Q. What's the best source for Ferrari evaluations and comparables?
A. We recommend: Ferrari Market Letter, a subscription-only newsletter available in print and online.
After 31 years, Gerald still has the best continuous database.
Also recommended: Sports Car Market Letter a monthly magazine with up to date news regarding values on all makes and models. Keith Martin does a good job keeping up with the auctions and the insanity.

Q. Any advice for the first time Ferrari buyer on a budget?
A. The big news isn't really news anymore. 288s and F40s are no longer affordable for the average Joe. Nor are Daytona coupes or 246 Dinos. If you missed that chance, looks like they're going to remain out of reach. Ferrari price-appreciation has always been steady. Nothing explosive like, say, Hemi Cudas: in hindsight the Hemi Cuda prices fell as fast as they rose, while Ferrari cars just climb steadily.
One of the most common questions that we hear in the showroom: Is there an AFFORDABLE Ferrari that a starting collector or average car guy can purchase? Too often the first-time Ferrari buyer hopes to unearth some amazing-discovery that'll make him rich with just one car; after all, it was true... a couple decades ago.
Those days are gone. The older and overlooked 250 series cars have gotten expensive.... especially compared to the days when that 250GTE struggled to sell for $10 grand. Even the 330GT 2+2 crossed the $100K mark this year.
Let's do it right. Don't buy any Ferrari for the potential profit. Follow your heart... buy the art and sound of a real masterpiece. If it appreciates in value, that's a bonus.
Defining affordable as Ferrari priced under $100K, here goes a short, highly opinionated, well-experienced list; most of this data compiled from living with these Ferraris day to day for decades.
Let's quote Gerald Rousch, editor of the Ferrari Market Letter: "buy the best one you can afford".
So, assuming you don't want the worst Ferrari you can find (thus the cheapest), here's the list........
308
a Very Good first Ferrari. Look for the end of the series, a 308QV or 328.
By today's standards, 308s are overshadowed by newer-faster & more costly Ferrari cars, but 308s are still a very serious and very competent sports car. You can run a 308 at 100% on track-day with no damage... they were built to run hard and can take it in stride.
Limit your purchase to a 308 that has been serviced properly, and is well documented. If it was treated like a Chevy & never maintained, it'll need too much catch-up service to ever make sense.
The earlier Weber carb 308GT4 & GTB & GTS cars are a real bear to get passed emissions testing in most major metros; many had their emissions plumbing/hardware removed & thrown away (common back then). The 308 GTSi and GTBi of 1980-82 were still pretty, but real underpowered as Ferrari engineered answers to tightening pollution requirement... remember that all manufacturers had identical issues in the early '80s.
The newest 328 you can find is about 20 years old & the oldest 308 is over 30 years old, so they can get costly for big items. If the a/c is dead & won't hold freon, probably smarter to leave it.... even at 100%, it isn't up to today's standards.
It is getting harder to find a really great 308-328; savvy collectors are keeping them in the collection. But over all, good 308-328s are a pleasure to drive, a beautiful & timeless design that's still a knockout today.
And yes, they've got that great Ferrari sound.
348
Priced between a good 328 and 355, get the best one you can find. Your investment dollars will be safe. Compared to the 328, this new design was a radical departure, and the buyers reaction was divided back then, as it is today.
Documented service is even more important on the 348. Over all, it is an easy car to live with, a great weekender. Cam belt services come every 5 years, and done properly it's not cheap (but is IS important). A/C got better.
Most 348s have been treated well, but there are some scary ones out there too. Again, they've got that Ferrari sound!
355
Now you're talking. That new 6 speed made a huge difference for performance and driveability; it was a real quantum leap when introduced, and still overshadows all the earlier V-8s. 370hp. It can out-accelerate most TRs; advantage 6-speed.
Again, buy the best one you can find. A solid Ferrari to own and easy to live with. Documented service records are a big deal on 355s. Cam belt service every 5 years. To some folks, the minor body changes from the 348 make the 355 more universal, less dated. F-1 available late in the run, most still prefer the 6 speed.
Resist the temptation to buy a 355 that has NO service records but seems quite cheap. Especially a Spider with the top stuck up or down.
360
Hard to find a real good one under $100k, low mile 360s just won't go under $100k with price support from 355s holding up quite well. Under $100K? That'll be a '99-2000 Modena with higher miles, or perhaps an off-color or no-records car.
360s are mechanically solid & not easily broken. Spend the extra $, a low mile 360 Modena is a safe place to park your $$. A high mile 360, not as safe. A 360 Spider under $100K is never going to happen; again the 355s lend price support in that price range, keeping the 360 values higher.
360 cam belt services are substantially cheaper (done in-car now) and the interval is 3 years; even more important with the potentially high rev-range. If you have no documentation, re-do the cam belts just to be sure, it's THAT important. 360s tend to use-up motor mounts; not an expensive fix.
The 360 is today's #1 choice in the low $100s; spend the additional $ if you have the chance. These cars just fly, look great, and will please the most jaded motorhead.
The ultimate 360? The Challenge Stradale; the end of the 360 production run: more hp, less weight, c-f brakes, but not priced anywhere near this discussion's budget.
550
Rare to find a great one under $100k, but they're out there. Prices quit going down, except for hi-milers. A good buy, some say the best Ferrari V-12 Grand Touring Car ever produced. Low mile 550s are strengthening in value, probably because many 550s are higher mile cars... these cars are actually driven. We've seen '99s in the $80s-90s, and these cars will be safe investments unless you go blast another 50,000 miles on the car. Then figure about $1/mi depreciation cost. Yes, really.
The 550 is the Daytona for this century: fast, reliable, gorgeous, a/c that really works, power steering (you old Daytona guys know what I'm saying). And since a good 550 is cheaper than a bad Daytona, why not? Wow.
PS:575s will never be under $100k.
456
Often overlooked; a great buy, a comfortable GT car for 4. Very subtle styling. The only recent automatic transmission Ferrari, this makes a good every day car. Best buy: Go for the 456 M GTA, later in the model run. Low mile 456 sell quickly, hi mile 456 are not going to sell at all. Lots of discussion about earlier 456 series getting the window upgrades.... just make sure it was done. Earlier 456 6 speeds were overlooked; another great choice. Cam belt service is still important, not very expensive.
TR
Testarossa... Originally not on this list due to historically-costly maintenance issues, but after lots of e-mails, it's clear that TRs work for the sub-$100K buyer. Amazing Ferraris, totally unique look and sound.
Many were mistreated and tossed aside. Search high & low, and get a documented TR. It'll cost more initially, & that's ok.
These evolved from the famous 512BBi; & can have costly surprises for the first-time buyer with little or no understanding about proper Ferrari services. Cheap to buy, but TRs are can be expensive to live with, especially if you service it as recommended.
It's VERY easy to get an abused one. Just budget another $10,000 for services (like it says in SCM 5/08 p.47), and you'll probably be ok.
Also, keep in mind: for the same money, the 355's 6 speed delivers a nominal performance advantage over the higher horsepower TR's 5 speed.
If you can, go for a 512TR. Always seek that fully documented, full history, authorized-serviced TR.
This was the first of the modern Ferrari cars with enough horsepower to destroy itself at the hands of a moron.

