Cali T

[SpyderMatt]

Thinking of buying one of these. My first Ferrari after 15 yrs of Porsche.
Prices seem to have gone up 10k or so the past 6 months but I wasn’t in a position to buy then. I think they should hold reasonably well in any case and they seem pretty reliable from what I understand.
Anything to be aware of on these cars ?

[M138]

The DCT gearbox had to be changed on my brother's California T (and 458 Spider) but do believe this known problem can be fixed a lot cheaper now.
Lovely cars nonetheless.

[SpyderMatt]

I don’t have a garage so insurance is a bit tricky. I can see from ads that there is some kind of Tracker fitted, can anyone advise what the factory fit is and if it’s better to go with, say, a Scorpion after market to improve insurance rating ?

[cgt2]

It seems like everyone I know that has had one has had some form of gearbox issue. Has anyone not?

[F355GTS]

I think the DCT gearbox issues are massively exaggerated, I've driven some 90k miles across 6 different Ferraris and never had a problem

The factory fitted tracker is a Vodafone ADR10 system, it's pretty old now and might be worth updating but is liked by Insurance companies

[SpyderMatt]

Yeah thanks. I spoke to a v well known and respected Ferrari independent, and they said the gearbox/DCT oil should be changed every 4 years. Ferrari recommends every 8-10yrs apparently and therein lies the problem. That’s too long for safety. That said they look after quite a number of Calis and have never had a major issue …So when I buy I will get the dealer to include this.

Next issue is…hold out for HS pack or not..

[_Rodders_]

Quite timely.

[DeejRC]

I’m back to having major wobbles for a Cali. Don’t tell the Aston boys (they get a little precious) but the Vantage isn’t quite doing it for me…

[Kyodo]

cgt2 said:

It seems like everyone I know that has had one has had some form of gearbox issue. Has anyone not?

Yes, me!
Five years in a 2010 California and perfect so far. I'm aware of the potential issues and we took that into account when purchasing. There are several decent Indies that can fix the 'horror' stories that have been thrown around the internet for several years without relying on the Ferrari replacement box.

[DeejRC]

Whilst a slight thread diversion from the T, but not toooo much of a diversion, what do folks think of the 30 at Shiltech? More importantly Ive always had them down as one of the good guy Indies, do ppl want to obliquely warn me otherwise?

[jayxx83]

Has my HS30 for almost 5 years now. Brilliant car. As said above do the dct fluid changes every 20k miles.

[ajm_ph]

SpyderMatt said:

I don t have a garage so insurance is a bit tricky. I can see from ads that there is some kind of Tracker fitted, can anyone advise what the factory fit is and if it s better to go with, say, a Scorpion after market to improve insurance rating ?

Is that an assumption you are making, or are you actually finding quotes hard to come by without a garage? I had an F430 for 3 years without a garage and insurance was never a problem. Get a tracker if you want for peace of mind, but in my experience across both Aston Martin and Ferrari it often has little to no impact on premiums. (This is for the lower end of the Aston or Ferrari market mind, not the 200k+ cars where a tracker might be essential, but that's not a California anyway).

[SpyderMatt]

Specialist insurance- which imo is better - won’t touch the car without at least a 90% uplift. So may have to take the high st firms and hope for the best if, unfortunately, claim time comes..

[andyr]

I use admiral insurance - I think quite a few people do.

My 458 is garaged and my renewal last month was £350 for 2000 miles. They asked for a value which I quoted as £200k.

[DeejRC]

I also use Admiral. I think the Vantage is £500 for the yr with about 8k miles.

[SpyderMatt]

My insurance is looking like a lot higher than that Problem is I’ve not used my 20 yrs NCB for 3 yrs so you lose the lot theoretically which I didn’t realise. Should have insured a moped…
Really dumb but can’t change it.
So I’m trying a few decent brokers than can communicate my Porsche history (15 years no claims) and 40 yrs driving (no claims).

Car chosen though, first Ferrari so pretty excited even at my age. Maybe that’s the beauty of cars, if you’re a car guy !!

[SpyderMatt]

I’ve paid a bit more but buying from a main dealer so get the 2 year Ferrari warranty for the big stuff. Not a huge difference vs the SOR independents and feels right for my first Ferrari

[jayxx83]

pics!