Next Gen Ferrari Owner

[Dixie]

I felt this JLG episode was rather disingenuous. Not because the car is female owned, or that she's a mechanic. It's was the repeated implication that 37 year old Testarossas is somehow within the reach of the average Jane, or John, Doe. It was stressed enough that I was motivated to jump online and find my own entry level Testarossa. That pipe dream went up in smoke when starting prices of $225,000 popped up. I can't afford that, and I'm sure most newly graduated twenty-somethings can't either.

Thoughts?

[NY65912]

Saw this yesterday, good for her. As I always told my daughter, " you can do anything a man can do, maybe better". She sounds like she has her head on her shoulders and has a great future ahead. Good luck!

[oldE]

The young lady is close to her 32nd birthday. Having said that, I suspect there is money in her family. Also, that car had sat for 20 years and, since she worked at a garage that specializes in older Ferraris, she probably had an inside track on that car. Either way, good on her!

[Steve Carlton]

Did she mention if she likes 69 year old men?

[Bill Douglas]

Originally Posted by Steve Carlton

Did she mention if she likes 69 year old men?

She can inherit my Porsche 911. But there are terms and conditions.

[wilnj]

This one sold for $98k about this time last year.

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1990-ferrari-testarossa-56/

This non-runner sold for $77k in Oct of last year.

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1990-ferrari-testarossa-64/

Since she works at Ferrari shop, a car like this is something she could tackle. I think if you were paying someone to do the work, it's a very different story.

[Sarc]

Originally Posted by Dixie

I felt this JLG episode was rather disingenuous. Not because the car is female owned, or that she's a mechanic. It's was the repeated implication that 37 year old Testarossas is somehow within the reach of the average Jane, or John, Doe. It was stressed enough that I was motivated to jump online and find my own entry level Testarossa. That pipe dream went up in smoke when starting prices of $225,000 popped up. I can't afford that, and I'm sure most newly graduated twenty-somethings can't either.

Thoughts?

Well, for starters you're looking in the wrong place if your seeing starting prices at $225k. It can be done but as she says in the video, it takes time to get your ducks in a row and ideally find a car off-market within your network or somewhere other than a platform like BaT where you are bound to overpay. Her day job is as a vintage Ferrari tech so the labor is covered in her instance, but F-cars of this era can be DIY'd due to their simplicity and robust online support system. Like she says, once you get your hands dirty, it's just bolts and screws, which has been my personal experience on the couple examples I have owned.

With that said, I believe the window of opportunity does get smaller with each passing year.

[ryans65]

Its so funny you posted this, I commented on the video saying something along the lines of what you said. Most mechanics in this country are struggling, not some, MOST. They are struggling to pay their rent and groceries, they cannot afford to buy a new car, they cannot afford a fun project car let alone a vintage Ferrari regardless of the entry price. Dixie, disingenuous is a great way to categorize this video and this girls ownership and career. A cutesy ferrari job and owning a testarossa is hardly the case for 99.99% of mechanics out there!

[masraum]

As others have stated, my guess is that she got the car as a pretty good deal on the car from an owner that hadn't really done anything with the car. She's over 30, so not a kid. I'm sure the car still wasn't "cheap". I suspect the average 30+ year old is driving a car that they bought off of a car lot and probably spent $35k-80k to buy the car. Most folks end up with huge car payments that are likely 7-10 years. They'll probably trade that car in while they still owe and will roll their debt into the next car payment. She's probably not doing too bad. She seems like a good kid.

[wilnj]

Originally Posted by masraum

Most folks end up with huge car payments that are likely 7-10 years. They'll probably trade that car in while they still owe and will roll their debt into the next car payment. She's probably not doing too bad. She seems like a good kid.

And she's put sweat equity into her car. It wouldn't surprise me to hear that it sold for double what she paid for it in those same 7-10 years.

[Dixie]

Originally Posted by ryans65

Its so funny you posted this, I commented on the video saying something along the lines of what you said.

