2010 Cali buying advice

There were changes made (in 2013 I believe?) to the DCT to try to mitigate those issues with the speed sensors, but I don't think it's necessarily something that happens early or not at all, it's heat related.

The brakes are extremely expensive but last a long time if there's no track use, that's something to look closely at when you have the car inspected before buying it.

There are two mindsets ... buy the car and self insure (i.e., hope that nothing expensive fails and have the funds to fix it if it does), or pay the $4500 or so annually for the Ferrari New Power warranty and know that a lot of expensive things would be covered if something goes wrong. Some people will buy the warranty for the first year and see how it goes, then decide whether or not to renew it. There are some big-ticket items on the car ... the gearbox is one, the roof is another ... the shocks are expensive, there have been some reports of variator problems. It's a Ferrari, so almost anything that breaks is not going to be inexpensive to repair -- the radio is $12000 (ironically, on the 09-14 California it's the same radio as in a Chrysler minivan) -- so look closely at what the warranty covers and decide if it's worth it to you.

 

I'd buy a newer model as there are less DCT issues, actually, less issues overall. 2013-2014 for a naturally aspirated Cali is a safe bet.

 

Totally agree with Adam.
If I were jumping into the market now, I would look @ a '13-'14 HS (Handling Speciale).
Naturally aspirated and some fun extra "go fast" bits.
T

 

Wait. You said you were ready to take the leap from Maserati to a Ferrari. But then you're looking at a Maserati with a Cavalino on the bonnet?

Just kidding Too tempting to mess around a bit

Regarding brakes. You will need to seriously baby that car to get that kind of milage on those rotors. I think the average is way less than half that, and if you ever decide to track the car, be ready for expensive brake maintenance. There are alternatives out there, just be aware that brakes are an expensive thing to maintain, especially if you have the stock stuff done at a Ferrari dealership.

Not sure I would worry too much about DCT on an early car with milage on it. The cars with DCT issues seemed to show them pretty early on. If the car had issues, I'd reckon they would would have been obvious a lkng time ago. Only situation where I could see this not being the case, would be with an 8-9 year old garage queen. But I'd stay away from those for slew of other reasons.

If you can swing it, seriously look into the Cali 30. Forget the 30 added PS and the 30 kg less. That's just fluff and depending on spec, power-to-weight might be worse or the same as a regular Cali. There are two good, and I mean really good reasons for choosing the 30. One is the changed gear ratios. The Cali is a Hector, no way around it. And in its original form, the long gears in concert with the 460 PS engine didn't exactly make for a blisteringly fast and responsive car. Some would even say a bit sluggish and slow for what it is. Ferrari changed the ratios in the 30, and that really woke the car up.
The other reason is suspension. Not a fan of the bouncy and harsh suslension of the original. The 30 is still a bit over-sprung, but nowhere near that of the original Cali. I know not all agree on this, but that is my experience.
Lastly, some early Calis also had a bunch of roof issues. Those can get expensive.

 

Nailed it! Everyone always forgets about the gear ratio change. A setup Cali30 will beat a F430. I'll never forget my buddies face after giving my car a real "pedal to the metal" test drive on a twisty road. He had spent the entire morning down playing the Cali30….then he drove it that afternoon. He stated more than once he was wrong and had to eat crow. That was months ago and to this day he can't get over how brilliant the Cali30 HS is. It's not a 458 Italia, but it's a good all around exotic.

 

Another vote for a '13 or '14. Much better performance, better sorted DCT, well worth the extra.

 

What is your budget?

 

Wondering the same thing. To reach a $40k+ delta, we're talking more than year, we're talking depreciation based on high mileage as well. OP, You're self warrantying a 9-10 year old vehicle. Bottom cars are there for a reason. Be careful.

 

Indeed. A high milage car could easily be a 25k brake job within a year. As per my rule #1. The cheapest Ferrari is usually the most expensive.

