Fcars not THAT expensive to fix

They were only comparing common luxury cars, not exotics.
Even the most expensive on their list is quite cheap:
Forbes top-ten most expensive luxury cars to repair (over five years)

1. Audi A8: $1,640

Over five years? Actually seems much too low. A 355 can easily cost 5 times that much, in ONE year. 25x the cost.
If they had taken actual exotics into account, many of their readers wouldn't understand. $20k for brakes? 90 hours for starter replacement? $40k+ body panels?

 

Not sure that I "understand" either

 

I suspect the only thing worse than maintaining a Ferrari, cost wise, is maintaining older vintage cars where parts are scarce or nonexistent and you have to have them fabricated. My friends can't believe how much a Ferrari F355 or TR costs to maintain (e.g., engine out services, etc.)

How do, e.g., Gallardo maintenance costs compare?

 

No timing belts

 

Part of it's perception. A $4K major service on a 328 is something I expect. Plus, it's a Ferrari -- you kind of sign up for a few stupid bills when you knowingly join the club. Ditto the vintage stuff -- comes with the territory. But the $1000+labor instrument cluster replacement on my 4-year old '98 Mercedes was not expected, and even the ~$650 front brake job on my '02 BMW felt a bit steep.

I think it's fair to say that repair costs on recent European cars are out of hand. Someone posted on FChat a while back about a $10,000 service bill to repair an active suspension on an S-Class.

I sold my BMW a few months before the 4-year warranty was up, and plan to sell the Audi (current car) before all the gadgetry starts to go.

 

I keep tabs on every dollar i spend but when it comes to my 308 i just put my head in the sand and cook my own books.

After working for BMW for years and being responsible for managing a small fleet i knew to never keep a German car beyond it's warranty.

Advised my ex wife to sell her Mercedes as it was near the end of it's warranty and she shrugged off my advice only to call me a year later crying about a four thousand dollar bill she'd just paid. She'd called me from the side of the road and in view of her stalled baby benz.

Japanesse cars are best bought when their four years old and German ones best sold at same age IMO.

 

The only thing more expensive is NOT maintaining one

 

Parts costs can also be a bit surprising. I just replaced some of the plastic clips that hold the under hood insulation panel on my 550 Maranello. Probably the cheapest Ferrari part in existence: $ .09 each -- from the dealer, no less ! By contrast, similar plastic plugs or clips on my 1980 Volvo are about $ .85 each. No wonder I pick 'em up by the pocketful when I am at the junk yard. For the Ferrari, I am willing to splurge on new parts. Nothing but the best.

Mike

 

Wait until you pick up sailing, powerboating, and flying as hobbies.



...and if you really want to burn through money, try to impress a supermodel or keep a stripper as a mistress.

Apparently, no one knows. All of the Gallardos for sale (more than 300 on cars.com, autotrader.com, DupontRegistry.com, and another 80+ on eBay.com) seem to have less than 10,000 miles on them.

Poor cars must be locked away in owner-garages until they can flip 'em...

 

I had one and the service book looked pretty close to a F430 booklet, I think they should be around the same.

 

I have an Audi A8L (my second one in 5 years) and it has been a wonderful car to own and drive, actually it's very reliable. I do the maintenance myself to keep costs down. The biggest issues are the timing belt service (not a bad job) and the suspension pieces like control arms and ball joints. But the quality of the Audi A8 is VERY VERY good, with interior fit and finish right at the top of the list. Audis are truly great cars without the garishness of a Mercedes. After having caddys and other top luxury cars, I think the Audi is my favorite and I will probably always have one for the rest of my life.

I also have a Testarossa and again do all my own maintenance. The famous "engine out" service takes a few days and less than $2,000 in parts for everything. Taking the car to a dealer is expensive because your paying for lots of labor - and it is a big job. But I've done the timing belts on these cars so many times it's a no brainer now. Testarossas get a bad rap that is not deserved for being money pits. Neglected cars can be a black hole for your cash....but so can many other exotics that have been rode hard and put away wet.