Hi Guys, What sort of maintenance issues might one expect to encounter with a mid-90’s Ferrari with low, but I imagine hard earned miles? I’ve heard these cars are special beasts and require all kinds of special treatment. Is this true?
Absolutely true. We happened to discuss this not long ago:
http://community.cartalk.com/posts/list/2139645.page
We’re car guys. We’ve all dreamed the dream. Dreaming is healthy as long as you don’t get it confused with reality.
How much money you got?
A friend of mine owns a Ferrari, and an Audi R8, and many Porsches, and several Corvettes. He has to have people drive his cars for him because he can’t drive them often enough all by himself.
Talk about being in a tough position!
You need REALLY deep pockets to own and maintain a Ferrari, regardless of the year or mileage. Since you’re contemplating such a purchase you must have really deep pockets. Good for you!
Very few Ferraris earn their mileage the hard way. Most are pampered garage queens. Even so, the cost of maintenance/repair will be staggering.
If you plan to purchase a Ferrari, I suggest you first establish a very good relationship with a Ferrari mechanic. You can’t own one of these cars without a good mechanic or a near-by Ferrari dealer.
Good luck. If you can afford a Ferrari I hope you have a very good ownership experience. What you will spend to maintain a Ferrari would fund my retirement, but that’s a separate issue.
Even with gently driven miles (like anyone with a Ferrari doesn’t hammer them) maintenance and repair costs will be high.
If you buy a Ferrari the key thing is to always make sure that ALL maintenance is up to date and that there are records to back it up.
Do not take the word of a seller on this issue.
If everything is up to date, you’re willing to pony up on the purchase price, and if you’re only going to use the car as something to tool around in on the weekends and whatnot then it’s at least a doable deal.
Stay away from the Jiffy Lube when it comes to the basics. 
I hereby volunteer to drive your friend’s cars for him!
Um, if you have to ask . . . .
Ferrari’s are just Fiats with very complex and temperamental engines…I don’t know how they spoof the feds with emissions and safety standards to get them in the country…Money talks…
That’s like comparing a Piper Cub to a SR-71. They also don’t have to pay off anybody, The latest Euro emissions standards are just as stringent as ours, a new 600+ HP Ferrari produces about the same quantity of emissions as a CTS-V, AMG Benz, or BMW 7 series. They also run cleaner than most light trucks/SUVs as well. They are far safer than most cars as well, alot of the F1 saftey features make it into Ferrari’s road going cars. Do a search for Ferrari crashes, 9 times out of 10, the inept driver of the Ferrari walks away from seemingly horrendous, triple digit speed crashes.
But yeah, if you have to ask about or are the least bit concerned about the costs involved in Ferrari ownership, chances are you cannot afford it.
In a good month, Ferrari sells about 175 cars in the U.S. Were any of them subjected to the 45mph frontal barrier crash test? I don’t think so…
I’ve seen the one parked on the freeway in Santa Barbara. It looked good even whwn broken down. Maintenance isn’t the issue here, price is. Can’t help you there.
Legally they have to, every production car sold in the U.S. has to be crashed tested. Even the $1.5 million Veryron had to meet crash and emissions standards. Kit cars are exempt, but production cars are not.
It’s funny because it’s true.
If you can’t afford to have a race track built on your estate and have a Ferarri mechanic on staff, you probably can’t afford to own a Ferarri.
If you want a mid 90s Ferrari becuse you have always wanted that generation of Ferrari and have deep pockets, go for it.
Of however you just want a Ferrari and one has finally dropped in price to where you can buy it, forget about it If you want any used exotic, you want one that is in superb condition with complete maintenance records and it ill be at the top of the market.
The most expensive car to own is a cheap exotic.