Ferrari California engine failure 50,000km ?

Let me guess...you are considering a used Cali with 31,000 miles?

Aside from the mismachined crankshafts which have been replaced, the engines have been pretty rock solid.

Some have had DCT failures.

 

Did you drive it???

Do you like the driving position, the trunk space, the rear small seats, the top?

Does it come with a warranty or the possibility to but a warranty.

If the answers are yes- then there is only the price!

 

That's a HIGH mileage for a Ferrari

How long (time and or distance) remains on the warranty?

Personally, given my dealers reluctance to fix an engine problem and the DCT failures, I personally wouldn't touch it

There are lots of cars on the market, why not get a good (low mileage) one.

 

There was a California with +200.000 kms for sale in Italy some time ago. That was a HIGH mileage Ferrari.

I don´t know how they could manage to do that mileage in such a short time. Maybe it was a rental.

 

I do not think 31000 miles is a reason to worry just be sure the car has been properly serviced and well cared for this car should be worth around $25000less then the same car with 5000 miles. I know Rick on this site sold his california with around 30000 miles and reported it to be of no problem. perhaps a search of the site will yield some information on high milage..
HOpe this helps
Larry H

 

A modern Ferrari is a very robust machine. I saw ricks car when it had 28k on it and still looked beautiful not dilapidated like some people make out a Ferrari with over 10k miles. They are made to drive so drive them!

 

The engines are extremely robust and are based on the maser v8 which has been in production for over a decade.

 

I consider myself as someone who is not risk averse, anyone here that is under 50 and owns a California is highly likely to be someone that takes considered risks.

Personally, I don't think buying a high mileage Ferrari is a good risk versus reward equation

The risks outweigh the possible saving in my opinion

I am someone who regularly purchases high mileage German cars

My m5 has 100,000 miles, my x5 has 200,000 km, my golf Gti has 140,000 km

I almost always buy high mileage German cars for the cost savings

But I would NEVER buy a high mileage Ferrari

It's hard to know from the non regular posters in this thread if they own a California or a Ferrari

Do you really want to own a California with little or no warranty with the risk of gearbox or roof failure?

I suggest buying a garage queen

You can then drive it into the ground and use as a daily driver, but I wouldn't buy a high mileage daily driver

It's a buyers market, why buy a potential problem

You could simply save up and wait another 3-6 months if they are currently outside your price range

Good things come to those who wait

(Or come quickly to people with more money than sense that pay $5000 for air freight

 

Interesting position. However the original question was do we know of any mileage related problems with a california with around 31000 miles. I do not know of any nor have I heard of any . I know I would just as soon have a low mileage car however I do not mind paying more for it. If you look at the older ferraris many of them have far more then 31K miles ..
LarryH

 

Most consumers don't usually directly communicate their intentions prior to purchase

Their questions are often framed indirectly

Most are indicators to minimise post purchase cognitive dissonaance, ie "buyers remorse"

Making a good decision in relation to which car to purchase is often made for illogical reasons

I think consumers want to make a "good decision", and to oversimplify the task by limiting it to a literal interpretation of the question is only going to provide a part of the determinates surrounding that decision

Here is an incomplete list of what I suggested one of my friends looks for in purchasing a car

It's basically a simplified needs analysis

I didn't finish it because he went to a showroom, the salesman said there was a price rise coming, they only had one of his colour choices in stock, so he put a deposit on it immediately

He didn't get a comparative price, he made an immediate decision based on a risk close from a pushy salesman

I'm sure most here would see through a high pressure close

Here is the incomplete list.....


Price range
How many seats regularly used?
Is a strictly two seat car a possibility, ie ute or roadster?
What level of performance? Extreme, high, moderate, average, below average, slow
What fuel economy, hybrid, extreme, great, very good, good, below average, poor
Is diesel or petrol preferred
Driving feel

And 20 other questions that should be asked

 

I'm another person not willing to take a high-mileage risk. You can't expect these cars to be as reliable as a Toyota, even with routine services performed on time. And early Calis have A LOT more propensity to have problems with very expensive systems, like the DCT tranny and roof mechanism. But some people are more risk averse than others, as mentioned. I'm one of those . Good luck.

 

A voice of reason as always

 

I tend to agree. The reward (lower purchase cost) is not likely to justify the risk (likelihood of cost/inconvenience of major repairs).

 

A garage queen is more likely to go wrong than a high mileage car (30K miles, REALLY?!). Buy something that has been driven regularly in the last 18 to 24 months. At least 3K kms a year.

