Wow fantastic story, thank you for sharing!! I am always fascinated by personal stories of genuine car enthusiasts... My first car was a 1991 Maserati Ghibli that I bought in Paris, then a 2000 Maserati 3200 GT in Lebanon, then an Aston Martin V8 Vantage in Dubai (the only one that was really reliable), then the 599 that i bought last year... Let's see if the car becomes more reliable. Frankly speaking i doubt it. I will keep it until the next big problem, then get rid of it. It's been at the garage for 4 weeks now and counting. The joys of servicing Ferraris in the UAE...
4 years with my 2007 599 GTB, fluids every year and two trips for transmission failures (both happened when shifting into neutral at 120 mph +) I won’t do that again. All in less than 3k a year for maintenance (knocking on wood as I write this). The point is there are very good 599s out there, a V12 Ferrari at 8500 rpm is a magical moment you cannot describe and worth every penny, maybe second to watching the sun rise in the west (yes, I have seen that). On both accounts, if you know......you know. Spice
I had my last 07 599 GTB for 3 years, 1st year had warranty and last 2 years without. I spent like 3k-4k per year on everything included fixing some things here and there, drove base on 3-4k miles per year.
I also think the reason they cost us so much is that deep down we’re all perfectionists. I recently spent $1000 replacing my electric mirror switch due to it being “a bit loose”. I’d never do that on a 2015 Ford Ranger, but my 2009 Ferrari has to be absolutely mint in my eyes.
My 07 599 ( 40,000 Km)has been pretty good other than the display which had been replaced last year. I have a noisy power steering. Costs seems to be about 3,500 to 4000k a year. average. I drive it a few days a week. I bought it about 8 years ago.
No problem with my 599 so far as I wrote before, but last week, my display went down. One question to you : Did you change it thru official dealer or you managed yourself ??
I think you are missing the point. You bought a car with deferred maintenance issues. The fact that you said no one mentioned that is interesting. I have never seen a car salesman who tells you what is wrong with a car while he is trying to sell it to you. It sounds like you did not get a PPI prior to purchase. That is a mistake you should learn from on any further car purchases. A good PPI would have uncovered the deferred maintenance. I bought an ‘06 F430 in 2013. A PPI showed no deferred maintenance. In 6+ years of ownership, I have spent $3-4K on issues unrelated to annual maintenance. I don’t consider that unreasonable for an exotic. There will always be bad examples no matter what you buy, exotic or daily. A PPI is your best shot at avoiding one.
mine had a full history of maintenance and still was a pain in the ass.. Ferrari dealerships haven't always got the finest mecanics...
I have had my 2008 599 GTB since 2012. It had 8000 miles on it at purchase and I have added 19,000 miles to date. I have had regular annual service at my local Ferrari dealer which runs about $2,000. I had one water pump failure costing about $5,000. My experience with the car and dealer service has been great. I know that there is a clutch replacement in my future but that is to be expected and should be thought of as being amortized over the total mileage of the car. I have taken the car on many rallies as well as on the track and don’t find it to be temperamental or prone to breaking down. My advice to any potential purchaser is to understand that you are buying a high end GT that requires annual upkeep and that the prerequisite to a good ownership experience is a thorough pre-purchase inspection.
I have a 2010 599 HGTE. I did have the leaking shocks replaced up front, but other than that, knock on wood, it's only been oil changes and I just did a 5 year major service, that was a couple thousand. Mine has about 25,000 miles. I run it pretty hard, just oil changes fellas, not sure where or why you're spending $10k per year to run a 599. Tires every 2-3 years. They don't like to sit.
Look I am not crazy to buy a Ferrari without having it checked beforehand... I did get the car fully checked by the Ferrari dealership in Dubai before purchasing it. The report noted that only the front suspension was leaking and that everything else is "Ferrari approved". When i saw this, i said great, this is a safe purchase. I negotiated a discount to do the suspension, and bought the car. When i took it to Ferrari (same dealer, same place) for maintenance 2 months after purchase, they came up with a 25,000 USD estimation on the repairs that were required... So either Ferrari is completely unreliable, or the report was tampered with (which might make sense considering the previous owner is an influential business man with more than 30 Ferraris). Either way, i got screwed. I know 4 to 5 K USD per year in maintenance is ok, but 10 to 15 K USD is NOT normal. And definitely not worth it, i don't care how nice the car is.
Exactly like you, mine is 2010 HGTE with same mileage. Had front shox changed and nothing else except regular service. Front shox problems are clearly a common failure on this car.
