2012 Ferrari California - 1 month experience

Have same experience, bought a Ferrari California year 2013 at a Ferrari dealership with power warranty.

None of those problems are covered by the warranty (limited to gearbox, engine and few other things). Spent over 20 K$ for new headlamps, sticky buttons, broken parts etc... Ferrari knows very well why it is not covered by the dealer approved warranty program...

 

Thanks. It's a good reminder to many that for the F dream the purchase $$$ is just the beginning.
Many here have had similar tales, but with TLC and regular driving these cars seem to settle down.

How many miles did it have on the odo when you bought it.
Show us some pictures of your new California.
And, most importantly, congrats on your new Ferrari!!

T

 

Same here with a lot of the issues you have experienced regarding interior trim. Sticky buttons are a real pain and mine have just been returned from Sticky RX and I can't wait to see them back inside the car better than new. Leather trim coming unglued is my biggest headache and should never happen. Can't bring myself to take out the entire dashboard to get the top fixed until it becomes unsightly, which it is far from at present. Had the 2013 Cali 30 from new and treated it lovingly but some things you can't control. My only advice would be while it is on 7 year free service and 3 years warranty owners use that time to put something aside as a sinking fund if long term ownership is planned as that is the cheapest run time there is.
If Ferrari motoring was easy everyone would be doing it and that wouldn't make it special. No regrets and lots of pride mean it is all worth it.

 

It sounds like your car, unfortunately, had a pretty hard life before you got it. Hopefully you paid a reasonable price accordingly as most of that list is visual and should have been caught with a pre purchase inspection. But it should be rewarding restoring it back to its former glory.

Of that list, most of it seems to be due to exposure to the elements over the years ... perhaps it was parked frequently in the sun in a hot climate. How many miles on it? The key issue (battery?), brake light (bulb?) and TPMS (battery?) issues are probably age taking its toll on an 11 year old car. HVAC panel is a failure that warranty would have covered. The headlights are incredibly expensive to replace, so maybe just live with the loose LEDs. I think someone here managed to open the headlight casing and repair it, do a search. The peeling side mirror would be an improper removal of the old film ... you have to be really careful taking that stuff off, especially if it was installed years ago.

Nothing is low-maintenance about these cars, especially when they are used cars. Best you can do is find the one that the previous owner cared for meticulously, and keep your fingers crossed

 

vjd3, I think you're spot on regarding sunlight and heat causing the "stickies". I'm the third owner of our 2013 Cali and have not experienced that issue. The car was sold in Illinois and has spent its life in the Midwest. I do have shrinking leather on the top of the dash. That seems to be the achilles heel of this model. So far mine is minimal. There is a thread about someone fixing the headlight "jewels" that have come loose. I chose to accept this as a result of age. My wife bought me a Weathertech sunshield for the dash and this works well when we need to park the car in the sun. They make dedicated shields for each model. Fits well, and rolls up when not in use.

 

Stunning!!!

 

Black over tan Cali. Tasty and refreshing like an ice cold Guinness! Enjoy your new F-car in the very best of health...T

 

The California looks great in black, and also several other colors!