Finally Got my baby home!! Not all fun and games though.....

any update on this yet?

 

How did the detail work out?

 

We are all waiting...

 

I'm not.

 

bhhahahaha!!

 

They definitely can be but the measurements won't be as accurate as Honda, Toyota or other mass produced car. The differences in the panels will be marginal. Further there are other ways to tell the car has been sprayed. If you can't find any signs of a re-spray then it was done well.

 

I have to agree with this, if I told you guys all the things wrong that I have found with my 99 360 since buying it you would all tell me to have it towed to the scrap yard and write it off as a loss...instead I am looking forward to the 100,000 mile mark.

The only part I question here is why if the blended paint shows up so clearly now, why did the buyer not see it when he went and looked at the car ? I assume I know the answer, when I went and looked at a 328 before buying my 360. The guy could not get it to start and I still thought it was a deal. I thought the car was perfect, my daughter showed me a rust bubble, my wife showed me paint on the windshield rubber seal, I had looked at the car for 10+ minutes and found no flaws, in less then 2 minutes both my wife and daughter found several flaws, we passed on the car of course but only because of the rust.

After that I made sure I always brought a spare set of eyes to look over any Ferrari I was considering.

Its only a car, you MAY not have gotten as good a deal as you thought you did, but its still a Ferrari 360 and it still looks awesome, enjoy the privilege. Mine has been in the driveway for the last month now, its filthy and still looks awesome and I am driving it nearly daily even with its flaws (my poor motorcycle is looking sad).

The way I see it, you have 2 choices and both will cost you money. 1 return the car as it was not correctly advertised. 2 fix the paint and love the car. Its a matter of money and also morals, are you willing to let yours slide a little and drive a re-painted car.

 

The paint flaw did show up and the dealer promised to fix it.

Kai

 

The way it's raining out I would leave it there until tomorrow..

 

gentlemen, I have confirmation (first hand) that Ferrari's dont melt, rust, or stop working altogether if they are touched by rain.

 

Um, how can a magnetic gauge measure paint depth on an aluminum panel??

 

Just did a search on Google.

"Paint thickness over all other metals such as aluminum is measured using an eddy current technique. When the instrument’s probe is brought near a metal (conductive) surface, a coil within the probe generates an alternating magnetic field that sets up eddy currents on the metal’s surface. These eddy currents create their own opposing electromagnetic field that can be sensed by a second, adjacent coil.

Eddy current (non-ferrous) coating thickness gages look and operate like electronic magnetic gages. They also use a constant pressure probe and display results on an LCD with options to print stored measurement results.

It is relatively uncommon to find instruments that operate only with the eddy current principle in this industry. It is more likely to find gages that incorporate BOTH magnetic and eddy current principles into one unit. Some simplify the task of measuring by switching automatically from one principle of operation to the other, depending upon the substrate.

These “combo” units are typically priced between U.S. $400 and $1,500."

 

good information...google makes us smart now its a matter of making sure that the tester has a device like this. Although, Im sure anyone credible should!

 

I can confirm his observation ! They don't even melt if they are left out in the driveway for months at a time.

 

It stopped raining.

 

I hope this all gets reconciled to your satisfaction. In a little while this will be a distant memory as you're making the 2-3 shift at 7500 RPM

 

What I have understood about paint testing, and I have used such a device in the past, is that you are testing for consistencies in paint thickness among panels. From what dealers and body shops have told me, ferrari's paint process does not produce consistent thickness results as mass produced cars do, and as such you will see inconsistencies in thickness even on a car straight from the factory.

 

You can measure the paint thickness. I have a meter and have done it. You will get a much wider variation from panel to panel than say my BMW, but you should not find very thick areas of paint - 15, 20 mils - unless the car has been painted.

Ferraris definitely do NOT melt in the rain as this picture of my former car can attest... although I wouldn't want to drive my freshly detailed car home in it
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