Every single Ferrari ever made has a MAJOR issue!!!

Testarossa diff service here at my mechanic is 4k.

328 hasn't any big fault like the Testarossa diff or the 355 valve guides or the 430 headers.

Nor the 86-89 GTB/GTS turbo ("328" turbo) has any.

Maybe others can write of others models without big issues: Maybe the 512 M?

Ciao

 

3.2 Mondial Coupe, no "issues" other than the poorly designed fuse box (same problem as with many TRs). One-time DIY replacement for about $1200 (or so) and so many other "problems" disappear.

 

Like the IMS issue in 986 and 996 Porsches, timing chains in Audi S-line cars, oil leaks and imploding smg gearboxes for bmws... ALL performance cars can have issues.

360s can have the variatiors break off or precat get sucked into the engine. 99's don't have the precat and at 62k miles variatiors haven't been an issue for me personally. As far as a part that WILL fail.. Stickies come to mind.

 

We finally agree on something

Naturally aspirated 996 engine has more issues than just the IMS as well. Cracked cylinders, cylinder heads, timing chains, rod bolts. Good luck road racing with the new to the 996 wet sump. Guess that's part of the reason the poor things are nearly free these days.

Even back to the 993 which is said to have such a high value due to reliability. I think it's a great car (and have one) but it isn't without problems. Most will need valve guides, 96+ will get a cel when secondary air injection ports clog (rebuilding the heads here as well), steering racks, door check straps, some rust under the glass....

So yes, any sports car is going to have higher costs than a new family car. Now run one that's 15-20 years old, sure it will cost some money. Really I don't mind one bit. There's worse things to waste money on

 

If stickies count as an Issue for this thread, then every Ferrari since...whenever stickies started (348?)...has one.

When I bought my 512M all the techs I asked, and all the forum gurus, said there were no issues to watch out for. Haven't had anything go wrong to date on mine, besides a thermocouple.

I suppose Electrics could be a catch-all Issue like stickies, for everyone?

 

I definately second that for all pre-2000 Ferraris.

Kind regards,

Nuno.

 

Oh my understanding was the question being asked was "what were known issues with the models"? Not "what is my experience with the model"..

Because if its the former.. the stickies were done when I bought it, no variator issues, no exhaust issues.. just start it and drive it like my Porsche. Electronics are waaaaay overblown. OTOH the Bosch CIS fuel injection on my 928 NEVER worked right. Of course the one 512M that I saw at C+C had to cool down before it would crank...

 

Every single machine ever created has at least one trouble area and many have more. The older the car, the more understood the trouble areas (typically). The key to owning any of these fine machines is to hopefully get ahead of trouble spots.

 

550 Maranello cars have only a handful of issues and they are not very expensive to fix.

- engine mounts (fix is to upgrade to the 575 mounts)
- tube under the intake (upgrade to the silicon one)
- siren battery goes dead (same issue as a 360 - various fixes to it)
- sun visor might sag (send to fchatter to permanently fix it)
- dash leather shrinks (get it recovered)
- wires on top of front shocks like to twist (untwist them)

And a few other small items.

So no major flaw IMHO.

.

 

So far, 612 has proven fairly reliable.

For 1st gen 612s, watch out for:
-Leather shrinkage on the dash ($$$$) and rear shelf - very expensive, unfortunately, and no real solution other than a very specialized repair
-Easy-to-break window switches
-F1 Reverse Lever failure (used to require replacement of entire F1 unit ($$$$), but now there is a low-cost solution from Hill Engineering)
-Lower Ball Joints - can be expensive if replacing entire assembly. Thankfully, once again, Hill Engineering has a more robust and much less expensive solution.

 

"Every single Ferrari ever made has a MAJOR issue!!! "

Yeah, they wish they were Lamborghinis out having fun....LOL


Not all Ferraris suffer from major issues....you just picked two of the neediest .

I really don't like the combination of timing belt with an interference engine.....but its really just a piece of mind thing rather than reality.....like every time I go to shut the door in a Ford GT, I SWEAR I'm about to cut the top of my head off.

 

A Ferrari can seem to be damn near economical to own when compared to fixing a higher line BMW, Audi, or AMG benzo. A 360 is cheap to own an operate in comparison to quite a few offerings from Benz and BMW. 5k for a set of brakes on an amg, v's 2500 on the 360. 400+ for an oil change on the Benz, vs 300 for the Ferrari. Even tires are far more expensive on the Benz.