I had a used 2009 599 GTB for two years and it was possibly one of the best Ferrari I've owned. Not a single problem and the last of the true touring Ferrari V12's in my opinion, given that the F12 and 812 are a much sportier drive. Such a pity that you had a bad experience. One car that I wish I'd kept. Also to say to those that say that can afford these cars and still have an issue with maintenance; buy a one or two year old car. They have a five year warranty and service included. To those other enthusiasts that scrape every penny together to buy one of these beautiful machines... I salute you!
How is it possible to change the clutch at this mileage? I just bought my 2008 612 recently and when I asked my dealer about the remaining of my clutch, the answer was written at the service bill. ( still has 82% ). The car has 16k km on the clock so far and it’s not an OTO version so clutch should be more sensitive than any 599 or any OTO version. Your car might be driven by a person who doesn’t have any respect or experience of driving a supercar. Otherwise it’s nearly impossible to burn a clutch like this. I have had 2 599 in the past few year and they were just great.
Moe, It is entirely possible to burn through a clutch in less than 10k miles. As related to me by the Service Manager at Ferrari South Bay, a customer brought in his less than a year old 430 with the clutch burned out. It turned out that the owner lived in a hilly area and would reverse his car up a long, steep driveway every time to back it into the garage. Likewise, he set his manettino to the Wet setting for daily driving. Apparently and for relativity's sake, the Ferraris' F1 transmissions' clutch slip or take up are approximately 50% bite when compared to either the Sport or Race settings which allow no clutch slippage, again relatively speaking. Logical explanation! When I first drove my '07 599 during winter, I'd set the manettino on Wet as recommended by the Owners' Manual for more safety and comfort. The SM highly suggested that I use the Sport setting even when driving in the rain if I wanted to protect my clutch from unusually early wear. So for normal or spirited driving on my '11 HGTE, I exclusively use the Sport or Race settings and limit using Reverse extensively.
Moe, It is entirely possible to burn through a clutch in less than 10k miles. As related to me by the Service Manager at Ferrari South Bay, a customer brought in his less than a year old 430 with the clutch burned out. It turned out that the owner lived in a hilly area and would reverse his car up a long, steep driveway every time to back it into the garage. Likewise, he set his manettino to the Wet setting for daily driving plus he never drove it on a track. Apparently and for relativity's sake, the Ferraris' F1 transmissions' clutch slip or take up are approximately 50% bite when compared to either the Sport or Race settings which allow no clutch slippage, again relatively speaking. Logical explanation! When I first drove my '07 599 during winter, I'd set the manettino on Wet as recommended by the Owners' Manual for more comfort. The SM highly suggested that I use the Sport setting even when driving in the rain if I wanted to protect my clutch from unusually early wear. So for normal or spirited driving on my '11 HGTE, I exclusively use the Sport or Race settings and limit using Reverse extensively.
Of course maintaining the 599 was not cheap but the only really noticeable expense was when I had to change the CCM brakes... Tracking the car did not help, it's very efficient but the weight is taking a toll on the brakes.
I totally get peoples concerns. You will do a clutch and flywheel in a 599 every 50,000km. The shocks start weeping at 25,000km (and the replacement parts aren’t new and improved by the way). The brake pads need replacing every 40,000km and at 80,000km the rotors need replacing (2nd pad change). Drive belts every second service. The dash displays are weak and will need to be replaced before 100,000km, if you get the bulb warning light error that’ll cost you a new left tail light at $1500 to fix, as well as power steering leaks, sticky buttons and just general maintenance. These are expensive repairs, and let’s be honest we wouldn’t tolerate it on a Toyota. Imagine a Toyota dealer telling you to try to not use reverse? Laughable. But hey, it’s a Ferrari, a wild, temperamental Italian beauty. Just like a woman with the same characteristics, they are both expensive to maintain.
Thank you, the car is back now and i am enjoying it as much as i can. I drive it about 50 to 100 km per week, every week. Hopefully everything will be back to normal now. Fingers crossed!
Every once in a while I get in the mood to buy another FCar. 599's really appeal to me. Then I read a thread like this and the buzz goes away. I don't mind expensive maintenance. Stuff that shouldn't break that does like manifolds, low time shocks, steering racks, water pumps and so on makes me nuts.
I dont think a sample size of one car is enough to judge anything by. I got a 355 that was a bit of a lemon but plenty of people had 355s that were problem free. I got a California then was bulletproof but Ive heard people who got ones that werent. It seems a bit emotional to swear off the brand because of a single bad experience.
I had a 355 that had all the 355 issues and it was perfectly maintained from new. I bought a 430 new and it too was perfectly maintained and run easy. Lot's of goofy crap happened to that car too. I'd like a 599 as a driver that's a good deal but I think the chances are no more than 50/50 of getting one that isn't just a PITA chasing stuff which is ok if I want a hobby car.
Just regular oil and fluid service. So far so good. No issues at all. Clutch wear is still great after 15k. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk