Heidi says hello

"GTRZILLAR32-Now saving for Godzilla and a condo" (jackolson)
06/17/2014 at 22:08 • Filed to: M3 Life

Goddamn I am one lucky SOB

DISCUSSION (30)

EL_ULY > GTRZILLAR32-Now saving for Godzilla and a condo
06/17/2014 at 22:21

damn she a a beauty! Congrats dude, that is one sweeet ride man

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > GTRZILLAR32-Now saving for Godzilla and a condo
06/17/2014 at 22:23

Yes, you are. As am I.

Kinja'd!!!

Vicente Esteve > GTRZILLAR32-Now saving for Godzilla and a condo
06/17/2014 at 22:29

Cant think of a better name than Heidi. Beautiful!

CAcoalminer > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
06/17/2014 at 23:08

I thought you had an E90?

CAcoalminer > GTRZILLAR32-Now saving for Godzilla and a condo
06/17/2014 at 23:14

Beautiful. How long have you had her?

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > CAcoalminer
06/17/2014 at 23:26

I do. Just said I was a lucky SOB - ha!

GTRZILLAR32-Now saving for Godzilla and a condo > CAcoalminer
06/17/2014 at 23:39

I picked her up outside of Philly the day after Memorial Day and drove her back to CT. I don't think I want another car ever.

CAcoalminer > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
06/17/2014 at 23:43

CAcoalminer > GTRZILLAR32-Now saving for Godzilla and a condo
06/17/2014 at 23:45

That's great to hear. I'm glad you're enjoying her.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > CAcoalminer
06/18/2014 at 08:46

But not as lucky/blessed/fortunate/hardworking as you, my friend!

CAcoalminer > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
06/18/2014 at 20:21

Maybe not at this point, but I'm positive that you will be in a few years, as long as you stay humble and continue working hard.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > CAcoalminer
06/19/2014 at 08:36

Appreciate the good advice. Slow and steady does prove to win the race, more often than not. Honestly, looking back ten years, it's hard to imagine that I'd be in the position I am now, in respect to my career and finances. I might not be able to say that I love my job, but I definitely can't complain about how I'm compensated for my work!

CAcoalminer > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
06/19/2014 at 21:23

Well there's nothing wrong with that.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > CAcoalminer
06/19/2014 at 22:17

I get paid very well for something that I'm very good at, and that comes easy for me, but it's not my true passion. I'm 36, and at this point in my life, I'm working toward getting debt free and building up my long-term savings, so that when the time is right, I can move on to my "second career" and work on things that really inspire and excite me.

CAcoalminer > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
06/19/2014 at 22:42

Ah I see. Well it sounds like you are going about it the right way and have a solid plan. I hope everything works out for you and that you can eventually be paid well and do something you love.

Manuél Ferrari > CAcoalminer
08/03/2014 at 17:18

How have you been doing?

I thought you might get a chuckle out of this write up that I sent to Brian and Evan today. I got tired of waiting until I could afford a 16M or even a nice, low mileage F430 spider so I checked out a 12K F430 coupe with a gated shifter. Price was $133K, which was pretty good for a Rosso Corsa over tan car with the stick. Since I couldn't afford the 16M yet I convinced myself that a manual car would still be rare and special. Now I'm not sure that's the case. But I do need to drive another manual one to see if it feels better than this car did.

Here is the write up:

1. Condition: the car was f'd. It had a clean Carfax but that means nothing. I've been screwed over by dealers before. They hide accidents or fender benders using the clean Carfax. Not everything gets reported to insurance, sometimes people pay out of pocket to avoid soiling the Carfax report.

It looked like the entire car had been resprayed. My dad spotted the first clues then we both found more and more of them. Looked like a shitty job too.

Why the hell would a 12K car need to be repainted? Did someone pour battery acid on it? Maybe the owner screwed over a girlfriend so she ruined his car.

2. How hard had the car been driven? My guess - very hard. It was flashing an E DIFF error that the dealer was waiting on a sensor for. They were all like "you can buy it today and take it home and bring it back when the part gets here". Uh huh. How stupid do they think I am? How can they possibly think that anyone that could afford a 6 figure car could possibly be that dumb?

