What would you do if you were misled on a PPI?

I got PO'ed just reading that. First thought is violence, punch the mechanic in the head then when he is down pick him up and put his head in a vice and squeeze just enough to hold him there, then I thought it over. Clearly the mechanic is a goof, post his name and the company name here so others wont fall victim like you. Now, the CV boot is cheap, replace all for and move on. You might be able to section in a new pipe on the muffler, if not you can have a new custom one made for not a lot of money, buy a 2 in - 2 out magnaflow muffler and tips from summit racing in the states. They have resonator tips that look like ansa tips and they're $25 each. You may need fuse blocks which again is no biggie, you will always find something to do on an old 308 so get used to it. It doesnt mean the mechanic can shrug you off and not do his job properly. The problem is you cant do much at all. You can pay a lawyer to send a letter and you can waste money chasing him and for what? Just post his business info here or start a new thread that draws a lot of attention.

 

What options do you have? Did you make full payment already? If so I don't know that you have any meaningful recourse now. I would suggest contacting the PO and very civilly relate your concerns. Depending on his response then perhaps you have a lawyer send a threatening letter though that may not have any effect.

It certainly sounds from your description that the PPI was half arssed or less than honest. I don't like the mechanic's response and it's a bogus one. To me his attitude betrays his lack of 308 acumen - any wrench who truly knows and appreciates 308s would not say what this guy did, to say nothing of his lack of customer service.

 

IMO your expectations are unreal. Plus you are taking the smile off a great purchase by making an issue of the PPI. If a PPI weeds out a $12k engine disaster, fine, that's what it's for. But the car isn't new and will have some things to be worked on. Put this behind you and do as the rest of us have, fix the little things and drive it during the process.

 

post the name of the shop.

it is one thing to buy a car that needs work with full disclosure. it is another to have it inspected, and have it be " all wrong " when you get it.

 

Sorry to say but to start with you made a few mistakes. I am asked often to do PPIs on my own customers cars that they are selling. Without exception I refuse. I am not unbiased or impartial. I have to critique my own work and possibly piss off a client. It is like asking the DA to defend and prosecute you. Who's interests do you think he will serve? Next you did not get a written report. If it ain't in writing it never happened. As a practical matter it is probably not worth going after them.

I am a big advocate of PPI's but in reality they are a waste of money because so few do a good thorough job and even some very good, well regarded shops just skim over it lightly and make a few comments that are so non commital so as to not piss off either party it is just a waste.

One of the reasons PPI's are not even performed by many anymore is that the Ferrari world is small and you cant afford to piss too many people off. I have a very well thought of exotic dealer in my area who will not use me for PPI's because he knows I will report what I find in a very thorough inspection even though I know he won't like it but he does send the cars here to be fixed when something is wrong.


Sorry you were introduiced to Ferrari ownership this way but you are far from the first.

 

name the shop

seriously

 

Disagree.

Don't know what he paid but in taking the money the guy agreed to be his advocate. His job is to make sure he is getting a good car and find its deficiencies big or small. Not only to prepare him for upcoming service and repair costs but to give him ammunition to prepare an appropriate offer for the car once its true condition, therefore value, is known.

Guy didn't do his job.

 

I have a feeling I know the car, and the shop. This of course is if it is a Los Angeles shop and the Euro 308 was here. You should for the sake of other Fchatters name it.
If you like the car, get the right work done, right it off as experience learnt the hard way.

 

-1

And I also think you should name the PPI provider. It won't provide you any recourse but it will help others considering his service.

 

Plus it might make them squirm a bit if they frequent this site. Name the shop, there's no reason to protect them.

 

+1

The guy may be treating others here in like manner.

 

I was wondering about this as well, but since the shop can register and defend himself if he chooses, then why not? So sure, post him.

 

I disagree with paul 308. You asked for a PPI and you should expect that every aspect of the car should be looked at from body work to paint to tyres,wheels,suspension,under body,engine,repairs,electrical, service intervals,and condition of all components. There is no excuse for the mechanic to not inform you accurately as to what is missing not working or worn out. Get a quote to fix and demand payment from the PPI Mechanic. Do it quickly and do it hard. Put crooks like this out of business as fast as you can. He charged for 10hrs labour for the PPi this is plenty of time do perform every known inspection including compression and a leak down test. This bloke is a lazy scum bag. Sue the arse off him.

