Cost of owning a 612

I am also very interested in the costs of ownership of the 612, as well as any known flaws of the 2005-06 model year.
Thanks.

 

That's funny, i'm now the 3rd person interested in any 612 issues/costs.
I'm looking at an '06 with about 7500 miles on it. also looking through other threads to figure out what i should pay for this thing.
I'm new to the 612 forum as i'm a 430 owner and have been there.

 

I have owned my 612 for about 16 months and have driven it about 4k miles. It is my first Ferrari so I was a bit concerned myself with the cost of ownership. My first surprise was how inexpensive insurance was (given the value). I pay more for my 19 year old daughter driving a 5 year old Acura.
My first service was the 15k and it cost $2k. At that time I was told it needed brake pads but I elected to do that myself as I am in the auto parts business so I thought I'd see if I could get them elsewhere. The dealer quoted me about $1000 for front and rear pads. It turns out that the front pads are the same as a Suburu WRX. They also recomended a clutch replacement which was $3,600. Overall I'd say the cost of ownership is not terrible given the hgh price of the car to start with. I might be more concerned what it's like to maintain when it's 10 or 20 years old. Things like $1,000 window switches and $15,000 bumper covers could be an issue.

 

Thanks mr928. Sounds like it would be similar to the 430, kind of standard 'newer' ferrari costs. Interesting about the insurance. I'm guessing mine would go way down if i swapped out the 430.

 

Just so you all realize, the 612 engine is virtually identical to the one in the 575M/Superamerica, with identical displacement of 5748 cc for all three. That means at five years, Ferrari recommends a timing belt change for the car. Not too difficult or expensive compared to Ferraris that need to have the engine removed, but an expense nevertheless. 2006s would be due in 2010-11.

928- Just out of curiosity, what was the clutch wear they measured with the SD3?

Taz
Terry Phillips

 

My owners manual says 5 years on the belt as well but my dealer tried to get me to change it in 3. Hmmm
At 13,600 miles I had the recall done on the clutch sensor. At that time they said the clutch was original had had worn 57%. At 15,300 miles they said it was now 75% and as a result it started to pop out of gear so they wanted to replace the clutch. I was not happy about this as it would have cost much less to do when they were doing the recall since the transmisison had to be removed. They gave me lots of reasons why the clutch wore out so quickly but I had my doubts.

 

Mark- I do not blame you for being chapped. That would have saved you all the labor and you would only have been out the parts. Seems like awfully accelerated clutch wear for less than 2000 miles.

I did not realize they did the waterproof clutch sensor kit and cable as a recall. I thought it was a service campaign, but that was probably only for the 575M.

Wonder if Brian Crall or one of the other pros have a feel for when to replace a clutch based on the SD3 wear reading. It sure would have made sense for the dealer to recommend changing your clutch at nearly 60% wear and save you money in the long run.

Here is the bulletin on the belt service, specifically noting the 612, and it is 5 years between changes.

Taz
Terry Phillips
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So far, over 11 months and ~4300 miles, my 08 612 has cost me $0 other than gas.

I'm about to take it in for the first service, so that will change.

 

Actually they did recomend changing it but I thought if it was just over half worn at 13k miles I expected it to last another 10k at least. I guess i was wrong.

 

Mark- Sorry. Did not mean to twist the knife. Hard to know who to trust on what needs to be done versus profit for the dealer. The odds of a late 575/612 belt failing are virtually zero before five years. Clutches are another ball of wax. That is why this forum is so valuable. We get inputs from real pros here. I am definitely not one of them.

Taz
Terry Phillips

 

Yes I agree the forums are a real help. I wish I had read something here before I had the issue. I guess that's why I posted about it so it may help others.

 

I just dropped off my 612 for it's annual service, and the service manager was commenting to me that he never sees 612s except for scheduled services. So there's a data point for you.

 

My new (to me) '06 612 needs both headlights replaced. Thankfully they're covered under warranty. FWIW, the service manager said he wasn't sure how long the job would take as he's never had this one before but he has another 612 in there to have its lights replaced too.

 

That could also be due to the small numbers of 612s produced. ~300 out of 5000 total cars produced / year. My numbers could be off, but that seems to be what I recall.

 

Why do they need to be replaced? Are there not replaceable bulbs?

 

No. The entire headlamp is a self contained sealed unit. Passenger light had a metal shaving and driver side had condensation.

 

Chet- That is very strange. The 612 Owner's Manual says all three bulbs in the headlight assembly are replaceable. Is there something sealed in front of those bulbs that prevents access to the assembly itself? I would have thought the high/low beam xeon bulb at least would not have had a small sealed space in front of it for heat dissipation reasons.

No sweat as long as they are replaced under warranty.

Taz
Terry Phillips

 

Hmmm. Weird. Both the service guy in Chicago and the salesman in NC said the headlights are sealed and the entire unit would have to be replaced.

As you said, thankfully it's a warranty item.

 

There are at least three in the local area, that were sold new by the dealership. Maybe more.

 

What year is your 612? Perhaps I should have my f1 sensor replaced. I have a 2006 Quattroporte Exec GT in which the F1 sensor failed without warning (at 31k... replaced under warranty). I've noticed quite a few engineering similarities between my QP and 612; especially pertaining to the F1 system. My 612 is an 05 and only has 7,800 miles on it; but if there's the chance the F1 sensor is a recall item and is prone to failure... I'm having it replaced. While I'm in there, I might as well replace the clutch (as Maserati did when replacing the F1 sensor on the QP).

Thanks,

Nick

 

Mine is a 2005

 

Mine, too.

I had the VIN checked by the dealer to see if my 612 was part of the campaign. It was, and the sensor was replaced last year.

Thanks,

Nick

 

If your 612's Assembly Number is higher than 57934, it should already have the new sensor and cable, which even made it on to some 575Ms and most 575 SAs.

Assembly Numbers are assigned sequentially as Ferraris start down the assembly line, unlike VINs, which are part of an order process. VINs are rarely sequential on the assembly line, and Assembly Number determines which updated parts were fitted. Note when you order parts, it is usually by Assembly Number, not VIN. 575Ms, 575 SAs, and 612s were all being assembled at the same time in 2005. All had 5748 cc engines which were nearly identical except for manifolding and ECUs.

Taz
Terry Phillips

 

I think some guys have unsealed some units in cars with just a little more age (think 550-575) with success. I like stock but know there are many, many good fixes out there also.

Strange that the 599 seems to have much greater bills.