What's new
By:
Advanced search…
Club Scuderia

This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

  • Please take a minute to read this thread about our recent server issues and forum platform Switch

Factory collection and 488 GTB running report- will be picture heavy!

100badboy100

100badboy100

New member
Chapter 1 ...Me........


So let's start by saying I feel a but bad as I normally post on fchat under the same user name but I'm Getting a bit bored with listening to constant worries about depreciation and lack of car use...

So thought I would start a thread here with plenty of pictures and a bit of a story about buying collecting and running a 488GTB.

There will be lots of pictures so I apologise for that up front...!

So let's start with a bit about me then get on to the car!!

So I'm not rich

I live in Devon but originally from London

Loved owning and messing with cars all my life

Had a 308GT4 about 25 years ago and did a lot of work on it to keep it running and the car is still on the road and in good shape with another owner.

Have driven mercs for the past 20 odd years and recently changed to a jag F pace.

Had about 20 lotus / scimitars / TRs/ most fast Ford's and a load if other stuff to...but now just the F pace and 488...

So why a 488 and why now......

1- Always wanted a brand new Ferrari

2- life is short.....

3- The V8 coupe to me is the thing I always lusted after

4- had a dream of picking my new car up from the factory and driving it out of the factory gates..

So decision made in September 2016 I pushed the button to.order the car!



Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk
 
100badboy100 said:
Chapter 1 ...Me........


So let's start by saying I feel a but bad as I normally post on fchat under the same user name but I'm Getting a bit bored with listening to constant worries about depreciation and lack of car use...

So thought I would start a thread here with plenty of pictures and a bit of a story about buying collecting and running a 488GTB.

There will be lots of pictures so I apologise for that up front...!

So let's start with a bit about me then get on to the car!!

So I'm not rich

I live in Devon but originally from London

Loved owning and messing with cars all my life

Had a 308GT4 about 25 years ago and did a lot of work on it to keep it running and the car is still on the road and in good shape with another owner.

Have driven mercs for the past 20 odd years and recently changed to a jag F pace.

Had about 20 lotus / scimitars / TRs/ most fast Ford's and a load if other stuff to...but now just the F pace and 488...

So why a 488 and why now......

1- Always wanted a brand new Ferrari

2- life is short.....

3- The V8 coupe to me is the thing I always lusted after

4- had a dream of picking my new car up from the factory and driving it out of the factory gates..

So decision made in September 2016 I pushed the button to.order the car!



Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
So now for some pictures then a bit more of the story...

Here it is being built...
e370630a4cc5f4a36a5c1a0f064a1314.jpg
419d9d220715e8c3b14565dfa151fdcb.jpg
16dd961740dcf0ba9728e42629bb4651.jpg


Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk
 
Good to see you on the uk forum.

Can’t wait for some decent weather to go driving! I was going to kick around south coast today seeing friends in the Ferrari but the roads were already covered in salt yesterday; and snowing today!!
 
Chapter 2 buying the car...

Not sure why the pictures are not showing up only the links? They look fine on tapatalk ...will use iPad moving forward..

Anyway

Originally I thought I wanted a RC car with Crema intereior and Daytona seats and red carpets.....but as you can see I went with RC / Black with some red leather accents and Grigio stitching and goldrake seats, I think it is a bit more contemporary looking.

So September 16 I'm not sure what made me do it but I drove down to the dealer in a courtesey car I had at the time a seat Leon and walked in and said I wanted to buy a new 488! I was in a pair of jeans driving a Seat ! I bet they thought another time waster!

Anyway about a week later I had finalised my spec and paid my deposit! I think they were surprised!

Most of the dealer experience was ok but there are still 2 bits that I'm not so happy about even now....


1- When they thought they were getting a sale they told me that they should be able to get me a car before the factory closes for summer break in July 17.....well that never happened I got the car November 17 so not the biggest deal in the world but still a bit frustrating..

2- So when I ordered the car I specifically said I wanted factory collection....YES YES YES no problem sir ...look at this 458 in the showroom that was a factory collection car.....YES YES YES i will fly out with you ....and you can drive it home......

Anyway about September time car starts getting built for October delivery...I say to dealer Are we all good for factory collection?.......Errrrrrrrr no can't possibly do that factory can't accommodate you.....

Well you can image how I reacted....long story now very short. Gave them a week to sort it out otherwise I was going to go and order a MAC or Lambo I was that annoyed..


Dealer - I'm going to call in special favours......anyway after chasing and chasing the dealer managed to call in the special favour .....Oh and that special favour would cost me €4K !!! I'm so annoyed now I just paid it .... but even that wasn't simple....

I was invoiced direct from the factory for the collection in euros with vat added in Italy...dealer then tried to charge me the vat again on top of that! So another argument and they sorted it...

Then I get the final invoice for the car and they added on some options that I had not ordered and tried to charge me for them...more arguing then they sorted that..

Then they sent the last invoice and put the wrong amount for road tax....and we are now on the 4th invoice before that got it right!!!!

Apology? Gesture of goodwill for the errors and distress and inconvenience?.........errrrrr Nope!


Ok so we are now good to go.... Dealer says you need to book your own flights and to be fair they booked a hotel for me and my brother for the evening before collection but we had to pay for that to...

Next chapter - collecting the car....
 
Chapter 3 - Factory Collection Process

so this is how it all works......

Brother and I fly out to Bologna and Dealer is on the same plane as us. We pick up a hire car at the airport and drive to a hotel just outside Modena

Dealer then takes us out for dinner at Montana restaurant- the restaurant is very good definitely recommend for food and ambience

Next day we drive over to Maranello get there a bit early so go round the museum and shop for a bit then drive over to factory through main gate and put the hire car out front!

Reception are expecting us and we go through into the waiting room..

Lady collects us and takes us through to the I guess you would call it a showroom you can see the pics above of what it looks like...

Photographer meets us in there and takes photos throughout

Cover comes off the car

I have a look round the car

Tech from classiche comes out and puts my plates on the car

Then we sign a lovely book that all factory collection customers sign...some very interesting names in the book....

Then we go upstairs in the showroom and do some paperwork, hand over the keys and tracker fobs and a final invoice and handover document from the dealer.

Dealer gives you a pack of papers with sales invoice insurance reg documents and stuff in case we have any problems with customs and stuff...

Then I drive the car outside for more photos

Then we park the car up round the front by reception

Lady asks us if we would like a tour of classiche before the main factory tour.....YES PLEASE!!!!

We tour classiche and it is amazing in there.. like proper amazing about 20 cars being worked on about 30-40 blokes in there no rushing and top notch work ..2x250gto in there when we visited !

We then go to lunch at ristorante Cavalino

Go back to the factory- dealer sets up the na track and we then go on a factory tour just the 2 of us me and my brother - we felt like royalty....it was amazing.....

Finish back up in the museum and buy some stuff in the shop...

Walk back over to the factory and pick the keys up from reception and drive the car out the gate....!

So the adventure begins bringing it home!

I have already posted some pics of the journey home but will post some more in a bit..
 
Last edited:
Top