612 considerations

[cornershop]

Hello folks

Newbie here in Ferrari-land and considering a 612 at some point this year. I currently have a V12 Vantage however 3 is a crowd so looking at 4 seater alternatives.

In terms of affordability, I’d be looking at a pre 2008 model. I have searched here and Ferrari Chat and have an understanding of servicing costs (not dissimilar to the Vantage) however keen to understand costs for non-service items.

Can anyone help put together some PPI items and associated costs?

Eg of some items I’ve picked up on:

Belts - every 4-5 yrs - £1500 to ..?
Clutch
Ball joints
Suspension arms (?)
Shocks (?)
Sticky switchgear
Instrument panel failure
Air con components

I think it’s these areas which will determine affordability for me, rather than the mandated servicing costs.

MPG appears to be pretty horrific at around 10-12, worse than the Vantage (manual) where I see 14-15 in town, 22-24 on the motorway. I will cover circa 3k a year (normally)

Lastly in terms of driving, is the V12 engine vocal, or, like the V12 Vantage, is it dominated by the exhaust? It’s my main criticism of the Vantage, no intake/induction noise to speak of. What is the 612 like?

Thanks in advance

[cornershop]

The Maserati is not for me unfortunately, I just don’t like the way it looks; it’s just trying too hard imho. The 612 looks great from most angles.

[cornershop]

Gents, thanks for your respective inputs.

I had forgotten about gearbox servicing - will add that to the PPi checklist. I now see F1 fluid should be changed every 3 years.

Per my question above, is the engine itself audible over the exhaust? I much prefer intake noise over exhaust

[cornershop]

Thoughts on this one?

https://www.orionsolutions.co.uk/ferrari-612-scagl...

No mention of number of owners (unlike another of theirs) so assume high. Is 40-50k deemed high on these? I’m guessing Ferrari are just as mileage sensitive as Aston Martin.

[cornershop]

Thanks again BM

I think I really need to try one - if you’re saying a DB9 sounds better than a standard 612, I’m likely to be disappointed. My V12 Vantage has the full Bamford Rose manifold and sport cat setup but I still miss induction noise.

I thought I’d be able to hear some of the character of the engine rather than just exhaust noise. The vantage exhaust sounds fabulous once wound up, however I can’t always travel at 4K+ rpm

[cornershop]

hunter 66 said:

Ran one as a daily for 4 years and added about 20 k miles . Biggest cost was the suspension re-fit . But overall a fun and good with the kids in the back . Gentlemans tourer , and yes when I first saw one at launch , I did not like the appearance , now when I see one , I think that is really pretty car .
Kids grew up and now 6 ft 5 tall ....... back in Porsche GT3RS , as they prefer public transport ( Cooler )

Thanks - what sort of suspension work did this entail? Can I ask how much too?

[cornershop]

DKL said:

cornershop said:

Thoughts on this one?

https://www.orionsolutions.co.uk/ferrari-612-scagl...

No mention of number of owners (unlike another of theirs) so assume high. Is 40-50k deemed high on these? I’m guessing Ferrari are just as mileage sensitive as Aston Martin.

I'd google that address under Williams before going to see it. I believe there may be interesting reading..

Nice catch, thank you

[cornershop]

DKL said:

There's this too. Looks lovely but could be the same owners, the staging is very similar to Williams of old. Could be entirely conicidence......
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202012317...

Yes they have 3 listed on their Orion solutions site

[cornershop]

jtremlett said:

cornershop said:

Thoughts on this one?

https://www.orionsolutions.co.uk/ferrari-612-scagl...

No mention of number of owners (unlike another of theirs) so assume high. Is 40-50k deemed high on these? I’m guessing Ferrari are just as mileage sensitive as Aston Martin.

7 owners in total. A very odd advert in that there are no pictures of the whole car. But then I don't imagine you'll be wanting to buy from them anyway.

Agreed - where do you see owners listed?

[cornershop]

jtremlett said:

he owners aren't listed. I looked it up.

Where would i be able to do that?

I like the price, colours and history of this one, but the rear bumper alignment is shocking - i thought Shilltech had a decent rep, so surprised to see that on one of their cars:

https://www.shiltechperformancecars.com/sales/3047...

I called about the 4starclassics car - i like colours more than i thought i would, but it does seem light on servicing (7 stamps)

http://www.4starclassics.com/for-sale/ferrari-612-... They also sent be the link below, showing more pics (and defects)
https://we.tl/b-8BvC4NkfBC

[cornershop]

Buttmonkey said:

The 4Star one looks very nice, and driven too it seems

You really need to go drive one and see how it feels. They are big cars but shrink around you at speed and the handling should be sharp.

Yes, will likely wait until this current lockdown is over. 4star will let me view the car but not drive it at present.

[cornershop]

ianroberts86 said:

I have a 612, Blue/Cream and its just lovely. The V12 is epic, its my 2nd V12 (previous was a 550 Marenello) and they are addictive. I Had it 3 and a half years now, bought from KHPC, fantastic history, everything needed to be done is done and more. I will probably look for a change after lockdown. Welcome to have a chat about them just message me.

Hello - thank you for this.

I will ping you an email, yours could be of interest.

[cornershop]

ianroberts86 said:

I just checked and the PH email address I registered with doesn't work anymore. I cant seem to be able to update it to my new one. Can anyone assist ?
Cheers Ian

Try emailing: [e-mail]

Think I found a pic of yours on the sportsmaserati site - if It’s the same one that NayF test drove in Modern Classics?

Does look very very nice - the cream interior possibly wouldn’t be my first choice, however, it looks great on the challenge wheels.

[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

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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

[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?

[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?