How do you get oil changes and such?

This sounds like such a weird question I feel odd asking it... But how do get oil changes and such on your car? On my Ford, I go to the shop, wait 30 minutes, and drive away. At BMW I drop off my car in the morning, and drive their loaner for the day.

For my Ferrari, I pay $400 for someone to pick it up on a trailer, drive it an hour and then pay $400 to drive it back. That's a rediculous amount of wasted money.

So I thought maybe this time I'd take two Uber trips... That's about $200... So cheaper... But still seems weird to me.

So legitimate weird question of the day... HOW do you transport your fcar to get oil changes and simple auto services?

 

I do it myself at home (on a lift).

 

Drive it and either a) wait as it takes less than a day so I just take my laptop and do some work and drink free coffee or b) get the missus to follow me, dealer is only 30 minutes alway or c) get a loan car.

I certainly wouldn’t pay those prices. Worst I’ve been quoted is by a main dealer some 90 miles away at £100 each way or if they were in the area £50.

At the prices you are talking, if they don’t have loan cars just get a hire car dropped off there, would be far cheaper.

 

We do b)

How far are you from the dealer?

$800 on top of the service costs seems pretty exorbitant, unless we're talking a real long distance.

T

 

What I do is I back my 360 onto 2 ramps with the rear tires, I undo some bolts, and then I drain the oil out by undoing 3 bolts.. and then add it back in. Costs under $200 and takes between 20 minutes to an hour.

-or-

If I feel inclined I drive it to my independent mechanic and sit and wait while the oil gets changed.

 

Thanks for the responses. I know it seems like a weird question. I've had the car 5 years and it feels like a rollercoaster to do the little things like this.

Some day I hope to be like you

There are no Ferrari dealers anywhere close, so I am referring to using the Maserati Dealer, which requires me to arrange my own transportation. They are pretty familiar with the ferraris and they work on a lot of them, but don't quite bend over backwards for them. distance is 60 miles.

60 miles for the nearest Maserati dealer. about 200 to the Ferrari dealer I don't trust. Have a great independent mechanic about 250 miles but he says he's too busy to do oil changes and to go to the Maserati dealer... haha. Still costs a hefty sum to ship the car up there (about the same)

I took it to a local "import specialty shop" who I was told works on ferraris. After overfilling my oil, I had 6 months of downtime sent away to the ferrari specialty shop and a $25,000 bill at the end of it all, so I'm a bit skeptical. (to be clear they ended up doing the clutch and such while everything was torn apart, so I did permit scope creep... I theoretically know how to check the oil in these things and I've watched a million videos and read the manual but I swear it takes a magic touch I don't have. Some times it seems super high, sometimes its super low, and I can't tell what I do different between them.

 

I email the dealer with times they can work on it, we setup a date. I let them know I’ll be waiting. Laptop, free espresso and wander around the showroom for my next car. Always feel taken care of!

 

I do it myself

 

When my cars are due for an oil change I trade them in.


















Kidding. Dealer comes and gets them, then return them completed. No charge for pickup/drop off either.

 

I don't change my oil or change the belts. Just way too inconvenient for me.
I do occasionally wash the car but that is getting pretty tedious also.

 

Purchase a couple ramps for $90 a pr. at AutoZone, O’Reillys, Napa etc. An Oil catch pan and a funnel then watch a few YouTube videos on the subject and verify process here on F chat. I remember being all paranoid about my first belt service and my mechanic/friend offered me some really good advice .
“ Kim, it’s just a car it doesn’t run on magic“ you’ll do fine!

 

I do them myself along with all of the other work. Patience and perfectionism gives experience a run for it's money.

 

Working on a car isn't for everyone, and the concern about messing up on a Ferrari where a mistake means $$$$ can stop many from working on their cars. That $25k is a bit... high... IMHO. Even with a clutch, they probably took off the intake on the engine to "clean out oil" from the overfill. What I do is I know that the car needs X quarts of oil. If I fill it until it's one quart shy.. the car won't suddenly die or implode. I can run it and it has enough oil to ensure the engine doesn't seize and then I can fill just a little... then wait for it to be warm and then check the oil level while the car runs with a glove. The oil temp has to be up to operating temp with the water. Stop the car and if the oil is between the lines.. good to go. The car will have enough oil for lubrication if it's 0.5 quarts below what the manual says (9..10 quarts IIRC).

 

I pour in 10L when changing and don't worry about it (458). It is dry sump. If there is oil on the stick, it is fine.

 

There a couple local oil change places around here that say $39.99 any make any model...if sure the fine print provides them some protection, but I've had a passing thought when I had nothing better to do to swing in there with a lotus or ferrari and see what happens.

To the OP. For what you have spent on oil changes and transport so far you could have bought a nice 4 post lift and learned to do it yourself. A quite hour in the garage with a couple beers or cocktails working on a car.... lots of worse way to spend an hour. In the end its just a car and there really isnt any magic to changing oil. I get not everyone has the setup or inclination to do that but it can be a fun and rewarding aspect of ownership and a great place to start

 

OP - have you asked the dealer to help with your problem? Like getting a first thing appointment do the work right away and you wait? Be interested to hear what they say. What did they say when you asked for a loaner?

 

I use to work in a Mr Lube when I was a kid. We use to get a guy in with a very old Merc, even back then. It was a cartridge oil filter and getting the o ring to seat was a complete ***** and we often sprayed his engine compartment with oil on testing. He was happy though as it was as above fixed price $20-30 back then, he got to watch us do the work, we always got him a chair and a coffee, we always cleaned up ofter ourselves and it was a nice change from the average American peace of crap! Local main dealer wanted way over 10 times what we charged!

I’m betting your “specialist” hadn’t a clue what a dry sump was, or how to fill it!

 

Make an appt and say you will wait there while they do it, like some suggest. Drive it there, wait your 60 or so min's and then drive home.

 

Like some of the others, I do it myself. It is Zen, I can bond with my car

 

I can't imagine shipping my Ferrari to get an oil change. That's just... i dunno. If you've got the budget, te salut. But seems overkill, to me.

 

I've been working on all my own cars since I was a kid. The Ferraris are no different.308s to F40s. Oil changes to belt swaps. It is so cathartic to do your own work.

 

I do it myself
its not rocket science
by a quick jack from Costco
get a drain pan
go to harbor freight and get some metric tools
rags
oil and filter
and get it done
its simple
you must have very deep pockets to pay that type of money to change oil on car
considering how easy it to do
and the bonus is
you get to learn more about your car
the majority of bolts on ANY Ferrari are 10MM

 

same here
I do all the work on my 512 TR and 575
remember we put a man on the moon
not the Italians !!

 

Get ramps. Works great for changing the oil on our cars and save thousands. Not a tough job and if you can't get the last little bit out because of the angle, no biggie. We're talking 11-12 qts if fully synthetic oil that most likely only has a couple thousand miles on it. I measure what comes out and use that as a starting point. Get a torque wrench and the filter removal tool.