FF service history concern re PTU

The way I see it - regardless of miles or year - I internally budget 10k$ for the PTU

You can either just keep it in your head
Put aside the money / self-insure
Pay for an extended warranty - third party
Get Ferrari New Power
Ignore it

Now regarding this specific car - other than that are there issues with the car? Does it have enough options to make you happy? Is mileage a concern for you? Is the price right? Is there any accident history?

There are 23 FF listed on autotrader right now, I think there are quite a few with less miles and newer years if you want more peace in the mind, I think @ANOpax has a chart showing some regression analysis on PTU failures?

 

Here you go, you have a homework assignment.

https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/ff-ptu-design-flaw.605529/

 

Thank you @vraa for the shout out. I've updated the PTU thread with fresh data gathered over the last year. The net result is that things haven't changed much in terms of the distribution and likelihood of a failure.

@ftrjz, I think your assessment of the PTU in the car you're looking at is valid. Low pressure would be a warning flag for seal failure but I guess it could also be caused by blocked filters or incorrect filling of the PTU. I'd venture that if the seal fails, it fails completely, at which point no amount of flush and refill is going to restore correct pressure.

If you like the car and it's a good deal (allowing for a $10k contingency or including a NP warrranty) then at least you've gone in eyes open. At 7 years old and 40k miles, the car would be inside 2 std devations age wise but outside 2 std deviations on the mileage front.

 

if you are buying this car from a dealer maybe you can negotiate a ptu replacement done into the sale price and be done?

 

Just had the PTU replaced in my Lusso to the tune of $30k not $10k. Good thing I have an extended warranty!

 

Ive hears of dealers charging 40k

 

Sorry, not to thread back, but this may also be beneficial to your situation. The FF I’m looking at has no maintenance records and the owner is getting out of the vehicle after only having it for 6 months and putting 1k miles on it. Would a clean PPI not be sufficient in this case since there could be unresolved PTU or DCT complaints over the service history? I was told by the PPI Ferrari Indies that if there were any issues in the past it would’ve thrown a permanent code that would be easily visible?

 

Whatever code can always be erased. So there might be an issue that has been hidden and will resurface after you drive XXX miles. In my opinion, it's too much money to put on something that can bite you back. A PPI will not detect anything if no code is stored and there is no visible leak.
I would prefer to go for a car with a cleaner history. But I can understand some are willing to take a gamble.

 

The code will come back no matter how many times you clear it. Ask me how I know.

 

My PTU was $40k plus labor at a dealer, got it rebuild for $10k.

 

crazy

 

I dont think I would favor a car that has had a rebuilt DCT or PTU over a car that hasnt, providing the latter is not showing any sign of issue with DCT or PTU. The failures on both DCT and PTU seem to only affect a small portion of the cars so I dont think is it reasonable to expect a better car to always have a rebuilt DCT or PTU. But I would not favor a car that hasnt had any work done on the gearboxes over a car that has had some, as long as the work was done by a reputable shop.
I would not consider a car with a history of gearbox issues and no clear fix to it, unless the price is so good that the all repair cost can be factored in, as well as the hassle of having to get that taken car off by yourself. ie, 50/60K cheaper than an equivalent car without the issue.

 

The problem I’m finding is dealers and independents are almost never willing to provide service history directly to prospective buyers. If the seller provides service records, they can very easily omit unfavorable records. Any ideas on how to get around this other than buying from a dealer with certified warranty as a safety net?

 

Beside a PPI done by a proper service technician who will know what to look for, not sure what you can do about it indeed...

 

Agreed. That’s the other thing is PTU and DCT issues don’t provide much, if any, signs of potential failure.

 

Clutch and gear oil mixing in ptu is one indicator

 

PTU leaks is another sign of failure, when they put the car up on the lift you can see if there's a leak.

 

Oil mixing is a testing parameter of the new power warranty, so do most here suggest just getting the new power warranty inspection and purchasing the vehicle if results come back clean? Still unsure if the new power warranty itself is worthwhile since it doesn’t cover leaks and seals. Also the tires are not OEM, so am wondering if they will fail warranty eligibility based on that alone. Everyone’s suggestions and opinions are greatly appreciated.