1st Ferrari purchase - I can use some help :)

Hello everybody.

I’m Italian, living in the USA and even t’ho I’m not a car fanatic I’ve always been fascinated by a Ferrari

I’m considering to purchase a 2010 California, 34,000 miles

Just had the first visit to the car and I met the owner

Here’s a recap:

- 2010 / 34,000 miles
- last oil change: 6 months ago
- little/none services records
- car is wrapped in a non-original Red ferrari
- original paint is metallic gray
- wheels are powder coated in black
- ride was fine, just acceleration seemed “slow” (I know California is a touring car + it wasn’t on sport mode)
- Issue: owner said it needs to be kept on the battery tender all the time or the battery will be drained in just 4-6 days of not using it (the tender is Ferrari branded…he said it’s provided by ferrari cause this is the norm…looks like a lie)
- Price: it “looks” like a great deal, around 10k below comparables


Pretty sure the “weird red” wrap keeps most buyers away…

You expert Ferrari owners, would you suggest me to embark on this journey ?

I’m gonna ask Ferrari what is the price of a full inspection and to find out what services the car had

the battery thing sounds “fishy” to me. I suspect the battery is bad or the alternator is not functioning properly, I CANNOT believe his “story” that Ferraris need to be kept on the tender


Thanks guys, glad I found this community

 

On a totally different subject: I am trying to come up with a fitting name for my Portofino's personalized license plate. Is there an Italian term for "muscle car" or "Italian muscle car"? Maybe a term to describe the Italian sports cars of the 1960s and 1970s that used American V-8s? Thanks.

 

Mhh no we don’t really use any specific terminology for “muscle cars”

the only 2 words we might associate to powerful cars are “bestia” (beast) and “bolide”

 

The info about the battery tender is absolutely correct. You should always keep it on the tender when it is home.
I think you know you need much more info about this car than what you have.

 

oh that is interesting

I live in a high rise condo, I wonder what the workaround is

there are many exotics and I have never seen them plugged in

I’ll ask the condo manager

 

I can't really help with any of your other questions, but I 100% agree with others that you need to keep it on the battery tender. I replaced the Ferrari branded tender (CTEK 4.3 equivalent) with a CTEK 7002 on my 458 Spider and it is always plugged in when I am not driving. It has solved a lot of problems.

Page 204 of the California manual: "We recommend using the battery conditioner if the vehicle will not be used for a long period." I define a "long period" as any time the car is not in use.

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Rob

 

I like BOLIDE. Thanks! And proceed cautiously with that purchase. For one thing,has the DCT wiring harness issue been dealt with?

 

No idea

i doubt the current owner knows what it is either


I’ll ask ferrari how much is an inspection

 

Honestly, the car sounds horrible, leading to a bad ownership experience.....can you stretch your budget for something better?

 

I agree with everyone else about the battery tender. It's a must but also batteries don't last much past 5 years (often 3 years, if not kept on a tender). This car sounds like it could be a mess but you won't know unless you do a little digging. When the car has little documentation, you absolutely need a (pre-purchase inspection) PPI. Not all PPI's are equal and you must ask what the PPI will include. I got one when I bought my 2010 California from a private party and the Ferrari dealership (in Central New Jersey) performed the PPI. It was really bad and I had no idea what I should have expected. The report could have fit on a cocktail napkin. I don't suggest allowing the seller to pick the dealer to do the inspection.

Secondly, get a CarFax report. They are not all inclusive but it can give you an idea of how many owners, which states, milage progression and possibly if recalls have been completed. VinWiki is also a growing resource for information. Damage reporting is a crap shoot. Maybe it will be there, maybe it won't. If you still feel good about the car after that, I would have the wrap removed. The odds that it is hiding body damage or poor repairs is pretty high.

You mentioned that the car doesn't accelerate very fast. If the car was in 'Comfort' mode and also in AUTO, it wouldn't pull very hard. SPORT and manual paddle shifts are where the performance is.

The only positive I can give you that the car has been driven (not sure how nicely) but that means it probably hasn't sat for years and seals have dried up. There are lots of first gen Californias out there so don't feel pressure to buy THIS one. Unless it was the perfect spec and color combo (doesn't sound like it) and you'll never find another just like it. Low price isn't everything.

Good luck.
Kevin

 

Ok, so clearly I have time on my hands today.....I'm guessing this is the car in question? If so, I did some quick digging and found that Ferrari Maserati of Ft Lauderdale has last seen/serviced the car in 2019. I'd contact them about the car's history.

 

gonna call them tomorrow but given that I’m in miami where everything is OVER CHARGED, can you give me an idea of price for a PPI ?

