OK. I have a bit of a quandry here. Assuming it has been perfectly maintained... Agip Muti-Sin 2000 every 3K, 15K, 30K, 45K all done on time, etc.... How much life does a 48K mile 2000 550 Maranello have left? Car has been used for a lot of highway use... Thanks in advance! Bill
Bart on this board has a 550 he puts miles on. He would be a good reference. I am on my 3rd one but have not been over 27K miles. But they were ALL great! YMMV DL
random suggestion: you might want to post this over in Technical, since what you're really asking is something like: "given standard, rational, proactive service history and ongoing service, what components of this drivetrain (electronics, body panels, etc.) are likely to be most problematic downstream" (or something like that). just a thought. doody.
I'd have thought it's got lots of life. The bulk of it is still only 4 yrs old, regardless of use. Highway miles, esp for a big V12 which is fairly unstressed should not pose a massive problem mechanically. I'd be more worried about stone chips and trim damage. Sounds like it'd be a good buy if the money's right. A proper inspection should throw up major probs. I did 60,000 miles in 2 years in a BMW 330. Nothing went wrong with that so I'm sure a Ferrari could do it too?? Robert.
Bill, for some reason, the typical expectation for a V12 clutch is 30,000 to 40,000 miles. Why I don't know, because it is a monster clutch. Napolis sez that he got 100,000 miles on his TR. I'm not having any problem with mine, but you never know. The only other thing, besides the niggly stuff -search the archives- is the damn 5 years or 30k mile timing belt bs. Bottom line is that if the belt breaks be sure and ram the car into a wall so that you can say it was an accident and total out the car. It is that bad. What I did was have the 30k service done on my 1998 Maranello, which qualified me for the new extended warranty. I had to pay through the nose, but it is nice having a safety net. Let us know how it turns out, Dale
Bill, I agree with Robt. that the car should have lots of life left in it, assuming the stellar maintainance record it all legit, and esp. if most of the miles were, as you say, highway miles. With that kind of mileage I would expect a price right around 100k. If its in great shape and you really like the color combo and it drives strong maybe 110 max. Good luck with the sale, and do your homework so the suprises are minimized!! John
Truth be told.. I own it and have for some time. (Ex-wife's fiancee is on the board I believe so I sort of wanted to keep mouth shut about it.. oh well, her sister saw me driving it so I'm busted anyways) I bought it with 7K on it and have put 42K on it in less than 3 years. I've had the 15K, 30K and 45K services done on time and it gets oil and filter every 3K. I figure that the car is probably worth 75Kish wholesale if I had to guess. I was planning on replacing it.. worrying if the motor went south or something, ergo my other thread... I have maintained it religiously. I drive about 50K miles per year.. problem I am running into is the lack of cruise. It usually makes a weekly trip from Orlando to Miami.. etc. Most of the miles were put on it in the NY City area, it only very recently came down here to Florida. Heck, I've even driven it in the snow a couple of times! BTW, 550s suck in the snow. I figure that since it's largely highway miles that it's not stressing it. I was going to give it a compresion test over the weekend. I'll post over in technical I guess to figure out where I ought to be compression-wise. If it was up to me, I'd run it forever. I figure even if the motor DOES die, it'd still cost me $50K+ to change the car... and I may have a line on a very low-mile used engine for $20K which I might buy as insurance. Thoughts?
AAahhhh, you very tricky man.... Drop me a line or send some pics if you want to sell in that neighborhood as I know someone that would love to get into a 550 and that kind of price might work, thanks, John
Its barely broken in (assuming its given a minute or so to warm up before you move out onto the road and fully warmed up befor you stomp on it). The engine, driveline, and suspension are less than 1/3rd their typical life (not that many Ferrari drivers ever get to the point where a major component wears out). Highway miles are the easiest thing a car can do (even better than sitting in a garage waiting for use). I would be very surprised if you can't get 150,000 to 250,000 miles out of that car if driven regularly and maintained well.
With her I have to be Actually I want to keep it.. It doesnt seem to make too much sense to dump it and then spend another $50K to just get a lower-mile car, right?
YAY!!! I'm going to try and set the 550 Maranello world record for high mileage (Heck, I'm probably there already).
Hey, best of luck, these cars should be good for 100k if service correctly and it sounds like you are all over that. Happy motoring!
"I'm going to try and set the 550 Maranello world record for high mileage" You may be entering uncharted territory! It'll be interesting to see how long things like the water pump, oil pumps, radiators, suspension bushings, etc. last on your car. Or do these things get replaced automatically in the maintenance schedule?
I got back from driving to and from Las Vegas about an hour ago (282 miles each way). My 550 has 46,000 miles on it. I change the oil every 3,000 miles. It runs like a clock. My Ferrari mechanic, who I have know for over 15 years, tells me that if I do the required maintenance he should not have to take the heads off until 200,000 miles. Larry says the engine is the best Ferrari has ever made for longevity. Knock on wood, but I have never had a problem on the road. Coming from Vegas I had a head wind and never went above 100 mph but a few times. I cruised at 95 - 98 mph. My mileage was 15.8 mpg. Of course, my engine is loose compared to a low mileage garage queen but I do have a little more horsepower and toque. I do need to get new windshield wipers but after 7 years, things do wear out. The car is still solid with no rattles or strange noises. The 45,000 mile is due and it will go see Larry for a week.
