F550 experience

Coming out a bit out of my lurking status in this forum, I would like to share my experience with buying and improving my F550. It’s the second Ferrari I have bought within a 12 months periods.

In November 2014, I purchased my very first Ferrari, a F360 Spider F1, and have enjoyed the car immensely since. The high-revving engine and the screaming exhaust note is just amazing. The banging of the head when shifting at 8500 rpm during hard acceleration should be at everybody’s bucket list for this lifetime.

But growing up in the 80’s and 90’s with the iconic Testarossa and Maranello pictured at every boy’s poster wall, I have always lusted for a V12 Ferrari as well. The F550 was also at the top of my list because it complements the 360 very well: gated shifter vs. F1 paddles; front V12 vs. rear V8; torque monster vs. high revving character; GT coupé vs. F1-like convertible. Having both cars covers a wide range of the Ferrari experience imho.

By the end of 2015, I stumbled upon a beautiful red/crème F550. Whereas my F360 was nearly flawless in every possible aspect, the F550 had some issues waiting to be fixed. In addition, the seller, a very wealthy aging car nut, was awaiting his brand new Mercedes SL and needed some space in the garage. Therefore the F550 was priced accordingly. After conducting some research on the issues (also in this forum), and deciding that I can take the plunge, I refrained from having a PPI done by a professional and pulled the trigger on the F550 (November 2015). The reasoning was also the moderate price which allowed for an additional budget in case of unexpected expenses.

The issues covered the “traditional” weak spots of the F550:

1. Sticky buttons: Easy DIY job. I used high percentage alcohol to clean off the sticky coating. Works like a charm. Dismantling and reassembling the parts was more time consuming. Personally, I do not have the need to recoat the parts (but it can be done easily using products like Plasti Dip).

2. My F550 has got a crème leather interior, a very light beige (nearly white) hue. It seems to be quite rare for F550s in continental Europe whereas quite common in the UK (not sure about the US). It looks very elegantly but is also very unforgiving if it comes to disclosing soiling or age old dirt. Especially the driver’s seat suffered. I first tried to clean the leather myself, but with modest success. A professional leather cleaning and sealing service took care of it, so the leather looks almost like new now.

3. Suspension system warning: Initially, this was my biggest concern when buying the car. Thanks to some very informed gentlemen on this forum, I concluded that most likely one of the shock actuators must be the culprit. Upon inspecting the actuator on the front right side, it turned out that the internal plastic gearing was broken, see picture 1. In addition the little metal gear that sits at the very top of the shock absorber (inside the actuator) was broken as well, see picture 2. I bought a used shock actuator for USD 300 and a new metal gear for GBP 25. The short hassle with installing these parts (especially the little metal gear) was compensated by the lack of any suspension warning appearance afterwards. The reason for this issue seems to be a constructional flaw which can be remedied quite easily (send me a PM if you need more information).

4. Leaking coolant system: There was a small patch of water on the garage floor after the first test drive. Later on, my Ferrari mechanic found the silicone hose under the fuel injection airchamber at the top of the engine to be leaking. See pictures 3 and 4. He fixed it and also performed a big service, including cambelt change.

I know many Ferrari buyers will only consider a flawless car (as I did with the F360) and will insist on a positive PPI before transferring the cash. I fully understand and respect this attitude. I have to admit that my buying experience involved some additional risks and shortly after the completion of the transaction some doubts came up whether it was really smart to buy a Ferrari with flaws. But in the end, it was definitely worth it. My mechanic confirmed that the F550 is in great condition now.

Thank you again for the great wealth of knowledge in this forum and for the readiness to share it.

Cheers!
Martin
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Thanks.
I was not able to cover many miles with the F550 yet (around 1000 miles) so I am sure there are other Fchatters with better insight if it comes to your question.

What I can say is that the F360 F1 and the F550 cover quite different aspects of the Ferrari experience, mainly due to the different characteristic of the engines. The relatively small V8 of the F360 needs high rpm to get you the childish smile you expect when driving a Ferrari whereas the torque of the F550 seems to be endless in every situation, especially at low and middle rpm. The F360 gratifies you with an exhilarating screaming of the exhaust whereas the F550, rather tame if it comes to the noise level, lets you know that you have enough engine power for every possible situation without any rpm drama. This gives you a new level of confidence and sovereignty when driving this GT. The only room for improvement I see with the F550 is the relatively quiet exhaust system. I like to keep my cars as original as possible but will consider a more sportive exhaust for the Maranello in the near future.

A big aspect is also the gated shifter vs. the F1 paddles. This is probably the most discussed topic on Fchat so I do not want to reopen a new discussion thread in this regard. Only so much: When I had covered around 3000 miles with the F360 in 10 months, I was longing for the more involving gated shifter. The chrome setting and the famous click-clack of Ferrari’s manual gear system is legendary. Now I have driven 1000 miles with the F550 and see the merits of the F1 system: the very quick gear changes allow for a more focused, rather track oriented driving style. In addition, you have the nice impression of being a little Schumi for a short period of time It seems to be human’s nature to long for the things and experiences you do not have at hand, but I guess the key here seems to be able to vary the experience (at least for me).

So in general terms, I cannot say which car I prefer, it all depends on the mood and the circumstances. I guess at the age of 20-30, I would rather prefer the F360, at the age beyond 50, I will rather go for the F550. I am 40 now, love both worlds and feel blessed to have the opportunity to switch between both cars.

Good luck with your F550 project. Would be great to learn about your progress as I love to read these stories.

Martin

 

Thank you. I fully agree with your statement. History has shown that prices of V12 Ferraris (2 seater and gated shifter) have only gone north in the long run (512 TR, BB, Daytona etc.). Nobody's got a crystal ball but chances are that Maranellos will follow this trend too. So it is probably not the worst idea to grab one of these beauties now. I do not plan to sell mine in this lifetime (I hope to thrill my kids for this passion), so now the future market is of less relevance for me anyway.

 

Thank you Andrew.
Interesting note about the "F360" and "F550" expression. I had a look at the Swiss Ferrari market and "F550" and "F360" seems to be prevailing here. All the big car portals like autoscout.ch or car4you.ch use this term. The same is true for the largest exotic car dealer (elite garage). Even the official Ferrari dealers in Switzerland are selling a "F360" (Foitek, Auto Pierre Sudan etc.). And my insurance policies are issued formally for a "Ferrari F360" and "Ferrari F550", so the internal database of the insurer carry this expression as well. On the other hand, as Taz noted, the owners manual mentions a "360" and "550". Kind of confusing.
Agree with MogulBoy, it is probably kind of a Swissie thing and adds to the mystery of Ferrari
I don't really care about it though, it is just a different labeling for the same car.