Need your Ferrari serviced in the Bay Area?

Perhaps you can elaborate on your past experiences with them?

--Dan

 

Dan,

He did some work (rebuild) on peter's 308. Peter's car is running great with no problems. i do not know about his experience on the other models.

Are you looking for a mechanic?

BTW. Just ordered my V1 for the trip out to ft. collins. Overnight so hopefully tuesday. Now I need to figure out how to get into the dome light. Any ideas?

Sorry about the beast.

 

Kris,

I'm assuming you have all of the tools. How would you do engine out stuff in-situ?

thanks

 

Kris, very good of you.

Vincent: I can walk you through the V1 install. If it's anything like the 550 (I suspect it is), you will find that the dome lighting up there is always on, so there's no ignition-switched 12v. Just tap in, ground it (you may need to get another splice crimper to connect to a grounding wire), and then put your cable in. It's all very simple once you see the parts.

--Dan

 

Hi
Dont want to start something but cant help it, this is been bugging me for a long time!
People think that the working physics behind a Ferrari are different than that of lets say honda for arguments sake. Wheels are wheels and brakes are brakes an internal combustion engine is still an engine. The differeces are cosmetic, a little more refined, bigger brakes etc; 6 piston calipers stop better than your grocery getter they do it the same way they create friction. What Im trying to say its the individual mechanic that makes the difference not nessesarily the experience. Ive never had the oppertunity to work on a Ferrari but I can sure as hell say that Im better than some ferrari mechanics out there with their precious trainning courses! Bold Statement I know! Im not trying to be a prick im just saying, next time you go to your favorite dealer/garage and you see the mechanic drive your car into his bay or roll his box next to your car ask yourself this, is he good, or is he just a person with a company crest and number? Asking a person what experience he has isnt that bad until you tell him "well you touched most ferrari's but never and Enzo" so your not good enough to change the oil in my 308. A good mechanic will be insulted, however a S!#t one wont because theres always another customer with money standing inline when you leave.
I guess Im just venting, I havent been able to work or do anything for a month, a 69 copo camaro decided it wanted my finger for an after lunch snack .
In the end its the individual, and everyone is different.

 

I have to disagree with you. I used to work on cars myself and Ferrari is no ordinary car... I give you an example, I used go to wheel works and do all my tire stuff for the 996, 328i, discovery and so on... I asked them if they could replace a set of wheels on my 360. Of course they said yes, as you say what the hell is the difference... Well, the Ferrari will not go over their lifts in any of their bays... They brought the floor jack... They started with the rear, the cup was so big that they could not fit it into the underbody opening and so on and so forth... Of course, when you change one set of spark plugs you have changed them all. But getting to them and knowing how to disassemble the seats, dismount the firewall in the back to get to them is the real challenge... Again, if a mechanic just watches someone else do it with proper tools and patience he can do it too. But to get to that point, I don't want him to experiment on my car... even for those who claim they work on Ferraris and they are all the same, I always ask them how many 360s they worked on and what specifically they have done before I trust my car to them. Otherwise I can go through a trial and error procedure and finally figure it out myself. This is just part of the story... Imagine you bring a sick Ferrari to the shop where they work on Hondas and BMWs... They have to have some diagnostic tools to begin eliminating the possible problems. Mechanic goes...let's take the spark plug wire and see if there is spark... then let's disconnect the fuel line and see if fuel is getting there...darn what could it be, it turns over, it gets spark and gas but doesn't fire up... But that's generally my experience and I am sure there are Honda mechanics that can figure anything mechanical provided there were enough time and resources.

 

You are absolutely right!Ferrari's are a different beast and require knowledge of Ferrari's logic of design.One needs a mechanic that really understands Ferrari.Which is true with most other exotics such as Lamboghini,Porshe GT2,SaleenS7,Aston Martin,etc.

 

I knew I started something
Ok first before someone says Yes I can do it (regaurding wheels) they should have looked at your car first not after you said go ahead and change them.There an honest mechanic would have looked at it first and said yes I can or sorry but I cant help you. See yes is always the answer when the dollar signs appear.
I also agree with you that no one wants the $200k car worked on for practice.
how many times were you lie too when you asked them for their experience?
A good shop will have the nessesary diagnostic and specialty tools but do you know whats more important the maintenance manuals to you specific car, unfortunatley cowboy mechanics dont like to look at them but rather tear into the car.
With regaurds to the honda/bmw shop well again a good mechanic would tell you well we can fix it but we lack the nessesary resourses, but what you already found out is a bad shop will say sure we can, just come and sit in our waiting area or can we drive you home and well pick u up when its done.
In your ferrari the seats and firewall have to come off granted but they only come off one way. In other cars the wheels have to come off and in some cars you have to drop the engine craddle its all relative to the car.
Again yourself and alot of other people including myself dont want their cars to be the first one and that is totaly understandable.
By the way Im a licenced automotive service tech and aircraft mechanic.
I apologise if I Pissed anyone off it wasnt my intention, nor am I trying to come off as some conceded loser.