There's a couple that didn't make this list.
Mondial
. Yes, real cheap to buy but there are few good ones left. Sorry. Bad ones are readily available.
These evolved from the very first V8, the 308GT4. History proves that few were treated properly... it is the most abused, under-maintained, misunderstood Ferrari 2+2 of the entire fleet. It appealed to non-car guys when it was new so they treated it like their Corvette; in other words, no service, ever. Sad; we've not seen a good one in years. Stay away from the convertibles unless you like to tinker. A lot.
400i
. Pretty cheap to purchase. There's a reason. Another 2+2, always gray-market imported, these were also treated like Chevys and as they age just keep getting more expensive to properly maintain. Most were automatics. 6 speeds were rare. Cheap, yes; but don't buy one as a driver. Famously unreliable unless maintained properly (& few were). Stay away from 400i convertible conversions (chopped top)... Completely without value on every measure: unreliable, ungainly and dangerously compromised body strength, as well as surprisingly slow cars; proof you can ruin just about anything.

Barn-finds: the rare exception to luck and fate, If you find any good old Ferrari in the barn, spend the money and have it recommissioned properly at your franchised Ferrari service department. It'll be money well spent & lends credibility when it comes time to sell.

Now, to take a real 180 on this entire Ferrari paragraph, click onto the affordable classics reviews in Sports Car Market Letter online (you can log in for free); it's a great overview with information on diverse makes & models & years (not just Ferrari) that will certainly get you thinking.
Also, fun reading on related subjects: profiles from SCM.

