550/575 maintenance costs?

When I get time, I'll post all the detail. But my experience is $1 a mile. You drive 5,000 miles a year, it gonna cost you $5,000 in non-maintenance repair costs.

The labor ain't the problem. It's the parts.

Dale

 

Is it for 550 or 575? I am thinking of getting either one. I've been driving 2000 456, 10,000mi and no problem so far.

 

550

 

Thank you. I am looking forward to your details re the maintenance. Have you read Mike Sheehan's "Can You Afford $10.27 per Mile?" ?

http://www.ferraris-online.com/pages/article.php?reqart=SCM_200612_SS

 

that article is downright silly. oil and tires aren't part of the math, imo. certainly customizations (fender shields) and repaints (road rash) aren't either. they ain't free to maintain, for sure, but the article goes way over the top. some of those services surely were excessive.

the rule of thumb i came up with during my 550 ownership was to put away $2K per year for regular maintenance (including the major every 5th year). plenty of stuff can break beyond that of course.

doody.

 

+1 on the Sheehan article. And agree with the 2K for annuals however, should the car in question require a major, (predicated on mileage) you'll be looking at a minimum of 4500. If your doing things by FNA's book, the belts get replaced every 3 years or 30K.

 

Really not too far off. Mine has been $10K in 5 years of ownership; this included one major, three annuals, a dash re-cover, several details, etc. Compared to the $30K in depreciation....heck, that's nothing!! It is now due for another major and the siren battery has croaked......I'm smelling a $5500-6000 bill.

 

Although UK prices are a bit different than what you're looking for, they are still a great indication, so I suggest you check out the articles on the long-termer 550 that EVO magazine ran (www.evo.co.uk). This is their end-of-term article, you can find the rest of the articles at the bottom of the page: http://www.evo.co.uk/carreviews/evolongtermtests/66150/ferrari_550.html

I found their buying guide very helpful too as it lists part prices (EVO magazine November 2004 I think), but that's not available online.

Using that information I put together the attached spreadsheet (Excel 2003). The spreadsheet was built to give me an insight into buying a 550 in the Netherlands, and whether it was cheaper to import. Therefore I put all the 550's for sale that I could find on the net in it and added tax and such things specific to the Netherlands. This is all not applicable to you. Also: the prices of the cars shown are from about 6 months ago.

However, there is a maintenance table in there, and the "Prices and Costs" sheet shows expected costs for tyres, fuel, insurance, etc..

Combining the two with depreciation gives a full picture of ownership cost, comparing one 550 to the next. In my view this is the only way you ever find out if a car is a bargain or not. I also do not believe in excluding depreciation from cost/km - this is real money that could have been sitting in the bank but instead it's flying out the window: I'd like to know how much it is!

The spreadsheet tends to be on the conservative side, and so far my 550 has been cheaper than predicted for the 8,000km I've done in it. On the other hand, it seems I may have underestimated depreciation. Fuel consumption seems to be spot on and tyre wear overestimated (maybe I should drive it more aggressively!!!). I haven't had any servicing done yet so I'm not sure on my predictions on those costs, but they are based on information from EVO and F-chat so I don't think it's too far off.

All in all, I found it a very useful and enlightening exercise - even if it makes you swallow a bit hard at first it's good to know what you're getting into. I hope it helps you a bit, even though it is all in Euros, litres and kilometers. Sorry - we don't do Imperial Units in the Netherlands!

Please note that I provide this spreadsheet as a courtesy to fellow (would-be) Ferrari owners. You can use it (or not), copy it, distribute it, change it, do whatever with it, but I am not going to be a helpdesk for it!!! Nor will I take any responsibility for the accuracy of any numbers. Sheesh, I sound like an American now.


Onno

P.S. Looking at what comes out of the spreadsheet, you can see that I also do not agree with Michael Sheehan's $10/km, but then again that included a lot of depreciation.
P.S.II - Look at the prices of Ferrari's in the Netherlands ("Dutch Tax" sheet)! Please spare us Dutch Ferrari owners a thought in your next prayer...
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Also see this thread: http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=126228

and this one: http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4345


Onno

 

Thank you, Onno.

 

Here is the graphical comparison

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showpost.php?p=135313355&postcount=29

 

That's what you get when sitting in the West African jungle fantasising about how to spend your share options.... (I work on a goldmine in Africa, have my car in Holland)

To be honest, I found it a very enjoyable process doing the research before I realised my dream 6 months later. I'm glad it's of use to you.


Onno