2010 458 purchase advice

There were some transmission issues with the early cars in particular, hard to know how frequent, but they are an expensive fix. Suggest a good PPI to make sure that the transmission is at least functioning properly and go in with eyes open that it may be an issue in the future. Mine is an '11 with similar mileage, great car, but I am financially and mentally prepared for owning it out of warranty. Also, in terms of stupid stuff, the rotors are shockingly expensive so I'd check to make sure they are smooth and in good shape. Good service history will give you a lot of reassurance.

Others will chime in, but I don't think there are 458 unique problems (other than the risks above) that can't be checked by thorough inspection.

Good luck!

Matt

 

Bill- when I purchased my 2012 I took it to Ferrari in Dallas for the Power Warranty inspection. This is almost as thorough as an independent PPI, and should cover all of your major mechanical parts. Even if you don't opt to purchase the warranty, it should give you peace of mind that Ferrari is willing to give it their stamp of approval. I felt comfortable accessing the paint/ body/ wheels/ tires since that wasn't really part of the PW inspection.

Prior to purchasing my 2012 458, I had a similar 2013 inspected (Ferrari of Washington in DC) and within 1.5 hours of the inspection the tech called me to tell me it wasn't going to pass (transmission & differential issues). Thankfully he only charged an hour of labor rather than the full inspection cost. Keep in mind that when I drove the 2013 it drove perfect, actually the best driving of the 4-5 I test drove during my search. Don't trust the test drive, get a proper inspection done.

Best of luck in your search. Take your time and find a good one. You won't regret it.

 

I purchased a 2010 model with 9800 miles on the odometer two years ago. Annual service is what I have performed. Absolutely nothing beyond that. As to the tranny issues, I figure saving 5 grand a year in lieu of an extended power warranty would be available if the transmission decides to have a sensor issue.
I know that it is the opinion of some on these forums that this issue is pretty exclusive to 2010-2011 model years. However, there have been a few reported failures on later models.
It seems that excessive heat n the engine bay contributes to this problem. I lift the engine lid after I get the car into the garage after every drive.
During the summer, I also run a fan into the bay to cool things off. I used a flat varnish to coat my switches and there is absolutely no stickiness. As far as I can tell, the appearance hasn’t been altered. Just the feel.
I have no plans to sell my car. I will drive it as much as I want. I will spend no time worrying about the transmission, residual value or cost of maintenance. It is a great car meant to be driven and enjoyed. There are many other things in life that cause enough worry.
This Ferrari will not be one of them.
Buy the dang car and enjoy it!!!!!

 

Sir
Can you explain what varnish specifically you use and how you applied it? I would like to do this on my 458.
Thank you


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You need to simply read the first thread here, which is "Most 458 Discussions". IMO the most vulnerable and costly part of the 458 is the transmission box. First goes the speed sensor, then the rest of the box. I bought my '14 Italia w/ 4,400 on the clock in 3/20 and by 6k on the clock, I had to have the entire box replaced w/ a new one, to the tune of $40k! Fortunately I had the power warranty, so Ferrari covered it all! Unfortunately no PPI can expose a potential failure, unless the idiot light is on and it's not shifting properly.

 

SamaN Sam-801-500-ml. Dead Flat Varnish.
I cleaned the switches with a little diluted alcohol and water.
Let it dry and then applied one coat at a time on the switches.
I let the stuff dry for a few hours and repeated many times.
If you do this, try one little spot on a little used switch and be sure you are OK with the finish.
The switch will lose its spongy texture but it sure isn't sticky anymore.
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Thank you. How do you apply it? Small paint brush?


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Small paintbrush works. It is a water based product so cleanup is a snap.

 

What was wrong with the 2013?

 

Sensor is a $10k job, I was quoted it before it was finally determined by Ferrari, that I needed a new box installed for $40k. The sensor goes and can quickly wreak havoc!

 

Bill, I was told by my mechanic that “if”, and by that I mean “if” the main sensor fails that the repair would be between 10-12K. I have seen posts about the entire gearbox needing replacement by some, but it is not clear whether this replacement fix was prior to when Ferrari determined the gearbox could be repaired without having to be replaced. Again it needs to be stressed that while it seems that a few early 458’s we’re having this problem, there have been some problems with later years, also. Not my opinion, but from a Ferrari mechanic. My mechanic has a gearbox specialist who said that he usually has a rebuilt box ready to go and takes the failed one and it usually takes a week to ten days for the complete turnaround. He also said that if it is important to have the original box with the car it would take another ten days or so to be up and running. I know that some find the possibility of this occurrence enough to discourage the purchase of an earlier 458, but I would consider a couple of factors to contribute to the problem. Tracking the car, not sufficiently warming up the fluids before you drive aggressively and not venting the engine bay after driving. Excessive heat seems to be the main factor in the sensor failure.

 

There is a lot of well-intentioned but nonetheless misinformation on the forums about this issue
It is exceedingly rare but can happen to any model year
The issue cannot be identified in a PPI
It is the temps inside the transmission housing that degrade the sensor
Raising the bonnet or using fans has no impact
It is a $9K repair, almost all of which is labor to take out the transmission, open it up, replace the sensor pack, and put it all back together

You have a better chance of wrecking the car than suffering this failure
Buy the 458 and enjoy it and stop stressing

 

Thank you, Todd.
I realize that a sensor failure can be expensive, but it seems that the doom and gloom posted here would be enough to
discourage anyone from buying one of these cars. I am not minimizing those who have had to replace sensors or transmissions,
but the impression is that this is inevitable with every car.
This surely did not discourage me from buying my 2010 458.
As far as a fan or raising the engine lid, if excessive heat inside the box creates this problem, wouldn't it make sense to
alleviate the heat inside the engine bay to bring the temp down? It seems to me that if you shorten the time things cook
inside the bay there will be less degrading of the wiring and sensor.
If it makes no difference, at least I feel like I am doing something to keep the heat down.

 

doom and gloom is accurate.
to cool the transmission down after spirited driving I would think driving the car in a non-aggressive manner with all cooling systems operating might be better?
Not sure

 

There is no evidence to suggest any of these items contribute. Most of the 458’s that suffered this issue were low mileage, not tracked. less than 10k miles and there were just as many 2013 and 2014 458’s which suffered this issue as there were 2010, 2011, and 2012. There is a misconception Ferrari fixed the issue on later model years and the fact is they didn’t - ALL 458 are susceptible to this tranny failure equally. In fact an fchat member just a few weeks ago with a 2014 458 and just 6k miles had the transmission failure. If the failure is going to happen, it is going to happen and there is literally nothing you can do to prevent it nor can it be identified in a PPI. The best thing to do is drive your car as often as possible and rack up the mileage while it is still under warranty so if it happens, it happens under warranty.

I currently have 30k miles on my 2010 458 and have about 1.5 yrs left on my power warranty. I plan to add another 10-15k miles while I still have the warranty so anything that happens, will happen under warranty for the first 45k miles of the car.

I can’t emphasize this enough, drive the car as much as you can while it’s under warranty. A high mileage car means all gremlins and issues have been sorted out over time and you can have confidence in it…a low mileage 458 without a warranty is basically like playing Russian roulette. A high mileage 458 will be well sorted and you know what you’ve got.

From a mathematical perspective, a 2010 458 with 45k miles on it is far less likely to experience the failure than a 2014 with 5k miles. When these failure happen, they typically happen when the car still has low miles.

Buying a 2010 458 with 25k miles is probably the safest bet when it comes to 458 shopping. If the timebomb transmission was going to have any issues, it almost certainly would have happened by then on this car. A 2014 with 5k miles…yeah, that’s a total gamble.


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