How do you become a Ferrari technician?

Question was:
How do you become a Ferrari technician?

Answer is:
Buy a Ferrari

 

I was in Boardwalk Ferrari in Dallas looking for a blank key and I asked a mechanic this very same question. His answer? Do you have a set of tools? Seriously, that is what he said. Maybe he saw that I have a 328 that made it 600 miles without breaking down and assumed I knew what I was doing.

Gene

 

Go **** yourself *******. I've had enough being called a liar here.


Low life pricks like you give Ferrari owners a bad name and are one of the many reasons this business can really suck.

One of the reasons I am in business for myself is so I can say that to **** heads like you and kick your ass out of my shop.

 

Ug. I read Brian's reply before the quote. I thought he was talking to me. That made my heart stop for a bit. Whew.. it wasn't me.

Gene

 

I don't know anyone who has worked on these cars for even several decades who is "wealthy," except for those perhaps blessed to be members of the "lucky sperm club" and are only "dabblers" who are playing at being "Exotic/Ferrari Mechanics."

In this day and age, there is no 'only game in town'...

I hope you're joking, friend....

-Peter

 

Most ferrari techs do not make the higher wages that other car makers can provide and as someone else here has stated are held to a higher standard. We have to do it better (not necessarly faster) than the other guys.

I have seen many techs who had the ferrari dream come and go. Most just cannot afford to take the hit in the wallet or just don`t have what I like to call.."IT". they end up either going to another car maker or getting out all together.

unfortunatly, there are a lot of ferrari/maserati dealerships implementing flat rate which I personally feel is a disaster for the mark.

best regards, Jim

 

Brian,

If you do not work for a Ferrari Dealer, how do you learn about fixing new models and how do you keep improving yourself? To my knowledge, Ferrari Techs that work for the dealership are trained by Ferrari. Correct me if I am wrong.

Thanks.

 

this man speak the truth! haha. fortunately for me, im young in the game and having ferrari on the resume is great. pay doesnt matter so much right now. you can usually tell which dealerships are flat rate by the quality of work or lack thereof... myself? I'm paid hourly which means i am able to take the time and make sure its done right the first time. flatrate on italian cars sucks.

 

for cars such as the f430, 612, 599, and maser QP... i would imagine its hard for independents to work on them. it isn't so much the training but the factory scan tools and support. SD3 is pretty damn expensive.

 

Flat rate has hastened the death of quality work and been the genesis of Whores with a wrench.

It is the reason I have turned down many job offers at Ferrari of San Francisco and for FNA.

I will not work for it an I will not pay my own people that way.

People wonder why repair or service bills run out of control......flat rate is the reason.

 

My knowledge and ability has never been dependant on Ferrari, besides Ferrari training sucks so it matters little. When Ken McKay was there it really was pretty good. Ken cared, he cared about our ability to do the job and about our ability to provide the owners with the ownership experience they desreved. Ken fought hard for the resources for his department, a fight that due to a change in upper management he eventually lost. Since his departure the training department has had people that cared and tried but did not have the background or force of will to make it happen. The other thing that happened during my tenure is that they quit sending people back to Italy where there were real resources for training. That happened out of shear jealously. It cost about the same or even less on average to send one of us to Italy than to New Jersey but other dealership staff felt it unfair we got to go and they did not so due to all the complaints it was just cut out.

Ken was not only in charge of training he was also in charge of what they call in Italy "Servicio, Assistenza, Technica". It is the entire after sale division of the company. After leaving Ferrari Ken is now with Lamborghini Technical Services along with 2 of the best that ever worked under him, John Amette and Craig Lortie. It was the loss of a brain trust from which Ferrari of North America has never recovered. Their customer service and training programs have suffered greatly.

 

For me, being rich I dont think is the plan when I try to become a Ferrari tech. Coming out of school, I know I am going to be living at my parents house for maybe a couple of years. Trying to get certified as a Ferrari tech would be my first goal out of school then working and get experience to be comfortable.

From what Im getting is that if you work on a Ferrari, you rather have the particular job done correctly than just trying to get it "good enough" yes? I admire all highend cars(lamborghini, aston martin, porsche, etc) its just that a Ferrari stands out.

