So I got rid of my 2010 Ferrari California.......

I am sorry to hear of your troubles with the Cali. If I might ask, how many miles did the Cali have on it when you bought it? I wish you much better luck in your next car. Btw, have seen a few Wraiths around town. I think it's a great looking car...T

 

Boy, you really had bad luck. You couldn't have put too many miles on that car with all the service it would have needed so it's baffling how all those problems developed. You car would have spent months in the shop. Perhaps the problems were already there when you bought it. Sounds almost like a flood car. Did you get the full service record for the car and do a PPI?

This is why I tell people to ALWAYS get at least 1 year of warranty with any expensive used car purchase... and then really drive them to flush out any issues. Some car owners simply do not use or service their cars properly before they flip them and let the next owners... own those problems.

 

none of what he listed wld have been prevented from a car that was over maintained and im not sure all that stuff wld have been covered by an extended warranty, fwiw

 

Not sure I follow the logic in your list of cars to consider if you want an exotic.

The Bentley and the Rolls are just luxury GT's. Out of what's on your list, get the 458 Spider if you want a true exotic for that "special drive". While the Cali T is a Ferrari, it is still a GT. If you're interested in hard top GT's, why not look into a used FF or F12? F12 prices should drop when Ferrari unveils the F12 replacement at Geneva in March.

 

Very sorry to hear. I would echo the thought that a Ferrari warranty is a worthwhile investment on these cars; from what you repaired, it sounds like in this instance it would easily have paid for itself.

Some people say it's crazy to spend $4000+ per year to insure against a potential but rare major repair like a gearbox failure, but in my view it's more of a set budget for maintaining the car for 12 months. A quick look at Ricambi shows numerous parts that are more than $3000 for the part alone (to say nothing of the diagnostic and labor cost) -- so even something as mundane as having a headlight unit fail can pay for a large chunk of the warranty cost.

I would not expect a 2013-14 458 Spider or 2016 California T to be any more or less trouble-free than an earlier California, aside from the overall age and mileage on the car. The advantage with the 2016 California would be the remaining bumper-to-bumper factory warranty and the ability to extend that warranty for another 2 years before it expires.

 

I have never owned the above cars but haven't the major problems with earlier Californias
(roof and gearbox issues) been addressed from 2013 and up?

 

I understand. Actually I also chose not to extend the warranty on my car but then I am the original owner and I know the people who worked on my car. My advice was for people buying a used Cali. You'd possibly be taking a big risk if you assume any used Ferrari is a "clean car".

IMO, if the OP's car had a New Power Warranty, barring oil leaks/bad seals, here's what think would have been covered (refer to attached text from Ferrari's NEW POWER warranty booklet):

covered under "Bodywork RHT roof function)" -hydraulic lines for the roof (5-6K)
covered under "Electrical system (starter motor) or Engine" -Solenoids (3K)
covered under "Engine (variable valve timing adjusters)" -Variators(8-12K)
possibly covered under "Bodywork or Electrical system" -Trunk Latches(2K)
probably covered under "Bodywork RHT rof function)" -Sliders for the roof(4-6K)
don't know -Miscellaneous (3K)​

So, according to the OP's post, nearly all of the "$20k" repairs would likely have been covered. At least 1 year of warranty is very good to have when purchasing any used late model Ferrari. A 2010 model can be covered by NEW POWER warranty up to 2022.

Ask for the warranty as part of the condition of purchase. The car would have to be inspected by a dealer to qualify so you would also benefit from knowing the car passed inspection for the warranty.

I think I am giving very sound advice.
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There have not been endemic roof issues to my knowledge and the roof assembly itself remained unchanged from the California and 30 to the California T. I have heard of the hydraulic struts for the roof leaking on some cars -- one of the first things to check if there is a roof problem. I had a problem with a sensor on my car (2013) that took some time to diagnose but it was not a mechanical issue and the roof functioned correctly other than sporadic error messages. That was cured when the sensor was replaced.

Some 2009 cars had gearbox problems and had the transmissions replaced under warranty. Other cars have had some problems with sensors inside the gearbox but not actual mechanical failures; however, those sensors require the gearbox to be disassembled. As far as I know, that can be a problem with any year California -- and perhaps any Ferrari with the DCT. Some Ferrari dealers in the US are now trained to repair those gearboxes rather than replace them.

 

Thank you for clarifying that, vjd3.

 

Sorry to hear you had issues with your Ferrari. I have a California T 2015. I have put over around 6500 miles on it so far this summer. No issues.

 

20,000 miles over 4-5 years is just slightly on the high side if it was a west coast car. Up here, dealers also suggest keeping mileage to less than 2,000 miles per year as most people here don't drive Fcars over our frozen Winters.

New car models usually get more sorted out and a refresh towards the latter part of their production runs and you'll find the Cali30 more sporty than the earlier model.

FWIW, they started offering the New Power Warranty Program on May 1, 2014. Having it would also force the car to undergo a thorough PPI and give you at least 1 year to find out if anything needs fixing.

Good luck with your next Fcar!

 

Wow that's a ton of money on a car that's not very old.

 

Those cheap early 2009/2010, etc. ones are not the deal they once appear to be.

It's just like buying an older used AMG S class or a Bentley you're going to pony up for the repairs. Just because you save money on the front-end of the deal (depreciation) doesn't mean you can escape the back-end costs (repair bills).

