Thoughts on this 2010 California

Thoughts on this 2010 California

Author
Discussion

jw673

139 posts

116 months

Saturday 8th February 2020
quotequote all
Lowlands said:
I’ve found the owners manual online and have a question about the battery conditioner. It says to connect it to the socket in the ‘luggage compartment’ then ‘run the connection cable underneath the luggage compartment lid in the outer/rear corner‘. There’s no photos so just wondering how exactly the cable exits the car? Does the boot have to remain open? How long is the cable? I’ve not used battery conditioners on previous cars as I would usually use the car at least every couple of weeks but have read it’s better to use as a default on a Cali.
UK 3pin > ~190cm cable > Ctek/Conditioner (~16cm) > ~180cm cable > Cali boot connector

You can close the boot, it compresses the cable; in the boot's corners appears to be the best position/least amount of compression.

My California is rarely on the conditioner as I use it at least every couple of weeks (sometimes a three-week gap). That said, it always has a good run when it is being used - if you're only travelling a few miles every couple of weeks, I'd use the conditioner.

If it's not on the conditioner on a regular basis I wouldn't be overly concerned about possible sporadic warning messages* on start-up, especially in the midst of a cold winter, although if these are a regular occurrence and the car is being well used - I'd replace the battery.

From memory, I think if the boot takes two clicks on the keyfob to open - this is a signifier of a low battery (note: not necessarily a bad battery).

*I can't recall the exact error(s)/order of errors, although generally the lower the battery the more error messages appeared - I had a battery that was on the way out (probably the original from the factory). I should add that none of the error messages re-occurred after the battery was back up to charge and the car restarted (i.e. didn’t require an OBD-II reader to reset).

Lowlands

Original Poster:

37 posts

52 months

Saturday 8th February 2020
quotequote all
jw673 said:
UK 3pin > ~190cm cable > Ctek/Conditioner (~16cm) > ~180cm cable > Cali boot connector

You can close the boot, it compresses the cable; in the boot's corners appears to be the best position/least amount of compression.

My California is rarely on the conditioner as I use it at least every couple of weeks (sometimes a three-week gap). That said, it always has a good run when it is being used - if you're only travelling a few miles every couple of weeks, I'd use the conditioner.

If it's not on the conditioner on a regular basis I wouldn't be overly concerned about possible sporadic warning messages* on start-up, especially in the midst of a cold winter, although if these are a regular occurrence and the car is being well used - I'd replace the battery.

From memory, I think if the boot takes two clicks on the keyfob to open - this is a signifier of a low battery (note: not necessarily a bad battery).

*I can't recall the exact error(s)/order of errors, although generally the lower the battery the more error messages appeared - I had a battery that was on the way out (probably the original from the factory). I should add that none of the error messages re-occurred after the battery was back up to charge and the car restarted (i.e. didn’t require an OBD-II reader to reset).
Thank you.

To be clear then, just stick the wire in the corner and shut the boot?


67Dino

3,583 posts

105 months

Sunday 9th February 2020
quotequote all
Lowlands said:
jw673 said:
UK 3pin > ~190cm cable > Ctek/Conditioner (~16cm) > ~180cm cable > Cali boot connector

You can close the boot, it compresses the cable; in the boot's corners appears to be the best position/least amount of compression.

My California is rarely on the conditioner as I use it at least every couple of weeks (sometimes a three-week gap). That said, it always has a good run when it is being used - if you're only travelling a few miles every couple of weeks, I'd use the conditioner.

If it's not on the conditioner on a regular basis I wouldn't be overly concerned about possible sporadic warning messages* on start-up, especially in the midst of a cold winter, although if these are a regular occurrence and the car is being well used - I'd replace the battery.

From memory, I think if the boot takes two clicks on the keyfob to open - this is a signifier of a low battery (note: not necessarily a bad battery).

*I can't recall the exact error(s)/order of errors, although generally the lower the battery the more error messages appeared - I had a battery that was on the way out (probably the original from the factory). I should add that none of the error messages re-occurred after the battery was back up to charge and the car restarted (i.e. didn’t require an OBD-II reader to reset).
Thank you.

To be clear then, just stick the wire in the corner and shut the boot?
Yep, exactly that - there’s enough gap/padding that it just holds the cable and doesn’t squash it.

Congrats on the purchase, Lowlands, and do post pics when you get it.