On top of the error the dealer only had one of the keys, no cover, didn't have the OEM exhaust (just the after market Tubi GTC, which was kind of too loud), or the full set of books or window sticker. Any responsible Ferrari owner would avoid losing that much stuff. This guy probably makes a ton of money and didn't give a shit about the car. He got it new, hooned the living piss out of it, then pawned it off on a dealer to deal with. Funny thing is that this dealer bought it from another dealer. So they were so dumb that they let the other dealer pass the problem on to them! They didn't even check out the car before buying it. They probably got so excited about a red on tan Manuél that they just jumped on it. Idiots…

Manuél seems like he had been abused. He wasn't comfortable shifting into 2nd. It took a lot more effort to get him into 2nd than the other gears. The clutch was a bit stiff but I've heard that's what all Ferraris are like. I dunno if all F430s would feel like this or if this particular one had been abused so bad that poor Manuél was not performing at his best. But the overall setup was not as nice as the one Manuél Gallardo that I've driven.

3. The car didn't seem to perform that well. It didn't seem to pull like my Dad's spider does. My dad's car revs so fast that you have to keep your eyes glued to the tach if you're shifting manually because before you know it you're at redline and it's time to pull the paddle. This car just didn't seem to do that. I dunno if it just felt slower because it's not F1 or if the engine was sick.

4. The wonderful noises I get from my dad's spider were all missing. I rolled the windows down to hear the soundtrack but it was so different than his F1 spider. I didn't seem to here much or any overrun. And I didn't hear the nice cracks and burbles that you get when downshifting with F1. I wasn't rev matching as I'm not good at that yet and I wasn't used to this transmission. But I went to YouTube today and checked videos of F430 owners rev matching their downshifts on 3 pedal cars. I found a couple guys that were really good at it. But still the burbles were lacking. The engine sounded so much more tame, just like the Manuél Gallardo I test drove. It didn't have the awesome sounds that the spider has that makes you feel like you're in a race car. I guess those sounds are all manufactured to work with F1? I've never driven an E Gear Gallardo. Maybe it sounds more dramatic than the Manuél Gallardo as well?

5. Here is the most depressing thing - driving the Manuél F430 felt like one of those "don't meet your heroes" moments. A sample size of 1 is too small to know for sure as this car definitely wasn't in top shape so it's possible that the transmission was wonky. But if the transmission was fine then it would be bad because the overall experience wasn't what I expected. It's probably because we on Oppo are so indoctrinated to believe that gated manuals are the path to heaven. We build it up in our heads so much that we expect to feel pure ecstasy and joy when we drive one of our favorite cars in Manuél configuration. Maybe the experience will never live up to our expectations? I hate to say it but this was the first time when I kind of understood why Ferrari doesn't make stick shift cars anymore. In my 997 the stick feels great, and despite how good PDK is I never feel like I'm driving the inferior car. But in the F430 the 3 pedal setup felt kind of clumsy. It kind of felt like the transmission didn't suit the car. I'm kind of understanding what Victorious Secret has been preaching about for so long.

CAcoalminer > Manuél Ferrari
08/05/2014 at 21:35

I've been very well. Thank you. Very busy with work but I learned long ago that it's better to have too much than little to none at all, so I can't complain. Haha. How about yourself?

I'm sad to hear about your Ferrari experience. It's always disheartening to hear about a car that has obviously been mistreated by its previous owner(s). It's cases like this that make me spend the extra money for a thorough PPI. Luckily, your father was with you and was able to point out some of the flaws that might not be noticed by the average person.

After reading over your list, it's obvious that this car has many problems and is not worth purchasing. What really worries me is that the transmission and engine already seem to be on their way out after such a short life span.

However, don't let this particular car discourage you. The F430 is an exquisite piece of machinery and you unfortunately ran into one that had not been cared for properly. I'm sure that if I every drove a GT that had been mistreated in that manner and took that as being what all of them would be like, I probably would have never bought one, let alone two. My suggestion would be to find another manual transmission F430 and, if possible, drive your father's F1 Spider (if he allows you of course) to the dealership. Therefore, you will have back-to-back experiences with both transmissions and will be able to make a more informed decision. Also, I think Ferrari tunes their convertible models' exhausts differently than their coupe counterparts, as 16Ms definitely sound better than Scuderias to my old ears.

I know everything will eventually fall into place for you and you'll find the perfect car that makes you smile whether you're blasting it down a back road or simply staring at it and considering how lucky you are to own it.

Sorry that it took me so long to reply to you.

Manuél Ferrari > CAcoalminer
08/07/2014 at 14:59

I'm glad you've been well. Hopefully being busy means you've had good work that you're busy with and not just busy work. No worries at all on the delayed reply, I totally understand. I've been busy as well. Some of it has been good busy, some of it just busy work...