Q. Who has the number #1 rated Ferrari technician in the entire USA?
A. Ferrari of Denver. Scroll down the service page for details about Bill Evenden;
Read the announcement from Ferrari North America.

Q. Who has the most experienced Crewe-built Rolls-Royce & Bentley technician in the entire USA?
A. Bentley Denver's own Mark Cursio. With over 30 years at this same dealership, Mark started with us at Royal Carriage Works. There is no better technician for everything from routine service to a full restoration.... stop in anytime to see some of the works in process.

Q. Do you rent out your cars?
A. No, but it's a common question.
The most established exotic & specialty automobile rental (Ferrari & Bentley and such) is Budget of Beverly Hills.
We understand there is a similar company in Las Vegas, and one in Dallas.
Be prepared for fairly expensive daily rates and large debit on your card for a damage deposit; but they will rent you almost anything you can afford, it just won't be cheap.
Here's a company here in Colorado renting a Lotus Elise. click to this referral and tell them Lotus of Denver sent you.

Q. Will Ferrari of Denver take cars on consignment?
A. No.

Q. How accurate is CARFAX and all those online vehicle history checks that one can do?
A. Mostly, they're pretty good.
As you can imagine, mistakes on $100,000 and $200,000 cars can be significant. CARFAX is the largest, plus lots of sites you've never heard of.... Titleguard, Edmunds, Autocheck, Cardetective, and several others you can find with a Google search.
E-Bay uses Autocheck & it's so inaccurate it ought to be illegal. Cars.Com fired autocheck at long last. Sadly, Autocheck has proven unresponsive to documentable corrections; after all, they locked up E-bay... they don't need to be any good (or accurate or caring). Simple solution? copy the VIN and run a CarFax on all E-bay cars. It's money well spent.
For all the sites, errors are usually attributed to clerical mistakes on 17 digit VINs and 6 digit odometers. The state & smog-check agencies that report data are the worst; have you checked your annual emission report for accuracy? Right here at home, Air Care Colorado is erroneous on maybe a quarter of their mileage data, routinely reading trip odometers and misreading regular ones.
Now, if you've identified a problem on your carfax report, you'll quickly discover that you are guilty until proven innocent. Good luck. Recently, on a 2002 Bentley we researched prior to trading for it, Carfax reported that a 16000 mile California car became 133000 mile car in one month. We asked them to look into the potential of error: Carfax concluded it wasn't probable to drive 163 mph for 720 hours straight and corrected it (I saved the old one for grins). CARFAX has proven responsive to fixing reporting errors; all they need is good documentation. Maybe that's why they're the dominant one.
Also, high dollar cars often escape insurance payouts for minor accidents, so Carfax cannot discover those repairs. Accident report document numbers are, by Carfax own admission, bogus. They'll get the state and maybe the city right, not the report number, so don't go looking for the documents.
CARFAX made huge strides after Katrina to accurately identify the estimated 571,000 flood cars. Google search: Katrina flood cars. Some scary stuff, way too many have been on E-bay... despite the geniuses at Autocheck. Even a few exotics got caught up in that sad disaster. So, yes, you can trust CARFAX, but not blindly. Just use your noggin a bit.

Q. Is insurance easily obtained for Ferrari automobiles?
A. Yes. We can refer you to the Ferrari Insurance Program underwritten by one of the majors. Surprisingly reasonable, even downright cheap. Also, Lotus Elise has its' own source. Bad driving records are impossible to insure, but not the cars themselves.

Q. Should I take my Ferrari/Maserati/Bentley/Lotus to an independent for service and repairs?
A. That's completely up to you.

As it pertains specifically to your Prancing Horse, the 'must-read' essay regarding current Ferrari technology and continuing education for Ferrari technicians was published in the June 2007 Road & Track; entitled (click onto): 'Men in Red' . An unbiased look into the four Ferrari training centers worldwide, illustrating how the Ferrari technician's world has gone ultra high tech, just like the cars themselves.
It is the intent of the Every manufacturer to bring the technicians within the franchised operations to the highest standards of skill and knowledge.... And it is true no matter what brand, not just the ones this dealership represents.