Edited by 67Dino on Sunday 9th February 05:41

jon66

295 posts

144 months

Monday 10th February 2020
quotequote all
Congratulations on the purchase....I'm sure that you will have plenty of fun with this Cali. Definitely looked like a nice choice.

I'd echo the comments about using the trickle charger....mine lives on that when not in use regularly and has never missed a beat. If I get chance later I'll take a quick photo so that you can see how I run the lead out of the boot.


Lowlands

Original Poster:

37 posts

52 months

Monday 10th February 2020
quotequote all
jon66 said:
Congratulations on the purchase....I'm sure that you will have plenty of fun with this Cali. Definitely looked like a nice choice.

I'd echo the comments about using the trickle charger....mine lives on that when not in use regularly and has never missed a beat. If I get chance later I'll take a quick photo so that you can see how I run the lead out of the boot.
Thanks, Jon. That would be v helpful.

HIS LM

1,288 posts

259 months

Monday 10th February 2020
quotequote all
Lowlands congrats on the purchase you won't be disappointed

I have an error message on my dash, check recalibrate TPMS is this genuine if so how do I reset or could it be low voltage mine sits idle for weeks

Thanks in advance

jon66

295 posts

144 months

Tuesday 11th February 2020
quotequote all
I'm no expert on the various error messages but I seem to recall that to clear that one you need to re-calibrate the TPMS

If you go into the menus there's an option to do just that. Select that option, drive the car and it should re-set itself. Have you had a low tyre pressure warning before getting this message as I think that you still get this error even after you have pumped up the tyre again ?

Another consideration could be that the batteries in the TPMS Sensor(s) are getting low...they only have a limited life and so do need replacing (the whole sensor) every so often. I've just done all 4 on my 2009 car as when we checked them they were showing very low battery...plus I was in the process of renewing the wheels so made sense to do it at the same time whilst the wheels/tyres were off the car.

Lowlands

Original Poster:

37 posts

52 months

Monday 17th February 2020
quotequote all
Update:

I was due to be collecting the car this week but that’s been put on hold due to a required part from Italy having not arrived. Apparently they are unable to track this order or get any precise info as to when it will arrive (even though it’s being dealt with be Leeds Ferrari). Does that sound normal or am I being messed around?

I’m not too concerned about the delay as I didn’t want to collect the car until early March anyway but they really pushed for collection as soon as possible so I inconvenienced myself (financially and time-wise) to make it happen this week.

A couple of things are playing on my mind...One is the fact I had to chase them to get the bad news today and although empathetic he was not apologetic which annoyed me a bit. More importantly though, should the fact they are finding something to fix on this car after several weeks (since November) on sale be something I should be worried about?

ANOpax

824 posts

166 months

Monday 17th February 2020
quotequote all
What’s the problem and what’s the part you’re waiting on? If it has gone AWOL, they should simply request another and return the original order when it eventually shows up.

Stuff can be found during the pre-sale inspection which wouldn’t otherwise show up so depending on what they found it could be a genuine repair. Are you getting a new power warranty with the car?

Lowlands

Original Poster:

37 posts

52 months

Monday 17th February 2020
quotequote all
ANOpax said:
What’s the problem and what’s the part you’re waiting on? If it has gone AWOL, they should simply request another and return the original order when it eventually shows up.

Stuff can be found during the pre-sale inspection which wouldn’t otherwise show up so depending on what they found it could be a genuine repair. Are you getting a new power warranty with the car?
I asked via email what the part was and what problem it will fix and the answer was:

‘The parts and issues was “Breather fault with engine, due to oil contamination. Replaced breather and cam cover gasket POO”’

I’ll ask for clarification.

I appreciate things will be found out at presale inspection but this has shown up many weeks after going on sale.

No Power Warranty. This car is not being sold as an approved used Ferrari. It’s from JCT 600 in Newcastle that is soon to be a Ferrari service and used dealership but not yet. They are working with Leeds JCT 600 Ferrari for the work.


ANOpax

824 posts

166 months

Tuesday 18th February 2020
quotequote all
I’m no expert in Ferrari oil systems so I’d hesitate to diagnose how critical the breather is and why the fault went undetected but I can imagine that it might have been only after a tech checked the oil pressures under load or the state of the engine bay or the quantity of oil in the engine that the fault has become apparent.

Regarding the warranty, the car does not have to sold by an approved dealer for you to get one. It only needs to pass a Ferrari inspection and will cost c.£4000 to apply. You could play hard ball with the dealer for your inconvenience and tell them that you’ve lost confidence in the car and their attitude/communication and that as a result, you’d like them to get a warranty applied. Given that they have an official franchise elsewhere, getting the inspection done should be easy and cost less for them. The question on whether to fork out £4K to cover the delay, inconvenience and ill-will is something for them to decide...

