Annual service: $2200 to over $5K in a flash

Took my 2008 Scud in for service (approx 10K miles), and everything appeared fine... clutch life is great, no real things that stood out. Was glad to hear, as this was my first service on the car and I had only put 600 miles on it since it was fully gone through.

Got a call this morning from the Service manager that advised that the service Tech had "heard a tick or slight noise" coming from the front right of the car, something I have never heard, and that the likely culprit is the Flambloc (bushing) in the front passenger control arm. I was told that the Scud uses lightweight components, and that replacing the upper and lower control arm Flamblocs are crazy expensive due to Scud specific weight saving parts (IE, $434 per bushing X4 plus labor). Ouch.

So my question to other forum members that own Scuds or 430's, have you had this problem or do you know of someone that has had to have these replaced?

I have a pretty good knowledge of the history of the car, and it hasn't been tracked and most of the miles were put on the car by the last owner in the year before I bought it.. and those were highway miles. Given the condition of the car, I believe this. I'm sure the car was driven spiritedly, as we all do on our cruises, but definitely not a heavy track used Scud.

I hate the fact that my very first service on this car is going to run me almost $5500, and that money isn't a clutch, engine work, tires, exhaust, or anything like that. This car is my dream car, so while it hurts, I can suck it up when I hear the engine on my drive home.

 

Likely culprit is not good enough. If you have never heard or felt it...

 

On the 360 some suspension parts are effectively consumables and I note in this recent Scuderia thread top of the list http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/143889342-post9.html so there could be similar issues

 

The way to avoid that is when the "tech" says he hears a "click" is for them to demonstrate that to you BEFORE you open the wallet.

Was the extra $3300 really necessary? Good question... I wouldn't apply your experience to my ownership experience at all.. 10k miles and you have worn out bushings?

That's a lot of track time..

 

I know someone who used to have a scud, he had balljoints replaced under warranty after 5000km, so not surprised if flamblocs gave up after 10000 miles

 

Are the scud bushings a hard material? I would think that if it was knocking, you could see the failure?

 

I hear a lot of "clicks". Some I'd do something about, others I'd drive to the car and get a coffee and enjoy it.

FYI flamblocs and torsion bars will give not one "click" but many when you drive it on an uneven surface. And its repeatable.

My comment is giving license to a "tech" that hears a click to go to town fixing it.. then come on FChat and note how $2200 blossomed to $5k. I've met contractors that LOVE dealing with people who "just write the check".

It's like writing how an $500 oil change blossomed to $10,000 when the tech convinces the owner to put a Carbon fiber body kit on.

 

It's quite a dilemma when, due to work pressures, you have to transport your car to a dealer far away for work to be done. I've just been told that a "slow down" error was logged by one of the ECUs. I've never seen the error occur but apparently the dealership's diagnostic computer is getting a reading of 1300 degrees from one of the exhaust sensors. I'm looking at $767 to replace it.

That, on top of an E-DIFF contol valve failure, means I have a bill of $2600

Some things you gotta to take on faith.

 

I also have a 2008 scud that I could hear metallic clicks coming from the front wheel areas. Searching found that many people had to replace ball joints. My tech, 2NA, fitted small microphones to the different suspension components and it turned out to be upper ball joints which were inexpensive to replace. That was a year ago and I have not heard a click since.

 

I agree with applying a level of scrutiny to tech's recommendations. My point was, as mentioned by someone else above, that some components of 360 (and probably 430) suspension are consumables and tend to wear out extremely quickly even during normal road use.

 

Point taken and respected.

 

I have an 08 SCUD. Let them demonstrate it to you. After that, be courteous enough to tell them you will schedule a return for the new problem. Let them fix the annuals first.

That way, you will not feel pressured to fix it. It would give you enough time to think about it. Give it another year.:> Honestly.

 

Similar experience for me. New to Ferrari, so this information is helpful. Took it in for an annual inspection and now I'm over $8k. They found that warped exhaust manifold problem and link bushings as well (I reported the knocking). Also had left valve cover and variator solenoid leaking issues. Looks like these could be common problems with the Scud, but what irks me more is that I bought this car from a Ferrari dealership with the certified inspection done and no issues came up. Six months later and all these problems. Are these issues that don't come up in the certified inspection process? Maybe?....could they have all surfaced in the last 6 months? Not sure about that.

In the end, I adore this car and don't plan on selling it. But I've learned as a first time Ferrari buyer, don't trust those certified inspections (or buy the warranty!) and don't buy a Ferrari sight unseen (which I did because I thought I was buying from a reputable dealership).

Anyway, just wanted to share my story. It's expensive to maintain, but nothing like it out there and values are holding, so it's a good long term investment in enjoyment.

 

$400+ bushing is laughable

 

Personally I have a scud and if it is something that is not bothering you I would just do the service see how it does and likely next year there will be another issues .. I assume you do not track the car .. if it gets bad enough for you to notice it then bring it back..you really have to filter it or they will spend your money after all that is what they are there for..

 

This, and the other similar stories in this thread, is why you buy a well maintained car over anything else. They will all take some sorting but a rough example will severely bleed you.

 

Reputable dealership. What's next, unicorns?

 

Lol

 

+1 let the tech show you.

Many suspension sounds can be seen in the play of parts and I have had mechanics willing to demonstrate when I asked politely. I also hustled down as I know it halts progress and your car on their lift is taking up idle job space for their business.

Will the Ricambi - Hill Engineering suspension parts for the 430 fit the Scud?
Ferrari Parts, Accessories, and Performance Products - Ricambi America, Inc.

 

No warranty will ever cover oil leak or seals issues. Ferrari knows that many people buy cars and leave them sitting in a garage which is the main cause for seals to dry out. Drive your car regularly and you'll never face leaks again.

 

Not my experience!

 

I've put on about 2500 miles since I bough it late last summer. Which makes me think that these issues existed before and the certified inspection are not built to catch. Regardless of warranty or maintenance records, my recommendation to anyone thinking about buying a scud: have a tech check all those common problems before pulling the trigger.

 

you can actually jack up the car and take a look at yourself on the flamblock(bushing)

if it really was worn out, the part itself isn't going to be $440 each. go to superformance.com to get it much cheaper. buy the bushing and bring the bushing to any indy to get a labor quote.

here:Suspension Parts for Ferrari 360, 430 & 458 - Superformance

 

I was able to eliminate 90% of my suspension noise by re-torquing everything to factory values. Did they try that and test drive to confirm it continued?

 

Yup - it explicitly states this in the warranty.

Makes me wonder if I will renew. Probably just for the what-if should the motor or transmission explode.