It was disheartening that the car had been abused, but it was a great learning experience. I'm glad my dad helped me spot issues before I spent money on a PPI. And since then I've learned that this dealer is known for selling sub standard cars. They'll buy anything they can get cheap and sell the cars a bit under market to make it look like the customer is getting a deal. They're all about high volume. Which is not good for exotics. I found another car at another local dealer that seems much different. They are a small boutique shop.

That's a good idea to drive the F430 to the dealership. I will do that when I go back to the boutique shop with my dad to look at the F430 again.

I had heard that the 16M is tuned a bit differently than the Scud. I wish there was a local 16M to look at. This is the closest 16M to me. I'm in So Cal and it's in Salt Lake City:

http://www.saltlakecity.ferraridealers.com/en_us/used/200…

I can't remember the last time I saw a local 16M for sale. Definitely none in the past year. So hard to know if I would like it without being able to drive one. I know that it's the better car from a financial perspective as it's rare and will hold its value better. And I like how the exterior looks better. But it's more expensive and would be a bit more rough during pleasure drives around town.

Here is the car I saw yesterday:

http://www.evanpaulmotorcars.com/web/used/Ferra…

I'm in love with it. It doesn't have the manual but it's optioned so nicely. It has every single option that I care about. It has all the carbon fiber interior options that you could order on the standard spider. The dashboard and steering wheel have carbon fiber, which is rare. Usually you only see it on the center panel and to the left of the dash, not in the gauge cluster. My Dad's car has these same options and I really like them.

This car is a 2008, and the 2008-2009 cars are supposed to have a more reliable F1 transmission. And they came standard with carbon ceramic brakes.

And most importantly (as it would be cost prohibitive to change the leather) I really love the way the original owner spec'd the interior. The leather inserts on the Daytona's are a dark tan / brown color. And the stitching is in the same color. Which looks really nice on the black dashboard leather. Most of the red on tan F430s do not have offset color inserts. At most they sometimes have the contrasting stitching.

The condition of the car looks good. I didn't see any flaws in the paint. I haven't driven it yet as I got there late and didn't want to make the owner move other cars out of the way to get that car out. I'll go back with my Dad and we can both drive it back to back. His spider finally seems to be running good since his last F1 fix.

This seems like a really fair price for a fully loaded spider with less than 5000 miles on it. It's almost like a new car for $85K less than the original window sticker price. This car wouldn't appreciate like your GTs will but it would be a very enjoyable car to drive. Hopefully I could later afford to add another car to the stable that would be more rare that I could hold as an investment piece. This car I could drive as much as I want to and not worry about how many miles I'm putting on it.

The markup for later year stick shift spiders is just too high. And most of them have next to no options. There is a Scuderia Rosso on black stick shift spider in the North East that has no carbon fiber. I think it has more miles too and they want $189K. I like Rosso Corsa better than Scuderia Rosso and like the tan interior much more than black. I just don't think it's worth it to spend more to get less car just to get the stick. I might actually enjoy F1 more since I already have my 911 to drive when I feel like driving stick. Paddle shift on an exotic is a lot more engaging than it is on a car like my DCT E90 M3.

CAcoalminer > Manuél Ferrari
08/07/2014 at 15:48

It's been a mix of the two but, as I'm sure you know, that's how business goes sometimes. I'm glad to hear that business has been going well for you also.

Wow that's only the second blue 16M that I've ever seen, the other one had a brown leather interior (not really my taste). If you're looking for 16Ms that are closer, you might check out Las Vegas as they seem to have two currently: http://www.penskewynnferrari.com/inventory.aspx…

I definitely agree that driving one before making your decision is imperative. An acquaintance of mine actually ended up keeping his F430 Spider instead of upgrading to the 16M for the simple fact that he preferred the Daytona seats. This fact might actually be even more important in your case, as you seem to actually "exercise" your vehicles on a regular basis.

That car looks very nice and seems to be price accurately. There are always good cars out there, you just have to find them.

I think you are being very level headed with your thinking. The F430 Spider would be a terrific car that anyone would be happy to own and, like you mentioned, you can drive it as much as possible and not worry about mileage. Also, you can have a fully optioned car in terrific condition for thousands less than the manual version and yet, have just as much fun. In addition, I agree with your sentiments about paddle shifts on exotics (especially modern ones), I honestly can't imagine my 12C without one.

