Thought I would give a two-year ownership summary for my 2014 FF. - Purchased used from FF Chat member in Mar. 2022. 21,100 miles. - Currently: 33,200 miles - Ave. 6000 miles/yr. Out of the gate, I kicked around whether getting one was a good idea for about two years before my purchase. I wish I would have pulled the trigger earlier. While owning the FF, I have also simultaneously owned a 458 Spider and now a 488 Spider. Don't tell the pure enthusiasts out there, but, I like driving the FF more than either of these two. There, I said it. I drive this car every other day, and have taken several 3-4 hour road trips. Pros: Utility. 4 people can ride comfortably. All wheel drive works amazingly well in snow/ice on my hilly roads. V-12! Amazing motor. Fit and finish is second to none. Ferrari pulled all the stops on leather, trim, etc. on these cars. Unique looks. Nothing looks like an FF, love it or hate it. You stand out. Cons: It rides a bit rougher than most other GT cars. The back end gets bouncy in uneven pavement. From what I have read, the Lusso addresses both of these. That said, I know plenty of FF owners think the Lusso is too soft and lost the Ferrari sound and feel. Just a matter of preference. I will move up to a Lusso at some point down the road. Stereo sucks (see below where I replaced it). Needed Repairs: Outside of regular maintenance: replaced one leaking shock, replaced one torn boot, replaced leaking pipe going to front oil cooler [something impacted and bent this thing], replaced leaking plug on PTU drain. No PTU issues (knocking on wood as written). Cosmetic, etc.: I replaced all the sticky parts (HVAC panel, trans buttons, TFT control panel). Had the wheels re-powder coated. Installed front nose scrape armor. Replaced horrendous stereo. Future Repairs: Am due for spark plug replacement which I will do this summer. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Thank you for this. It will probably take two years for me to come up with the courage to pull the trigger too. I'm a "Porsche person" and I would love the FF to be my first Ferrari. I saw one at Amelia Island a couple weekends ago and talked to the owner. Now I can't stop thinking about it! The PTU/gearbox issues worry me.
I too was a Porsche guy. Now, I am a Ferrari guy. Don't let the PTU scare you. You can find ones for sale now that have had the unit switched out with the properly engineered one.
Absolutely wonderful cars, Not all PTU will fail and the fix is now affordable to most, But the Sensor according to most Ferrari trained technicians one is a close friend will fail, and that is a big deal.
Im of the opinion every ptu will go fwiw. I was in the “its a small percentage of cars” camp for a while but it seems to be an engineering issue they all suffer from.
I’m of the same opinion I’m just naive enough to think that Ferrari fixed the issue later in the build cycle, But I’ve defeated my logic by not thinking about the Lusso.
Great write up. I was considering the FF but ended up with a Lusso. Then found another one with a better spec that I still have Been eyeing a 458 for a while though, but hearing that you prefer the FF over it is quite interesting..
I have owned 2 458s during my FF ownership and i always found myself going for the FF keys. 458 is an amazing car no doubt, but driving a novitec exhaust FF just always took priority.
I can second that. Sold my 458 and have a Stage 1 Novitec FF. In fairness my 458 was a base model, which also influenced my sale.
I forgot to add: 2 switches needed to replaced. One seat heater switch on driver seat, one fan switch on passenger seat. Known issue that these glitch and start showing they are on, and they are even though turned off. Replacing switches fixed it. Interestingly, the 488 I just purchased, same thing on drivers seat heater. Good old Ferrari. Also, replaced both headlight bulbs. OEM bulbs suck. And, I mean suck. Thanks to F chat, found a page on what to get for replacement and how to do it.
I have had the driver seat heater switch replaced 2x and it still gives if false notification that the heater is on, fwiw.
It's not the bulbs that suck, it's the headlight projector. The bulbs would be standard fit across all Xenon OEM applications, they're either Philips or Osram DS1. What bulbs did you swap them out for?
Yeah, I had read posts like that in the past, was reluctant to give it a try. But, at least for me, so far so good.
Here is the discussion on this topic. Bulb replacement fix. It provides replacement bulb info. Easy swap out, and much better lighting. PS: read entire post. You don’t have to take off wheel and liner to access. https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/ff-xenon-bulb-change.633407/#post-147884638
I recently picked up my 2012. Out of all the cars I've owned in the past 911s, R8, E63s, Maclarens, this has to be one of my favorites so far.
Great write up and review of the car. Love these cars more and more. Would like to potentially add one down the line.
I'm approaching three years with my FF and can't help but agree. It's the perfect car. I can't see how I would upgrade it. I was tempted by a Lusso for a while (mainly because of its more modern interior), but after some research, I've realized that I wouldn't like it as much (it's not as raw as the FF). So, the only car I believe would feel like an upgrade is a Koenigsegg Gemera, but obviously, there's a little price difference.... Mine is from 2012, about 4500 miles now. The gearbox was replaced by the previous owner, no problems with the PTU yet, though. I guess it'll come in time, I just hope I can handle it with aftermarket solutions living in Sweden (maybe I can ship the car to Germany or other near countries if that would help...?). What was the issue with sensors that someone mentioned as being even worse? I hadn't heard about that before. Can you give more information about the stereo upgrade? Would be nice, agree about the standard stereo...
I’ve had my 2015 since last July. Other than engine lights and “return to dealer” signals, which are gone the next day I’ve only had one issue which was the fuel cap release button stopped working. So I foolishly self diagnosed needing a new switch. It turned out it was a loose wire. Bought it with 13,000 miles and now maybe 15,000. It is my daily driver for as little as a five block drive to the grocery store.
Yes, you have to get over the occasional lights that show up, but you do the Ferrari restart, and it all goes away.