On our service page, read about Ferrari of Denver's Bill Evenden's accomplishments within the Ferrari community.
In a recent world-wide competition sponsored by Ferrari, Bill is the NUMBER ONE Ferrari Master Tech in the entire USA!!
It's no wonder our Ferrari clientele trust Bill for every aspect of care for their Ferrari automobiles.
No independent technician anywhere can claim to be more accomplished. And let 'em try; Ferrari has spoken.
Fact: no independent repair shop of any brand has access to factory support: Not Porsche, not Mercedes, not BMW, not the corner Subaru specialist, & certainly not Ferrari. The factories invest heavily in the training and competence within their franchised dealerships .... NOT independents. Why would they? It's pretty simple: No independent mechanic has factory training beyond the day he quit at the franchised dealership.
So you be sure to believe it when they try to convince you otherwise.
Ferrari Franchised service departments have all the advantages: data links directly to Maranello, original Ferrari parts availability from a worldwide network, ongoing updates and training and technology, and nationwide Ferrari factory-backed warranty on service work completed; in sum, the world's most complete infrastructure for maintaining, updating and servicing your prized Ferrari.
The same high level of expertise and support applies to your Maserati, your Bentley, and your Lotus.... we're the experts. Pretty straightforward stuff.
Franchised dealers are the only ones that can provide you with factory backed Certified Pre-Owned warranties.
So..... even if it isn't Ferrari of Denver, seek out Ferrari, Bentley, Maserati, or Lotus factory franchised service facilities.
BTW: When you sell your Ferrari, do you think the buyer will be impressed with service records from some unknown shop? Not likely. It'll just be a negative reflection on your Ferrari's care.

Q. What's better, Financing, Leasing or Cash?
A. FINANCE We can arrange any term financing (24-60 months is most common), even $0 down if your credit & income are strong enough.
Competitive finance rates come from Bentley Financial Services, Maserati Financial Services, Ferrari Financial Services, & JP Morgan Chase.
Ferrari Financial Services will finance any Ferrari made, no matter what year, with no interest-rate penalties for age (no other lender does that). They'll also finance Ferrari automobiles in excess of $1M.

Generally, financing requires depth (equally high dollar amount loans in the past), good credit score & healthy income. With the credit-crunch left after the sub-prime mortgage meltdown, comparable automotive high credit in your credit history is perhaps the most important factor in the application. If you've borrowed, say, $25,000 on a new BMW 3 series, you'll not get an approval for a car financing 3 or 5 or 10 times that.
Don't use those 120-144 month finance plans... if you need that lower payment, look at leasing.
Home equity loans for a car? So rare that no one has done that (with us) in years.
Credit Unions? CUs rarely accept exotic or high-$ cars. Out of state CUs will not wire funds, creating problems for you.
We have no way of obtaining financing for marginal credit. Sub-prime auto lending is gone, just like the mortgages.

LEASE Start with a click onto this link to review leasing: State of Colorado FAQ lease v.buy
We lease primarily through our franchises:
Bentley Financial Services, Maserati Financial Services, and Ferrari Financial Services.
Lotus has a lease program in the works for next year.

How is leasing different from financing? In its simplest terms, the payments are lower. But do you know why?
With a lease contract you pay depreciation + interest monthly. You don't pay principal, you pay depreciation. So lease contracts don't pay down to $0 balance like a conventional loan eventually does. In your lease contract, you return the car at the end of the lease. You are not buying the car, you do not own the car. Your monthly expense will be lower as a result.
If you need tax deductions thru your business or as a sole proprietor, leasing wins; ask your CPA.
Don't put a lot of money up front on a lease... bad use of funds to make the payment seem even lower.
Prepaid leases are illogical. Bad cash-flow-management.
Leasing takes some of the sting out of sales taxes by taxing only the monthly payment, not the entire purchase amount.
Yes, you still have to pay ownership taxes & fees for lic. plates.

There are two kinds of leases, open and closed end. Almost every lease in the world is closed end. At the end of every conventional (closed end) lease, you return the car & hopefully lease another new one. It's painless and the primary logic for leasing; easy and quick, always drive a new car.
Open end leasing? Tax deductible car collecting. No kidding.

Leasing is a commitment that is inflexible by design, and costly to terminate early. Once you lease, be smart about it & keep it until the end, or bring additional $ to pay off the remaining contract when you bail early... pretty simple, but no one seems to get it.
Lease math isn't simple either: a $200,000 car leases for more than 2X that of a $100,000 car.

