How much does it cost to maintain your 599 GTB?

So far, my 599 GTB has cost me 31,680 USD over the past 15 months in maintenance... and i drove less than 4,000 km during that period which brings it to about 8 USD per km... this does not include insurance, parking, fuel etc. Only maintenance and repairs, stuff like:
- annual service (x2)
- front suspension leak (changed the whole set)
- clutch change
- driver control module change (whatever that is)
- some issue with the steering pump
- battery change
- steering wheel alignment (done twice because Ferrari Dubai could not do it properly the first time)
- some sticky buttons to fix
- some front bumper mount rust that had to be removed/ repainted
- more useless stuff

Car is from 2008 and has 26,000km on the clock. And was supposedly maintained at Ferrari every 6 months since new... (I checked the records)

I still have to change back suspension which is leaking also. Another 5,500 USD coming up soon.

My ownership experience is: This car is really not worth it... Such a disappointment for my first and definitely last Ferrari...

 

the notion that these things are no longer expensive to run in is a complete fallacy. its possible to have ignored some of the stuff, sticky buttons/front bumper rust etc but yes these things are $ to run especially if you take a car and want to make it perfect.

 

Rule of thumb for most cars: the cost to maintain the car is about 2% to 3% of the new cost per year. That doesn't go down just because a car gets older or market value drops and it doesn't include normal running costs like tires, gas, and insurance. AND that doesn't specifically cover the surprise things. In short, these are not inexpensive to run. If you have the car for any length of time you will see one or more $10K bills.

 

well we are talking more than 10% maintenance cost here.. so definitely too much

 

Avoid dealerships.. Ive had my suspension redone for 1500 euro. All 4 of them

 

What are you talking about? The range puts you around $10K per year, that is almost $20k for you since you did the 2nd annual service already. You bought an 11 year old car and there is clearly some deferred maintenance. You are tagging the deferred maintenance into one year and saying that, plus regular maintenance for the year, is way more than the typical 1 year maintenance. All I can say is 'I am shocked. Who could have seen that coming.'

 

Affirmative, if you are worried about maintenance costs on a Ferrari, you likely cannot afford one.

 

I am calculating cost of maintenance per km. The number of annual services is irrelevant here...

If i add the back suspension which i need to change (will do that soon), i am at close to 40 K USD for 2 annual services, or 20K USD per service... I assume the car was about 200 K USD new so that is 10%... So it is way too much.

And there is no such thing as "regular maintenance" on a Ferrari since there is always something that breaks, considering how fragile these cars are...
also worth noting is that I had the car fully checked at Ferrari when i bought it and they said it was in very good condition and perfectly maintained. At no point did they mention that there was a ton of deferred maintenance..

 

I don't have a lot of choice where i live. both options are expensive

 

I can afford it, that's not the point here. the point is how much does it cost per km to maintain these cars...

 

You are in Dubai and asking what the per kilometre cost of ownership is on a worldwide forum. You are trying to compare worldwide prices. Your car also had problems that are being sorted. Those repairs are not part of annual service costs. If you want to look at the cost of ownership on a per kilometre basis this car is not for you. All cars require an annual service regardless of kilometres covered. A garage queen will have a higher cost of per kilometre ownership compared to a car driven 10,000 km in a year. I have worn out my tyres after 2 track days so on how you look at costs I had an expensive maintenance year which is not correct. I had an expensive tyre cost for that year but that cost was far outweighed by the enjoyment I had.

These cars are not fragile as you say. To keep them running right they require to be maintained by someone who knows what they are doing. You need to go back to the dealer and ask why they did not pick up on the leaking shocks. Remember, a Ferrari dealer is just another car sales yard. These cars are special to us but to the dealer they are simply a product to make a profit from.