 

Hey gto84- My apology I didnt even realize I just hijaked your thread, sorry wasnt my intention! I just hate it when people use experience with a certain product to pass judgment on your skill level in general if that makes any sense. Well again my apology it wanst my intention. Case closed.

 

Experience is priceless, and the key to efficient repair times, thats so true.
I just dont like it when people quick to judge on a persons experience and no disrespect to you or any of the othe members who posted wasnt my intention at all. The gentleman bobafett had every right to ask for your experience any smart person would. Going back I take it that my post was just a little over the top, and in the wrong area. Actually come to think of it I shouldnt even said anything wasnt my place. Ive had some bad luck with high end shops around here quick to pass judgment on where you were employed vs. the quality of work you can produce gets to you after a while. Good luck too you and your endevors!
Goodnight

 

Kris,

My apologies on diverting the nature of the thread.

I do think what you're doing and offering are a very valuable and much-needed service. I sincerely hope it works out best. Hey, maybe we can tinker on the 550 when it's back (whenever that might be...blargh).

Here's a new concept for me: warranty! 360CS has it, apparently! Of course, that just means I don't pay when the factory guys screw up the car even more!

--Dan

 

I first met Kris at his last job in Livermore, where he worked on my car. What I liked about Kris is the fact that his heart is in his work. When I pulled my 308 from SR Exotics (Because Wayne Hynes was not getting the work done), Kris made two, two-day trips to my house in Sonora to put the car back together from about 9 boxes of parts. He put everything back together and did not have even a washer left over!

It was great having him work on my car. He knew his way around every bit of the gearbox, engine, AC, carb linkage and electrical. The cool thing was the fact that I could ask him questions as he went along and he provided detailed answers that even I could understand (Try to get that out of a $145 an hour mechanic!).

He buttoned up my 308 and EVERYTHING he touched went without a glitch. He cut no corners while he advised of better replacement parts to use at less money and why those options were better. He is also savvy about getting information off the web. He found a few real off the wall sites that gave him specific tourque spec's on flywheel bolts, etc and he knew how to convert the Newton kilogram values into plain English (That one killed me!).

Ya, Kris is good. His ability will impress the hell out of you!

Ps: Have a six-pack of good beer handy. He likes a cold one when the day is done!

 

Kris, I'll apologize in advance if this is a hijack, but......

Wouldn't it be beneficial if those of us in the Northern Cal region could have a single thread listing shops and independents (like Kris) that F owners have had good experiences with - as well as bad experiences such as Peter's with the Livermore shop? A focused thread like that, IMHO, could only benefit the owners as well as the mechanics. Who thinks this is feasible/valuable?

Tom

 

This should be routed to rob329gts, right? I think it's a very good idea. There have ben discissions along these lines, and this is a very important subject.

BTW< Kris saved me at CI in Monterey this weekend. My 328 overheated and was leaking water. Luckily for me, Kris was at CI, so I got on the cell and called him as he was starting to think about leaving. He drove to where I was and diagnosed a split in the hose for the water heater. Fortunately, it was at the attachment point, so he cut off the damaged part and reattached it. Because the hose was obscured by other hoses and parts, it was a hassle to get at.

 

Glad to hear Kris is doing a job well done. Kudos.

--Dan

 

I trust you bought him a bunch of beer for that one!

 

Did a lot more than beer. I paid him substantial cash that went far to pay for his wife's and his trip to CI plus their dinner in Santa Cruz. He seemed happy with the amount. His help saved me a very large amount of hassle and money. I remarked to him that it was an example of maintaining honest relations with people--keeping the connection righteous (unlike our mutual acquaintance in Livermore, who will soon be dealing more and more with the courts, the CA BAR, probably a probation officer, bankruptcy court, bill collectors, etc).

 

"(unlike our mutual acquaintance in Livermore, who will soon be dealing more and more with the courts, the CA BAR, probably a probation officer, bankruptcy court, bill collectors, etc)."

HAHA!!! This will get better, trust me!