458 Reliability and maintenance of 458 Speciale, purchase advice

I did the opposite. Traded a Pista for one. No regrets at all.

 

Standard issues common to all 458 family, at this point, 11 years of age, time to update the CV boots and grease, check shocks for leaks, check bushings for wear. Sticky buttons will happen, has it been updated (i.e. StickyRX, etc), reliability is good but sudden expenses can occur at any time (e-brake module lockup/replace--never use owner's manual suggestion to break e-brake free, will cost 10x as much as just replacing the module), leather? if so, watch for pulling, but most are Alcantara, left and right screens can fail, very expensive to replace (again, any 458 family will have these issues), dashboard controls can break without notice, expensive to replace, 12v battery replace every 3 years, being GDI, carbon deposits on the valves will happen, additives such as no-rosion 'fuel system combustion optimizer' will help remove, overall, reliable, not perfect, but liveable