When maintained properly AND driven on a regular basis they are very reliable. The vast majority of owners don't drive their cars because they are worried about how re sale value will be affected with the mileage the car has travelled. For me, if you have this concern just don't buy a Ferrari. The most reliable Ferrraris are those that are driven on a regular basis. My 599 (as with prior cars 575 and 355) has been totally reliable and when I drive her 4 to 5 times a week she runs better each day. My shocks are still original having travelled 37,000 km and I know one day they will need replacing due to leakage. That is a fault and am prepared to pay for the repair when the time comes. My buttons are starting to go sticky they will be repaired the cost is not a concern to me. I service my car annually by the book. After each track day engine oil and brake fluid are changed. The car runs perfect. Comparing the annual service cost and major service costs with my AMG S coupe the 559 cost is slightly lower. In the comparison I dont include service costs after track days for the 599 as I dont track the AMG. The AMG may have more tech but she is no Ferrari and I always take the 599 whenever I can and that includes going to the hardware store to purchase paint or anything I need. If I can carry it home in the 599 then the 599 does the trip. By the way my car is kept in concourse condition always but she is no garage queen.

 

Well this particular car IS fragile. Certainly more than my Aston Martin and certainly more than my Maserati before that... They were both much older and i had them longer and drove them harder and never had issues such as the ones i am facing now.
I think the range of 3% of cost of new in annual maintenance is a good reference point. Happy to go up to 5%. Beyond that point, i consider the car to be too fragile and really not worth it. This is certainly the case here. Best is to get rid of it.

 

I maintain that these cars are not fragile. You simply purchased one that had not been maintained properly notwithstanding what the records say. You continue to look at finding a formula for cost of annual ownership. Looking at annual cost as a percentage of original purchase price is wrong.

You want the cost ask your dealer what an annual service is. Repair items are not part of annual service costs. You drove 4,000 km in a year I do that in less than 6 months. I replace my tyres more often than you will and my brake pads will require replacement sooner than yours. How does your formula relating back to purchase price work when comparing our different usage? How does your formula take into account government taxes on new cars that are different all over the world? You hardly drive your car so your F1 pump will go sooner than later that is expensive to replace. Like most people especially those who are first time owners given two cars that have been serviced annually by the book and are identical other than mileage everyone will go for the lower mileage car Im the one who will go for the higher mileage car and not have any problems.

I just see a Ferrari is not for you, you seem to be fixated on cost of running, wrong way to look at Ferrari ownership.

 

im going to disagree - i own a dozen of ferraris, most of which ive owned since new or for at least 10 years. ive over maintained them all at at any given point in time i can easily drop 10 to 15K on what is considered a perfect, well maintained car. these things are very expensive to drive especially if you strive for perfection. only way to drive one for "cheap" is to suffer depreciation and buy a new one. there is no winning.

 

Nowhere have I said that I have looked to drive for cheap. In fact I have said the opposite. What I have said in summary is that there is no formula to work out cost of ownership and that if cost of ownership is a concern a Ferrari is not for you. My ownership goes back 15 years so ownership is not new to me. If it needs fixing I fix it. I have never deferred maintenance or repairs.

 

I fully agree with you it's not for me.

In fact, the whole experience was a poor one for me. My first ever Ferrari, and also the first car i regret buying.

Whatever you might say, i don't find it normal that so many things break in such a short period of time. That the car has to go to the garage 3 times in 15 months, that so many joints become bad, that bumper holders rust, that pumps leak, that suspension leak, etc. etc. You might still think Ferraris are not fragile, but I have a different opinion based on my own experience. The whole thing is falling apart at 26,000 km. It's pathetic. I will just get rid of it and buy something else that is less of a hassle.

 

Two things to consider. One or more people put 22,000 km on it before you bought it. Who knows how the car was abused in those miles. The other thing is perhaps you simply bought a lemon, it happens with any make of vehicle, even a Lexus.

