5 Grand for a 348 Alternator?

Who cares what the insurance company thinks... Insist the part is replaced with a genuine Ferrari part (unless your policy has some weird exemption language). If the insurer wants to raise their rates, thats their prerogative. You can always jump ship.

Don't accept anything less than genuine in the yellow box. If your paying the bill, then its your discretion if you want to track down the equivalent part.

 

yikes...I was curious so checked Ricambi, I think this is it...nearly 50% off

http://www.ricambiamerica.com/product_info.php?products_id=205652

 

Been there! Nothing like an adjuster confronting F-car prices. Get a quote from several dealers then to show to the ins. company. Buy what you like from who you like and install it yourself and charge what you like. If the ins. company thinks they are saving money they'll be happy and pay it.

 

There are some epic threads on the 348 alternator on here. See if you can rebuild and if not, contact the 348 alternator guru that put the thread together. Its really one of the most amazing DIY threads from the brotherhood....

 

I would check on a rebuilding the alternator. That alternator can't only be installed on a Ferrari. Most all aternators can be rebuildt for far less.

 

$5000 is beyond ridiculous. Got mine rebuilt for $250, seen brand new for $350, installs very easily in about 15 minutes. Is there "other" damage included for the $5K?

 

Your insurance company says your claim is laughable. And they would be correct:

You can get a Delco alternator rebuilt for under $100. Just don't tell them it came off a Ferrari.

This is NOT a Ferrari alternator. It's a Delco.

And in fact, MOST parts on a Ferrari ARE NOT Ferrari parts. They're Delco, Nippondenso, or Bosch. The secret's out...

 

While I agree in principal with KKSBA I have to say Ferrari listing a Delco Remy CS-130 alternator for $5k borders on insanity. The only differences I have been able to determine are higher speed rated bearings and a different pulley on the Ferrari unit.

I went to an alternator specialist in San Diego looking for a spare and he matched the alternator for me - same Delco Remy CS-130, same case, same sized pulley. $110. For $80 more he can install high speed bearings and heavy duty components making it more heat tolerant and upping the amperage from 105 to 140. An alternator superior to OEM for $4,810 less.

 

$5000 is insane. I thought I saw it at Ricambi for about $2000

 

No question rebuilds are cheap, I did mine myself following Ernie's instructions for $18. But re-read the original post...if my alternator was jam packed with raccoon guts, sorry it's not getting rebuilt! I think if you can save the ins co. $2500+ they'll be happy and you get a new alternator. win-win.

 

I wonder if perhaps the problem isn't actually the alternator itself. I mean, really....what could a raccoon carcass do to an alternator that would cause it to be totally destroyed (the alternator, not the raccoon). You could fire a raccoon at an alternator through an air cannon and the raccoon would just bounce off it. Maybe knock the belt off.

With that in mind, maybe the alternator BRACKET is broken, maybe the TENSIONER is broken, maybe the SHIELD is broken, maybe maybe maybe. Maybe you ran over a particularly "buff" raccoon that had swallowed an anvil. I don't know. I suggest that you get a copy of the written estimate from the dealer, and have them attach some pictures of the damage.

Just make sure that your car gets properly repaired with "dealer approved" parts.

 

AAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!! HHHAAAAA-------hahahahaaa---hahahaaaaaa!!!!

What a load of CRAP! $5000 for a new alternator my ass! HAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAAAA!

The Delco Remy alternator is nothing more than a GM part. These guys sell an upgrade rebuild kit for $120 http://store.alternatorparts.com/partnod1-7140140ampicebergalternatorupgradefordelco-remyscs-130typealternatorusedfrom1986-1996.aspx
Here is a list of what their kit comes with:

Exclusive "Iceberg" Patented Finned Housing for Better Cooling
Heavy Duty Rectifier with 50 Amp Press Fit Diodes. (OEM rectifiers use only 35 amp diodes)
Plus-High out-put 140 Amp Stator (original CS-130 alternators come with 85-105 amp stator)
Copper Heat Transfer Grease for Better Rectifier Performance and Life.
10mm Wide Rear Bearing. (original uses only an 8mm bearing)
Brush holder Assembly
Bearing Tolerance Ring
Drive End Bearing with Retainer
Positive Battery Post Insulator
Stator Lead Cover
Step-by-Step Instructions

Of course you will need the actual parts that will fit the housing you have, but there is no way that an alternator "costs $5000". Complete bullsh!t.