Leasing requires higher credit scores than financing.
Tie your lease to your own trading patterns & mileage; If you normally trade after 18 months, don’t put yourself into a 5-year lease and try to trade out next year; You can't make that work to your advantage, but it's all too common in exotics.
Your lease term shouldn't exceed the new car warranty in most cases.

Got a deficit on that trade in? With most new car leases, you can put the deficit from your trade-in (within limits) onto your lease contract & pay it off over the term of the lease.

Rough rule of thumb: 36 month lease and 60 month finance contract usually have about the same monthly payment, no matter what bank you use.

CASH
Cash warrants no discounts for any purchase, but we still hear the old "how much if I pay cash" question.
It's 100 cents on the dollar and begs the riddle: as opposed to what?
Historically, trading for crops is where the cash question originated, out of the 1800s!. It's just another silly question in 2008.
Cash isn't special in the 21st century. Leases & Loans turn into immediate cash, so at the end of the day it's cash anyhow. Currency is still legal & acceptable; we will file the IRS Currency Transaction Report.
Wiring bank to bank money transfers (nationally & internationally) are the only way to quickly and expediently transfer large sums to us.
No, you can't put a car on your credit card. Why? Cards pay merchants with 96 cent dollars; we won't do that for anyone.

Q. What's the best way to store my exotic/specialty car through the winter season?
A. Depends on where in the USA you are, but lots of basics remain the same for most cars; exotics and otherwise.
First, read this eye-opening article by Ferrari expert Mike Sheehan about the ravages of improper storage.
Once you understand the issues of time & degradation, these next paragraphs make sense.

.......Here's The Short version......:
One winter? Change the oil, check the coolant & tires, park it inside on a battery maintainer & leave it for the entire season. And put the top up. That's it.

.......The Long version.......
One winter? First, park it INSIDE after a hot run with fresh oil & filter, and leave it there until spring.
Yes, leave it parked. More on that later.

Car covers are unnecessary in the garage, except cloth or light silk; unless you share your storage with your wood shop. Remember dust and scratching when the cover comes off, goes on, comes off... you know you can't just leave it alone.

NO outside storage under a car cover; no matter how expensive the cover was. It's the worst thing to do to any car. Car covers used outside trap heat, moisture, dirt, birds, rodents; and then the cover grinds away at the paint with every little gust of breeze. Every Spring we'll see a couple of cars damaged by being parked outside under a cover.
Direct sunlight is your car's worst nightmare, but a car cover isn't the right solution. Uncovered in a north facing carport beats outside under any car cover. Go rent/borrow a neighbor's garage. Short term, if you have no choice, leave it outside and cover the windows from the inside with a silver deflector. Not great but better than a car cover.

Here's THE biggie: Don't back it out of the garage and let it idle in the driveway for a half hour during its time off the roads; a pretty common habit and EVERY manufacturer recommends not doing it. I'd wager that it's in your owner's manual no matter what make, model, year.
If your collector car is older and has a generator (vs. alternator), idling won't charge the battery either. Leave it parked OR go drive 30 miles. (re-read Mike Sheehan if you still need convincing)
Idling pumps huge volumes of moisture into the exhaust system & crankcase to create rust & sludge. Simple as that. Even if you rev it up a few times, the moisture stays because there's no load on the power train; no load, no ultra-hot exhaust system, no ultra-hot oil temperature... just lots of moisture in the works. Rust inside your engine is your own fault.
Weber carburetor cars at idle for long periods will literally wash lubricating oil off the cylinder walls. Again, Leave it parked OR go drive 30 miles.

Battery: Buy a battery tender; the newer your car the more important this is for the microprocessors & computers. No need to disconnect the battery, especially on anything fairly new with computers; they'll lose memory and that might create hassles that only the dealer can resolve. (Especially true on F1 Ferrari). Keep the battery charged and the circuitry powered.
Keyless entry? Take the key and put it in the house. Bentley Continentals, newer Corvettes, newer SLs, can drain the battery in mere days because the proximity sensor in the key/car assumes you'll be right back and keeps the electronics on 'standby'. If you leave the key in the car for the season, goodbye Mr. Battery. 996 Porsche cars can drain the battery in 2 days with the key in the ignition.
Note: Bentley Continentals have a key activated on-board spare battery for those forgetful owners.
Don't set the car's alarm in the garage unless security is an issue. If the alarm is off, there is slightly less draw on the dormant battery.
Important to note: Chargers v. Maintainers: Some chargers won't go to low enough amps for long term; ok for storage IF you remember that chargers can evaporate some of the water out of a conventional battery over a season. Remember to check & top-up the water in the battery at the spring start up.