 

I adore my 599 but i dont agree with you that if a car of this price range gets sticky is considered normal. 1500 euro shocks doing 37000 km without leaking should not be An exception either.. there just isn't An excuse for this Lack of Quality and from time to times it makes me very sad. A 20 year old Toyota can do better at the price of a ferrari keychange. Come on.. We all work very hard.. would our work ben appreciated as much if we were this sloppy?

 

My 1999 Nissan Pathfinder with 150,000 km has been running without a glitch for the past 20 years. Not a single problem whatsoever. Why is Ferrari so different?? I agree the maintenance should be expensive. It's a Ferrari after all. The Ferrari screw costs 15$ instead of 2 cents. And the hour of labour is 150$ instead of 20$... I am fine with that. But is it ok for it to break so soon??? We're talking 25,000 km here...

And because I ask these questions, then "this car is not for me", and because i am looking at maintenance cost, then I am not able to afford a Ferrari...

Again, I am not generalizing here, I am talking about my own car. Yes it's a lemon, i get it now.

So be it, this car is not for me, and i am not able to afford a Ferrari. I will go back to my poor old Aston Martin...

 

You made it this far and if you've done it without selling a kidney, i think you can afford it.

Your car surely isn't a lemon, I experienced everything you mentioned on mine too. Luckily I can fix it all myself at almost no cost. The reason why you experienced this in one sentence is: Italian low production performance car which hasn't been driven enough. It would only have a fraction of the issues if it had 100000 km.

it is a fragile car though. I don't care if the screw is 15€. If it were 2cents, there would be Ferrari's everywhere and the mystique would be gone too. But at 15€ it should be a damn good one, and that's what's not always the case.

Yesterday I was at the ferrari dealership and there was a 400000+ € Pista in the showroom. The car is epic and the engine bay is as beautiful as miss world but then I started noticing some enoying things. They use for example the cheapest low budget straps to attach the air filters to the tube. They're even way too long. Why would you put these ugly things next to an 6000 € carbon fiber piece? And that's only the look, i'm not even going on the things that lack quality.

Then there is the dealerships itself.. I cannot say anything about them in general but mine has been serviced in qatar and omg... I found some nasty things on mine. Screws not fixed, tubes that were broken but still reused. I even found 2 pieces of wood in the watertubes going to the cabin to disable the heater.. I understand why you don't want the cabin to be heated in Qatar but if you are working with wood, you should be in the furniture business and you have no place in any garage at all..

But this all been said, let's be honest too, you did not buy the 599 if you weren't madly in love with it. It is a beautiful car and a darn fast one too. If you fixed 95% of the problems already, don't sell it and drive it at least every week and I guess most of the problems will stay away. A Ferrari is not a perfect car, never was, never will. You have to understand it's roots. It's a racecar. It's only purpose is too finish first. It's not made to be issue free, it's made to get to the finish. To be able to sell it, they've added lots of italian style and luxury interior products so you get a really nice racecar that's been transformed into a road car. Enzo Ferrari couldn't care less about its flaws and gaps, it should scare the sh*t out of you if you nail it.

 

Purchased early 2017, 2 1/2 years now, 2 services, first one costly as seller was a crook, second one normal - Total in euros = 10 000 € including 4 new tyres and a set of boot gas springs ( English ?) - I purchased at 24 000 kms, I got 46 000 now, yes I love to use it - 10 000 € which means 11 300 $ for 22 000 kms. It brings me to about 50 cents per km.... It will not be my last Ferrari !

 

The leaking shock problem is the big Achilles heal on the 599. Unless you can find a set at Eurospares your faced with a large eventual cost to face.

 

Thanks this is very helpful

 

So far front is changed (5,500$ for parts and labour) and back to be changed by year end (same price)

 

Being able to work on the car yourself is a huge advantage! Sadly i neither have the tools not the skills...

I fully understand the logic and have tremendous respect and admiration (love!!!) for these cars, but driving something that keeps breaking every time, and falling apart like that, has ruined the whole experience for me. I prefer to look at them now than drive/ own them.. maybe it s better like that..

Never meet your heroes i guess