458 458 Italia purchase advise

Those are often $4,500 each year.

 

I purchased my 458 privately about a year ago. Sent it to a dealer for power warranty inspection (basically my way of getting a PPI).

Inspection was $1400 and 12 month power warranty was $4900.

With the cost of a new gearbox if it fails, I'd say $6k for 2 years is absolutely worth it for the peace of mind.

 

Just a few threads down https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/extended-warranty.657982/

 

I paid 4,900 for 2 years
the price is negotiable to an extent
6,000 seems a bit high

 

Almost 8 years and 26k miles without an extended warranty on my 2010 458. Only had a few minor issues that wouldn’t have been covered anyway. Remember this warranty is not bumper to bumper like the new car warranty. A little math…. $4500 x 8 = $36K saved + I’ve been seeing an average of 8% return on this money that goes into my investments. If my trans goes south it can be repaired by some dealers for approx $9-11k so I’m thinking I’m money ahead to repair or replace.

 

Have to agree…as long as due diligence is conducted and car has not been trashed or tracked cost benefit in my opinion offsets paying circa 5k for the extended warranty for two years.

 

at $4900 for 2 years = $200 per month.
worth it? i thought so.

 

Corrected…meant for two years….each to their own ….have had several Fcars to include my Pista without the extended warranty.

 

I never buy warranties, and I'm WAY ahead over the years. Warranty companies are in business to make money, not give it out. So, either you are a numbers guy and play probability, or are the type of person that would rather pay for peace on mind. No right or wrong choice here. It is personal preference. I started a thread a while back regarding this topic to see how many members on the forum made out ahead with the warranty vs wasting their money. If I remember correctly, I think it was somewhere between 15% and 18% of the people benefited from it, vs 82%-85% benefited by not having it. Once again, that was all based purely on numbers, not satisfaction, or comfort/security.

 

Totally understandable.

 

My understanding is that the dealer cost is $4,500 (they get 2 years for the price of 1 year on a certified car purchased from a dealer). But the price may have gone up recently.

 

Correct, if the car is a CPO purchased at a Ferrari dealership then the two years for the price of one is the rate. Otherwise it's one for one.

 

I probably lost money on my 458 warranty, in 11k miles I got 2 or 3 small services out of it that were maybe $2k total.

For my F12 warranty I'm easily $30k upside already, with five repairs (DCT was $23k+, alternator belt x2 + upgraded pulley, fuel filler neck, rear fender corrosion).

 

On both of my Ferrari purchases I negotiated the new power warranty for free. Times are a bit different now. Sellers market.

I also needed the peace of mind and didn’t have any repairs needed coverage.


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A lot depends on your risk tolerance and budget. And how long you think you will own the car. The most common serious failure is bad sensors inside the gearbox. It doesn’t happen to everyone. But when it does, it can mean $10-15k. That’s down from the early days when the only cure was a new $30k gearbox. If you keep the car for 2+ years, skip the warranty and nothing happens, you have $12k put away.


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Agree, didn’t have warranty on my 16M, was bulletproof.
Don’t plan to have extended warranties on my Speciales either.
Have CPO on my TDF but don’t think I’ll extend that either.
The modern Ferraris do quite well.


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What happened with the DCT?


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Thanks for your reply. I was recently quoted $7k for one year, including the mandatory in-depth/comprehensive inspection (must now be performed according to the dealer) on a ‘15 458 Italia with 17k miles, zero issues from new, never tracked, 100% F-dealer serviced and zero claims on the warranty.

At 7k per year for a Power warranty, every two years you’ve paid for a sensor replacement/repair with the cost of the warranty. The cost to benefit math equation is getting a wee bit wonky…

Of course, I’m told you get an annual service included at the $7k, so that is a benefit. I was also told there is no discount for zero warranty claims, even though I was told that was available when I bought it in 2019.

Are the programme rules and prices up to the individual dealer?

Cheers !

 

“The usual” failure: the seal around the drive shaft. The techs explained this is the most common DCT issue, this seal goes and fluid starts to leak/mix:
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I stopped by to see the progress and they showed me around and walked me through they were doing (which they always do and why I love Ferrari of Las Vegas - Rich and Tavis are real superstars). That said I get totally queasy seeing any car like this because I have nightmares about not being able to put mechanical or electronic things back together.
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Generally if you just set aside the money you would spend on various warranties over the years, you’re going to end up ahead. As others have mentioned, selling these contracts generates profit. Probably substantial profit.

Also keep in mind that you do not need to have repairs done at the dealer. Independents are just as good and sometimes better, who can source the same parts for a fraction of the price. Or, it’s not really much effort to source them yourself.

I can state as a fact that I’ve had the dealer quote me 3-4x what I ultimately paid for parts and labor. Example, go ask your dealer how much a new battery will be. You’ll get a number around $750-900. Battery itself costs $250 for a high quality AGM and literally takes 30 minutes to install. I’ve had them quote me $100 for parts that are $15, OEM, not aftermarket. Ask them what the plastic bolt cover for the seat belts costs if you need proof.

The point here is that part of the peace of mind is to shield from dealer-specific mark up. The value proposition is substantially lower once you’re comfortable using completely capable 3rd party mechanics (many of whom worked at the dealer for lengthy durations anyway) and don’t just take OEM part costs for what the dealer says.

Combine all this with the fact that the 458 has proven to be very reliable. Most of the problems come from letting the cars sit. Perform the regular fluid changes, run them every few weeks, even if just in your garage or go for a 10 minute drive and you’re not likely to have substantial problems. 5 years with my Italia and it’s all been completely minor work I didn’t even have to do but did anyway because I’m a perfectionist with maintenance.

 

Hello,

Did the mechanics you used in FoLV offer any recommendations on how often the DCT fluid should be changed?

I’ve heard everything from never, to only if it’s leaking and others at specific time intervals.

Just curious if regularly changing the DCT fluid would help to forestall the seal failure indicated in your photos?

Thanks in advance and Cheers!