Ferrari 550 Maranello running costs etc
Discussion
Debating swapping my GT3 for one of these. Anything in particular I should be looking our for? Are they reliable, what about running costs? Would a 575 be a better bet? Just generally interested in owners opinions of them. Is the manual gearbox box any good? The one on my F360 had a few issues if I remember rightly!
They are not particularily expensive to run from memory, but I suppose it depends on what you are used to. Compared to a focus it's going to be astronomical, compared to a Zonda it will be cheap. If you are doing limited mileage and are prepared to use specialists rather than main dealer, I guess you could probably do it for maybe £3k a year. Although, when I had mine excluding fuel, insurance, etc, it cost about £6 - 7k a year to run plus depreciation.
The manual gearbox is fine. You can't do quick changes with it, but I found it better to do a slow positive gear change and then just use the sheer power to go quickly.
Don't know much about the 575, although, as it's newer in theory there should be improvements.
The manual gearbox is fine. You can't do quick changes with it, but I found it better to do a slow positive gear change and then just use the sheer power to go quickly.
Don't know much about the 575, although, as it's newer in theory there should be improvements.
It is worth bearing in mind that the early 550's are over 10 years old - I have had mine since Jan 08 and it looks like costing about £4k a year to run including tyres through a good independent garage
They do go through brakes as they are fairly heavy and powerful and rear tyres (pirellis) don't last so long.
I would check that the air con works properly as I have spent quite a few quid sorting mine. The engine and gearbox seem to be fairly bullet proof but do get any car properly checked before purchase.
Early 550 now seem to go from £35k which I think is excellent value and I think that 575's go from about £50k - hence it depends on your budget DK engineering had a lovely 575 manual at the moment
have fun
They do go through brakes as they are fairly heavy and powerful and rear tyres (pirellis) don't last so long.
I would check that the air con works properly as I have spent quite a few quid sorting mine. The engine and gearbox seem to be fairly bullet proof but do get any car properly checked before purchase.
Early 550 now seem to go from £35k which I think is excellent value and I think that 575's go from about £50k - hence it depends on your budget DK engineering had a lovely 575 manual at the moment
have fun
I've done 15k miles in mine since June 2007. They are expensive to run but not ridiculously so. I just had the 3-year major done for a little over GBP2k by a top-draw specialist in Holland. Other than that I've only had 4 new tyres, insurance, storage and fuel costs. Oh - and some detailing, my 550 needs to look perfect so I have little stone chips and so on dealt with on an annual basis.
When buying one of these, please make sure that you have some cash reserves - if something breaks, it can be ugly. 3 grand for a rear window, anyone?
Also make sure you have a good inspection done or buy from a reputable guy or dealer. If it is your first Ferrari, I would not recommend buying from a private person.
Other than that, the car has been a complete pleasure without any headaches. They really get under your skin - driving to Southern Europe will never be the same!
I hope I will never have to sell mine. Best of luck!
Onno
When buying one of these, please make sure that you have some cash reserves - if something breaks, it can be ugly. 3 grand for a rear window, anyone?
Also make sure you have a good inspection done or buy from a reputable guy or dealer. If it is your first Ferrari, I would not recommend buying from a private person.
Other than that, the car has been a complete pleasure without any headaches. They really get under your skin - driving to Southern Europe will never be the same!
I hope I will never have to sell mine. Best of luck!
Onno
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