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u/mcarterphoto 1d ago
Years ago I bought a used Gibson acoustic guitar - it was $1700, a lot of money but I've been a working musician on and off since I was 15 or so. Thing was pristine.
I had them install a strap button on the heel of the neck where I prefer them. I was in the setup room, told the guy "man, having a scratch-free guitar is gonna make me so paranoid". He picked up a box knife and held it right over the body and said "well, I can fix that for ya!"
I declined, but I understand the sentiment.
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u/Impossible_Offer7988 1d ago edited 1d ago
You can't buy a brand new 488 without an established reputation with Ferrari.
The 488 without anything behind it also isn't a thing. You've either got the 488 GTB, 488 Spider or the 488 Pista Spider and 488 Pista.
There's no such thing as "in full."
That would be a tailor made example, and you can't buy those without an established history with the brand either.
You would have to start with something like a Roma or a California,
and even with those, you can't just sign the paperwork and call it a day.
This story makes it seem like the old timer worked hard and saved hard to buy a Ferrari.
A client like that most likely is gonna want to buy a build slot as opposed to a car that's been fully spece by someone else.
You can't just buy slots either
You would have to first buy a bunch of stuff to prove to Ferrari that you're worthy of being on the waiting list for a slot. Purposely damaging your Ferrari infront of sales people so that you aren't worried about damaging it.
Shows that you've got a reason to be worried about damaging it.
Ferrari doesn't like that because it either implies that you're in capable of preserving it.
Or worried about the bill.
Both of which aren't good for your list placing
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u/visitor-530 1d ago
The story is clearly made up but I have legitimate follow up questions as I know nothing about thisâŚwhy does Ferrari set up so many roadblocks to buying a particular model? Why isnât there âin fullâ - surely thereâs a price and it could be paid all at once?
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u/Embarrassed_Jury664 1d ago edited 1d ago
The same reason you can't walk into an authorized Rolex dealer and say "give me a new Daytona". These are not cars and watches, they're symbols, and the brands want to be represented in a manner they feel befits the name.
ETA: There's no fucking point in buying a new Rolex either, just like a car. You're paying thousands more for very little.
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u/Tiny_Giant_Robot 1d ago
Exactly. A few years ago, Ferrari sent a Cease and Desist letter to an EDM musician named DeadMau5 because he'd wrapped his 458 Italia and it didnt show the Ferrari logo correctly.
They've also blacklisted the Kardashians from acquiring new cars from them because they didn't take care of them.
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u/gunslingersea 22h ago
I saw a pretty interesting interview with Jay Leno where he was talking about how he prefers McLaren to Ferrari in great part due to these attitudes.
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u/visitor-530 1d ago
Fascinating. I cannot imagine being willing to spend $40K on a watch and being told no but I have no evidence to support otherwise!
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u/olde_greg 1d ago
That's shitty. If I had that kind of money it would immediately turn me off from that brand. Jay Leno won't even buy one because of that.
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u/Neil_sm 1d ago
Yeah itâs kind of crazy. I know an anesthesiologist who bought a used Ferrari and was telling me basically you canât buy a Ferrari new unless youâve owned one previously. Like you have to start out with a used one (or I guess one of their âentry levelâ models.)
And everyone gets their Ferrari serviced at the actual dealer with all their insane markups, because of service records and resale values. Doug Demuro (auto journalist and YouTuber) pointed out that a tire patch which should be $20 at some local garage turned into a $500 bill at the dealership (to be fair that was including other crap they decided it needed like a battery, but still the tire patch work itself was over $100.)
Itâs a whole other universe of car ownership.
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u/GrimmandLily 1d ago
Jay Leno has said he doesnât deal with Ferrari because itâs too much of a hassle. Jay Leno of all people.
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u/Pr6srn 1d ago
Rumor has it that Kim Kardashian wanted to buy a limited edition Ferrari and they said 'No', because she wouldn't be a good look for the brand. Not when thier customers are Arab oil princes and billionaire investors.
And they're sticking to their guns, even when she's dating Ferrari F1 driver Lewis Hamilton, the biggest name in the sport - to whom they gifted an immaculately refurbished classic Ferrari F40.
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u/aclockwork_ffa500_ 1d ago
they didnât gift him that F40, it was a barn find that he brought to them to refurbish
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u/JoeNdown 20h ago
This is completely untrue lol.
Ferrari no longer makes the 488, so the one in question would be pre-owned. And those aren't closely guarded as new allocations would be even by a Ferrari dealer. This is reinforced by the OOP saying car dealer vs Ferrari dealer who would be looking for the relationship you mentioned. F8 and then 296 have replaced it."488" on its own is widely acknowledged as the GTB. That wasn't a limited edition model or anything. Similar models would be 720s or a Turbo S, not an invite-only allocation. Even if you were to buy a Pista or Spider, pre-owned dealers don't give a flying hoot.
"In full" would be referring to paying in cash as opposed to financing.
Nowhere in his post does the OOP refer to him working at a Ferrari dealership. That being said this is likely BS. I think what they're going for is the tradies' tradition of putting the first scratch on new tools.
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u/Imtherealwaffle 21h ago
in full meaning he bought it outright, not that it was fully loaded or something.
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u/sonofaresiii 1d ago
I heard this about a BMW adventure bike once. I believed it-- story goes the guy fully signed the paper work, then pushed the bike over on its side, got it nice and dinged up. Said "Now I can ride it the way it's meant to be ridden". Supposedly sent pictures to the dealership a few weeks later of the bike absolutely covered in mud and the guy grinning ear to ear.
idk, that version at least is believable. I can see some rich person doing that. I dunno about hucking a pebble at a ferrari, those things aren't really known for their off-road adventuring capabilities. I wonder if this person heard the same story about the adventure bike and misapplied it.
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u/Dopeaz 1d ago
The Unix guys at my work in the 90s were also off-road truck guys. They drove clapped out rusty lifted Datsuns and Trackers with the doors missing and massive muddy tires.
The January after 2000, when we all got our bonuses for the AS400 not shitting the bed on Y2K, one of the Unix guys came back to work with a brand new shiny truck.
They took turns hauling ass through the field behind the office through the bushes and small trees just beating the everloving fuck out of that truck.
I mean, I get it now, it was going to happen eventually with it's future, but at the time I couldn't fathom it.
"Now we don't have to worry about scratching it"
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u/Main_Mix_7604 1d ago
They didn't say he didn't have an established relationship though. Not to say I believe the story.
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u/Anti-Climacdik 1d ago
Implausible as the corny writing makes it seem, this is absolutely a thing. Give it the first scuff yourself on day 1 and it will sting less when it happens organically
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u/DJEbonics 21h ago
I wish my life was so easy that a pebble bouncing off my hood was something to have anxiety about.
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u/QuantumBobb 1d ago
I believe literally 0% of this story. Including "I work", "upper end", "in full", and "man".