 

I honestly was in this exact conundrum. It really depends on what you want. For me the issues with the early Cali’s ruled it out mainly because there was a higher chance at a failure. That left the Cali 30 and T. Prices are down enough since the Porto came out on the T that if a turbo car isn’t a deal breaker you get a newer car with a better interior in my humble opinion. I do prefer the exterior styling of the earlier California though but not enough that it’s a big deal to me.

With the knowledge of the issues that could pop up on the California it’s still a great deal, and depending on the dealer and if they have a tech trained to replace the DCT sensors total replacement isn’t neccisarry saving a good portion then the 30k I’ve been told replacement cost. And roof issues could happen on any convertible so it’s just something to be prepared for. There are a lot of folks here that have driven their Cali’s quite a bit and have been trouble free. And it does appear in regular use the brakes do last quite a while but are expensive when replacement is required. I’d say find the nicest car you can that ticks all the right boxes and go from there. Trying to buy the cars at the lower end of the price range will end up costing more later from what I’ve seen. Good luck with your search.

 

Most don't want a CaliT or Portofino because they don't sound like a true Ferrari. The clogged up exhaust system spooling up two turbos ruins that chance. The Cali30 has redesigned headers as well over the Gen1. What's your budget?

 

Yeah the T is quite a bit quieter but I’m told an exaust swap helps a lot, but I don’t really care.

Remember that CCB rotors are checked by weight. Also I’ve seen some MY 13 Cali 30’s at Ferrari dealers for sale in the mid 90’s but usually have higher miles and aren’t red/tan. One that comes to mind is a Grigio with a dark brown interior I seen 6 months or so ago for sale at Ferrari Long Island I believe. Also prices will start sliding down for winter months. If the same holds true this year as past years December and January usually the lowest they seem to dip.

It’s never a bad idea to offer lower then the ask, as long as it’s not unrealistic, the worst they can say is no. I also never deal with a dealership that has no haggle pricing. As far as the Cali 30 goes I’d think it’s in the sweet spot where it’s somewhat better off in reguards to deprishiation since it’s a bit better then the earlier California and is the last natuarally aspirated california. Prices have held much more steady for the Cali 30 overall with the T depreciating the most over the last year. So I’m not so sure they will as much as the pre or post models.

 

I would say you should be able to get into a Cali 30 for about 10-15k more at the most. i.e 95-105k range as opposed to the 85-95k range. Of course there's a limit to how much you can add to a budget, but still.

I will add this. I'm not so sure that you will take a bigger depreciation hit on a Cali 30 over that time period. You and your wife might not be that interested in the added performance, but many others are. The Cali 30 will plateau higher than the regular Cali, and they are both pretty close to where I would think they end up for some time.

Just my thoughts.

 

The roots are checked by weight and not thickness. That has something to do with the fact that the carbon material gradually wears off while leaving the ceramic skeleton behind. Getting them weighed isn’t a big operation. This is usually done during a pad change. Also the on board computer will provide a reading about the end of life of the rotors.

The pads on the other hand are checked by thickness. In many cases the rotors will last 2 pads.

You will know that your rotors are worn out because the stopping performance will become degraded.

 

Don't buy a Ferrari out of warranty unless you can stomach a $20K repair bill. It may not happen, but it can and occasionally does. A 10 year old California has lots of expensive parts and systems.

As far as bottom of depreciation curve... crystal ball time... but I suspect we will see $55K California's in another 5-8 years

 

55k for a good example or poorly cared for high mileage car? I’m guessing 65k for a good car but less then 5 years. More for the Cali 30 since I believe it’s in a good position to hold more value.

 

Hi...
So, I am looking at a 2014 model, but not a "30" edition. Will it still have the gearbox upgrades ad ratio? I think it's gptmyhe power upgrade and revised headers.. but not sure about the rest ?

 

All 2013's and 14's are 30's. It was a refresh model to fix complaints with the gen1 Cali. Then you could further improve the Cali30 by going for the Handling Speciale package when speccing the car. I have one for sale here: https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/2014-ferrari-california-30-handling-speciale-tampa-fl.607542/

 

thanks for the reply and info... i was unsure, as the adverts over here on Autotrader describe the cars differently...