When I think of someone who works on a Ferrari, Bentley, or a Rolls-Royce I see them as an artisan, someone who cares about quality instead of quantity. When I see someone working on a Chevrolet or Dodge I see a person hustling to move as much cars to make as much money that day. Should I be not thinking like this? Am I building these people up and the other down? When I heard Dave say you can make more money elsewhere, that made me want to be a Ferrari tech that much more, it proved to me at least that these technicians cared about the car, quality of work, and customer. I think that is why my first intership was at a hotrod shop knowing that these people are not millionaires. They just care about doing something and being part of a team that pushes out things other people cant. Owners of old cars and their ideas no matter how outrageous it was, we were able to give it to them.
Am I missing something, or is this the occupation for me if I want to work for perfection everytime I open a toolbox? I guess its a self improvement thing too, I know Im not a perfectionist, but Im going to be.

 

You will need to consider self employment, or at least staying away fron the dealers. Due to the economics of the situation they are very production oriented. That is the reason behind them going over to the flat rate system. Part of that is the warranty compensation situation and other factors forced upon them by Ferrari. Being in an independant is not a bad thing. It gives you far more freedom to strive for the level of quality you speak of. I hold my people to a far higher standard than I was ever allowed to at the dealer. I can be a slave driver but they are proud of their work. In the dealers especially the flat rate ones that is getting rare, there is more pride in the billable hours.

 

Gees Brian... you have been scarred by FNA haven't you...!?

I've been in independant Ferrari servicing since 1987. I've gained my knowledge and experience from sheer man hours doing it, in the company of others that have equal or more experience.

I've now clocked up almost 20 years of personal experience, but benefit from a combined wealth of maybe 100 years. I've run my own shop in Oz for 4 years since the race teams demise, and I had a few years solo in UK before that... being solo (or maybe 1 or 2 guys helping)means you rely on your own experience for everything, which has both advantages and disadvantages too..

There is NO substitute for experience... so if you want to be an F tech, you must climb the ladder....

......as for modern cars... well, I fell into the chief mechanic role at the PHR team in melbourne in 2000, when 360's were new, and I had only a few jobs worth of experience on them.... but the team grew into a fleet of 10 cars, and when racing things happen 10 times as fast... so you just learn and adapt...

I believe you NEED back up from ferrari.... the race team had a loose deal with technical support and info, which made a big difference, but in the end the flow of information turned around and lessons learned on the track really feeds back into road use.

I also make a point of using my local dealer (300 metres walk from my shop) for some parts, and maintain a happy relationship with them... to the point of loaning tooling each way if necessary. The dealer is really busy with cars under warranty while I specialise mainly in cars out of warranty, but there are of course cross overs each way there too.

But the VERY bottom line is... you MUST regard it as more than just a job.... the only way to make a living out of Ferraris is to make them your life..


I do happen to own one.. I love my BB512 (carb of course!)... but I bought it with proceeds from a property deal... and even that was initially just a half share with a friend....

You'll make more money with your head than you can ever dream of doing with your hands...

BUT, with enough skill, passion, and of course some support (family/friends/wife etc) you CAN make a truly deeply satisfying career for yourself.....

just watch out for the ******* heads... I'm very lucky, I've only met a very few... but they're out there....

 

Not scarred, just hatred.

It's very easy when you have been brought up to have some ethics and a strong sense of right and wrong and watch and see first hand how they conduct business. How they treat their dealers and the car owners.

 

I see..... Being self employed might be where I end up, but a good start would be at a dealership correct? Get hired and apprentice under someone, get sent to be Ferrari tech certified, then I'll be able to go off onto whatever I am persuing at that time?

 

I think getting work at an independent will teach you more... but it's harder to get into.

As glamorous as you think factory training may sound, I can assure you that the majority of independents don't value it very highly... If factory training was so good... independents would struggle for survival as the dealer service history would be REALLY worth what people seem to value it as....

You could try getting into a Ferrari race team perhaps..... some of the guys that worked with PHR learnt 10 years worth of experience in just 3.....