BMW..don't get me started. They are awful awful machines for the last 10 or so years.

Buy what you like, but be sure you have the money to fix it. And that goes across the board with any manufacturer. Either is be a ford or a Ferrari. They are all getting insane to service and repair cost wise.

 

And the newest cars of all makes are getting to the point that you can't fix them your self anymore. You have to go to the dealer for diagnosis what is wrong with it.

 

I strongly agree with this.

 

You typically don't HAVE to. Its just more efficient to go to the dealer

 

Not to derail the thread...

I worked for BMW for about 10 years...

I was the biggest BMW fan you would ever find...

I haven't bought one in 10 years. My family has been driving them for 20ish years and we all had them and loved them. From M cars to wagons, x5s... 5 series z cars all but 6 and 7 series models...

Then suddenly they all started to go wrong... really really wrong. My mom had an x5 three times the A/C went out. two times the power steering failed... and countless times the computer couldn't communicate. Now we collectivly have had say 20 other positive experiences with only a slighly major problems (bad coil packs, transmission part failure) on the other cars but they started happening more and more frequently and we all left the brand. Whats funny is the dealer did an amazing job every time. ZERO complaints. Loaner cars sometimes nicer than the one we brought in. They were great. Even bmw NA was great... the problem was truly the machines.

And thats why I can buy a 2016 M6 comp coupe with 2k miles on it with a 167k dollar MSRP for less than 90k...

its sad

 

Dino 246GT doesn't have any specific "always fail" issues of which I am aware.

It does have the typical 2nd gear crunch/synchro issues that many fcars of that era display. Oh, and perhaps the dripping oil on the alternator, which results in its eventual failure, but which is avoidable. Also, once the original fails, upgrading is a plus.

Wait . . . starters are a weak link, but again, replace with a more modern gear reduction starter and that goes away. Dinoplex ignitions tend to fail as well.

Actually, I think most of these issues are more age related vs. system failures. Hell on 40+ year old cars, stuff is gonna fail. I have no data for what would go bad early in their lives.

D

 

Me to
+1

 

I had the same experience. Modern BMWs are truly awful. I will never buy one again. My last one had a cracked wheel about once a month. Service was great... free new wheel and tire every time plus a nice loaner.

 

Well, my plenum hoses cost me over $5K, long story. You also missed the A/C condenser, fuel tank, and some other minor stuff. I'd figure running costs to be at least $2 a mile without including depreciation.

 

One locally smelled of gas in the trunk. Tank had to be taken out and seals redone. Also heard internal rubber degrades and crumbles with ethanol fuels, necessitating removal and replacement.

 

Those issues go toward any car. Not just Ferrari, so you can't really call it a Ferrari specific issue. Ferrari has had exhaust manifold issues since the 355..that would be a more specific issue.

The BMW issues are indeed strictly bmw problems. Why does a 2014 bmw 7 series need to have the valves seals replaced at 50k miles? Why do the timing chains fail, why are the cam sprockets failing, what's the deal with the blacked out dash and I drive unit , yet no faults recorded in any ecu?

Many many newer cars are complete junk. They seem to be built to last the warrenty period and just plain fall apart. It's like they are on a self destruct time clock. Just had a 2012 Benz e350 in today, less then 90kkm on the clock, needs a transmission..wtf? And apparently it's really common. Why? Why is my old e39 still running strong at 230k km still on the original transmission yet this Benz craps one out in less then 100k?

Buy old cars and fix them up. It will be much cheaper in the long run.

 

My 928 kinda bucked that theory.. the older it got the less reliable it was. At the end even replacing most of the CIS components and resealing the intake plenum didn't help. Every modern 7-series seems to have an oil puddle under it. My mechanic does very well fixing late model BMW's and Audi's. I've been very happy with my 997 so far. Typical 50k water pump and squealing alternator pulley. otherwise a great car.

 

997 is awesome. And yes BMW is very good to us. But it's very annoying to see the same issues pretty much everyday. Add on top of that trying to explain to the customer in a polite way, that they bought a piece of crap.

Cars are like inkjet printers. Buy the printer with ink for 100 bucks, but when you need new ink it's 150 bucks. Cheaper to buy a new printer..