Reliability and maintenance cost of 599?

Hi as far i can advice... best is to inspect CCM disc brakes + clutch life remaining...
Discs indicate the real life of the car and real km a 50 000 km car should not have more than 30% Disc used
Both are an inportant issue ...
Discs are an expense of 1800 up to 3000 us each...
Clucth replacement are a 5000 up to 8000 cost
Also check if there are oil leaks on your v12 engine ... as some engines for any reason ( bad our heavy use) develop oil leaks and repairs are an expensive issue
Ferrari dealer replace the oil pump and the seals and gaskets wich is an expensive repair
Electric issues...
Get an VARTA or BOSCH 95 A 100A Battery installed as FIAMM are not an good option ...
Battery failure can generate a common issue on 599 wich is cluster gets "dummy" forguets anything his memmory forguet even oil pressure kilm etc and has to be reprogrammed online with factory .... car works but an hazzard sign shows and nohting more is there on the cluster memory all is erased ?!?!?!
Before that please replace your 4/5 year battery with one new and a GOOD one!
There is a procedure on installing a new battery regarding some operation with the remote and key wich is...
After installing close all car lock
unlock trunk
unlock all doors
lock
unlock ( only doors)
Go inside put key on ignition + on NO START!!!! Whait one minute .... of get key out of ignition

Again key + on ( no start for one minute) let the car learn all he needs ... and cluster warning ligths are all off ( oil tires engine etc etc ) push the engine start

 

I have an 07
that had an extended warranty.
Oil leak on left side cam cover ( rear leak) warranty
Tie Rod replaced. warranty
Inside door rattles ( strap) replaced non warranty Both doors, $ 1200 each.
2 Year service $ 2300

I have spent about $ 4800 in 2 years., but the door rattle did not bother me or I didn't notice.

Great car.

A lot, lot less to own than my BB.

 

If you can't afford to put it right you won't enjoy owning it. I am serious! Chances are you'll make an excuse not to drive it, fearing that you'll add mileage that you cannot afford to add. An old timer told me, "the sooner you learn to stop worrying about adding miles on the clock the sooner your love affair will blossom" A bit like my dad who drove his car for 15 years with the plastic seat covers - hot a sticky journeys to Italy - so as to make sure he would not loose money when he sold it. The day he gave it to me guess what I took off!

Don't buy one if you are not prepared to love and cherish it!

I use mine as a daily driver in the summer.

 

On the owners with the radiator failures, was the coolant changed at least every 2-3 years? Ferrari still does not have a coolant change interval in the maintenance recommendations and that is guaranteed to cause problems. Eventually it can lead to cylinder liner failure, too, through cavitation erosion.

 

This weekend I recovered my 599 from hibernation (seasonal registration from April to October). This included removing the cover, setting the tire pressure down again, opening the garage, inserting the key, pushing the start button, and dashing off. What a fun, such a great car. Everything worked, no issues, no fluid losses, perfect.

Now a bi-annual service and technical control is due and will be done this month. Since the last one, 2 years ago, only one issue. The window in the drivers door had rattled, because the fixing screws had come loose. This was fixed in one Saturday afternoon after I had figured out how to remove the door trim panel. So in this period zero costs (aside gas, insurance and tax) and a few hours of work. That was it. That is what I call reliable.

Cheers, Bernhard

 

My understanding was that leaky shocks were the biggest ticket concern?

 

If you take it to the dealer, yes. My local Ferrari dealer tried to charge me $6000 a corner for the replacement parts and 10 hours of labor, even after I balked. The real cost to replace is $1400 a corner from Eurospares and about 3.5 hours total labor. It is a common problem. They cannot be rebuilt, only replaced. $3000 to replace a pair of shocks ain't cheap, but it's better than $13,000 for the exact same thing. So yeah, you can reliably expect $3000 in shocks every so often, 15-20k miles before a bad one will completely bleed out. I don't know if you should replace in pairs or not. Both my front shocks were leaking badly so we took care of them both at the same time.

 

Great thread, is there anyone in southeastern Wisconsin that has a 599 that would be willing to show it to me? We have a 1975 Dino 308 GT4 now and the 599 would make a great mate.

 

Come to NW Indiana and I"ll show you mine. Just got it and I had an early 1974 308GT4 previously. This car ROCKS!

Jim

 

I've had my 599 since new in 2010. Other than the front shocks being replaced and one battery, I've had only annual oil changes and tires. I have about 25,000 miles on my car. This engine likes to run, don't keep it in the garage for months on end.

 

I see I'm way late in this, but I had the same thing happen on my 612. And yes, I changed the coolant per the book (car has been maintained by the same master tech at the same Ferrari dealer since new).

However, in my case, it happened at the end of a track day in mid-summer after I let my brother (former SCCA champion) do some laps. So I figured the stress of it running at a race pace for an extended time was just too much for it. And, it was just a pinhole-- once it cooled down to normal levels and we refilled it, I drove it home with no issues. It was just a pinhole.

 

Don- The trouble is the book does not even recommend changing the coolant.

 

Thanks. I'm pretty sure I've seen it on the bill, every two years.

 

Don- Sounds like you have a good tech who knows she needs it.