 

Hello Denny,
Allow me to chip-in my 2 cents.
You got on these pages a tremendous amount of sound advice and now the task in front of you is to sort it out properly and to apply it to your particular case.
My experience is different from most of the writers here as I have been educated to work on ships.
Being a chief engineer on an ocean going ship means you must have the ability to analyze, understand and solve any problem you may encounter, as there is no dealer, distributor or factory, to call for help.
One cannot do that without a good deal of experience backed by solid theoretical education.
For this reason, the first and most important step in your professional education is to get the theoretical part right: there is just no substitution for it and you have to get it while you are young.
It may be boring initially, but it will help you make the right decisions later on, when faced with a problem you have never encountered before, you will not have the experience to fall back to.
Learn the theory the best way you can first and then follow Brian's and the other masters' advice you got here: they are spot-on and very wise.
You are young, but you sound like you have a good head on your shoulders: just keep it that way.
Good luck,
A.

 

Alfredo is wise and provides a "global" perspective when he says: "...you must have the ability to analyze, understand and solve any problem you may encounter, as there is no dealer, distributor or factory, to call for help..."

"One cannot do that without a good deal of experience backed by solid theoretical education."

"For this reason, the first and most important step in your professional education is to get the theoretical part right: there is just no substitution for it and you have to get it while you are young."

"It may be boring initially, but it will help you make the right decisions later on, when faced with a problem you have never encountered before, you will not have the experience to fall back to."

Denny, I applaud your desire and appreciate your inquiry into joining an "elite" (meant in the best possible way) corps of good people working on fine automobiles. Don't let any naysayers get in your way! Just do it!

I didn't have the privilege of working in a franchised dealer (although I did have the opportunity) and receiving "factory" training as my learned and respected colleagues Brian Crall, Dave Helms, Tom Jones, Tim Stanford, Frank Kehr, Bill Pollard and countless others I've come to know and trade information with. I really enjoy Phil's entertaining and worthwhile observations because his background is much closer to mine (minus the fleets of 360's <grin>) because I learned early to apply the principals of proper racing preparation to the servicing of Ferraris and that alone has allowed me to build my independent Ferrari business.

Going forward, it is inestimable the value of factory training to continue being able to service the more modern cars in the Ferrari fleet. While my business can survive on the smattering of V-6, the plethora of late '70's through early '90's V-8, and the stable ranks of early V-12 cars (soon, I'll be one of the few who even knows what points and carburetors still are <grin>), the future is the growing ranks of 355, 360, 456 and 550 cars going out of warranty and headed into the secondary (independent) market.

I am fortunate to have a wonderful and trusted colleague who, after working with me at two shops (including being responsible for the success of launching my own stand-alone facility seventeen years ago) went off and worked at a number of Ferrari and Maserati dealerships over the last ten years, receiving factory training and taking advantage of every opportunity to do so. This fall, he's "come back" to work with me in my shop part-time as he "keeps his toe in the water" with factory training by spending part time at the local Porsche dealership. His return has allowed us to embrace and attract the new ranks of the disaffected from the local dealerships because finally, we have someone who is "up to speed" on the more modern cars! I would say F-car (and even Maserati or some German car) training, obtained through tenure at a franchised dealer, would make you very desirable to the more stable, less ethically challenged atmosphere of a quality F-car independent shop.

Why? Because then, you are bringing somethine to the table! Something more valuable than your bright-eyed and bushy-tailed enthusiasm, which is not enough to insure economic viability by itself. The people who make the hiring decisions must believe that you will help the bottom line, not hurt it. That is where the sacrifice is.

While I can understand and sympathize with Brian and Dave's disillusion and disgust with the official sales and service outlets, their training and experience does not affect the huge commitment they have in doing their jobs right! Don't let it poison your path towards gaining as much knowledge as you can, official or otherwise, and stay true to your path.

It's just like racing and winning, you'll get there if you want it bad enough!

-Peter (still see a glass as half full! <grin>)

 

I haven't even thought of pursing a race team to work for, that sounds real good. While I was looking into Ferrari techs, some of them said they were Ferrari Challenge technicians, is this a race team or just something else?

