I think I'm done with Ferrari

That's appalling.

I complained (very politely) on delivery day for my MINI over tyres. I had negotiated a specific tyre to be fitted to the car in order for the dealership to win my business, had it in writing, and I also phoned to remind them about the tyres when the car was being prepped. I turned up to take delivery a few days later and it was wearing cheap tyres when they gave me the keys. After I pointed out the error, the manager of the sales department came over to apologise, made me a coffee, and corrected the problem with the quickest tyre change I've ever seen. I was spending only £12k at the time.

I agree, when parting with as much cash as you did Bob, major mistakes such as missing out options on the build should not happen.

All the best,
Andrew.

 

That's absurd! It really doesn't make you want to fork over all that money, does it?

 

This is the stuff that drives me nuts. People are way to forgiving about defects in high end products.

Very simple – Ferrari needs to read “The Machine that changed the World”. This book came out in 1990 and has been updated a bit since. I read it when it came out after leaving General Motors and going to a Japanese firm in another industry.

I haven’t read any of the revised versions of the book, but in the original researchers at MIT studied car manufacturers around the world. IIRC they didn’t name names, but you could figure who was who. The saddest one was Jaguar. Mistakes made on Jags during the production process (and there were many) were “corrected” by “craftsman” at the end of the line. They thought this was perfectly normal and was the way to build a great car.

Over the years, all auto manufacturers have adopted (or tried to adopt) what was at one time labelled Toyota’s manufacturing method. Now you often hear it referred to as Lean Manufacturing and for this reason it looks like the book was modified to highlight the Lean approach. This stuff really works and will work for companies of ALL sizes. That’s right, even smaller run auto manufacturers like Ferrari can become more efficient and eliminate these defects. In some ways it is easier in a small company since you have fewer people to educated and you can make changes easier.

What bugs me is when I know that a particular car that drives really well and excites me when I turn the key also has potential quality issues burning underneath. That’s what kept me in Honda/Acura products since I handed in my resignation at GM. I don’t mind spending more to get a car I really like, but if the car company can’t get the basic quality to be equal or better than a Hyundai, then forget it. If you charge a premium, your quality level should reflect it.

Auto manufacturers who think they can rely on their heritage, mystique and exclusiveness to do whatever they want do so at their peril. You may have great products, but no one else is standing still and they want to eat your lunch. Many big names we assumed would always own a segment have learned this hard way (IBM).

Oh yeah, I do have a 348, because my logical brain just can’t resist the pull of these awesome sexy Italian beasts. I just sort out the issues (i.e. sticky parts & etc) as I work away on it knowing just how much I love the roar of that high spinning 8 and pulling G’s in corners that make my old concussion hurt.

 

Four of the 5 Ferrari's I have bought over the years have been new which includes my 599 GTO. When I optioned that car with my dealer I discussed each option personally with the GM of sales who placed the order. i received confirmation in writing from him and I was at the dealership when he forwarded my options request to the factory and I was given a copy of the factory's confirmation of my options. i was also present in his office when he spoke directly to Maranello confirming the options when we got the word that my GTO was about to go into production within the next 24 hrs. Bottom Line...... If you want to make sure something is done right get involved in the process or live with the consequences especially when dealing with Ferrari.

 

Deleted

 

Well, you could buy a pre-owned car under warranty. that's what I did. then you will know exactly what you are getting.

Actually, there were a rew pleasant surprises on mine. Was not aware of electric folding mirrors and auto dimming mirrors. I like them alot.

 

Well, I would disagree.

Actually, I would be totally pissed if "stuff like this" happened because "it wasn't checked at the factory, or … it wasn't found at the dealer"... in addition to the car having the wrong options when delivered.

What the heck are these people doing with their time? There's a simple thing as checking, double-checking as well as QC. There should be someone checking to make sure the car is properly configured and built with quality that at least matches that of a $40k car. The message this sort of nonsense sends to a person spending $300k on a car is that they don't care and they don't care if the buyer knows that either.

So while I don't share your disenchantment with the negative public reception you experience when you drive these cars I also don't blame you for feeling jaded about your Ferrari experience. I would walk away too.

 

The question needs to be asked is are the orders more accurate and are the cars better quality that are being delivered to the EU and UK then the USA?

 

That is so lame. I mean - I can't understand how this can happen AT ALL. Do they have people copying the specs of a car by hand into another computer system??? The specs of a car are not being sent electronically to Maranello and then processed automatically???