Lesson here: buy the new power warranty. Probably during their New Power inspection they'll find all this crap and you won't even buy the car!

 

[QUOTE Up here, dealers also suggest keeping mileage to less than 2,000 miles per year[/QUOTE]

Dealers seriously say that - complete and utter nonsense to say something like that - are they trying to ensure that used cars coming through their doors are low mileage? Makes no sense - the modern Ferraris are all good as daily drivers and to be used as normal cars. If you choose to just use it as a weekend car - great, but that dealer statement is the strangest I've heard in years.

 

No. Actually, you're absolutely right on your first point. On your final point though, you simply don't understand the priorities of an Fcar dealer.

I understood this on the first day of my new Fcar ownership, when my salesman politely suggested the mileage to me.

BTW, I actually drive mine as often as I can but that doesn't mean I would drive it as a DD. As much fun as I get driving any Fcar, in my situation my pickup truck does a MUCH BETTER JOB on many DD duties and I also really enjoy driving my truck so it's pointless for me to rack up the miles driving my Fcar when I would be happier driving my truck.

 

You should've been on the phone with the Ferrari service manager this week, "95% of owners don't drive as much as you do in their Ferraris. Great job!"

 

Is that right, your service manager from said that? Well I'm not surprised, service managers don't sell cars, new or used, or take trade-ins. They just makes sure the service department is profitable and promotes the brand.

You should just drive your car as often as it makes sense and is pleasurable to you. You can put in more or less miles than what the dealer would like. It's you car. Enjoy it!

 

Rob, while I can understand the source of some of your angst, I think it is causing you to lose perspective. I seriously doubt any new Cali T buyers need to flip their cars quickly. If the owners actually want to keep their cars they should, like other Cali owners before them, just drive their cars, deciding whether to keep them or trade/sell them whenever they feel the time is right. To make their cars more attractive, they should have at least a year's warranty to allow the new owners to own the cars without undue worry.

I'm old-fashioned I guess but I have very good senses. I pick my cars very carefully and I keep them for many years. If I really hanker for another car, I just add it. My life is already busy enough with other matters that I don't care to make it crazy by owning too much or disrupting it with unnecessary expensive concerns.

Flipping Fcars only make sense if those cars involve very long wait times for delivery (12-24 months or longer) and there are people willing to pay you above MSRP or at least close to MSRP for a used almost new car someone is flipping... or you don't care about throwing money away because the first 1 or 2 years is actually when you lose the most from depreciation from cars like the California and FF and even the F12. Just remember. buyers in the used market do not pay you extra for options, so selling is not a good way to avoid losing money. The best way to avoid losing money is to pick carefully, to like what you have and to keep the car you buy for as long as it continues to represent value to you.

As for the Cali model in general, the rate of depreciation is definitely higher than for the mid-engine V8s but if you actually do some empirical analysis you'll see it's lower than it has been for the FF, F12. There was actually a 2011 Internet article from "The Telegraph", a noted UK media group that also runs the Daily Telegraph." which ranked the Cali 6th out of 20 cars that it called "Top 20 depreciation busters". If you look at the link you will see it claims "Value retained after three years/30,000 miles: 63.7 per cent".

I did my own math independently before I even looked up that article and I estimated the 2013 California 30, in the US market (Autotrader.com data) retained a 63.04% residual value after 3 years. BTW, UK Calis have a 4 year warranty vs. 3 years in NA so they probably benefit from that as well. My BMW 540i retained less than 45% residual value after 3 years.

IMO, the Cali is actually quite good when it comes to depreciation. There are probably around 12,000 Calis and 5,000-6,000 Cali 30s on the road. We have a few enthusiasts who like to discuss their problems on Fchat so it's less than 1% of the population; and even if they were to only represent 1 out of 10 or even 1 out of 50 people with problems, it's less than 5%. These are exotic cars after all. Look back at the issues in other Fcars with expensive engine-out service, defective exhaust headers, short-lived F1 clutches/bearings, timing belt replacements and even engine bay fires.

I prefer to look up actual data and run the math. Chit-chat is cheap... and potentially hazardous

 

Reading this thread makes me glad I sold my '11 Cali. It was well-maintained and trouble-free, but on the early side of the model run and not a 30. On the other hand it probably was in the sweet spot of depreciation so the buyer got a good deal, somewhat at my expense but it was the right "time" for me to do it.

 

IMO buying the power warranties is not the answer. Paying thousands annually PLUS paying for maintenance amounts to almost the same expenditures outlined in the initial post.

Better to buy a more reliable model up front.

As to depreciation the Cali held value well the first few years on the market. However now that so many are out there even a new T drops like a rock and thus ownership costs are sky high.

The Cali needs replacement ASAP, the gig is up at this point.....

 

The rate of depreciation for new cars is actually the worst during the 1st and 2nd years.

Some car owners also trash their cars so it doesn't matter what car they dump onto the used car market, it will end up as a nightmare for the next owner. As the OP indicated in a later post "I think the previous owner just abused the car and i ended up having to deal with the issues he gave birth to." Which is why I tried to enlighten potential used Cali buyers about getting at least 1 year of extended warranty thrown in by the seller.

...and is also why some people still prefer to buy their cars new.