Today I had the ultimate experience any car guy can have. Before
I started my fleet service business I was Group Sales Manager for
one of the largest megadealerships on the east coast.  We sold
just about any brand you can name.  One of them was not Ferrari
but when I was still racing, in the sixties, among the cars I got
to drive was a Ferrari.

One of the partners called me and ask me to evaluate a Testarossa
that a customer wanted to trade on a Ford GT that was scheduled
to arrive at one of the groups Ford dealers.  I said sure, who
would not want to drive a Testarossa.  I drove down to the
dealership and there sat a mint 89 Testarossa with 19K on the
clock.  The owner was a 28 year old guy that worked as one of the
Super tech at one of the groups MB dealerships, about 50 miles
away.  I put the car on the lift, gave it the one over, top and
bottom.  It indeed was mint.  I asked him where he got it. He
told from an old guy like you that was afraid to drive it
anymore.  I asked him what he paid, if he didn't mine telling
me.  He told me, 50K in 1999 with 14K on the clock.  I ask for
permission to truck it up to Pocono raceway so I could evaluate
it off the highway.  He said NO, lets drive there. I made a few
phone calls and about an hour later I was flying around the track
at 150 MPH for two laps.  I was thinking, what I life I lead, how
many car guys ever get to see a Testarossa let along drive one at
150 MPH on a race track with the owner telling me to "It will go
a lot faster," with a $1,000 check in my pocket for performing
the evaluation??

On the way back he asked me what I thought it was worth.
I told him I needed to consult with the dealership owners.
When we got back to the dealership there was a big orange covered
tractor trailer sitting on the lot.  There must have been twenty
dealership employees, some taking pictures and a few dozen
customers and a two local police officers standing around the
van.  I thought maybe the truck ran over somebody because NOBODY
even looked at the Ferrari as we drove on the lot, strange.  

I soon discovered why we went unnoticed.  The van was dropping of
their Ford GT. There were still three on the van since we could
see when the driver open the side door. The one the dealership
got was a red with white stripes that add $7,000 to the sticker
total of near $160,000.  The driver dropped a gate from the back
of the truck that went straight back, backed the GT unto that
ramp then lowered the car to the ground.  No taking that thing
over and pitched ramps it seems.  As soon as he was off the ramp
he asked the assembled who it responsible for receiving this
car?  The Poor Sales Manager, who probably never saw a car in the
dealership worth more then 50K said I guess I am.  As he walked
over to sign the delivery form I said, "Don't you think you
should do the check in process first?"  Every one ot the
employees was afraid to drive the GT and nobody knew where to put
it.  I offered to ask the dealer since I was going to call him
anyway.  He told me to take it over to *** building (where the
group stores the expensive brands they sell.)  I suggested 50K
for the Testarossa and 65K retail but he said I just had a call
from a guy in Oklahoma, seems the delivery schedule for all Ford
GT's is available to dealers all over the country, offering
$225,000 and no trade. Ford is only building 1,500 GT this ones
number was just over 700 The Testarossa was a 16 year old model
but its like new. In my opinion the guys at Ferrari should drive
a supercharged V8 Ford GT before they build anymore $250,000 cars

I could not believe my good luck.  Not only did I get to drive
the Testarossa, I was also getting to drive the GT for nearly 25
miles.  Most people will never get to see cars like this in their
lifetime and here I was getting
to not only see TWO of the greatest cars ever built, on the same
day, and I'm getting to DRIVE them as well and
on the same day.  Wait till I see my friend Mario.  We raced on
the old dirt track in Nazareth but HE got to race and win in cars
like this all over the world when we were 50 years younger.  ;)

mike hunt