 

I paid $800 and got a horrible PPI in 2017. Figure the dealerships charge somewhere around $200-$250/hr labor rates so a good inspection could take a few hours.

 

Keep the battery on the maintainer whenever you are not driving it.

If you can find a Dealership that will perform a PPI for you, I would suggest you have the perform either a CPO level inspection or better yet a New Power Warranty level inspection, that would allow you to purchase a New Power Warranty to at least cover your 1st year of ownership against DCT failures or RHT failures.

Expect the inspection to take a full day, up to 7 hours that is, and run you whatever their hourly rate it by that time.

I strongly suggest some 3rd party inspection, please.

While no service history is not a deal breaker, it does make it so that I am 100% NOT buying without having it checked over 1st.

Good Luck with your search,

Steve

 

Regardless of this particular Rarri being my pick or not, do you guys have any suggestion on how to keep it on a Battery Tender/Maintainer in a condo/building garage ?

i just went downstairs and there is no electric plug anywhere

There are few Ferraris tho (none of them were plugged)


You think I can buy an auxiliary big power bank and keep it in the trunk and after a ride connect the Ferrari Battery Tender to it ?

any idea how many days that would cover ?



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I think everyone who has responded here is trying to be helpful but also fairly reserved in their comments. I’m also thinking not one of us would buy this car absent an extremely positive and thorough PPL. You are really concentrated on the battery tender issue as you should be but there are many, many other things to be concerned about. Don’t jump on this just because it might be a favorable price. There may be reasons why the price is low and you don’t want to buy a series of problems which at the end of the day in total could add up to more than your current purchase price. Just my two cents.

 

He was being dead honest about the battery. Ferrari should be utterly ashamed for supplying such piss poor batteries.

Considering the age of the car, do yourself a favour and replace the battery. Get a Braille B10049. Ìt's cheap for what you get. Look up the specs, it blows any and all other AGM batteries clean out of the water. With that battery, the car can sit for a week or two without issue. Longer than that, you need a tender, but this just as much to keep the battery healthy.
If you drive the car weekly, the Braille B10049 will let you park the car without having to use a charger every day.

Now you need a PPI done prolerly. No telling what lurks. Engine mounts, exhaust manifold, brake disc wear etc.

As for the speed? Well, the Cali is slow and Sport won't make it any faster. It is a super heavy car, with pretty mild power and stupidly long first, second and third gears.

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Go to the collection in coral gables they work with Ferrari of Miami … I used to take my old TR to tim Stanford but it’s in Fort Lauderdale.


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I would be somewhat leery of a car with few service records. Is this the original owner? Ferrari offered oil changes for the first seven years; therefore, there should be a record of this. Most Ferrari owners are proud to show that they've maintained their cars. At minimum the battery should have been replaced a couple of times; batteries on the modern cars seldom last more than three years. The retractable roof takes a lot of juice, and the car's computer runs all the time. What are the age of the tires? They should be replaced after about 4 years. Sounds like there may be a better value for you, but at minimum, if you're still game, make sure you get a PPI from a reputable shop. There is nothing more expensive than a cheap Ferrari!

 

Agree !

 

Dude, I believe even a replacement service book for a Ferrari will cost you a packet. Ferrari are also meticulous about their record keeping of every car globally. They'll know all there is to know about this car if it was serviced by them and for how long. You don't want your first Ferrari experience to be a bad one so tread cautiously and don't let you heart rule your head. All the battery information is true but at the end of the day it is just a battery, albeit an expensive one. I'd go to a Ferrari dealer and drive one of theirs cars and get a better idea of what one should really represent, then you'll feel a little more confident about pulling the trigger. The cars might be fast but you can't rush into one with blinkers on, it's like asking a girl to marry you on the first date. You might be lucky but..........

 

Thanks, great answers !

 

Hi I bought 2011 California several month ago so here is my thoughts

-as most people pointed out, the battery situation is pretty normal but 4-6 days sounds that battery consition is pretty bad already. So if you decided to buy this then you might need to change it.

- the mileage is bit high

- point concerns me the most is that he cant provide much service record. The condition on Ferrari in this kinda age will be very different, according to how the owner had treated her. Since he wrap the car so i think he might change/tuned some other parts as well. I HIGHTLY recommend you to buy one with full service record. Otherwise you can easily spend like 30k onece engine/gearbox fails.

Hope this helps

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It’s not that I’m focused solely on the battery thing

it’s just that I live in a high rise building, I don’t have my own garage hence I have no electric plug

so regardless of this specific ferrari overall conditions I’m trying to understand if I will ever be able to own a ferrari given that I have no access to electric outlets

 

Get an AntiGravity battery then. It has a built in booster. It shuts the battery down before it is fully discharged, and then you can switch it on via a remote fob. Quite brilliant.

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