Why a Used Ferrari Maybe the Cheapest Car You Ever Owned

Exotic cars are ridiculously overpriced to begin with. Then you slap on 7 percent sales tax, gas-guzzler tax, and a dealer fee, and boom, you could have bought a small island instead. Once you own them, they depreciate faster than John Daly’s credit line at the Bellagio. They are expensive to maintain; the 15,000-mile service on the Ferrari alone is $4,500. If they break, and some of them do, they are a financial nightmare. For example, a new clutch for the Aston Martin was $8,000, a Lamborghini clutch is apparently $22,000.

But here’s an interesting little statistic your accountant will never tell you. If you buy a used Ferrari, it can work out cheaper than your wife’s Dodge van, and it’s much more fun!

How is that possible?

Because if you buy one that’s five or more years old with say twenty thousand miles on it, it’s 50 or 60 percent of the new cost. They rarely have many miles on them. You can use it for five years, and it won’t depreciate nearly as much as the van. Plus, despite what you hear, Ferrari engines are practically bulletproof, and can easily go double or triple the miles of the engine-belt service recommended by Ferrari as long as you drive it often! I only change mine every 50,000 miles.