only drive it for fun. What's the point in going to your local Sainsburys/Tescos/Morisons/ASDA/Waitrose in a Ferrari/Lambo/Zonda etc?So once you lose all those little journeys, forget commuting (although some people do) you're left with not that many miles. Then if you're not careful it becomes something where you have to make an extra effort to use it and because of that it gets used even less than it might.
Its similar in fact to most bikes where plenty do <2k/year. Yes there are exceptions (aren't there always) but I perfectly understand why they don't do many miles. Even if you use it every weekend, take it for a 100 mile blast each time that's still only 5k a year. Or do almost solid trackdays, one each week during say the summer, again probably 5k.
Fastdruid said:
Its similar in fact to most bikes where plenty do <2k/year. Yes there are exceptions (aren't there always) but I perfectly understand why they don't do many miles. Even if you use it every weekend, take it for a 100 mile blast each time that's still only 5k a year. Or do almost solid trackdays, one each week during say the summer, again probably 5k.
I'd say on a bike 5K of miles a year is a lot. Consider that most bikers only ride in the good weather, I've seen a few out already but mid May seems to be when the season really kicks off around here, and by early October it's pretty much finished. So it's about 4 and a half months or so of good riding. On a big day out with a few hours on the bike, you might cover 200 miles, maybe even more. Do that once a month during the season and say, 30 miles every other 3 weeks of the month and you aren't looking at more than 300 miles a month, for 5 months. That's only 1500 miles per annum, which is why you see a few superbikes that are 5 or 6 years old with under 10,000 miles on them. Throw in a trip to the TT every other year and you're adding another 1000 miles every 2 years, and still not coming close to 5k per annum. This is all based on one of my friend's riding habits - and he is certainly not afraid to put the miles on his new Fireblade, since he wants to keep it until it falls to bits. Imagine doing the same pattern of driving in a Ferrari and you can see how it could be difficult to actually put the miles on it - as mentioned earlier, its a case of only using it on the good days, and then it becomes something you have to make an effort to use.George H said:
Generally because they're 2nd cars. It would be incredibly hard to shift on. The fuel costs would be astronomical too, and most importantly (for me at least), if a supercar is used every day, it loses the sense of occasion and specialness.
This is how I see it. Most new supercars are very useable, but going out for a Sunday blat wouldn't feel as special if you'd have been sitting in that seat for two hours in traffic every morning. I have seen some quite high mileage lamborghinis and porsches outside of the uk. Most of how you use the car is dictated by your insurance. The funniest one is a chav i met who had his wife pushing their bentley GT out of their garage. The house and buildings are so ye olde that they are not allowed to change the size of the garage. The bentley has to be parked in there for the insurance but they can't open the doors once it is inside. The sight of his Mrs pushing a 2ton car in heels made me laugh.
A few reasons I guess, my 355 and 2.7rs have always been 3rd or 4th cars, usually had a normal 911 or as now a 7 series as a daily driver. I work at least 7-7 6 days a week, and I would rather have a car park dent, scratch in a 997 or 7 series than something that cost me 100k to 200k.
Lastly my 355 for example is so low it doesn't do speed humps, multinstory car parks etc etc so it can be a tad restrictive
Phib
Lastly my 355 for example is so low it doesn't do speed humps, multinstory car parks etc etc so it can be a tad restrictive
Phib
steelej said:
Let's not get crazy, ok the 430 in question is an expensive car and has higher running costs than a mondeo but you certainly don't need to be 'rich' or have a fleet to own one. Resale is the major pain point for people putting miles on their supercar, i have no intentions of selling my 430 so I've enjoyed my 20000 odd miles in the last 2 years guilt free and will continue to enjoy it come rain or shine
John.
I'm with John. John.
8k miles, Le Mans, Paris, Waitrose, several track days, one full set of tyres and pads and front disks in the first year of ownership of my 430 spider. New clutch due soon
I could easily use this as an every day car, but am fortunate enough to have others for that From personal experience, our supercar (mx5) will get about 1000 miles this year. This is for the following reasons.....
1. It is our third car, so tends to take a back seat in the usage terms. Not convenient enouygh for commuting.
2. We have a two year old daughter.
3. Not suitable for my business mileage, as its too old/ not the correct image.
4. Our lives are fairly busy, so finding hoon time is difficult.
However, i like to have it there for the few opportunities i can use it. It has nothing to do with affording to run a supercar and i suspect this to be the case for 'proper' rich supercar owning people........
Mikr
1. It is our third car, so tends to take a back seat in the usage terms. Not convenient enouygh for commuting.
2. We have a two year old daughter.
3. Not suitable for my business mileage, as its too old/ not the correct image.
4. Our lives are fairly busy, so finding hoon time is difficult.
However, i like to have it there for the few opportunities i can use it. It has nothing to do with affording to run a supercar and i suspect this to be the case for 'proper' rich supercar owning people........
Mikr
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