OK, i'm starting to panic about what ive been noticing lately in the "Ferrari parts" world... Today, during a routine ebay search, I find this person selling the silly cheapo shifter boot for a 348, with a starting bid of $75.00!!! I was about to send him a message asking where to get some of those drugs he's on, then I decided to double-check the price at ricambi.com. Ricambi is now selling that boot for $91.10!!! I bought one FROM them 5 months ago for $28.00!! For those of you without a calculator, thats a 227% price increase!!!!!!! Last week I discovered that the replacement clutch parts for my car increased $107.00 in 1 month, will it be another $350 more, 4 months from now?? I'm actually starting to think I need to get rid of this car... seriously, if this trend continues, that car is gonna end up taking me on a 170MPH trip to the friggin POORHOUSE!!! I'm all about the Ferrari passion, but we have to draw the line somewhere!! I've also been passionate about some women in my past... but after so many kicks to the nutz, they were history too!!
Steve, Have you tried decaf??? Seriously though, I've noticed unexpected, and unexplained, price increases over the last six months as well... Can someone from the World of Parts offer some kind of explaination? Daniel? Anyone? Mike in Kuwait
Steve - It did jump that severely. No joke. I had a batch of 20 that arrived a few days ago. I was expecting to pay about $375 for them. When they arrived at well over $1000, we sent them all back and said F.U. to the supplier. I have zero on the shelf, nor will I stock them anymore because I also think its outrageous. When folks modify cars and toss their old OEM stuff into the garbage, they're just really throwing money down the drain. -Daniel p.s. I know the seller of the boots on eBay. He is very honest, and very straightforward -- and more importantly, a 348 owner himself.
lol, what I really need is an I.V. of Prozac 24/7! Lately my business overhead is going way up, while thanks to the $hitty economy, my profits are going down at about double the rate of the increase!! I dont wanna see this kindof crap going on, especially when it pertains to the ONLY element of my world that actually GIVES me pleasure these days... my Ferrari!!
One more footnote.... 348 price increases are also, in large measure, a function of SpA deeming the 348 "classic" and thus halting most Italy-based inventory. When stuff gets transferred to Maranello Concessionaries (Ferrari UK), they are free to reset the price to whatever they please. At that point, since FNA buys all "classic" stuff from F-UK, the whole price-chain gets jacked. We still buy a great deal of this in Italy where we know stocks still exist... but it won't last forever. The shift boot is a good example.
Daniel, I hope you didnt take any of that as a slam... I love you guys, always will. Ricambi is the LAST company I would ever assume or accuse of price gouging. Seriously tho, you may want to call that guy Russ at ferrparts.com.. he claims to be authorized by Maranello to wholesale to companies like yours.
I went to Lowes today - needed some 16ga wire for my Fiat project car - a 25' roll of wire is now $6.95 plus tax! Are they nuts??!!
That shouldnt surprise you tho... copper has been at a premium for quite some time now. I know this also because I go thru miles of coax in the satellite biz... it just keeps going up and up! Hence my previous economic statement.
I have followed and understood everything so far except the 'shifter boot'............. I thought we had a gated shifter??? What is this 'boot' you are talking about?? The dust cover at the transmission?? BTW 348 parts will continue to go up exponentially....... the solution????..............................................Buy a 355 !!!!
Sandwiches between the console panel and the shifter housing on a 348, didnt come standard till '94, but fits ALL 348 years and body styles. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Erosion in the value of the dollar can be blamed for a lot of the price increase, but not the outrageous base it started from. Take it to the redline in at least four of the gears, and then you won't feel so bad about it, tho!
