SHAME ON Ferrari of Washington!!!!

I took my prize, exquisit, perfectly running 308 gtsi to FOW for a "summer tune up", this included oil change, spark plugs, brake fluid etc, the minor stuff, no complex labor. 2 weeks later they ask me to pick her up. I arrive to a bird ****, dirt and dust covered 308. They frantically try to clean and prepare the car as they hand me a bill for $1400.00. What the F@#K!

I drive the 308 off the lot and realize the car can't go over 4200 rpm's? The car is shaking, barking, coughing...in short, she runs like the bird **** that was caked on it when I first arrived! Now I'm pissed! I have to call them, reschedule another appointment, and get the car back into the shop.

I tell FOW that I am returning the 308 and not paying a cent more. I gave them a FERRARI 308 in perfect condition for a oil change and they gave me back a broken horse. Something is not right about this??

I wait another 2 weeks and they tell me I need to pay another 700 and change to fix what was originally not broken. They say its my fault!!??? and if I don't pay I can hit the highway in a busted up 308. Quality Service??

Am I wrong for assuming that FERRARI is the greatest example of engineering on the road, in addition to one of the greatest companies in the world?

SHAME ON FOW!!!!
Enzo is rolling over in his grave!!!

 

Maybe ask to speak to the Service Manager and explain what is going on. Give them a chance to make things correct...

 

Sorry this had to be your first post on the board!!! I am with Robbie on this one, you need to speak to Glen the Service Manager and if not satisfied talk to the GM of FOW. The couple of times my car was there, VA inspection and fluid change, they washed the car and had work completed same day.
Just wondering, why was your car there for 2 weeks for fluid change?? Where you out of town or something?

In the future, if you are not satisfied try Competizione and Sports Cars, with Richard and Fernando. I have nothing against FOW, just prefer the help from Richard.

Robert

 

Sorry to hear you had a bad experience, I've always had fantastic service and help when I've been there...

 

Same here. And like Robert said talk with Glen or Tam the general manager and hopefully they can get this taken care of.

 

you got off easy. the cars that are showing up at richards are worse. good luck. see you at competizione!

 

F1 - sorry to hear that you're unhappy with FoW. Pretty harsh, angry words, though. With the other posters, I strongly recommend, if you haven't already done so, you speak directly to Glenn Marquis, who is in charge of service, or Tam McGeady, the general manager of the dealership. Glenn and Tam aren't the kind of guys who hide from customers, happy or not, and contacting them will do more to fix the situation than will posting here.

$1400 strikes me as a small service bill for a Ferrari. What does the additional $700 cover? What is wrong with the car that wasn't wrong before? I ask not to argue with you but because, as you know, there are always, always two sides to every story.

 

You may want to talk with David Scott. He just had the same experience with FOW with his 348 Challenge. His car was actually sponsored by FOW back in the day not to mention that David is the FCA chapter president in SC. His bill was triple what they quoted, dirty, and not running right. He shipped it back in total disgust. What's up w/ FOW??????

 

I have had three experiences with FOW. One...I bought a 308 GT4 with a FOW12k recent repair bill paid by the previous owner for the car in question. It included a complete engine tear down to detect a starting/running problem.My lack of experience at the time made me think this was a representation that the engine was in good working order.I did not bother to PPI the car before buying.Stupid I know. Car had a leak down soon after I bought it and I found one cylinder with compression problems. How do you tear down an engine and let this go unaddressed? Then I purchased a Testarossa from another dealer and had FOW PPI the car. On their word I bought the car from another dealer after a clean PPI. I found a few problems that should have been uncovered and reported to me prior to ownership like an incorrect Aircon pully with a non ferrari belt that eventual flew off. My last experience had to do with another Fchat member and I being escorted out of the dealership after last years nationals. We stopped by because we heard about a party they were having through Fchat. They suggested that since we were not invited and are not customers of FOW we should leave. I will never do business with them. Jon in Delaware

 

To all who suggest that I speak with Glen....he's the one who told me to pay up or shut up! In fact his exact words were, " you don't have a leg to stand on." He was cold, harsh...and could careless. At the end of the day its about Money. Maybe if I had a F430 things would be different?

I question the ethics of FOW and I am going to let Ferrari of North America in NJ know about this.