If the electronics et all don't get any current through them they'll go wrong, same goes for all other components.

A plane that has barely been flown in the last few years will go wrong way more often than a plane that has been flown in that time. It's a machine designed to do 1 thing. Same applies to cars.

Ferraris/Lamborghini's etc all have a bad reputation because uninformed buyers buy the one with the least miles on there and complain that it's POS. How come a Ferrari with such few miles on there goes wrong all the time? Using their logic a higher mileage one will go wrong infinitely more...

 

Lets agree to disagree

What model and year car do you drive?

 

2004(?) F250 V10.

I'm just stating why some cars go wrong more than others, the fact that I don't have a Ferrari/Lamborghini hasn't a thing to do with it.

 

Don't think the major issue will be the engine on this car.. I would be more worried about the gearbox..

It will also depend of how many miles you plan to do every year? If it's 2000 to 3000 km ok, otherwise you will end up with a 100'000km quite difficult to sell.

I just have to say this is an amazing car and when the prize will go down a little more I will get one.

 

Really? So you have to be 50+ to own a Ferrari? Life is full of risks, with that attitude you should never own any luxury item

 

I'm not sure how its possible to misstate my assertion any worse than what you have.

I did not say one needs to be 50+ to own a Ferrari.

My opinion is that someone that OWNS (as opposed to rents, leases or pays off the interest on a loan) of a USD$200k Ferrari California AND they are under 50 years of age is someone that is more likely to take risks.

I don't doubt that more people approaching retirement age ie they are likely over age 50 can spend $200k on a car

I don't make any judgment regarding those that have a 1984 mondial, those that simply aspire to Ferrari ownership, or indeed those that have the contacts and wealth to commission their own one off from the special projects division.

My assertion is simply that in order to be in a financial position to spend $200k in cash on a car, that it is more likely that the person is one that takes more risks in life.

It doesn't take into account inherited wealth, those in the highly paid professions like doctors and lawyers, lotto winners etc etc

But on the whole, and if one was to generalize, it's likely that less than 10% of current California owners under 50 have a salaried "job" (and as mentioned, excluding those in the professions), they are much more likely to simply be "self employed", and as most here that are owners that are self employed, it's virtually impossible to own a company and be successful without taking considered risks.

In my case, prior to leaving my salaried employment, my hobby business owed more than 2 years of my annual salary in 30 day accounts. I was able to trade out of it luckily, but it's a risk that many people that are self employed take.

If anyone has geodemographic breakdowns on new Ferrari sales I would love to see it to see if my assumptions are correct.

I'm sure there are Cali owners that have never taken a risk in their life, but I'm going to maintain my opinion that most DO take risks.

I do agree life is full of risks, but making a decision to take an educated or planned risk AND carying it out in order to achieve financial success AND be sufficiently successful to be able to purchase a $200k car in their thirties or forties is something I'm guessing less than 5% of the population in G10 countries achieves.

To those here who have done it, they know its not easy, and in sure, that like me they often take risks to achieve financial success.

It's just my opinion, I could be wrong. My opinion is clouded by my own experience, and that of my friends.

One of my close friends has a net worth of five times mine and is 10 years younger and has never taken a risk in his life, but he is not representative of the vast majority of people.

 

Can I point out what maybe getting missed here is a member asked for our (i.e. California owners and followers opinion) regarding the purchase of a California this thread is getting into a off topic thread , I have reached out to other FCHAT forums regarding purchases of different Ferraris (i.e. 246 and 550 as well as my California) . and received helpful and factual responses not personal off topic attacks,. Just for your consideration..
LARRYH

 

The Cailfornia section doesn't really have an active moderator, and there isn't much activity here realistically, just a couple of active threads a day, and somedays zero new threads

It's a rarity that anyone has a "conversation" with points and counterpoints, so this is really our excitement for the month in this thread

The OP hasn't come back and asked for further information, or offered supplementary information for us to help better understand his opportunity.

It's just kids and owners and prospective owners offering their anonomous subjective opinions for free

Are there conditions in relation to remaining on topic that I'm not aware of?

Maybe we do need a moderator here that's an owner and that's active.

 

agree with HotBMW. this section needs some life and we'll take it in any form we can get. although, not to detract from the value of Hot's posts, which are generally informative even if controversial

 

i paid cash for my 2012 california

i am self employed and buy foreclosure properties and flip them, and yes there is considerable risk involved since they cannot be inspected

i consider the california to be like a condo purchase, you will lose money on it but you will have a lot of fun