Taking out center console on 2002 Spyder

Speaking of maintenance, does the Ferrari engine/powertrain mean Ferrari maintenance costs? It appears to be a pretty decent daily driver, but my main concern is Ferrari maintenance costs and reliability.

 

I should have done a search before asking because I just found a lot of great info in other threads and on ************. I'd still appreciate your input though.

Have fun at Concorso!

 

I use my '02 Coupe as my DD, and outside of a couple items I had to sort out when I got it late last year, and one lighting controller module that went bad 3 or 4 months ago, so far I haven't had any major issues with reliability... they are complex cars, so there is indeed more potential for stuff to go bad, but the general consensus seems to be that if you budget in the $3k-$3.5k range a year for maintenance, you'll be right in the ballpark in most cases. Clutch replacement is the most expensive regular maintenance item on these, and $5k is the most common price tag you see mentioned for that if you have it done at the dealership (though, some indy shops appear to be able to do it for less).

If you buy one that has a lot of deferred maintenance, though, you could be in for a lot more expensive experience in your first year of ownership... I've seen more than a few cases of that pop up on the ************ forum. And - unfortunately - a good number of these vehicles tend to come to market in that condition... people buy them, drive them for awhile, put stuff off, and once enough stuff's been put off to where it now is desperately in need of a $1,500-to-$2k major service interval, plus a $5k clutch job, and the $1,700 for a new reverse shifter pod after some ham-fisted valet just broke the T-Bar handle (those can easily be rebuilt, though - just giving you some examples of typical retail/dealership price tags), THAT's when it hits the market.

Not trying to scare you off with the above paragraph... not all of them are like that, of course - to put it in perspective, I've spent more this year in repairs on my '02 Blazer than on my '02 Maserati, so good examples are definitely available... as with any major purchase, the more homework you do, the less you're likely to be blindsided and hit with any big surprises. Right now's a great time to buy, as the Global Economic Apocalypse has deflated the exotic market, and I would venture to say that the '02-'06 Maserati's seem to have been hit a little harder.

 

I see that you mention you've got it figured out, but I was curious as to why you're pulling the whole console in order to just replace the faceplate on your Nav unit? You're talking about the control head in the upper portion of the console near the dash???

 

i use my 02 as a daily driver. no problems at 24,000. the only problem has the dealer trying to rip me off.

 

Thanks for the great responses. I'd obviously do my homework before and get a well-maintained example. I would say that the Coupe/Spyder is one of the best values right now. The looks are timeless.

 

+1---Sticky buttons maybe? I have a pdf file of the removal of the entire NAV and center console areas