Hoping to jump into the water. Need advice

Welcome to the start off your research! Very exciting times!

Any reason why the T over the Cali30? I ask because most people lust for that tuned Ferrari sound and the T lacks it.

 

I suggest reading the ENTIRE California/Portofino forum first. You'll get a mindful of information that will help with your decision.

I'd second Fireman1291's question. Why not a Cali 30 instead?

A good source of pricing information is to set an alert at Cargurus and get an email every time a new car is listed or a price changes on an existing ad. Very helpful.

I'm in the same situation as you except my wife is on board already. I'm also considering a 575M or maybe a 360.

 

I’ve never heard of any major recurring issue with the California T with the exception of top issues. If you search around there is a list in the section of the forum of the options for the California T. Must haves seem to be the carbon wheel, shields, and magneride. There are several options for seats and full electric seats also seem to be must haves reguardless of seat design. From there it’s really color combinations you need to choose for your taste. The brake calipers, tach, interior color and stitching, exterior color and how much carbon fiber bits you want as well as wheel style and finish. What I’d do is look at a bunch of different cars online with different color combos and decide what excites you, and what you can live with, then if you have the ability to see the cars in person check them out as well. I was able to rent one several times to experience the car but the company I rented from on vacations no longer has one.

As far as miles, personally I’d focus on something with 30k or less miles but anything with less probably won’t have an issue and likely a car with more would equally probably be fine. The car I rented had a or of miles on it and drove well every time I rented it.

Be aware and prepare for the brakes to be expensive, but per another F chatter he had nearly 100k miles on his rotors and were they not cracked would have had life left in them. With normal use and no track use expect to replace the pads somewhere between 45k and 50k miles. Might look and see what the maintainance schedule is for the California t and familiarize yourself with the schedule and the possible cost.

I’d not be afraid to purchase from any Dealer assuming the car passes a ppi. The California T seems to be very reliable. Usually ppi is on the prospective buyer to arrange and pay for and I would avoid any seller that won’t allow it. As for buying sight unseen I’d consider doing so from an f dealer IF it is a CPO car or CPO qualified (where you have to pay for the new power warranty) as generally if it has the CPO and warranty it’s usually a good example.

Overall the car if maintained is pretty bulletproof. As to the previous comments about the Cali 30, those are pretty good cars too but can suffer from the top issues, engine and transmission mount issues (likely a Ferrari thing) and possible DCT speed sensor failures which the California T hasn’t really had.....yet. They also look a bit different and the interiors are different. Honesty I like the interior of the T and the body lines of the California. The turbo cars also do suffer from reduced exaust note (probably the largest complaint) by a significant amount though I’ve heard the sport exaust does improve that some and there are other aftermarket options as well but it will never sound as great as the na engine.

And the comment about browsing this section is a really good idea as there is a lot of useful information floating around on here. Happy car hunting!

 

Strange question why the Cali T.....LOTS of reasons, I know I would have a T on the short list as the only Cali.

 

Different strokes for different folks I guess. I drove the Cali, Cali30, Cali T, and Portofino the same day. The Cali30 HS was the clear winner for sound and overall second hand value. By far. That and the 30 looks like it will age better as its closer to paying homage to the 250 California whereas the T looks less classy and gets lost in the noise of current angular car design. But thats Pininfarina VS Ferrari.

 

Why not a Cali 30 ?
Owned 2 years 13 Cali 30 Ferrari approved & Power Warranty.
Nice car but:
-Top issue
-Sporadic engine shut down at low speed
-DCT sensors issue, only odd gears available
-Engine mounts issue

Trade-in with 17 Cali T HS
Nice car too, mainly the HS one :
No issue up to date

Good luck, enjoy

 

Some people buy Ferraris for the brand image, some buy to collect/invest, others buy them to be able experience the passion of a classic Ferraris. You have to determine what is more important to you when you buy a Ferrari.

Unfortunately, our corrupt governments have made our choice more difficult, when they decided to instigate a carbon tax so they can add a new tax while making it hard for critics to argue against, a "greener Earth". The carbon tax is FAKE, an excuse to collect more taxes. The added tax penalties forced Ferrari and other car makers to use turbochargers to fake their own reduction in carbon emissions... nobody drives turbocharged Ferraris (and McLarens, Porsches,...etc.) slow enough to actually achieve the carbon emissions that are claimed.

This is why the Cali30 appeals to people who buy supercars to experience the passion of classic Ferraris. It is the same with Lamborghinis, they don't use turbochargers, yet. IMO, if you are looking for the ultimate, more reliable and fastest turbocharged supercar, you go for a 991.2 GT2 RS - I was offered 2 of those very collectible and desirable cars, a silver and a Miami Blue one in lieu of a NA 991.2 GT3 RS but I turned them down, because you cannot drive those turbocharged cars fast enough on public roads to actually enjoy their advantages but you can enjoy the advantages of a lovely NA V8, 100% of the time you drive them, anywhere and at any speed. You avoid speeding tickets because you do not have to go past posted speed limits to actually enjoy NA cars that sound good.

