Why Do I want a California NOW after all these years...

IMO, Gen 1 is much better looking than the T with the hood scoop and big butt. But, I'm biased and that's likely a minority opinion on F-chat!
The main, big ticket issues that crop up most commonly here on F-chat seem to be hard top convertible and transmission sensors. If it were me, I would try to find a Cali 30 (update of Gen 1 that had 30 more HP and 30 less kg), especially if you can find one with the Handling Speciale (HS) package. The Cali 30 also came out around 2013-4, so that puts you a few years further from the initial teething problems of the 2009-10 Calis.
My wife & I have put close to 16K miles on ours in a tad less than 3 years, and if you're seeking an everyday Ferrari I don't think you can do better, especially when you figure in the price. Happy hunting!
T

 

...because your low hanging Hammann kit will almost certainly scrape and self-destruct with the soft suspension of the non-HS cars. The HS car also handles more responsively at all speeds, and you will actually enjoy tackling the interesting corners with a degree of determination. Otherwise the standard car was just not designed to be flung around.

 

I second finding a Cali30 HS. Less issues with the bugs worked out, better handling and if you find a 14 it's the last year of a N/A engine in a Cali which should be good for values down the road. Whats your budget?

If you have any questions shoot me a PM and I'll do my best to help!
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There are a couple of folks here who have that and more on their Calis. I'm 9 K miles short, but working hard to get there! I think the circumstantial evidence in F-chat is that sitting idle is a bigger concern than overuse in modern Ferrari.

I would ask - do you plan on keeping this car for a while? If so, mileage shouldn't be a concern. If you're the type of driver that changes cars every year or two, it'd be a concern come selling time given that many people in the market for a Ferrari are mileage averse, rightly or wrongly.
T

 

50,000 km for a 7-year-old car works out to an average of about 7,000 km per year. If the car was driven year-round where winters are mild, then this is just moderate usage.

For reliability, it's generally better to look for a car with moderate mileage than one with very low mileage, especially if the owner stopped using the car after the first 1 or 2 years. Mileage is important as a "shake out" procedure to flush out problem that would be covered under the 3-year warranty. If you don't drive your car enough during the first 3 years, you'll never get to identify problem parts or assembly issues while under warranty. That's what the warranty does for this sort of car - coverage while you test out a car you want to keep. Of course, the very low mileage car should look newer but if the higher mileage car was properly cared for, it should still look nearly new. I would recommend having at least a 1-year warranty for give you time to locate any issues that might be costly. After all, the 2012 car is 7 years old.

I can only drive my car 5-6 months out of 12 so my 2013 Cali30 HS only has about 20,000 km on it. Here she is from last Spring. I have a few more mods, tweaks to do on it. Sorry for the iPhone snapshot.

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IMO, if you like to drive, you should go for the Cali30 HS. It's very different from the pre-2013 Cali. Some cars built in 2012 were also considered 2013 models but are not Cali30. The HS option can only be used on the Cali30 model and also lowers it. My car also has Novitec sport springs which are as stiff as the ones on the 991.1 GT3 - my car used to bottom out when I drove it on the local country roads. The HS option fixed that although I could bottom that one too, under certain conditions. The Novitec springs are even stiffer but the ride is still compliant. Haven't bottomed that even though it's even lower than on the HS springs. The car is a blast to drive. The full Capristo exhaust on my car makes it sound like a track car and really opens up the power when I rev the engine - the power curve doesn't flatten out like with the stock exhaust. The power just keeps building.

If you put on the Harmann front splitter, you really need stiffer springs or the splitter will kiss the road given any minor excuse. The Harmann unit is a track purpose design, which suits much stiffer suspensions, better road surfaces.

 

50K USD is hard to argue with. Hell, at that price I'd buy another one just because. Are you sure the title is clean? No wrecks, or lemon history. I figured the lowest we'd see them is 80K even at wholesale.

Also, some dealers, wholesalers, etc don't understand the VIN coding. Some late 2012's have Cali30 specs without being called a Cali30.