If you don't mind me asking, what was wrong with your father's F1 gearbox?

Manuél Ferrari > CAcoalminer
08/07/2014 at 17:28

Haha exactly, always a mix of good work that makes you busy and busy work! That is just how business goes.

Wow thanks for the 16M link. I had mostly been using AutoTrader and it doesn't look like Penske Wynn advertises with them. Which website did you use to find their cars?

It is tempting to drive to Vegas to have an opportunity to test drive a 16M. I want red or blue so I wouldn't buy one of their black 16Ms but I would get a chance to test drive one. Of course I would call them ahead of time to ensure that they would allow me to test drive it.

The issue your friend saw with the 16M is the key issue to me. I don't know how bad the race seats would be on longer drives. I've never owned a car with race buckets so I'm not sure how much fatigue they give you. And it's hard to know by asking other people as everyone's body is different. Only way I would know how they feel for me is to rent a car with the same exact seats so I could drive it for hours on end. While it is possible to buy a 16M and put the original seats in storage and install Daytona's that would add cost, and the cost of the car itself would already be a stretch for me.

I'm glad you enjoy your 12C's transmission. Since it was the only transmission McLaren offered we know they put a lot of time into tuning it. The issue with the F430 is that while both the stick and F1 were offered we can probably guess that Ferrari spent most of their time refining F1. They probably put very little effort into the stick and just carried it over from the 360.

My dad's F1 has a recurring issue that stranded him a couple times. The transmission would refuse to shift. The first time he tried to fix it the car started running again but later had issues. I think the first issue was air in one of the transmission's hydraulic lines. He fixed that but when he put everything together he may not have done so within the fine mechanical tolerances required for proper operation. Now he thinks he got it right as he has had no issues and the car doesn't flash the gear numbers at all. The first time he put it back together the car would flash the number 4 when in 4th gear even though 4th was working fine and it wasn't slipping out of gear. It later started occasionally slipping out of gears into another gear or into neutral. But now it's not having any of these issues. Knocking on wood that it's setup correctly now. He had taken it to Ferrari at one point and they basically admitted that they weren't sure what the issue was. Their solution was to replace all the hydraulic lines, the actuator and the pump at a cost of about $23K (including labor). Since they weren't sure what the issue was and they didn't want to take it apart multiple times their solution was to basically replace everything but the transmission itself. That wasn't worth it to my Dad as he would rather risk it stranding him again as he doesn't drive it very far from his home and he doesn't mind having to rack it and spend time figuring out what the specific issue is. He gets angry at the car when she gives him grief but I think he secretly likes the challenge of keeping her running.

CAcoalminer > Manuél Ferrari
08/08/2014 at 12:35

Yes. It definitely keeps you on your toes for sure.

You're welcome. I actually found this link using cars.com. Your points about seat comfort are spot one. Everyone is different so the only true way to know is to sit in them yourself.

I agree with your assessment of the F430's manual transmission. Ferrari knew that automated manuals were the way of the future and most likely spent most of their time on that transmission and simply beefed up and made minor improvements to the manual.

Very interesting about your dad's transmission. Hopefully it is completely fixed now and doesn't give him any more issues. However, it's frustrating to hear that the dealership's conclusion was to simply replace everything instead of taking the time to actually find the root cause. I think your father made the right choice by just running it as is. Haha I can remember the days of being stuck on the side of a road and having to fix any number of things. After owning a DB5 in my younger days, I'm convinced that Aston Martin should have certified me as a licensed mechanic with how often I wrenched on it.

Keep me updated with your progress and hopefully the right car will pop up at the right price soon and you can take advantage of it.

Manuél Ferrari > CAcoalminer
08/08/2014 at 14:43

Ah, cars.com. Sometimes I use that site but it's hard to use them all when doing a search. AutoTrader seems to have more listings usually so I normally check eBay and AutoTrader. Sometimes I check Craigslist too but it's frustrating to use...

What's s funny about seat comfort is how hard it is to guess how your body will react to seats. I'm tall and skinny. You'd think that any seats would work OK for me. And for the most part any seats do work OK, at least for short trips.

But it's very hard for me to find seats that I'm comfortable sitting in for hours on end. I once leased a 2010 Mercedes E350 and I would get fatigue in those seats after only an hour. Up to an hour I was totally fine, but once I hit that hour I would start sinking into the seats and it would hurt my lower back. I've never had a back injury so it's not due to something like that. The foam used in those seats just didn't work for my body.

