Your function $f$ is indeed negative for all $x\ne0$.
Proof. One has
$$f(x,y)=-{x^4\over2} g(xy)$$
with
$$g(z):={(12+4z)e^{-z}-(3+2z)e^{-2z}-(9-4z)\over z^4}={1\over2}-{7z\over15}+{z^2\over4}-{31 z^3\over 315}+\ldots\tag{1}$$
an entire function of the single variable $z$ (the singularity at $z=0$ is removable). Let
$$h(z):=(12+4z)e^{-z}-(3+2z)e^{-2z}-(9-4z)$$
be the numerator in $(1)$. Then $$h(0)=h'(0)=0\tag{2}$$ and
$$h''(z)=4e^{-2z}p(z),\qquad p(z):=(1+z)e^z-1-2z\ .$$
It follows that $h''(0)=4p(0)=0$. Furthermore
$$p'(z)=ze^z+2(e^z-1)$$
is obviously negative for negative $z$ and positive for positive $z$. This implies that $p$ and hence $h''$ is positive for all $z\ne0$. Together with $(2)$ we can conclude that $h$ is positive for all $z\ne0$, and $(1)$ then shows that $g$ is positive for all real $z$.$\qquad\square$