I can go on and on but Ferrari's newest car the SF90 Stradale is also turbocharged and 1000HP, thus cannot deliver the full classic Ferrari driving experience. It's like when Formula 1 went to the turbo V6 from NA V8, V10 and V12. The whole Formula 1 scene simply died a bit, lost a huge chunk of visceral excitement that came with cars that felt raw and communicated the passion of the drivers.

By my calculations, there were about 2700 to 2800 Cali30 sold. They were only made over 2 years, a very short run. They represent the mid-life refresh Ferrari usually applies to every car model they make. Normally, they charge a much higher price for the car but they didn't even though the car gained 30 HP, 15 Nm, more sound and an HS option (at extra cost). It was an exceptionally good deal for what was and still is the most successful Ferrari model to date. It was one of the last NA V8 from Ferrari. Judging from the SF90 Stradale, the NA V8 Ferrari is gone for good.

Finally, while there has been owners who experienced problems with their cars, there aren't that many and those problems are not unique to the California or even Ferrari. The problems appear more prominent because we have FChat, a forum where members can tell people about their experiences. If you do not drive in slow traffic jams under hot conditions and always allow 1-2 km of cooldown (slowdown) before parking your cars, you should be able to avoid the heat-related problems that are mostly responsible for the DCT (transmission) issues.

 

Great discussion of normally aspirated (NA) vs. turbo. I've had both and prefer the reaction of a NA car to the inevitable laggy turbo. My last car, a 2017 SL63, claimed tons of torque and HP yet at low RPM's, felt like a worn out Honda Civic. Once it hit about 2k RPM's, it was all get up and go but below that, unhappy. As to the exhaust note on the SL63, it was sweet as can be but only because it is totally fake. They might have well installed speakers on the outside of the car for all the computerized shenanigans involved. Great car for someone, just not me.

The last fast NA car I had was a 911 with a beefed up 300hp oil cooled engine. It could do donuts all day long and would scream off the line from idle.

My next car will be NA and if the plan holds, a Ferrari. The complexity, laggy performance, sound, and inevitable failure of the turbo makes them unattractive to me.

 

Well said, I also considered an SL63 myself, at one time.

I would also highly recommend replacing standard factory rims for light forged alloy rims, factory upgrades or aftermarket. There are very good reasons why the factory used the heavy standard rims, as well as why they and the aftermarket makers offer forged upgrades. Light forged rims make an incredible difference to how much better the car responds.

 

I don't have much to add, especially as my wife was the one who told me to stop screwing around and buy a Ferrari. I was same age as you when I bought mine. 3 years and 16K miles in, I still love driving it every chance I get - on the track, road trips, going to FCA events, back road romps, going to Kroger, you name it.

You've gotten a lot of great advice already. Sit down with your wife, have a realistic look at your finances, make sure your major obligations - food, housing, kids, retirement, etc. - are covered. I like to tell people who ask me, imagine a pile of cash equal to the price of your Ferrari going up in flames. Poof. Gone. If that won't interfere with putting grub on the table, and a Ferrari is your dream, pull the trigger! Life is too short. If your wife loves you, she'll forgive you eventually!

Make a list of must-have options and nice-to-have options. And, then load every car buying app you can find on your phone and enjoy the hunt! As said above, F-chat is an awesome resource to learn about the model variants and the brand. I would have never been able to pull the trigger on a Ferrari purchase without the knowledge I learned here.

The Cali is a great first Ferrari. Good luck.

T

 

Only Turbo sports car Ive owned is an AMG GTS because it has a great soundtrack and is fun at low RPMs. The SL63 weighs 600 lbs more kind of a porker. Still prefer NA all day long. The linearity of throttle response cant be beat.

 

Unlisted and I have improvements to make for recording but...listen.

 

Okay the old guy is going to join in on this one. I have a modified T (when given it full power of over 650 HP & TQ it is quite a beast), and had a 575 and 360, and 430 and a lot of other things, (including almost every car mentioned in this thread). There is no right or wrong answer OP, you like the T, then get a T. There will always be lots of opinions, but the only one that matters is yours. We all have different reasons for the car we choose, and I have given up trying to determine what they are. I generally tell first time buyers to buy from a Ferrari dealer, you will likely get a warranty as part of the deal, and if you have a dealer close by I'd suggest starting to visit and get to know the staff. I have been working with my dealer over 20 years and there is no one there that I am not on a first name basis with. Options and colors are a personal thing, my car was heavily optioned (came from Newport beach CA seems a lot of cars from that dealer are) and I would not have put many of the options on if I had built it. Most everyone here knows at least a little about all the cars I have and the ones I have built. I give advise these days only when asked, since the way I see cars is very different than anyone else. If you need an introduction to my dealer, I'd be glad to help. Good luck in your search, I know from being on here so long that buying your first Ferrari is a big deal so try and enjoy it.