Exactly, I'm not trying to knock the crown from this girl's head. Her father is a commercial property manager and accountant, meaning she's probably no trust fund baby. She's also got enough on the ball to be branding herself with a large social media following, and a foray into branded clothing accessories.

My issue is the video makes it sound like a Testarossa is within easy grasp of every enthusiast, including younger ones. I find that misleading at best.

[flipper35]

Originally Posted by Dixie

Exactly, I'm not trying to knock the crown from this girl's head. Her father is a commercial property manager and accountant, meaning she's probably no trust fund baby. She's also got enough on the ball to be branding herself with a large social media following, and a foray into branded clothing accessories.

My issue is the video makes it sound like a Testarossa is within easy grasp of every enthusiast, including younger ones. I find that misleading at best.

Not long ago they were affordable(ish) compared to now.

[NY65912]

What's the difference where she got the money to buy the car? If she has the passion isn't that the point?

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by flipper35

Not long ago they were affordable(ish) compared to now.

Pre-2020 a nice driver could be picked up for $50k. Not pocket change but not bad for an ‘80s icon. I told my wife they were going to go up, yet another I told you so.

[ryans65]

I think the point myself and Dixie are trying to get across is message of the video contrasts the experience of the modern mechanic. They are not current Ferrari owners and they are most definitely not future Ferrari owners. I don't care how cheap the testarossa is most can't afford a home therefore lack a garage to put the ferrari in and so forth. Its a pretty tone deaf video.

She has obviously done well for herself I'm not putting her or her work ethic down.

[ryans65]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

Pre-2020 a nice driver could be picked up for $50k. Not pocket change but not bad for an ‘80s icon. I told my wife they were going to go up, yet another I told you so.

Yes relatively cheap, not pocket change but even when I was a well paid mechanic I struggled to put away $100/ week after I paid my bills. No car payment, no credit cards, no kids. Think about that.

[Zeke]

No shoulder belts that year? I'm surprised.

I never liked the Testarossa but seeing that one has started to change that. Nice looking car.

I have always wanted a Ferrari and I found the 330 to be appealing. Not necessarily the GT, but a 2+2 would work. Of course I prefer the single headlight model over the dual front end. So when I was looking I could have gotten a fixer for 30K, but complete, just used up. I wasn't going the drive it much anyway, so I bet I could have kept at it and not spent too much and be really buried in the car. There's always Ferrari appreciation to save you.

But when she said a splendid 330 GT was 700K I was taken back. I knew they had gone out of reach, but for chrissakes that's a lot of money. How does a 330 GT have a value 3X that of the Testarossa?

I'm happy I never fell into that rabbit hole. She says she's gonna keep the car "as long as I'm around."

Not likely.

[matthewb0051]

She is on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. If I had to guess, she probably does enough across those to be monitized in addition to being a vintage Ferrari mechanic.

Her YouTube page:

https://www.youtube.com/@motoribruno/shorts

[Dixie]

Originally Posted by Zeke

No shoulder belts that year?

I dated a guy for a bit that had a Testarossa, black on black, just like her's. It has motorized shoulder belts that pull forward when you open the door. This satisfied DOT as an alternative to having an airbag.


FWIW, my Viper had the belts hard mounted to the top and bottom of the door. When you opened the doors, the belts swung out of the way. This also negated the need for airbags.

[911boost]

I honestly really liked the look of the Testasrossa and for a short period considered selling my 997 to get one when they were cheaper.

Then I saw two of them at a cars and coffee the local Indy Pcar place puts on once a year. One had been driven and had over 50,000 miles on it and the other was clearly from a collection that barely got used.

I thought the one with all the miles was awesome, however it is built like a kit car. I could not believe how cheap it looked in the inside and the engine compartment etc. It did look easy to wrench on but I am sure all kinds of specialized tools are needed. Compared to the same year 911 it is just such a differently engineered car.

In the end I decided against it pretty much based on the way they were designed and built. Of course now i wish I had bought one, but yeah it may be worth a ton more, although how much would i have spent maintaining it?

Now if I won the lottery I could look past all of that for an F40.........

More power to her for following her dream.