Buyers Guide/Question - V12 Ferrari

A 550 / 575 manual gearbox, or a 599 , I think they are all pretty good V12 s

Big G

 

550/456/575 will be the easiest and cheapest to maintain. No engine outs on the modern front V12s. You can get a perfect gated 456 or a nice 550 for your budget. 575 will be F1 at that price.
612 and 599 are close second, but more expensive and also a bit more maintenance.
FF is lovely but sounds like it has its fair share of issues.

 

I'm with Gino on this one, 550, 575, 599 all seem to hold up. They all have their issues but if you keep up with the maintenance you'll be OK.

 

I'm going to get ripped a new one by the historians...but here goes:

Generally speaking, the 'classic' or Enzo-era cars will be roughly pre-1990 (he died in 88), the last front-engined V12 of that era would be the 412 which was sold until 1989, but the engine traces its roots to the 1950s and the car is directly related to many models from the 60s and 70s.
The so-called 'modern' cars are basically everything thereafter. The 456 was the first to debut a new V12 engine architecture in 1993, which carried over through to the 599 and 612 (albeit with heavy revision and modification).

A lot of things in the Ferrari/exotic world are a bit different from mainstream cars. High mileage, for example, is very relative. Whereas a 100k km 2002-year car in Europe would be average, in America it would be seen as very high. I would not call 15k miles high by any definition for a non-limited series Ferrari (that is to say, like a F40 or 599GTO). My 456, for example, sat for years and had 9k kms on it when I bought it 21 years after it was built, but I've since started catching up and hope to have 60k kms by the time it is 31.

At the end of the day, spend a few months researching the model you choose here on Fchat, where we have a brilliant community who is very experienced in buying and owning these, and then buy the best one you can afford without worrying too much about mileage. Many will tell you that these cars need to be driven, and that you may see more issues with a garage queen that's been sitting. The most important thing to look for is a reliable PPI, which will outline what the car you are looking at would need. It can't tell you everything, but a good specialist mechanic will give you a great idea of what kind of usage the car had and what to expect. A service history is a nice bonus, and most reputable dealers will have it.

All the major items are well spelled out in the respective forum sections, but these are generally very reliable cars.

 

The last timing belt engines were the 550/575 they are not a big deal but after that like the 599 and beyond do have to change timing belts
The 550 everyone was manual gated shifter so nice deal and less maintenance then any with an F1 trans… that being said the last of the F1 are the 599 etc.

 

My 89 328 has 105,000 miles, and runs like it did with 20,000. 15-18 K not a chance.

G

 

I would still consider the 348 , and the Testarossa as Enzo era cars as well. After the 348, the build quality took a turn for the worse, so 1995 an on , at least with the mid engine cars .Its not the motors themselves, its all the "other stuff " thats goes bad. Say for instance, all the buttons coming unglued, now Ferrari could have fixed this issue right away, but to this day, the problem still exists. You would think that Ferraris build quality would rival that of the Japanese, unfortunately , it is not. Find a car that has had all the ******** problems sorted , not the one with the least miles. This forum will have all the answers you need for whichever Ferrari your considering .

Big G

 

I’m a gated manual 456GT owner. These and the 550 are wonderful cars. Dead nuts easy to actually work on. They have their well documented nuances and areas of concern, but for your budget you can get a fantastic 456 of any year. 550 prices have been steadily driving up the last few years, consider both of those (and 575) to really be the last of the analog v12 cars. For some reason anyone with over 20k miles is considered high, and that’s a real shame. The motors are well situated for long lives and high miles, don’t let that be a deterrent, especially if you want to use it regularly. But remember the newest of these is now 20 years old, so it’s bound to have things needing addressing, no matter how well it was kept, and fully expect a low mile and unused car to need thing even more so.

Come over the the 456/550/575 forum if you go down that rabbit hole. We are certainly biased, but not dissatisfied with that platform

 

https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/search/229144328/?q=independent+shop&o=relevance&c[node]=41
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No ripping here but to help with timing of eras....

Enzo era cars are from 1948 to 1967/68. that is when He owned 100% of Ferrari SpA. he sold off 50% to Fiat in 68, but still ran the company day to day to 1973.5 when he got ill. after that He only ran the Reparto Corse - or the Racing team
1968 - 1988is the Fiat / Enzo era - He was around but not really involved, but still had Veto power on models, and changes. He actually owned the actual factory till 1978 - at which point FIAT increased its "subsidy" to Enzo but was effective buy out of his physical interests in the company.
1988- 1993 The horror years - this is post Enzo - and the bungling by FIAT execs... that ended up with Montezemolo coming on.
1993 - 2014 ... The Montezemolo years - arguably the best years for Ferrari as a business and racing team. the road cars were not as exciting to look at ( 355 and 458 excepted ) but they had amazing performance - useability - he transformed the company.
2014 to now - is the Elkan Years - after Gianni Angelli died and his heirs also died, it passed to his nephew John Elkan - Italian American - who has taken the company public... is it the defacto "owner" of Ferrari. Since his fathers Death Piero Ferrari has been EVP of Ferrari - and has been able to amass a huge fortune while being completely behind the scenes. He is the 2nd largest share holder of Ferrari today.

As for V-12 cars the 599 is my personal favorite - I have one, love it ... but they are expensive to maintain and use... its just going to be that way... the 550's and 456's are also great cars, but you will have some issues with each model, I think 550's are pretty bulletproof mechanically - but trim and electrics are starting to show fragility. 456's same issues... also have belt changes to deal with. Parts on all those first gen cars are kind of hard to source and expensive. It really does apply to Ferrari - the more you use them the better - the more reliable they are. if you get a V-12 - not a flat 12 from the 80's you are talking about a 400 series car - which are cool - but have usually lead an unloved life for years so expect lots of maintenance - good news you can do it your self, = bad news is you will be doing lots of it.

an Enzo era car - while easier to maintain - is also super valuable, even the most basic ones - like a 250 GTE or 365GTC.. .you are talking $300K for a bargain basement basket case... parts are hard to find, super expensive etc... the driving experience can be lack luster by todays standard... but the sound is always worth it. they are investment grade cars. a 180 degree V-12 - Flat 12 is either a Boxer or Testa rossa... both have gone up in value ... and for some reason they also come down in value. the Boxer is the cooler of the ones to own, but fraught with maintenance issues as they are all close to 50 years old ... Testa Rossa's are great cars but will need mtns. as well. the styling comes and goes, I think they are in vouge again ... and values show it.

good luck - just drive what ever you buy.

 

550 Maranello for a home run.

 

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