I rebuilt my Nippondenso alternator for $100. Here's the how to for the Nippondenso unit http://ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=142329


Don't listen to the BS that you have to get a "Ferrari" alternator, because Ferrari DOES NOT make the alternator. It's a General Motors alternator that can be rebuilt by you or any competent alternator shop, to higher standards than what you will get in a stupid little yellow box with black horses on it.

What a joke!

 

Amen brother!

 

That is a sure fire way to get ripped off, ESPECIALLY in this case.

 

I really like Miltonian's idea of firing a raccoon carcass from an air cannon at one just to see how much damage it does....
Maybe we can get the insurance company to pay for the test.....

 

If Insurance is paying, who cares? Why should you have to waste your time hunting down the part, upgrade the bearings etc. All to make it easier on the insurance co... Why bother...

Now, If he is paying, which does not appear to be the case, then by all means get the cheaper equivalent. No need to impress yourself with the yellow box.

 

It saves trouble down the road (like having to switch insurance companies,...)

 

If you go to the Ricambi website and punch up the early Delco alternator (part #139421) it says it is no longer available, and has been superceded to part #70000791, which is a complete kit to upgrade to the Nippondenso alternator, including the alternator itself, the brackets, the shield, and all of the mounting hardware, including the wiring harness. Ricambi does not show their price for this kit, but it would obviously be far higher than the cost of just the Delco alternator. So that's probably where the $5000 figure came from. Heaven knows where the "German made" comment came from, "Nippondenso" does not really sound like a German brandname.

 

In the final analysis, make the insurance company use whatever part the service center wants to use. That's the only way your going to get the new part/installation warranty...

 

Because the insurance company is calling BS on the price, and rightly so. Besides it's stuff like this that causes your insurance rates to keep going up. You think the insurance company is the one that's paying? Nope, it's the policy holders.

Besides I don't care if it is the insurance company, that price is absolutely STUPID!

 

What every single prior poster here has completely ignored is the fact that your dealer is quoting for installation of the factory upgrade kit to get rid of the POS Delco alternator once and for all. That kit has a list price of $4246.62 currently and is a substantial and worthwhile upgrade to the car and to bill another $750 or so for it's installation is a good deal. So while many of the uninformed may be calling it a rip off, quite the contrary, they are doing you a big favor.

 

I'll play:

So I spend $5,000 so I don't ever have to spend $100 again?

Did you go to Texas A&M by chance?

 

The Delcos self destructed on a regular basis. So much so that the tight wad company called Ferrari paid for, without question, long after the cars were out of warranty the retrofit of those units, so even they felt it was worthwhile.

Those alternators were such crap that even Delco did not rebuild them. Their rebuilt exchange program used NEW alternators for that series of alternator because even they knew rebuilding was an exercise in futility.



To address your $100 dollar figure. To begin with, are you suggesting that when an owner and his wife breaks down on a rainy night 500 miles from home and the closest Ferrari repair shop on a Saturday night that the tow bill, hotel bill, and repair bill will only be $100? This time? Because those of us that have been working on 348's since 89 know it will happen again and again until that Delco POS is gone. That is the scenario my clients want me to prepare their car to avoid and that is what that shop is doing as well. You also fail to consider the upgrade aspect. When those of us in the profession, knowledgeable about the cars do a PPI on a 3.4L Ferrari we consider it a deduct for a car still equipped with a Delco.

$100 fix. That really is laughable. It is a $100 band aid that will fall off tomorrow. Some of us FIX cars.

 

Be fair, RD, I pointed out in post #19 that the $5000 figure was probably for the upgrade from Delco to Nippondenso.