I'm comfortable in my E90 M3 for up to 3 hours. Then I need to at least pull over and get out and stretch. Overall much better than I was in the E350 as it was annoying to get fatigued on short trips as you don't want to pull over when only driving an hour and a half from home.

I'm comfortable in the Ferrari Daytona seats for about 2 hours before I need to stretch. I think part of the problem is how slippery they are. I find myself constantly sliding forward. A really thin pillow might help with that for long drives.

The one car I have that has perfect seats for me is the 2010 911. I have the base seats that are power adjust but don't have lumbar adjustments and don't adjust a million different ways. The shape and foam type used in those seats is just perfect for me. I can drive that car for hours on end without getting fatigued. Which is ironic because it's the least luxurious of my cars and has the stiffest suspension.

Haha sounds like your DB5 was your version of my Dad's spider. Some cars just want their owners to spend a lot of personal time with them in the garage. They get jealous when you go in the house and leave them alone :)

CAcoalminer > Manuél Ferrari
08/09/2014 at 20:49

My usual sites are Hemmings, DuPont Registry, Cars.com, AutoTrader, JamesEdition, and a few select dealers. However, I do occasionally use forums and Ebay.

I can completely understand your seat issues. I'm tall and thin and always have issues with seats that don't provide adequate padding, especially in the lower back region. However, I have also had back problems dating back to my high school sports days, so I'm not quite the normal case. Honestly, some of the best seats that I've recently experienced were my GT-R ones. They had excellent amounts of padding and the ideal amount of bolstering to keep you in place but not suffocate you. Ofcourse, no matter what car I drive, I always stop and walk around for a bit if I've been driving for 2 hours or more, as it helps me stay refreshed and prevents blood clots (something you probably don't have to worry about yet).

That's fascinating that your 911's seats are actually the most comfortable. I had the sport seats in my RS 4.0 and GT2 RS and while they were excellent for their intended purpose, they definitely could get a bit uncomfortable after about an hour. Oh they things we suffer through for weight savings. Haha

Oh I'm convinced. In fact, if I arrived home late with various greases and/or oils on my clothes, she would inquire "How is your silver mistress treating you these days?" Haha. Fond memories for sure.

Manuél Ferrari > CAcoalminer
08/09/2014 at 21:29

Thanks, now I have some new sites to use to look for local cars!

Have you noticed that AutoTrader now lets you search by interior color? Very cool. I'm in love with the brown interior in the 458. I saw one example with lighter stitching to contrast and diamond pattern seats.

My to go order just arrived so I'll finish my reply later. Let me know if you haven't seen the diamond pattern brown seats and I'll send you a pic. I have it open on a browser tab on my laptop.

CAcoalminer > Manuél Ferrari
08/09/2014 at 22:53

You're welcome.

No, I didn't know that. I also haven't seen the brown interior on the 458. If it isn't too much trouble, I would enjoy seeing a photo of it.

Manuél Ferrari > CAcoalminer
08/09/2014 at 22:57

No trouble at all! Actually just got back on the laptop so I had it handy:

http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/…

And here is a different shade of brown with the traditional Daytona pattern:

http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/…

Which car gives you more headroom - the GT or the 12c?

CAcoalminer > Manuél Ferrari
08/09/2014 at 23:09

Very nice. Thank you for sharing.

The 12c for sure. In fact, I actually installed a seat lowering kit on my blue GT so I could comfortably drive it with a helmet.

Manuél Ferrari > CAcoalminer
08/09/2014 at 23:32

You're very welcome! Now if you do setup the business for your wife and buy an Itlalian car to market it you need to be sure to get a rare interior. Plain tan or black Daytona's just won't do!

I'm glad you're able to fit well in the GT with your helmet on after installing the seat lowering kit. I always wonder if those modifications work or not

CAcoalminer > Manuél Ferrari
08/09/2014 at 23:52

I think she has slowed down on that idea once she realized how much effort it would take. However, if we do move forward with it, I will definitely buy an interesting vehicle.

This one definitely did because it involves shaving some of the foam out of the seat cushion. Luckily, the seat is just as comfortable as before.

Manuél Ferrari > CAcoalminer
08/10/2014 at 11:20

New businesses are so much work! I always want to start another business on the side but then get worried about how much work it will be.

That's cool that your seat is just as comfy after losing some foam. Glad it's not rock hard now.