I am glad you told me about that Lolaman, I was starting to think factory training was not the way to go, but now I know I have options on my way onto becoming certified. Im still green to all of Ferrari models and specs, but when someone mentions Ferrari, I automatically think of a red Enzo. These newer cars are what is getting me so interested, so factory training does sound awesome. But what got me into cars the first place are 454 chevelles, 428 Cobra Jets, etc. Options, I didn't know there were different kind of Ferrari techs, now I need to learn more about Ferrari to see where I might go with.

 

CHDanny, you are in California! There are quite a few professional level sportscar teams that travel all over the country based in your general vacinity. Go to www.grandamerican.com and click on the messageboard link. There you will see a link to "crew ride board" and "team ride board". This is where teams post positions available for fly-in crew etc... I started there many years ago and have made a jump-start into a career that I absolutely LOVE! I eat, sleep, breathe, and .... racing!

Knowing "Lolaman" personally I would listen to his advice and everyone else that has offered their words. If you love what you do, you'll never work a day in your life. Don't settle for second best.

On a side note, Peter, I'll give you a call after the holidays and Daytona Test Days to further discuss the coaching and support stuff for Historics.

 

Thanks for the link, so this site post what they are looking for and contact information and I just send them a resume? Fly-in mechanic means just a temporary mechanic? I'm definitely going to try some of that when I'm done with school.

 

even without skills you could possibly still get in... just as a gofer/general helper...

you'd pick up all kinds of useful knowledge... but there is SO much more to road car servicing, so that even a lifelong top race mechanic could still be a not so hot road car technician... the ideal ingredient is a balance of both I think...

WARNING... motorsport is dangerous.....

physically, mentally, socially and literally.

 

I was going to ask what would the qualifications of a tech who would get accepted to do it, but goefer sounds good. I am guessing the job length is just for the race day or building up to it and a bit after? Is this how race teams are usually formed? Once I saw the DBR9 and C6R in LeMans, it was all over, hopefully when Im in a situation where I can apply for a race team, Im going to keep an eye out for that

 

Peter,

I never said there was a problem with the dealership employment. My time in the official dealership was interesting and I worked with some wonderful folks.
Stepping stone job, yes. Developing a career based around the dealerships, no. That is a direction I wouldn't go.

Brian stated it properly, the training is less than ideal. The techs at the schools trained a good many of the service reps on Ferrari as they moved into that position from other marques and were then in a position to tell us how to fix the cars. McKay, Amette, Mike Fisher, these guys knew their stuff and were a great help to the marque. Fisher moved over from Porsche / Audi and had an unrelenting quest to turn Ferrari service around. As with those before him, politics got in the way of success.

No school is any better than the teacher and their level of knowledge on any subject. Without in depth prior knowledge on Ferrari the schools would have been confusing as a good amount of the information was flawed. Amette gave it straight, would teach the class as he was taught and then say, "I question this data". Fisher would say right up front "This, that I am about to give you is BS", teach it and then open a debate as to the correct methods. Often that method worked and we could read between the lines and gather valuable data from the class. A beginner with no prior knowledge of the marque would have been totally lost. The real learning got done in the back lot of FNA during break period when a handful of techs would debate the information given and decide on a correct course of action.

The value of trade schools is in the latest technology and the basics, if and only if the teacher is up to speed on those topics. Applying that knowledge to Ferrari is doable once it is understood completely.
There is a reason my day starts at 4AM every day. I am on the computer researching a topic until I understand it completely and then go to the shop at 7:30 and apply it.

Peter and Ferrarifixer are right with the racing aspect. It is a wonderful tool to learn the trade quick and requires the same disciplines that you will need to learn to prosper in the Ferrari service industry. Perfection is mandatory or someone will get hurt and the sponsors dont pay money to see cars sit in the paddock. Addicting? Hell yes! I tried to walk away from racing many times and I have still not shaken it. I now wish I had those years back as the kids grew up a lot when I was gone to various tracks. Single and no kids, go for it!

Ferrari has been good to me, but I will never be wealthy from working on them. Few folks can say that they still enjoy a job after 30+ years but I am fortunate to say I do. A glamorous profession it is not, its still dirty hard work.

Dave