Ferrari Enzo: common faults & what to check

Which Ferrari Enzo are you looking at?

1 generation variant documented. Pick the shape you recognise: the faults, the servicing and the timeline below all narrow to it. Free, no account needed.

Petrol

1 variant documented

2002–2004F1402002–2004F1406.0 V12 petrolPetrolDocumented issues5 knownSee faults & what to checkPhoto: Calreyn88 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Now narrow it to the engine

A 1.8 and a 2.4 of the same car do not fail the same way, so the faults below narrow to the engine as well as the year. Free, no account needed.

Start your free check on this Ferrari Enzo

No plate needed. You get the risk score, the buyer's checklist and the guided inspection for the exact car you picked above — not the whole nameplate.

The checks worth doing on a Ferrari Enzo before you hand over any money. Every documented fault is listed below, each with its own page.

• Costly issue

  Read the date code on every tyre and check it is the Bridgestone Potenza RE050A Scuderia the car was built with.

  See why

  Bespoke Bridgestone Potenza RE050A Scuderia tyres — made in small batches, and often very old

  The Enzo runs a Bridgestone Potenza RE050A Scuderia tyre made specifically for it and produced only in small batches, so a fresh set has to be sourced rather than ordered, and specialists make a point of it when they find one. Because most Enzos cover almost no distance, the tyres on the car are usually far older than their tread suggests — and old rubber on a 350 km/h car is a safety issue, not a cosmetic one. Read the date codes before you read the tread.

  What you would notice

  • Tyre date codes more than six years old
  • Cracking in the sidewalls
  • Flat spots from standing
  • Non-original tyres fitted

  Typically $4,000–$9,000 to put right.

• Costly issue

  Ask for the clutch wear percentage from the last service and whether the clutch has ever been replaced.

  See why

  F1 clutch — a limited life, and a car that is rarely driven enough to know how much is left

  Every Enzo has the F1 automated manual, and its single-plate clutch has a limited lifespan that aggressive driving shortens quickly. Owners on the forums put a clutch assembly at around US$6,000 in parts and labour, which is modest by Enzo standards, but the car is a gearbox-out job and the wear is only knowable from the percentage the workshop reads. A car that has done 5,000 km in twenty years may still be on its original clutch, and that is a question to ask rather than assume.

  What you would notice

  • No clutch wear percentage in the recent service history
  • Judder or a pause before the clutch takes up on take-off
  • Slip under hard acceleration in a high gear
  • Harsh or slow shifts when hot

  Typically $10,000–$20,000 to put right.

• Common issue

  Switch on and read every warning on the dash before starting.

  See why

  A car that sits — battery, seals, fluids and the suspension that goes off between drives

  Most Enzos are driven a few hundred kilometres a year, and the guides are unanimous that Ferraris dislike inactivity: the battery deteriorates unless it is kept on a maintainer, seals dry out, fluids sit, and the dampers, bushes and ball joints go off with age rather than miles — damper leaks and tired bushes are on the Enzo inspection list and the parts are expensive. A dashboard with no warning lights is the minimum; the maintenance file is what tells you whether the car has been exercised or merely stored.

  What you would notice

  • Warning lights on the dash at start-up
  • Battery replaced repeatedly, or a car that is always on a maintainer
  • Fluid weeping down a damper body
  • Knock from a corner over bumps
  • Long gaps between drives in the service file

  Typically $800–$12,000 to put right.

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