612 considerations

[ianroberts86]

Here it is on the KHPC sold part of the website
https://www.tfcgb.com/previously-sold/6027146-ferr...

[cornershop]

ianroberts86 said:

Yes that the one, Nayf had it for the day and seemed to like it, it was quite nice reading about your own car. I will email piston heads. In the meantime you can email me on my user name then @hotmail.com and talk 612's if you want.

Thank you - have emailed you

[boxaw]

I had a 612 for a couple of years and I think it's a good idea to try and understand the smaller issues as they can be plentiful. As per a couple of previous posts, it's not so much the larger, predictable items but the smaller ones that are annoying (electricals especially).

The other thing I would mention is that the standard stereo/satnav in pre-facelift (2007 I think?) cars is quite shockingly bad so you may want to factor in replacing that. The engine/exhaust sound is awesome but on some journeys you just need a decent radio and a map.

In the end the car wasn't for me (I wanted to use it as a dd) but know people who love them. Best of luck.

[cornershop]

Thanks boxa - it’s a good point you make.

It would not be a DD for me, but It would need to live outside and all that entails.

Barely used the hifi in the Aston, even then it was just MW for the sport. Satnav would just be Waze.

My main concern is a big bill crippling me - eg could I expect a £10k bill for something? I can afford the initial outlay and yearly servicing including cam belts, but £5k-10k bills would hit very hard.

Ian - I exchanged emails with Nayf yesterday to seek his opinion on 612s in general and before you joined this thread so that was a bit of coincidence.

[ianroberts86]

I think Nayf really liked it, although he is a Ghibli GT man at heart !!
There are a few niggles that I've had but as long as its used weekly and keep on top of things then I think they are fine. Using older Italians is always the key to keeping them sweet.....and I talk from experience with older italians over many years... Alfa 75, 164, 166 (all V6's), Maserati 222SE, QV, 4200, Ghibli GT x 2, 550 & 612. I have the 612 & 2 Ghibli's now.

[Hereward]

Two early cars for sale at the moment.

This one needs belts doing now (last done in Nov 2016) and unable to say when gearbox fluid changed:
https://www.dovehousecars.com/car/1516-ferrari-612...

This one had belts done in 2020 but 10 owners and service book lost:
https://www.ccspecialistcars.co.uk/used-ferrari-61...

Neither are willing to shift much on price (I was prepared to buy unseen at £52k).

[cornershop]

Hereward said:

Two early cars for sale at the moment.

This one needs belts doing now (last done in Nov 2016) and unable to say when gearbox fluid changed:
https://www.dovehousecars.com/car/1516-ferrari-612...

This one had belts done in 2020 but 10 owners and service book lost:
https://www.ccspecialistcars.co.uk/used-ferrari-61...

Neither are willing to shift much on price (I was prepared to buy unseen at £52k).

Gearbox fluid should be every Major service? Every 3 years or every other year?

The interior in the top one looks like it’s suffering from sticky plastics, especially some of the buttons.

[Hereward]

cornershop said:

Gearbox fluid should be every Major service? Every 3 years or every other year?

The service schedule extract I have just says initially at 10,000 km and thereafter every 20,000km, no mention of time intervals. But certainly something you'd want to see evidence of.

[hunter 66]

cornershop said:

Thanks boxa - it’s a good point you make.

It would not be a DD for me, but It would need to live outside and all that entails.

Barely used the hifi in the Aston, even then it was just MW for the sport. Satnav would just be Waze.

My main concern is a big bill crippling me - eg could I expect a £10k bill for something? I can afford the initial outlay and yearly servicing including cam belts, but £5k-10k bills would hit very hard.

Ian - I exchanged emails with Nayf yesterday to seek his opinion on 612s in general and before you joined this thread so that was a bit of coincidence.

Every 2-3 years can expect a big one ......V12 Fez life is not a cheap path .

[cornershop]

hunter 66 said:

Every 2-3 years can expect a big one ......V12 Fez life is not a cheap path .

From what I’ve seen, bills of 2-3k per year are normal.; you rarely get away with the published fixed fee service cost.
Might be too much for me, however I’ll keep researching.

[jimmyslr]

cornershop said:

From what I’ve seen, bills of 2-3k per year are normal.; you rarely get away with the published fixed fee service cost.
Might be too much for me, however I’ll keep researching.

I’d agree with that. I owned one for c8 years. I think once the service was just the basic amount and sub £1k; I was surprised and delighted! It was usually £2k, occasionally £3k and could be worse. Things like some parts of suspension are consumable items.

You mention keeping it outside. Few live that way and I suspect it might accelerate issues. You really want to keep them on a charger in my experience - if the battery runs low the electrics can become very Italian and nobody feels good when half the dashboard lights up.