67Dino

3,583 posts

105 months

Tuesday 18th February 2020
quotequote all
Re dealerships, my own experience of Ferrari (and also Aston and Porsche actually) is that from a customer service perspective they tend to be one of two extremes:

“We sell something very exclusive (we don’t really care what it is) and deal with much more important customers than you. Frankly you should think yourself lucky we are even willing to stoop to deal with you”
Or
“We absolutely love these cars, and appreciate you do too. We recognise you are making a big investment here, so very much value you and want to give you the best experience possible”.

I’ve learnt to avoid the first type like the plague. If you think you might be dealing with one, Id recommend buying your car elsewhere.


WCZ

10,525 posts

194 months

Tuesday 18th February 2020
quotequote all
67Dino said:
Re dealerships, my own experience of Ferrari (and also Aston and Porsche actually) is that from a customer service perspective they tend to be one of two extremes:

“We sell something very exclusive (we don’t really care what it is) and deal with much more important customers than you. Frankly you should think yourself lucky we are even willing to stoop to deal with you”
Or
“We absolutely love these cars, and appreciate you do too. We recognise you are making a big investment here, so very much value you and want to give you the best experience possible”.

I’ve learnt to avoid the first type like the plague. If you think you might be dealing with one, Id recommend buying your car elsewhere.
Ferrari is pay to play, people put lots of money into building that 'relationship' which has it's perks.

sad but true. nice cars but the dealers are annoying

JW82

135 posts

108 months

Tuesday 18th February 2020
quotequote all
My experience with the main dealer I have bought cars from is the first example above.

I tend not to buy in to the hype and not so gentle suggestions and just go with whatever I think is fair. Dealing with their servicing team is even more amusing each year for the annual service. When the call starts with, "our engineer has a list of advisories....",

Lowlands

Original Poster:

37 posts

52 months

Friday 21st February 2020
quotequote all
We managed to reach an agreement yesterday and after a gesture their end (can it be a gesture if I asked for it?) I made new arrangements to go up next Tuesday to collect the car. The car was MOT’d yesterday so I looked up the report this morning.

It was put through the MOT without number plates so was initially failed but then passed with an advisory point ‘ slight play in n/s steering arm’. This has not been mentioned in previous MOTs.
I spoke to the sales manager and was told they all suffer from this and even if a new steering rack was put in it would still be the same. I’ve since checked MOTs on 6 or 7 other Cali’s and can’t see the same advisory.

I’m not going to buy this car without this issue being resolved so what would be the correct repair?


johnnyreggae

2,936 posts

160 months

Friday 21st February 2020
quotequote all
I suspect the correct solution is a different tester - it sounds like a standard existence-justification comment used on many many MOTs for all makes of car

F355GTS

3,721 posts

255 months

Friday 21st February 2020
quotequote all
Lowlands said:
We managed to reach an agreement yesterday and after a gesture their end (can it be a gesture if I asked for it?) I made new arrangements to go up next Tuesday to collect the car. The car was MOT’d yesterday so I looked up the report this morning.

It was put through the MOT without number plates so was initially failed but then passed with an advisory point ‘ slight play in n/s steering arm’. This has not been mentioned in previous MOTs.
I spoke to the sales manager and was told they all suffer from this and even if a new steering rack was put in it would still be the same. I’ve since checked MOTs on 6 or 7 other Cali’s and can’t see the same advisory.

I’m not going to buy this car without this issue being resolved so what would be the correct repair?
Never heard of that fault on a California, track rods can be consumable particularly with todays roads, I'd be pressing to have it fixed properly. tbh your dealer experience sounds crap inc what appears to be the Sales Manager prepared to lie to you

Pro Bono

594 posts

77 months

Tuesday 19th May 2020
quotequote all
Did you actually buy this car in the end? I was looking forward to hearing your thoughts on it, but in the absence of any further comment since 21 February I'm thinking you maybe decided to give it a miss.

Lowlands

Original Poster:

37 posts

52 months

Tuesday 19th May 2020
quotequote all
Pro Bono said:
Did you actually buy this car in the end? I was looking forward to hearing your thoughts on it, but in the absence of any further comment since 21 February I'm thinking you maybe decided to give it a miss.
No, I didn’t. Still want one though and will start the search again soon.