Well........ I remember the water pump being done at the 30K.. so we'll see how the rest of it holds up. Suspension is still tight, car runs like a raped ape as always. Really, aside from chronic power mirror switch problems (Nobody else drives the car except me so I'll put the 4th one in it eventually.) Right after I got it the radio crapped out, the replacement lasted a month, and then this one has been fine... lemme think.. overall it's been very reliable, certainly far more reliable than my BMW 7s.
Awesome! You snuck in before I posted Good to hear I'm not the only one who miles their car out. Call me crazy but I can't justify buying one of these, spending that much money and not using it.
This is very interesting to me as well, as I currently do ~1200/month on my car, and would love to know that' it's good for 100k+. --Dan
By the way, a friend's father did 43k on his 550, driven regularly, and I had a peek at his service history; NOTHING, i mean *nothing* other than the services. He got lucky, IMO, but that just goes to show the cars are that good. --Dan
I just got back from Ft. lauderdale test driving a 99 550 with 11,000 miles. What a great car to drive. After drivng many models I have decided I really liked the 550 more than any other. I have my old Ferrari friend looking as well as Sheltons in Lauderdale looking for the car for me. I am lookng for a 99 to 01 in Red with tan and low miles. I was hoping some of you might be the answer to some questions I have regarding the 550 from 99 to 01. First, the postings with your mileage you guys drive is great. I live in Central Florida by Ocala and all we have are great country roads paved with no traffic, and lots of highways. I figure great for a 550. I saw an options list when they were new and saw several different kinds of seats. I saw Racing seats all in leather, racing seats with central part in fabric. Then I am assuming the standard seats which are fully leather which I have seen (are these the daytona seats?). By the way, I looked at 5 cars over the weekend and two of them had the drivers seat left side pulling away from the seat. It was the part which holds the electric switches. Is this a general problem with the car? Do any of you have the Fiorano handling package on your cars? Is it worthwhile limiting my search to a car with this option? I also noticed two options regarding carbon fiber. One is the trim complementary to the racing seats, and the other is the Complete carbon fiber trim, which includes the carbon fiber sides on the standard daytona seats. Are these seats the standard seats in the car? Any information would really be helpful. I am willing to wait for the right car with the options I want. I saw the carbon fiber trim on a new 575 and it was very sharp. Any problems that I should look for? Have any of you had any dashboard shrinkage? I noticed all the cars had from minor to severe damage to the belly pans on the front corners from bottoming out. Several I saw were repaired with epoxy. Can you tell me anything about these extended warranties I can buy with the car. It seems like it might be worth it? If you are in Florida, who is doing your servicing? Shelton's in Ft. lauderdale seems class A. I am five hours north up by Ocala. Thanks for all of the help? Do I need to post this again under the technical section? Gary
you'll find very few 550s with the sport seats or racing seats. they're generally considered not as comfortable for long-distance rides as the non-sport seats, and this is a GT. the "daytona seats" is an option on top of the regular seats (which by the way, have great support as you've probably figured out) and sorta looks like strips of leather in the seat inserts. check online for pictures and you'll see the difference. find my pics in the archive - i don't have daytona seats. first i've ever heard of such a thing. remember, FL cars have a bad habit of exhibiting leather shrinkage problems earlier than other areas of the country. though i'm not sure you're describing a leather problem or a plastic problem. FHP was only available from MY 2000 on. it is a very rare option. if you limit to cars with this option, you'll have "a few" to choose from instead of "a dozen or dozens". there is no carbon fiber "standard". it's all optional. cf. above re: daytona. absolutely search the archives. it seems to be much less prevalent on 550s than, say, 355s. it looks like they worked a bit harder to get the dash leather right on the 550, though time will tell. can't say i've seen this either. the car is not that low, relatively speaking, as f-cars go. WAY higher than my 355 was. the problem with these is that it doesn't get you much additional time, and you have to invest a TON of money (pre-emptive service) to "qualify" for it. if you can negotiate it as part of the sale at a great rate, then definitely go for it. but if they won't work it into the deal, or if they'll only work it in at crazy prices, i'd skip it. just one man's opinion. others will disagree. no, but you might want to post a separate thread in this "Modern" section after you've reviewed the archives. doody.
For what it's worth, there was an Argento 550 on sale here mid 2003 with abit more than 100'000km (that's more than 60Kmi) and the car was sold. A french mag ran an article a few years back on a dude who bought his TR new and drove it 300'000km (180'000 miles). V12 engines are rock solid if treated and maintained well.
This is something I just don't understand. In Europe, people drive these cars, park them on the street, and enjoy them. Here in the US, if it's got 20k on it, STAY AWAY! Why? It's a car. I've got 195k on my BMW and expect to pile the miles on when I finally get my Ferrari. The 550 and the 512TR are my top two choices and I plan to drive it everywhere. Just look at JimG. He drove his TR until it was time to put it to pasture and loved every minute of it. Wondering how much life a car has left when it's only got 48k on it seems a little silly. Mark
garysp7, I agree with what Doody has said....with one exception. The FHP was available on US MY2000 and later. In the Euros it was available in at least 1999 and, I believe, even earlier (1997-1998?). I have the full carbon fiber package on my Euro '99 and the FHP. I like the carbon fiber - it gives it a different look. I posted pics in the showroom a while back if you can find them. Good luck with the search... David
