f430 running costs thread

Thats great to hear! Of the $8,000 I have spent on maintenance, about 7,000 was stuff that I knew about prior to buying the car . . . Headers and Brakes namely. Other than that, so far so good. Had a bit of a scare yesterday with what seemed like a slipping clutch, but @flash32 was able to walk me through some stuff and I think we got it sorted.

https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/f430-slip-help.695874/#post-149757097

 

Costs for August 2024

Another uneventful month. Loan payment and fuel, that's all.

• Loan payment of $1000 - $693 interest and $307 principle reduction
• Fuel $57

July Total $1057

Total Cost Breakdown to Date
Total Spent $32950 - Includes Principal paydown, Interest, Taxes, Registration, Cost of insurance, maintenance and fuel
Maintenance costs to date - $8194

 

Costs for September 2024

• Loan payment of $1000 - $687 interest and $312 principle reduction
• Fuel $44
• Outer tie rod ends $566

July Total $1640

Total Cost Breakdown to Date
Total Spent $34560 - Includes Principal paydown, Interest, Taxes, Registration, Cost of insurance, maintenance and fuel
Maintenance costs to date - $8760

 

A little bit of a shock this month. That probably eclipses the total I have spent on alignments in my entire life!

Costs for October 2024

• Loan payment of $1000 - $664 interest and $336 principle reduction
• Fuel $30
• 4 wheel alignment $758

July Total $1788

Total Cost Breakdown to Date
Total Spent $36352 - Includes Principal paydown, Interest, Taxes, Registration, Cost of insurance, maintenance and fuel
Maintenance costs to date - $9518

 

Another "boring month"!

Costs for November 2024

• Loan payment of $1000 - $655 interest and $345 principle reduction
• Fuel $47

July Total $1047

Total Cost Breakdown to Date
Total Spent $37,399 - Includes Principal paydown, Interest, Taxes, Registration, Cost of insurance, maintenance and fuel
Maintenance costs to date - $9518

 

The only item this month other than the loan payment was a vacuum actuated valve to replace the one in my exhaust that has died. I am going to see if I can swap over the actuator, leaving the arm and valve in the exhaust. If not, I will take the tailpipe to an exhaust shop to have them cut out the old one and weld in the new.

Costs for December 2024

• Loan payment of $1000 - $618 interest and $382 principle reduction
• Exhaust Vacuum Valve - $60

July Total $1060

Total Cost Breakdown to Date
Total Spent $38,459 - Includes Principal paydown, Interest, Taxes, Registration, Cost of insurance, maintenance and fuel
Maintenance costs to date - $9578

 

Sooo, here is the one year (well 54 week since I bought it mid 12/2013) total cost of ownership.

The cost of maintenance for the first year was about $9500. But after sorting the stuff I knew the car needed when I bought it, the only real maintenance I did was an oil change (about $150) and new tie rod ends (about $1,200) with an alignment. This winter it needs an annual service, which I will have done at an exotic indy shop for the service record, and new front ball joints, which I will do. So It will probably need about 2-3k in maintenance by the end of the winter. Spreadsheet detailing every dollar spent is attached. Enjoy!

 

The previous owner did a lot of work right before selling it for some reason, probably about $15-$20,000 worth. New clutch, new throw out bearing, two year service, motor mounts. Sticky buttons were taken care of before. I got it.

The suspension is tired, and I am in the process of rehabbing it. I have already replaced the front tie rod ends, and actually just ordered new upper and lower ball joints for it today. I will replace them sometime next week.

The only “big “job I have to do at some point is the dash vents. But I need to take the dash out for that and it doesn’t really bother me the way they are.

 

I took the opportunity to replace all of the front end bushings and ball joints since it was too cold and snowy to drive it at all this month. I replaced all front ball joints, sway bar end links, sway bar bushings, and tie rod ends. The car handles like brand new now! Not bad for just a little under $2k.

Costs for January 2025

• Exhaust Vacuum Valve Install - $800
• Suspension Parts: Front Ball Joints (4), Sway Bar End Links (2), Sway Bar Bushings (2) - $1091
• Loan Payment - $1000: Principal $365, Interest $635
• Fuel - $68

January Total $2959

Total Cost Breakdown to Date
Total Spent $41,430- Includes Principal paydown, Interest, Taxes, Registration, Cost of insurance, maintenance and fuel
Maintenance costs to date - $11,481

 

Prekom for the ball joints, end links, and tie rod ends. OEM for the sway bar bushings.

 

A "cheap" month

Costs for February 2025

• Loan Payment - $1000: Principal $394, Interest $606
• Fuel - $45.56

February Total $1045

Total Cost Breakdown to Date
Total Spent $42,475- Includes Principal paydown, Interest, Taxes, Registration, Cost of insurance, maintenance and fuel
Maintenance costs to date - $11,481

 

Costs for March 2025

• Loan Payment - $1000: Principal $533, Interest $466
• Fuel - $46.30
• Annual Maintenance Fluids and Parts - $304

March Total $1350

Total Cost Breakdown to Date
Total Spent $44231- Includes Principal paydown, Interest, Taxes, Registration, Cost of insurance, maintenance and fuel
Maintenance costs to date - $11,885

 

Costs for April 2025

Nothing but fuel and loan payment this month.

• Loan Payment - $1000: Principal $411, Interest $588
• Fuel - $50.83

April Total $1050

Total Cost Breakdown to Date
Total Spent $45282- Includes Principal paydown, Interest, Taxes, Registration, Cost of insurance, maintenance and fuel
Maintenance costs to date - $11,885

 

I have always been a believer in making debt work for you. Granted, at 6.5% its a wash, usually with long term investment opportunities, but keeping the cash on hand allowed me to buy into the current market dip and hopefully come out ahead of the finance charges.

 

Costs for May 2025

Another great month! The weather has gotten nice, time to rack up some fuel charges!

The only extra cost was fixing a horribly rattling exhaust tip. I took the tailpipe off and took it to an exhaust shop. They were able to reweld it for $40.

• Loan Payment - $1000: Principal $433, Interest $567
• Fuel - $38.92
• Exhaust Tip Rattle Fix - $40

May Total $1078

Total Cost Breakdown to Date
Total Spent $46381- Includes Principal paydown, Interest, Taxes, Registration, Cost of insurance, maintenance and fuel
Maintenance costs to date - $11,925

 

LOL, thanks, and it's not as bad as it looks. Of the 40 or so thousand I am into it, only about $12,000 is maintenance. Of that, I knew of about $7-8k when I bought it. So only about $4,000 in unexpected stuff that I decided to do (rather than needed to) such as refreshed suspension parts, headlight resoration, etc.