On the other hand: There are a few threads where people got more extras than they ordered. I'm sure that someone else has your GPS now

 

Had I the dough for one that's what I'd do - bypass the snotty BS involved with buying new and a $50K first-owner depreciation hit, pick a pre-owned with 5k miles or less off the lot at Boardwalk Ferrari, drive off happy.

 

You had the option of rejecting the nonconforming goods, did you not?

 

This is JUST what I do....Just got a Scuderia and Superleggera both 2008 and both with less than 2000 miles on them. I saved 100k on each car.
BTW the Scuderia is lovely BUT the Gallardo Superleggera is a HOOT! LOVE THAT CAR! OLD SCHOOL LAMBO

 

Shouldn't the purchase order/purchase agreement reflect GPS? And if so, isn't that a binding contract? I'm sure somewhere in that purchase agreement, there was a signed document that states you would be willing to pay $xxx,xxx.xx for a car with GPS. Looks like a fairly simple case of "we had a contract, you failed to deliver."

 

+1000

 

This.

 

I had a similar problem with my Spider, wrong wheels, incorrect alcantara roof, incorrect alcantara armrests and rubbish paint. By then I was in Italy and wanted to get home. In short you are so happy and excited to get the product, hopefully early in the queue, that you find yourself putting up with this BS. And now my F12 comes looking like someone used a paintbrush on it something no amount of following the process would help.

 

See, that's mind boggling to me. Here I thought us second hand guys were the ones with the problem getting exactly what we wanted. Dayum. I have to admit, I've heard a lot of serious bull**** in the last few pages regarding new car purchasing, total bull****, but yours takes the cake. Another fellow on this forum I know specifically declined only one of the salon CF options because he honestly didn't want it. Maranello assumed he'd made a mistake, included it and made him pay for it.

And I thought "that" was bad.

Wow

 

This time I declined delivery.

 

hold on - my comment was not made as a shot to you. I"m a busy guy too...

My point was that IF I could not drive them as much as I do - if for whatever reason they sat, if I could not get my fix, share with my family and enjoy - I'd have opted out. The hassles and costs would not have been offset by the driving experience.

I travel extensively as well globally for work - similar to you I'm sure. We've probably been on some of the same flights in/out of Asia. I know what it's like to NOT have time to drive - plus I have a family. Would be happy to compare schedules - but that's not my point.

I'd also add that living in LA (South Bay) for many years, I sold my GT3 since it was almost impossible to have fun with with 2 young kids, brutal schedule and gridlocked (and purely grid-like) roads. Where we live now seems to have an endless supply of rural, twisty, fun roads - taking the kids to school is actually a fun ride, moreso in an Fcar.

One thing that's worked in our favor - on weekends we drive, the kids enjoy it, and my wife drives and enjoys them (she has more miles than me).

 

I think this is reality for many owners. Once you are in a position to own these cars, you are often so busy it can sometimes be a challenge to find the time to drive them as frequent as one would like. I don't DD mine, and I also have a very busy schedule, limiting the available time to actually enjoy these cars. Life happens, and after all, the cars are "just" a hobby. Family life, kids activities, professional obligations, etc. are more important to many, including me. I know there are owners that pump up their chests with all the miles they put on their F-cars. That is certainly admirably, but we all have different schedules, priorities, etc. and we each enjoy our cars in our own way. Nothing wrong with that IMO.

I know there are a lot of die hard F-fans who may not like this, but IMO looking at pure performance, cost, and customer service, I think there are many attractive alternatives to Ferrari, and I think it is great that The Mayor is going to explore some of those alternatives, as long as he reports back about his experiences

Jes

 

ah - let me publicly apologize and clarify

I was referring spefically to you, in that I think you've stated you only put few miles on your cars - for whatever reasons, and you sort of were the subject of this thread.

What I am suggesting is that having these cars and not driving them - at least to me, as I stated, "in my opinion" - is sort of like collecting jewelry (I don't collect anything, other than hopefully memories).

I was actually trying to empathize - as in "hell, if I could only drive them that little, I would not put up with the BS and be out of here quickly".

As one last point, your posts and threads were of very good counsel on both our family entering the Fcar world and in spec'ing out our cars. For that, thanks. To the point that this didn't work out well for you, I'm sorry. As to you finding something fun to drive and having the time (and place, and reason) to drive it, keep us posted.

I'll let the thread get back to the original point now....

 

My car showed up with no radio. Just a hole where the radio should be. To make things worse there was no wiring harness. Ferrari blamed the dealer for the mistake. Ferrari wanted another $5K to ship a harness to the dealer. I told them to f*ck off. They lost my business forever.