2013 & 2014 California 30 Owners. What has been your largest service issue?

Don't personally have a California, but my friends (2012) at 9K miles (about a month out of extended warranty) transmission went as stated previously the transmission cost is quite high 25K+, but local dealer quoted just over 30K, Miller was in between. Other than that they had minor issues fuel filler cap somehow failed, very odd. Depending on the cost of a extended warranty it may be worth it, though the 30's are supposed to have less common transmission issues.

 

Sorry to learn of your friend's experience with his out of warranty 2012 car. Looks like the failure probably happened in 2015. However, if you're new to the discussion there's good news for you if the issue matters to you. Ferrari dealers are now able to service the DCT transmission themselves rather than have to ship them off to Getrag for a complete swap which was apparently the reason for the ridiculous repair costs your friend and others experienced.

This change has apparently been taking place over the last couple of years as Getrag relaxed its initial swap-only policy and started training Ferrari techs from the dealership network. The result is that DCT repairs are now similar in costs to those charged for conventional automatic and manual transmissions. Most of such costs just involve labour, parts (and lubricants) like regular transmission service.

 

Only trouble I've had is a convertible top sensor but it took several attempts to straighten out. Cost was zero, since the car was under warranty.

 

I had to have 2 fuel rails replaced on my 2013 model (at about 600 miles) due to leakage on both sides when the car was left for a couple of hours after driving it. Repair was under warranty, but took multiple visits to the shop before it was diagnosed. Interestingly there was another 2013 model California 30 in the shop for the same problem, but with higher mileage.

 

4th gear is not totally correct. My gearbox box went bad about 5 months ago do to a bad bearing. I have it serviced at one of the the largest dealerships in the United States. Ferrari decided to replace the entire unit with a new one rather than fix it on site. Some things can be fixed at the dealership, but this was a large under taking, and I guess Ferrari decided it was cost effective to replace the entire unit, rather than to fix it on site

 

As I recall, you bought your 2012 car in 2016 and 3 months later had engine mounts and DCT issues, both covered under the extended warranty you purchased.

The difference in your case is the extended warranty... it was neither yours or your dealer's money involved. I'm actually not sure why you're so impressed with your dealer... seeing that they did not mention your car's $3,000-worth of engine mount problems. Your car only had 6,000 miles on it - how does one wear out engine mounts in 6,000 miles? It was a pretty good deal your dealer made... sold you a defective car, extended warranty, immediately performed $3,000 + $25,000 worth of warranty repairs.

Some dealers like the one in Toronto race 458/488, like GT3s in the Pirelli World Challenge and they rebuild DCTs on a regular basis. It's just another transmission to them.

So, perhaps it's you who's "not totally correct".

 

First of all 4th Gear you should get your facts straight. My car was bought out of state from another Ferrari dealer. It was my dealer who found the problems. Car was a certified Ferrari vehicle. The problems were not caught by the selling dealer. Why were the mounts bad. Ask Ferrari. Why did Ferrari decided to give me a new gearbox. According to you, it would be cheaper to have the dealer fix it. From what I was told by the operations manager, Ferrari chose to send over a new gearbox as they did not think it was cost effective to fix it at the dealer . I assume Ferrari knows a little bit more than you do!!

 

I got my facts from your posts but perhaps you haven't understood your own facts correctly.

The fact that Ferrari chose to send a replacement does not mean it would cost more than $25,000 to fix your car's DCT. It simply means it costs FERRARI less to swap the DCT than it would if they had to pay your dealer to make the repairs, which is about $7,000 to $8,000 as reported by other people on the forum.

So, please examine your own facts and try to understand what's going on before making incorrect assumptions. It's just a transmission job, the difference in what we (not Ferrari) pay (the dealer) compared to (what a Ford or GM dealer charges) is just Ferrari dealer labour rates.

 

let's get some facts correct. You my friend have a lot of post. You are not always correct as you think. I called you out on the headlight assembly. You advised a member that he could take a California headlight assembly out from the bottom. When in fact the entire bumper has to be removed and the headlight assembly comes out from the top . I have yet to see anyone have a bearing go bad and been fixed by the dealer. Most people have sensors go bad and that is the $7,000 were seeing on repairs. So just maybe ,it's you that should get your facts correct!! I'm done with this argumentative nonsense

 

I think you are getting a little too personal. You say "You my friend have a lot of post". Since I don't actually post that many messages on the California forum you would only feel I post a lot if you pay attention to the messages I post outside this forum. So are you following me around?

I find that curious as I have no interest in following you or anyone around nor am I interested in how many messages other people post. Please try not to veer off-topic and drag in personal baggage on unrelated issues. I am only interested in exchanging ideas and opinions. I would suggest you also stick to discussing on-topic ideas and not your fellow Fchat members.

While we're still on the off-topic, you will also notice I haven't actually posted "I am never wrong" or that someone else is "... not always correct as (they) think". Yes, I am sometimes wrong but I also immediately admit fault when I realize it and I apologize and explain myself. I wish you would do the same.

OK now returning on-topic, you appear to claim dealers only fix bad sensors in DCT and that gear (or bearing) repairs are too costly compared to a DCT swap which we agree is around $25,000. What do you think get repaired when automatic transmissions need to be rebuilt? Here are photos of a 7DCL750 and a cutaway of a generalized DCT

Image Unavailable, Please Login

And here is an 8-speed auto transmission from a $34,000 RAM 1500 pickup. It doesn't look any less complicated from a mechanical standpoint.

Image Unavailable, Please Login

Both transmission contain a lot of gears and bearings. Do you think the RAM 8-speed transmission is too complex or cost more than $25,000 to service if it needs a new gear or bearing? What do you think happens when an automatic transmission is rebuilt? The whole thing has to be taken apart and put back together with new seals, rings, friction plates, gaskets,...etc.

They are both mechanical transmissions, and very similar from a mechanical component standpoint. So gears and bearings are not likely the problem. I suspect Ferrari has excess spare replacement DCTs that it originally allocated for swaps due to DCT failures and since dealers are now trained to repair DCTs, the extra spares are now surplus. Rather than to pay the dealer the $7000-$8000 labour charge. Ferrari just pays the freight and labour for the swap. Ferrari has too many spares.

I would also suggest, if you did not have extended warranty, your dealer would be servicing the DCT for you and not for $25,000.

 

Yeah i probably am!

 

13 Cali 30 owner for almost 3 years. Purchased with 8k miles currently just turned 18k miles.
Dead battery once and currently seat warmer intermittent.
Otherwise free service annually. Love this car!
Also my car sits for a couple weeks quite often and never needed to put it on trickle charger.
Its a great companion for my 512TR
The wife and I take it on a few road trips up the coast or to the desert a few times a year.
Great memories and plenty to come. Was considering ordering the Portofino but the price delta is huge now that the Cali has depreciated. Every time I drive her I know the power is adequate and love the normal aspiration sound that is paramount to the F car experience for me.
Cheers and best of luck