The California 30 can be differentiated from the base California by the VIN number. In the 30 variant, the VIN's sixth digit (in North America) is “T” representing the F136ih engine. In the base model, the VIN's sixth digit (again in North America) is “L” representing the earlier generation F136ib engine. (WIKI)

I've seen 2012's with a T in the 6th digit spot but listed at a much lower price point than a Cali30 commands.

 

Regarding prices, I think it helps to put a perspective on where the OP is located. The OP's profile says "Canada and Switzerland". Prices in Canada are much higher and you won't find anything like 50k USD unless there's a really serious accident issue (salvage) but it's a different story in Europe because they have more cars on the resale market for a number of reasons.

Your suggestion to check the VIN number is a good way to verify the built spec of the car. I was told late 2012-build cars were actually Cali30 but not the ones built earlier in 2012. I would guess the factory likely changed over the models in the Fall, after the August factory break. Mine was a March 2013 build.

If you have test-driven a few cars and are sensitive to how cars feel you will also sense differences in behaviour between the Cali and Cali30 (especially when manually shifting in SPORT mode), because the factory purposely engineered those differences to distinguish the 2 models. The Cali30 is noticeably more punchy (better immediate response) in the low gears and sound better. Cali30s can also be visually differentiated in subtle ways.

The Cali30 does not have the milled cavallino on the centre console bridge. It's probably a cost-saving thing but it is a "feature".

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Also, if you look under the rear of the car you should find the then newly-spec'd DCT oil heat exchanger which is not present in the earlier Cali. This particular item helps to reduce heat stress to the DCT internals and is responsible for reducing the likelihood of a DCT repair due to heat-related wear and tear. Here's a picture of mine when I was replacing some rear diffuser parts for CF versions. You definitely want to have this heat exchanger but if your car does not have it, I believe the dealer or an experienced Ferrari mechanic can install the newer factory part on the older car. Otherwise, make sure the car receives a good flow of air when the weather gets hot - don't idle the car for long periods in heavy traffic. That will accelerate heat degradation inside the DCT. It would also help if there is good air flow where you park the car to help the DCT cool down without having it cook any more than needed with no cooling available.

NOTE: you must remove the plastic undertray to actually see the heat exchanger.

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Yes, thats great additional info. Funny enough I knew about the heat exchanger and have seen mine during various mods when we had it on a lift but I didn't know the center bridge change. I was actually just pointing it out on a gen1 when at the shop and said "I wonder why my car doesn't have that, it looks nice" lol

Do you have more pics of the rear carbon diffuser? I just added a front carbon spoiler and already have the carbon for the license plate area. The rear diffuser is the last area and I'm trying to justify the cost.

 

I was a bit miffed about the plain bridge at first but I'm fine now and there are enough cavallini inside the car already. It's probably quite expensive to mill because they would have to ship the bridges back and forth to the shop that does the milling and the finishing would be more complicated. They didn't raise the price for the Cali30 so it's hard to complain, considering the 30 is actually a similar model upgrade concept to the Scud/16M, 458 Speciale, 599 HGTE and better value in many ways if you don't mind the "Q Ship" exterior.

I don't have a good photo of the CF diffuser and the car's still "in storage" but the weather's finally looking up. I'll try to take some on the weekend. To be honest, I only did it out of of a momentary OCD impulse. It doesn't come with a replacement CF undertray so you use the one that came with the car and it's just the diffuser wing and fins. I suppose you could get someone to apply a matching carbon weave skin to the undertray if you really want to. It looks good and I think it's worth the price but the little end fins that sit further back are truly stupid and you won't see them unless your car is up on the lifter... another of my OCD lapses.

 

I'd buy it all day long at 50K then. Good luck man!

 

I believe you can use stiffer springs like the Novitec on any Cali. With a non-30 model it just won’t have the benefit of the faster ECU for the MagneRide if that option is actually also on the car. The springs will help prevent contact with the ground when the car hits a compression. Novitec also makes a front lifter for the car but it adds weight and can thus affect handling.

The car looks good and having the full service history helps to confirm it. If you have done your due diligence, considered all the advice as well as your other options it looks like a really sweet deal for you. It does suit a more refined taste and is much more useable than most supercars.

 

Nice. Is that bianco avus or avorio?
T

 

Adam, I started a new thread to answer your question so I wouldn't sidetrack this thread.