 

Good luck proving anything worth anything for any sort of action/recourse. I don't know of any mechanic who will put his PPI findings/recommendations in writing. They know that's a bad idea for cases when things are NOT mishandled much less in cases such as this where they're doing a superficial/crappy job.

 

i would drive the car right thru the mechanics front door of his building and tell him that he forgot to tell you that the gas pedal sticks also.......i hate stories like that i feel for you buddy , and i own a shop in palm beach florida , always get a written ppi , thats your only recourse once the attorney's get involved ....

 

+whatever number we're at. Name the shop. If you are accurate, I can't see any reason not too. As said, the shop can get on here and post a response. Us in Socal area want and need to know. Sorry for your troubles as well. Deal with the problems and enjoy, doesn't sound like there is any other solution to me.

Jeff

 

Not true at all.

 

+1 post away!

 

Man, as I read that it made my heart dropped…..I’ve lived through a similar event, only I was a dumb sh#@ and was there to inspect the car myself, not a Ferrari, a Jag XK-E.
I just didn’t have the proper equipment, hoist, the dead of winter up north, awed by the car, I bought it. FULL OF RUST….I was poking a screw driver through body panels!

I was young my first car, I learned.

Enough about me, You really need to finger the shop. I read someone asking if it was in Los Angeles. I’m in and out of L.A., I’d pass the info on.

What you experienced sucks, but try to make the best of it, at least it sounds like a good car. With a few things sorted out, as MOST of us have done. The nice part about that, if you’re a D-T-Y (do it yourselfer), I don’t know a better way for you to acquaint yourself with your car-----ask my how I know this….

Try to enjoy the fact that you now own a Ferrari!

Welcome to the club!

Regards,

Chris.

 

Another idea is to remember how you paid for the service/ PPI. Most credit cards and Pay Pay have a "dispute" thing in place which is exactly that to protect the buyer from crappy services. If the mechanic is a jerk, just stop his payment. End of story. I wish you nothing but great many miles with your new car, make it new Ferrari!!!!!!

 

I have some different opinions here that are more down the middle. First of all, I dont believe anyone should be buying cars like Ferrari's sight unseen, your really asking for a lot of heartache. I also feel a prospective owner should be watching the PPI being performed, and be knowledgable in all its aspects to be able to ask intelligent questions. Just because some feel they dont have mechanical aptitude is no reason to be completely ignorant to how a car works or how its serviced. You were smart enough to figure out how to buy a Ferrari, you should be smart enough to know your animal. Nuff said, onto part two

The next part deals with fraud. And IMHO thats what this smells like. We cant know for sure if the seller was in on it, but I believe most would suspect he was. Mechanics dont generally stand around lying about a sellers car to some prospective buyer unless they have some insentive. When you say the compression reading dont jive, are you saying there is an engine problem, or just a discrepency? As long as the engine is sound you dont have to worry about that too much. But the exhaust, axle boots and electrical system should have been as described. Certainly things can go wrong with a used car, and there is generally no warrantee if things do go wrong. But when things are blatantly wrong or dont work at all, and someone has certified that everything was sound, I believe that person is responsible. No one should have to go out and blow $2K on a new muffler after a mechanic certified it was in sound condition.

I would ask your mechanic if he is willing to sign a notarised statement of the conversation he had with the sellers mechanic. If you used your guy to speak to the sellers mechanic to determine the cars integrity, and if the answers were specific enough to show deception, you may want to speak to an attorney about writing a few letters to get thier attention. I would imagine this shady mechanic and/or seller would start squirming some if they thought they might have to defend themselves in court. If you push it hard enough they may just want to settle this with you if you can come to something equitable. Another reason to wait before spreading theyre names all over cyber space.

 

What he said....

Save the attorney money though...without anything in writing you'll be throwing good money after bad money. Fix the minor stuff...do your major and forget about this mechanic. Enjoy your car!! what comes around goes around. Karma is a *****. While you are enjoying your car with an ear to ear grin he will still be cleaning grease from his finger nails

 

You need to find new mechanics then. During my research I brought a PPI list to 2 mechanics who all said that not only would they fill it out +, but also recommended that I take the day off and watch.