Why I will never buy my dream car

Like every little kid I had a dream car, but unlike most of those kids, my dream car never changed, partly because it was listed categorically seeing as there were more than one, with the Audi 500 SE featuring at number 2, although today I have no idea why. Perhaps it was the tail light that ran from side to side, and me foolishly thinking the whole light actually was a light, and not just an enormous reflector.

The big one though, the one that never changed, is the 1995 Ferrari 355 F1. It is one of the most beautiful Ferrari's ever made, and in my opinion, the most beautiful car in the world. It has raw beauty, everything is made with passion, the lines are smooth, it is elegant, it does not shout look at me I’m a Ferrari, it’s humble, polite, and absolutely stunning from every angle.

It also has a sound to it. When you see a bunch of Ferraris on a race track, you will actually be able to distinguish the 355 from the rest, based on the sound it makes. It’s like an orchestra performing the imperial march, it like Queen to classic rock. Even if you don’t like cars, the sound it makes is almost melodious.

But I will never buy it. You don’t buy your dream car. And this Ferrari is no exception. I won’t buy it for two reasons, the first mainly, is the service. The 355 is last Ferrari to require an engine-out service. You read right, they actually have to take out the engine for a service, and this needs to be done every three to five years. The timing belt needs to be replaced every three to five years with this service as well. A service like this ran up to between 6-10 thousand. DOLLARS!!!

There is another thing to. The 355’s valve guides are made from weak bronze that fail under high RPM, or Low RPM or even no RPM, speculators say that over 20% of these beauties are affected. The F1 pump fails on a regular basis, which means no gearbox, and should I opt for the topless spider version, the roof also tends to not roof anymore.

And then secondly. When you own one of these cars, you are part of an elite group of people, a group of people who buy new Ferraris because they owned one before. You have to look like a Ferrari owner, have an ego the size of table mountain, and a penis the size of a split pea. So I don’t qualify. I wanted to own this car for what it is, not to be part of a club or group that goes along with it. Yes, not all these owners are bad people, but I will also not be investing millions of Rands in something I might not like, be able to fit in, and drive maybe once every second December.