# Pothole 1, Ferrari 0 **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 17, 2004, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pothole-1-ferrari-0/250901 "2004-06-17T18:33:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2004, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pothole-1-ferrari-0/250901/1 "2004-06-17T18:33:01Z")
> [@](#): > > [Washington Times](http://washingtontimes.com/upi-breaking/20040616-123246-1600r.htm) > The dream of a lifetime turned into a nightmare for municipal employee Simon Nimmo when he wrote off his brand new 575 F1 “super car” just four minutes after picking it up from the dealership. > > Capable of reaching 212 mph, the low-slung car was not capable of zipping across a giant pothole. > > Being so close to the ground, Nimmo couldn’t see it in time to swerve. One of the car’s $3,500 wheels shattered and the entire front suspension assembly cracked. I hope his insurance covered that, otherwise his life savings just went _poof_! ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2004, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pothole-1-ferrari-0/250901/2 "2004-06-17T18:39:44Z")
Dang! DANG! I don’t know insurance in England. In the US he’d be out his Collision deductible ($500?) … . Dang! ---
**Author:** ![Exgineer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e4f/32.png) [@Exgineer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exgineer)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2004, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pothole-1-ferrari-0/250901/3 "2004-06-17T19:47:36Z")
My writing skills are inadequate to express just how badly I feel for this guy. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2004, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pothole-1-ferrari-0/250901/4 "2004-06-17T19:54:18Z")
[$320,000?](http://www.rsportscars.com/slo/avto/ferrari_575m.asp) :dubious: I’ve seen Mazdas that looked snazzier than that. ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2004, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pothole-1-ferrari-0/250901/5 "2004-06-17T20:03:36Z")
How the heck does a “municipal employee” afford a Ferrari F1?!? ---
**Author:** ![duffer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duffer/32/1026_2.png) [@duffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duffer)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2004, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pothole-1-ferrari-0/250901/6 "2004-06-17T21:43:43Z")
> [@Gorsnak](#): > > How the heck does a “municipal employee” afford a Ferrari F1?!? Didn’t read the article. Does he work in Chicago? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![if6was9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e47c2d/32.png) [@if6was9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/if6was9)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2004, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pothole-1-ferrari-0/250901/7 "2004-06-17T21:51:32Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > [$320,000?](http://www.rsportscars.com/slo/avto/ferrari_575m.asp) :dubious: > > I’ve seen Mazdas that looked snazzier than that. I don’t think it’s so bad… and that prancing pony on the front DEFINITELY snazzes it up! I don’t mean that in a bad way! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2004, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pothole-1-ferrari-0/250901/8 "2004-06-17T21:56:06Z")
What is also funny is in under 1 minute of searching on google i found a seller in europe with the exact same car for 179k rather than 320k. So he not only blew his car but he spent 141k more than he needed to. [http://www.dennigcars.org/used\_ferrari.htm](http://www.dennigcars.org/used_ferrari.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2004, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pothole-1-ferrari-0/250901/9 "2004-06-17T22:31:32Z")
Why don’t we all sent him a roll of duct tape. You can fix _anything_ with duct tape. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2004, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pothole-1-ferrari-0/250901/10 "2004-06-17T22:33:30Z")
> [@Gorsnak](#): > > How the heck does a “municipal employee” afford a Ferrari F1?!? It’s not mentioned in the article but he pretty much saved all his life for that car. > [@duffer](#): > > Didn’t read the article. Does he work in Chicago? 😉 [Sounds like he’s the managing director for London’s version of Fannie Mae](http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2004272369,00.html). ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pothole-1-ferrari-0/250901/11 "2004-06-18T02:08:32Z")
So are Ferraris built out of pottery, or was he putting the car through its paces when he hit the pothole? How do you shatter a wheel? Kind of ironic, though. This is the one time the guy should have been driving an SUV. ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pothole-1-ferrari-0/250901/12 "2004-06-18T03:17:51Z")
[Nelson]Ha-Ha![/Nelson] ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pothole-1-ferrari-0/250901/13 "2004-06-18T03:35:23Z")
> [@Finagle](#): > > So are Ferraris built out of pottery, or was he putting the car through its paces when he hit the pothole? How do you shatter a wheel? [Seems England has some _nasty_ potholes](http://www.bbc.co.uk/wiltshire/travel/potholes.shtml). ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pothole-1-ferrari-0/250901/14 "2004-06-18T04:36:42Z")
It’s the burrowing Tibetans. They get a little close to the surface sometimes. ---
**Author:** ![duffer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duffer/32/1026_2.png) [@duffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duffer)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pothole-1-ferrari-0/250901/15 "2004-06-18T05:46:26Z")
Dammit! No pictures of the wreckage anywhere? I almost want to feel smug about this, but if it were me it happened to, I’d probably be eyeing my rifle right about now. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pothole-1-ferrari-0/250901/16 "2004-06-18T10:25:19Z")
With all the potholes and speed bumps in this country, I’m amazed anyone manages to drive a car like that _without_ wrecking it. ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pothole-1-ferrari-0/250901/17 "2004-06-18T11:08:40Z")
> [@](#): > > One of the car’s $3,500 wheels shattered and the entire front suspension assembly cracked. That’ll buff right out. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pothole-1-ferrari-0/250901/18 "2004-06-18T11:50:24Z")
Actually, I feel this guy’s pain (in a much more minor way). I bought my first ever brand-new car this year, a Mazda RX-8 which I’d been drooling over for ages. I’d checked the dimensions in the brochure, I’d measured my garage (garages on British houses are SMALL). I finally cleared out all the junk from the garage, about \*two weeks \* after I got my shiny new car. Hmm. This car is wide, isn’t it? Still, I measured it, right? Girlfriend is put on sentry duty at back of car as I slowly reverse it in (forwards was out due to a big pillar that would have stopped me opening the driver’s door). Get almost all the way in, wing mirrors are past the door frame so I think I’m home and dry, then… :eek: a horrible metallic scraping noise as I put a lovely dent/scrape combo in the front wheel arch :smack: :smack: That cost £400 to get fixed, all out of my own pocket (not worth claiming on the insurance, with a £250 excess) ☹ The car now lives on the driveway. My drumkit lives in the garage 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pothole-1-ferrari-0/250901/19 "2004-06-18T13:07:00Z")
> [@Wesley Clark](#): > > What is also funny is in under 1 minute of searching on google i found a seller in europe with the exact same car for 179k rather than 320k. So he not only blew his car but he spent 141k more than he needed to. > > [http://www.dennigcars.org/used\_ferrari.htm](http://www.dennigcars.org/used_ferrari.htm) So he could have bought from this guy instead and had enough left over to buy a Humvee with all the fixin’s, and pothole worries would be a thing of the past. ---
**Author:** ![Beadalin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Beadalin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beadalin)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pothole-1-ferrari-0/250901/20 "2004-06-18T15:19:38Z")
> [@](#): > > **Wesley Clark** sez: > What is also funny is in under 1 minute of searching on google i found a seller in europe with the exact same car for 179k rather than 320k. 179,000… Euros? Pounds? Dollars? It makes a difference, you know. The $320,000 quoted in the _Washington Times_ article was (obviously) in dollars. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pothole-1-ferrari-0/250901.md?page=2)