Convertibles: leave the soft top UP so the material will stay stretched. Really important on power tops. Crucial on 355s & 360s & 430s, as well as Bentley Arnage & GTC. Never put a wet top down & then leave it down for the season (as in: washed & parked). Instantly ruined. And it always happens to half-dozen cars each Spring. Oops.

Other perils: Rodent damage. Always expensive.... Storage inside a dirt-floor barn is always a huge problem: rodents love cars and they are somehow attracted to wiring and upholstery. Mousetraps? Barn cats? Maybe. Ultrasonic things have proven useless in most buildings. And don't feed the dog in the same place you store the car; that's the food supply for those mice living in your car.
Regular cement floor warehouses, garages or hangars aren't immune to mice either; take an occasional look under the hood for those little tell-tale mouse droppings. Then let your cat sleep in the garage.

Humidity: In humid climates, if practical, run a dehumidifier in the garage (you'll need to have a floor drain). Always leave the car windows open & trunk ajar to keep the air fresh and the carpets from mildew. You know that smell... a humid region car. It's permanent, and won't just go away. Lysol spray works to slow mildew, but dehumidifying is the best. Heated garage spaces are less humid because the furnace helps dry the air. And don't leave the car in the same barn as the horse unless you like that sort of aroma (it doesn't go away either).

Gasoline: Humid regions/Cold regions: add 'heet' (alcohol) to the gas for the spring start up, it attracts water molecules and sends it harmlessly in solution with fuel.
Boat owners know about 'StaBil' for gas: Use it (read the mix ratios) in your car to keep the gas from turning to junk over the winter. It keeps gas from gumming up. Sta-Bil recommends running the product thru the fuel lines and injectors or carbs, prior to shut off.
Some guys believe the tank should be full, some feel it should be empty. It won't matter for just one season. But... for extended length storage (years), DRAIN the gas tank, run the engine till it starves for fuel... clean tank, clean lines, clean carbs or injectors. Classic storage wisdom suggests oiling the cylinders against rust and frozen rings. It isn't hard on the car; Especially when you might actually want to drive it again one day. Run it out of gas, oil the cylinders.

Tires: Assuming proper inflation, tires can survive months of sitting, and if they 'flat-spot' should be ok in a few miles.
Radials can park for years with no adverse issues (properly inflated), usually able to "round-out" in one heat cycle.
Parking on squares of rug will help mitigate that thumping on the first drive. If it's a problem that you feel strongly about, roll the car to another spot on the tires each month. But it isn't necessary. R&T agrees, see 2/08, 'Woodshed', p.111
100% Nitrogen (an inert gas) is gaining popularity for dehumidified & steady inflation of your tires; through all seasons. We offer it at our service department or from any high-end tire company. Costco has it too. 100% Nitrogen is completely dry; no more etching/corrosion inside the wheel, which can make the bead less than perfect.
Bias Ply tires: Ignore everything you just read if you have older original nylon or rayon ply tires tires (almost anything pre-war and large American classics). They need the weight taken off for long term storage... a side post lift is great.

Coolant. Antifreeze (ANY automotive coolant) in the proper mix is paramount. Pretty simple. 100% water is not acceptable: promotes Electrolysis. I was once given an LP400 Miura with a completely ruined engine because 100% water was in the cooling system for years. A Costly and stupid error.

Arctic temps? Like Steamboat Springs or Jackson Hole or Edmonton.... sheet metal will contract more than some older paint can flex. The result is fractured paint, so bad it'll actually flake off; something we saw recently on a 512BB (Steamboat, in a barn, maybe -40). Find heated storage, it's not just a luxury.

R-R. Crewe-built Rolls Royce motorcars shouldn't be stored long term at all; the hydraulics need to be operated (driven). So figure out how NOT to store it long term. Warm and dry winter days... go for a drive in the neighborhood. Or better, get on the highway and drive 30 miles. Just get it up to temp. A garage-queen is a R-R that needs a LOT of service (usually ignored & sold on E-bay). An oft-driven RR is a happy machine.

Seasonal storage is not harmful for any car, but a little care for the tires, fuel and battery will make that spring start-up effortless.... Check your tires, check your fluids, and go drive.
And remember, no idling in the driveway anymore!