In reality they aren’t that bad at all, but going in eyes open and keeping on top of bits and pieces matter. I never had a major issue with mine, but the potential exists for this. The engine and ‘box are strong to my knowledge so it’s really electrics and suspension that linger as risks.

[cornershop]

Thanks Jimmy, valuable insight.

Yes my garage (50s/60s MY) is around 20cm too short, width wise it would be ok, just (eyes tightly closed going in)

I am also researching 2008-12 DBS, which appears cheaper to run, potential to squeeze into the garage and a near 7yr old in the back

[johnnyreggae]

My sense is both your options will not be best served by just basic servicing and have the potential for big bills - worrying about them is no place to start ownership - you re implying (Yesterday (21:03)) that if a £ 1500 service became £ 2500 that would be a problem - if so then maybe you need to rethink your plan

[Bo_apex]

cornershop said:

Thanks Jimmy, valuable insight.

Yes my garage (50s/60s MY) is around 20cm too short, width wise it would be ok, just (eyes tightly closed going in)

I am also researching 2008-12 DBS, which appears cheaper to run, potential to squeeze into the garage and a near 7yr old in the back

I can vouch they are a large thing, tennis ball on string time.

Multi story bays can sometimes come up shorter than you think.

[hunter 66]

cornershop said:

From what I’ve seen, bills of 2-3k per year are normal.; you rarely get away with the published fixed fee service cost.
Might be too much for me, however I’ll keep researching.

Big one was 7 k , suspension ....not cheap and as said a consumable . can do a race weekend for that

[markh1]

These or the FF are on my realistic dream car list for when I get bored of the 911 however the potential erratic and large bills do put me off as does the size of them.

What are you looking for from your next car? Is V12 the priority or just a nice noise?

If you want useable back seats there isnt much choice as I discovered.

Have you driven a 911? I find the induction and general mechanical noise from my 3.9 is excellent and is not overpowered by the exhaust. It will also fit in your garage.

bit left field but if your budget would stretch how about a 997.1 GT3 ? That's the last GT3 that shares the same shell as the regular 911's and still has the fixing points for back seats. Fairly depreciation proof and likely to be cheaper to run than a Ferrari. It will be an event to drive but a different type of event to a Ferrari.

You could look at Turbo's but appreciate they won't feel as special or have as nice a noise as a V12

[Bo_apex]

markh1 said:

You could look at Turbo's but appreciate they won't feel as special or have as nice a noise as a V12

Nail on head.
There's nothing quite as special as a V12.
Or flat 12

[cornershop]

markh1 said:

These or the FF are on my realistic dream car list for when I get bored of the 911 however the potential erratic and large bills do put me off as does the size of them.

What are you looking for from your next car? Is V12 the priority or just a nice noise?

If you want useable back seats there isnt much choice as I discovered.

Have you driven a 911? I find the induction and general mechanical noise from my 3.9 is excellent and is not overpowered by the exhaust. It will also fit in your garage.

bit left field but if your budget would stretch how about a 997.1 GT3 ? That's the last GT3 that shares the same shell as the regular 911's and still has the fixing points for back seats. Fairly depreciation proof and likely to be cheaper to run than a Ferrari. It will be an event to drive but a different type of event to a Ferrari.

You could look at Turbo's but appreciate they won't feel as special or have as nice a noise as a V12

Thanks for your thoughts

Doesn’t have to be a v12 - I’m selling my v12 Vantage at present, and was hoping the 612 would be a bit more vocal inside. The v12 vantage sounds better from the outside than it does inside.

A decent engine sound (not just exhaust) is important. Research to date suggests most v12 are relatively muted, so this may swerve me towards V8 and 6 cylinder cars.

I had an old 911 for 14 years prior to the v12 - and maybe that’s made me sell the Vantage, it’s engine is too quiet compared to what I’m used to. Nothing against the cars you’ve mentioned, but just fancied trying another marque.

It maybe that I go back to Porsche, but I love the styling of the 612 and hoping I find the engine engaging enough.

Wondering if I could buy at or below £50k, keep £5k for emergency and plan for a £2k yearly bill.

Or would I be better off trying to buy a later 08- model ?
Would the later car ward off any costs that I could potentially incur on the early cars?

[hunter 66]

I bought it for £48 k drove it for 4 years , 20 k miles and sold it for £58 k ...
Needed to do belts and full service when I bought it ....About 3k , cannot remember
All was great and yes generally £1-2 k a year , on average ....

Then hit a huge pothole and needed a 7k spend to replace all round suspension parts .
Still fond memories and an experience , perfect for the kids at that age .... now they are 6Ft 6 in so no go and I am back in Porsche with a .2 RS , and the wife and kids all refuse to get in it .... which is fine by me

[cornershop]

Thanks Hunter

Sounds realistic then (Minus £7k suspension bill) but still the chance of a hefty bill along the way.

I’ve read people talk about clutch wear % - what are deemed acceptable figures? What is a realistic max before a change should be considered?