The Reason Why Ferrari Won't Let You Sell Your Newly Purchased Car

When you're one of the most profitable car manufacturers in the world, you can do pretty much whatever you want. And Ferrari does precisely that. It doesn't just sell cars — It sells a brand; a way of life. It vets out all potential buyers to see if they'll be adequate brand ambassadors, so it takes more than money to get your hands on the wheel of a famous "Rosso Corsa" Ferrari. Once you do, you better be willing to live and die by the code set forth by the makers in Italy.

Sounds intimidating, right? Almost like you're being made a fully initiated member of the Mafia ... the Maranello Mafia, perhaps. Even Jay Leno won't jump through all of their hoops, and that's saying something coming from the world-famous car collector.

Ferrari has banned several high-profile celebrities from owning or buying cars in the past. What's more, they won't let their own employees buy new models either. Ferrari sold 11,155 vehicles in 2021 (via Yahoo! Finance). While that's a new record for them, it's still not much for a global market. So, if you're lucky enough to have the money and pass Ferrari's stringent background check, be absolutely sure it's the car you want. There's no room for buyer's remorse here because even after you've signed on the dotted line and driven off the lot, the long arm of Enzo Ferrari can still reach out and snatch it back from you.

Buying any car, let alone an expensive and prestigious supercar, involves a litany of paperwork. Most of it is standard boilerplate legalese, but with Ferrari, be sure and read every line closely. Buried deep in the fine print are restrictions limiting your ability to sell the car should you decide you no longer want to keep it in your 10-car garage.

One of those conditions states you can't sell it during the first year of ownership (per MotorBiscuit). Ferrari's goal here is to prevent people from flipping the car and making even more money off its exclusive limited product than it sold it for in the first place. The company spent a lot of time and money on the exhaustive vetting process to ensure it chose the right person to own its car. Chances are, that person isn't going to perform the same due diligence on the person they're reselling it to. They're simply in it for the money, whereas Ferrari is more concerned with finding a reputable brand ambassador.

And no one is above Ferrari's law. The wildly rich and famous Steve Wynn, known for his Las Vegas hotels and casinos, tried flipping his ultra-expensive Ferrari LaFerrari before the year expiration date ... and the automaker yanked his Ferrari dealership from him.

Also in the contract is the stipulation that you can't sell the car without notifying Ferrari, even after that initial year is up, because they want the right of first refusal to buy the vehicle from you. Bottom line: know what you're getting into when you get into bed with Ferrari. They don't mess around.