 

I'm the guy Jon (above) mentioned being tossed from the place with him. I'm not hot on the place either. Wouldn't use them for anything, even though I have heard many good reports on here about them. As the owner of a 308 the first thing that crossed my mind was whether it had anything to do with not feeling the car was worthy too. I will say I have had my car to Algar in Philly a couple of times and have been treated as if I had brought in an Enzo. I felt very comfortable with them working on my car.-Bob

BTW no affiliation with either dealer.

 

no, it's about not having any competant mechanics to work on f-cars. if you can't fix a 308, how you gonna fix a 430? some of the work that i've seen come out of that shop recently is unforgiveable. MANY good customers have jumped that ship and many more will.

 

I must agree that Algar treats us well. This is the first I've heard about less than satisfaction at FOW. They're too far away for me. However, if there is a problem, they'll learn pretty fast.

 

This really is disappointing to hear....

I hope it's gets worked out. Keep us posted

 

Do you mean Richare Garre?

 

No, Richard Capoccia..........

 

I agree on the "shame ono FOW," but Enzo didn't give 2 rat droppings about his road car customers - maybe FOW is channeling his attitude?

 

Just one more reason to love the treatment from Algar .

I've watched high school kids wander in and get treated with utmost respect at Algar. Have a 308? Great come on in. Have an Enzo, nice to see you too.

The one thing I've experienced talking with the folks at Algar is they realize ANYONE walking in the door is a potential customer. Or the son/daughter of one.

That 18 year old might buy a Ferrari some day, his dad might buy one tomorrow. The 308 owner will need service, or might just get the urge one day to own a newer Ferrari.

There's no such thing as a badly treated spectator, prospect or customer, at least not in my experience, at Algar.

FOW, I know nothing about, but if these stories are true, and I have no reason to doubt them, they may need to adjust their attitude a bit. Snobbery and elitism are reserved for Ferrari owners, not Ferrari salespeople.

DM

 

It sounds grave, but there aren't enough specifics to the story.

For example, what was the original estimate?
What work does the quote $700.00 accomplish?
Why wasn't this second work discovered prior to them releasing the car to the owner?

I hope you resolve the problems.

 

he was about as specific as you can be. he told you exactly what he took it in for and when he got there his car was covered in dirt and ****. it also ran like **** when he got it back. doesn't leave much to the imagination.

 

I'm really sorry to hear this. I had great experiences with FoW in '04 and '05, working with Josh Simpson.

I gather he's no longer there.

 

I just picked my 308 up from FoW on Thursday and had absolutely no problems. It was in for a leaking radiator and it was due for the major service so I had them do it while they had it.

Granted when I arrived they told me up front that everything was done except the detailing. I chose to wait the hour for them to finish that... I figured it was just dealer speak for a car wash however I saw them actually waxing the car as well. It looked great when I got it back...

I have been taking my 308 to FoW since I purchased it a few years ago. I have never been treated bad by them. Sorry to hear you had a bad experience but I agree with others that you should talk to the Service Manager and resolve this problem.

Scott
85 308
71 Pantera
03 996

 

I think all synchro is trying to do is figure out whether there's any more to the story than has been told here.

I'm truly sorry for F1's troubles. I assume all of us have had bad experiences with one shop or another - I have, and when it's happened I've been as ticked off as F1.

But I also think FoW should get a little benefit of the doubt given all they've done for the local club and community; whether or not you like dealers, they've paid some dues. Not saying they're always right, of course - every business makes mistakes. If FoW screwed up, they should make it right - and I'm sure they will.

I'm just suggesting, respectfully, that it's not unfair to ask for details when a longtime member of the local exotic car and racing community is under fire from someone new to ferrarichat. Wet, think about it - assuming everything F1 says is true - in this day of lawsuits, consumer complaints to government agencies and the power of the internet to spread bad tidings about businesses, it would be crazy for the dealer to argue with a customer, tell him "you don't have a leg to stand on," if there weren't at least something more to the story than what we've heard. I'm NOT saying F1 is lying - don't know anything about this other than what F1 wrote - I'm just saying there may be another way of looking at the situation, based on facts we don't have. Fair?

 

"I had great experiences with FoW in '04 and '05, working with Josh Simpson."

Josh is still with FoW, now Ferrari service advisor and would-be Wayne Gretzky of the local adult hockey leagues.

 

Interesting read for an outsider experience with FoW: http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=3256338

-R