Real Life expectations for a T as a DD

I drive mine daily pretty much year round if it's not raining (it stays garaged in the winter unless the roads are dry, temperatures above freezing and no snow or ice around). I put 10k miles on my 2015 T in 18 months, and 15k miles on a California 30 before this one. No issues of note. The car will be happy if you drive it frequently. Just be aware that as a Ferrari it will have some quirks and the occasional annoyances, but if the battery is fresh and charged, you will be fine. I put the top down daily if it's 50 degrees out or warmer, too, the top will be fine. It's still a Ferrari, not a Camry or something, so an unexpected costly repair can always occur, so make sure you can pay for it if needed. But the days of Ferraris being fragile and unreliable (and needing engine out 5-figure belt services regularly) are long gone.

 

I had my 2016 T for five years with no major problems although I did have three minor oil leaks which were taken care of under warranty.
My window rocker switches both failed but were under warranty.
My battery had to be replaced after 58 months and I used the trickle charger daily.
Battery replacement can be expensive. Mine was nearly $800 at the dealer which was after I complained the $1,100 estimate was too high. Some panels need to be removed to get at it.
I put the Ferrari after sale speciale exhaust on which was a great improvement in sound.
Cost was about $4,500 at the dealer.
I wonder about your paddle shifters. I have never heard of this before. Does it reflect unusual pressure being applied under use?
I would strongly suggest you look into getting an extended Ferrari warranty if available. They cost about $5,000 per year although might be negotiable.

As a daily driver at 5,000 miles I think you should be fine but pay close attention to any anomalies which using.

You will enjoy the car!

 

Having driven my cali t over 20,000 km in one year I think I can comment on this.

Cali T doesn't have adaptive cruse control with stop &go and there is no head up display.

Initially I cared about it because I was so used to it.

After getting used to Cali T, i realized it is more fun to drive the car than car driving you like with newer cars. So I'm driving manual on 2nd and 3d gear most of the time. Mine has sport exhaust and it sounds great.

I always drive top down. Also in cold weather. Only exception is heavy rain.

Cali T HS is a lot fun on lower speeds. can also go very fast.

It is one of the best cars for DD.

Get one with Carplay. Because when infotainment doesn't get old, car doesn't get old.

 

I think you made the right call. Hard to imagine having major maintenance for a car doing approx 2.5k miles per year.

The major stuff (engine, gearbox, steering, suspension, brakes) are pretty damn good on Ferrari's these days. I have a 2016 Cali T and have had no major issues. I thought I had an oil leak once but it turned out it was condensation coming from the AC unit during a hot summer that dripped over parts of the engine block or subtrays. No big deal (just condensation).

The steering, brakes and suspension all feels as new.

I don't drive it as a DD but certainly could.

Only slight annoyance is occasional roof squeaks under high speed / high loads in fast sweepers. I could get it fixed / adjusted but haven't yet. No big deal.

Do make sure you keep it on your trickle charger to extend the battery life. Not cheap to replace but, hey, it's a Ferrari.

Good luck! You will LOVE this car. It is an amazing package and get ready for a lot of thumbs up's from hundreds of gawkers.

 

I met a guy in Sept. who had his Cali T from new and had done over 120,000 mikes in it, he was just looking to replace it with a Portofino so I guess he must have been pleased with it.
I have to say it still looked in very good condition.

 

Honestly there are so many factors involved in a decision like this (where you live, where you would service, how will people react, on and on) I would never recommend going cold turkey with an exotic being your only car for a first timer...

Buy the car, but keep (or downgrade to a super cheap beater) your DD and start slow, just weekends at first, then once a week....etc. Then after a few months you can make the final call.

 

The Cali T is a great daily, get one with the HS package and you're especially gonna love the commute

 

Put 12k miles on mine last year, flawless. Only issue had a broken windshield (stray rock chip), insurance paid 7k for new windshield and took a while to come from Italy. Get the warranty especially if used as a daily — top mechanism (very complex and heavy) is bound to fail and already some issues reported with transmission failures. Of course be gentle with switches which are fragile and use windshield cover to protect leather dash. Always trickle charger, change battery q 2 years for piece of mind (Interstate). Good luck.

 

I don't have a T but daily a Lusso and 488 Spider. These are very reliable cars and they work better when driven. Only thing I will strongly advise you to do is this. Get a Braille B10049 battery. Plug and play, pretty affordable, and by far the strongest and most powerful AGM battery on the market. It may be 100-120 bucks more that some Interstate or other run of the mill battery, but it is levels upon levels above in quality and performance.

Cheap way to have peace of mind.

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Congratulations!
Post up a pic!
I had plans to DD the Cali T, and you can.
But I don’t. With 7K miles, It’s just too nice to DD.
Good Luck

 

pics or it didnt happen

 

Re: the warranty and "things that will go wrong have already gone wrong," I respectfully disagree. I bought my CPO '15 Cali T from a remote dealer with ~15k miles in July. I'm the second owner. It went in for its annual maintenance in early September and my local dealer found issues that required engine-out service. The service would have cost >$!0k out of pocket if I hadn't bought the warranty.

 

Robert, are you able to elaborate on the issues?

 

I agree on a warranty - I just bought a dealer car with 2 year power warranty . Haven’t gotten it yet. ‘16 TDF Cali T. Piece of mind (still a 5-6 year old mechanical top) and better ability to sell the car in 12-18 months are why I opted for the 2 year power warranty. If I service it ( free) correctly and it passes an inspection an owner can even extend the warranty ? Not sure but a private sale of a Ferrari with records and a warranty ..
Car market is crazy and Ferrari is in another dimension but these things depreciate and I want to enjoy without fear and be able to easily sell it when the time comes...

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120K miles? Wow.

 

Very pretty in blue.

I think red would be the last color I would want on this model. Frankly, I would not want it on a Testarossa either.

I am bored with black/silver/red--black/silver/red---which seems to be polluting the entire car market these days.

Even the F-type jags---hard as hell to find one in green----and green would be an excellent color on a Roma or Cali---at least to me.

 

Love it! Looks great. Bianco avus? Hope you enjoy it to the max.
T
P.s. Not to be anal retentive, but can you move those ladders?!? They're making me nervous!

 

Engine out for what ?

 

Congrats

Not my DD but still put the most miles on the Cali T and now Portofino, as they feel like the easiest to maneuver in urban environments ( parking lots ) and stay under the radar, unlike the Pista.

I had an engine out oil leak on the T , my understanding was that it was the head gasket that was leaking. The Portofino appears to have the same leak forming, but its so minor I haven't had it addressed yet. New Power covered the cost of repair on the T. So, as long as your Indi closely inspected for oil leaks, not much else I would personally worry about.

As for loaners, I am pretty sure Ferrari does not offer them, nor would I expect them to. They have offered to make arrangements for a rental on my behalf , which I appreciated, but again didn't need.

Regarding how long the service took... 1 day, I dropped it off 1st thing and had it back that same day at 4pm !

welcome to the family and enjoy the experience!

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