ferrari reliability reports

Can you be more specific? Are you considering a 1960's V-12, a 2001 360 Modena, an F355...

I guess the easy answer is that Consumer Reports would recommend that you not get a Ferrari but check out the Corvette. This site is the best place to find out how "reliable" (oops... in quotes) a given Ferrari model is.

(EDIT: And welcome to f-chat!)

 

Great Cars
Just to let you know, I have four vehicles and my Testarossa ( almost 20y old ) is the car I put the most miles on last year ( 25000km in 9 mo )

 

It's never left me stranded in over 1000 miles in 3 years!

 

No F430 here () so I won't comment on its reliability.

One obstacle to the kind of data you want is that most Ferrari owners drive their cars only occasionally. A new Porsche may get 5K-15K miles a year; a new Ferrari might get 1K or 2K, which means the car's out of warranty after being driven very little.

You might check out edmunds.com 's long term test on a 550 (?) for an interesting read from an ordinary consumer perspective. They actually racked up some mileage and some eye-watering bills. Not an F430, but a point of reference. http://www.edmunds.com/apps/vdpcontainers/do/vdp/articleId=49771

Warranty info is on ferrariusa.com under current models.

If you haven't already, you might also visit rennlist.com to see some of the stories about the 997.

 

If by reliability you mean not being left stranded, Ferraris have served me well. I've only been stranded by a Ferrari once, while my 911 has stranded me twice.

If you mean low service costs, or not much time spent in the shop, well, sorry, Ferraris are expensive and things break. And when they break, they take a long time to fix.

Of course, if you buy a 430 it will be under warranty, so maybe it won't matter much.

 

If you don't consider a Corvette reliable you are mistaken thinking that you need a Ferrari. This is a high maintainance car, that said everyone here will tell you that the driving experience is worth it.

ken

 

Exactly. If a Corvette is considered unreliable - an F-car is out of the question. Sort of a strange comparison IMO.

 

As with anything involving PASSION, not just Ferraris, they are as reliable as the amount of time and money that you want to, or have the time to invest.

How's that for putting it into a sentence?

 

Well said. You can't rationalize a Ferrari.

We've had posts on this site about depreciation, investment potential, performance, reliability, etc. Ultimately, you either give in to the lust or go with sensible alternatives.

I sold my P-car last year.

 

i have just under 40000kms. I don;t know what that is in miles

honestly, routine maintainance is not that bad. Part are expensive ( relative to a ford, or GM ) but not too bad.
Jewellary items ( shields, wheels, etc are very expesive regardless of the model you choose

 

First, welcome on the board.

I guess the cars are in principle reliable, but then again, they're no Cox.

I mean, there are many more parts, it is all more fragile, so you HAVE to service them regularly, and of course, since there is more stuff, more can break down.

Maintenance costs are indeed high, especially for cars pre 430/599, as you have the infamous belts to replace etc. especially if you service the car in an F-dealership

Also, there are indeed some stories about g'boxes that seize (360s), or engines that blow up. But this happens on any car, and a good lawyer can be your friend for that.

I'd say that the models built in the last 10 years improved alot as more people use them (at least in europe, where garage queens become rarer and rarer) as a single car.

 

I can't say as I dont own one.

I will say that I met a fellow at a local Ferrari drive who put over 20,000 miles on his used 575M in the course of (I believe) 2 years. Said its run great so far.

 

Great read!

Reminds me of the woes Doug Hayashi had with his '99 355F1, which he wrote about on nsxfiles.com/pulpracing.com

 

I've been very pleased with the reliability of my Stradale (and of my 360 Modena before it). Neither gave me any more trouble than either my 911 or my M3. None of those are Toyota-like reliable.

Note, that a Toyota can be completely abused (e.g., never change the oil) and will keep running. To be fair, however, I do not pamper the BMW and Porsche like I do the Ferrari. For example, I always give the Ferrari a few minutes to warm up and then drive gently until the oil temperature is up. The M3 and the 911 will get driven briskly from the moment I start it. And I'll take both on short little trips (not the Ferrari).

On the flip side, note that many of the horribly unreliable Ferrari stories are associated with abused Ferraris. Common abuses: (1) letting it sit for months; (2) racing the engine while its cold; (3) going on quick joy rides, minimizing miles by driving hard right out of the blocks (no drivetrain warm up).

The COST of the maintenance is a completely different story, however. I am typically quite disappointed in how much it costs to maintain a Ferrari.

 

No troubles with mine after two years. Though Ferraris tend to be driven less miles but harder then most other cars.

 

After spending an inital few thousand getting some previous mechanical / electrical bugs out my 348 has basically been trouble free. In fact this past weekend my brother commented how surprised he was with the ease of starting a 17 year old car. We can't quite accellerate like the 360's that typically go to our local events, but we can pretty much keep up on the highway.

BT

 

That would be ~27k miles in 11 months on a 575M and it does run great.

Steve

 

A guy in europe had a mid '70's 365GT 2+2, with records indicating the entire exhaust was replaced before the car was 2 years old by the first owner. Records indicated the exact same issue was done to the second owner a few years later. That exhaust is still on the car and in fine shape. Point? Well, cars are only as reliable as the last person who worked on them, and it really doesnt matter who built it. But unscrupulous mechanics and dealers can make ownership very expensive and painful.

A lady on here with a 360 was sent away from a F-car dealer after a full service ($$$$) and immediately a check engine light came on. Turns out the cams may not have been degree wheeled, or not correctly. I personally feel the Ferrari is a very high quality car, potentially above a Porsche in quality, but you need a good mechanic, and you need to know the car yourself like the back of your hand. I also believe a Ferrari should be owner serviced and maintained, only resorting to help when your in over your head, or need special equipment or service beyond the means of the general public (ie computers).