575 practical as daily driver ??

After thinking about this for a while I'm seriously considering getting a 575 F1 as my daily driver. I do a round trip of about 50 miles a day to/from work of which 20 is motorway traffic crawling in to London in the morning rush hour. I have secure parking at home and office but am wondering if the 575 F1 would be tempramental crawling in to London for an hour every morning? Going home at night is no problem as the roads are clear and the car could be enjoyed but I'm wondering about clutch wear etc in the morning traffic. Anyone have experience of using a 575 for this sort of commuting? My current daily driver is a 2006 BMW M5 which is a great car even if rather soulless!

 

From a technical standpoint, there's nothing against using a 575 like this in the UK. Personally, after 9000km of driving my 550 in Europe (including the UK) this year, I would be hesitant to do it. These are my reasons:

1. Traffic calming measures such as sleeping policemen and other obstacles are more irritating in a 575 than a normal car. My own 550 doesn't scrape them that often but still I need to slow down a lot more than in a regular car. If you have a lot of them on your daily run to work, it's really irritating.
2. The 575 is wide: 1m95 (6 foot 4 or so?). In hectic European traffic, particularly with cyclists and mopeds passing you left and right this is an issue. It is also a problem when parking - you say you've got secure parking sorted out which is great, but what if you need to pop into Tesco's on the run home, or you need to visit a client or something? If you use it daily, you will need to use it for tasks that I myself would use my other car for.
3. I find my 550 a worry when I go into town (although it depends on the town as well) - I'm just much more worried about damaging it or getting it damaged (for instance if you park it and someone else scrapes it). You don't want the car to look like a normal one looks after 2 years of driving in these conditions. If you drive it like a normal car, it will!
4. In winter you will need to take into account that salt on the roads is not something these cars like a lot. It's also a tricky car on slippery surfaces if my 550 is anything to go by, although I'm sure the 575's ASR is a lot more sophisticated than my 550.
5. No matter how many times we ignore this fact - a Ferrari with high mileage is difficult to sell, and will have depreciation like a falling brick. Be prepared to swallow hard if you go with a good 575 now and sell it in two years time with 30,000 miles additionally on the dial. The 550 might be a better option in that sense.

I have no experience with the F1 gearbox but I have heard it can be a pain in stop-and-go traffic. It doesn't easily allow creeping forward.

Apart from this, there is no reason not to use the car daily - the cars are very reliable indeed. If I had a run to work on relatively open roads with secure parking, I would use it certainly if there was no ice on the roads.

Hope this helps somewhat!


Onno

 

PM 410SA as far as I know he used his 575 as a daily driver up until he bought his 599.

 

It doesn't have cruse control so if you want to rest your foot sometimes, you can't. I've driven mine on some long trips and that was my only complaint.

Good Luck!

 

Crawling in traffic for an hour on a regular basis would eat up an F1 clutch in a matter of a few months, given that it would spend most of its time neither fully engaged or disengaged.

Sometimes you have to appreciate the virtues of your more humble ride. My Lexus GS has no soul whatsoever but it's rock solid reliable, comfortable, adequately fast for most situations (barely) and allows me to arrive at my office still fresh and free of car worries. Since there is nothing to be gotten from the driving experience, I listen to books on CD to help the time pass and I highly recommend them over the repetition of the morning news.

When the weather is fair and the radio reports lighter than usual traffic, I'll take the F-car. Better for the car and better for me.

 

My 550 Has cruise control

John

 

I wonder if it was offered on the 575.

 

I think the 575M makes a fine daily driver, and I drive mine often to the office and other places. However, local traffic is really the limiting condition it seems. Sitting in stop and go traffic or in the rain is a bit frustrating in a Ferrari. They were made to run, not sit and creep along. Parking at places like grocery stores can be troubling also.

I have an Infiniti FX45 I drive when it is raining, in tough traffic conditions, into the city (San Francisco) to fight the potholes, etc. This is not frustrating and I do not have to worry about F1 on a hill, bending rims, where to park and the like.

My current strategy is that I keep one car at the office in underground protected parking and drive the other. When I have had a productive and successful day at the office, I treat myself with the drive home in the 575M. Weekends, also, of course.

The 575M is very reliable and will be a good daily driver. It seems however, to really appreciate it you have to go back to your transportation vehicle so you have perspective.

i saw the Maserati GranTourismo last weekend (actually three) and that thing was just knock-out gorgeous. I am thinking that would be the perfect complement and other car.

 

I use my 575 as a daily driver in DC area traffic.

Is it practical? Not really. Is it manageable? Absolutely. I love it. I think the F1 would be fine. My 575 is a Manual, but I daily drove an 04 Maserati CC for 3 years in traffic and the F1 was fine. Although, I did have an F1 pump replaced under warranty (after about 18 months). Thats what I would fear in the 575, the pump mechanism not the clutch.

Best,
dsd

 

After market unit I presume, since Ferrari did not offer this as an option??

 

It was not. No Ferrari has ever been offered with cruise control (including the 550 of course, as mentioned by the previous poster).


Onno

 

It can be done. I "installed" cruise control on a VW bus in college. Just wedge a drum stick between the gas peddle and the seat on long trips

 

Nice, what parts of DC? Maybe I can look out my window on Mass Ave and catch a glimpse.

 

Install floormats.

 

i have a 1999 550 6 speed (not F1) and i use it everyday in dallas. no problems with stop and go traffic. only problem is going through tires.

considering getting a 575 in a couple years. does the clutch really wear out with the F1 configuration??

 

It is a Momo unit there is a whole thread on it here.

John

 

I happily used my 575 as a daily driver, until it was replaced with a Superamerica, which took over as the daily driver until it too was replaced a year ago with a 599, which is the best Ferrari ever built and certainly the most suitable for duty as a daily driver, which it does with panache and aplomb every day.
The caveat here is that I live most of the year in Phoenix and I do not have a typical big city commute in stop start traffic, but the cars all functioned very well in auto mode where necessary and the big V12's are quite comfortable at urban speeds.

 

used my F1 575 as a daily driver for a year. plenty of atlanta stop and go traffic, although not the most thrilling drive, did not kill my clutch or F1 pump.
does eat tires depending on how heavy your foot is. my car is 2003 with 8000 miles (4000 was my last year). I inquired about clutch life at recent service and they told me I had 60% remaining.

 

Is that what that stalk is on your steering column...?
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

I run a '99 550 which I occasionally take into London during rush hour. I have a friend that runs a '02 575 F1 as a daily driver into London everyday. Both cars are fine in traffic. Only difference seems to be in the summer where the 550 runs a bit hotter, but well within bounderies. I noticed you are based in Bucks. My friend and I live near Henley. If you fancy meeting up, send me an email.

 

I also. Very tiresome on a trip and one reason I don't take it on those. There is no reason aside from pure arrogance why Ferrari can't include cruise on F-1 cars. I like options. The F-1 is great. Why not let us enjoy our trips?



QUOTE=DM1;137331891]It doesn't have cruse control so if you want to rest your foot sometimes, you can't. I've driven mine on some long trips and that was my only complaint.

Good Luck![/QUOTE]

 

How so?

 

I think you may be missing something. From neutral, click twice to go into first and you will enter the crawl mode. You will see a 1-. This is the stop-and-go mode. Check your book.

 

I have a customer who uses his 575 daily..and yes we just put snow tires on it for him...

 

After market installation.


Onno