When you do not live close to a dealership

I am wondering what Ferrari owners do when they want their Ferrari serviced by a dealership and are not close to one? My nearest one is about two hours away. Do you drive there or have it transported? I do not have a Ferrari yet but this is something for me to consider.

 

Its called a truck. Tow truck or truck with trailer. I am in Texas as well and I have cars transported here from Minnesota, Virginia and California as a few examples. Its not unusual. For some it is too much trouble but if you insist on a dealer I think there are probably more now than ever before.

 

As Brian said, you need to have it transported. I've never heard of a Ferrari dealership having a loaner car program.

BTW, if you buy a used Ferrari, what you really want is a short list of Brians, not dealerships. Brian is cranky, and he bites. But he has had his shots, and you don't have to worry about getting rabies. If I ever buy another Ferrari, I'd ship it to Brian.

 

I drive five hours to Dallas to get my 575 serviced. In the past, I would schedule service at various dealers on road trips. Where do you live in Tx? If you plan on driving your Ferrari and it's not a low mileage "investment", two hour drive for service is nothing, IMO.

 

I live by Lufkin in East Texas.

 

Two hour drive to FOH, Houston or two and one half hours to Boardwalk, Dallas or Norwood Auto Italia. I have had service at all three over the years.

 

Which one did you like the best?

 

All three were/are fine. Can't give an up to date comparison. Over the past several years have been going to Norwood and have been please with the service.

 

Sounds nice driving to the dealer for service but I've found the dealer can take a week just to do the annual and god forbid you need parts, then you're screwed. I bite the bullet and just use enclosed transport.

 

When the time comes and when you make your way to Dallas ( Hint Hint ) for service ( Boardwalk or Norwood ) lets us know, I am sure we will have at least one FCA event going on while you are in town. If not, we will create one, so you can meet other Texas members / owners!

Good Luck in your search for your Ferrari!

Steve

 

Thank-you for the invite but no Ferrari yet.

 

If you can afford a Ferrari, you can afford to ship it across the country for an oil change!

Of course that's in jest but what many non-owners think...I would personally be looking for an indy that may be closer, post in the Texas forums and you will get a wealth of info.

 

Two hours isn't bad - if it's an annual service/nothing wrong, a lot of people will make the drive, get a nice hotel, do some shopping and make a little trip out of it. If something is wrong, get a truck, and if you find one you really like, use them exclusively from that point forward.

 

Same answer if it was a Honda. You drive it there.

What am I missing?

 

Missing - There are tons of honda dealerships even in small towns. Ferrari dealerships not so much. My nearest dealer is two hours away.

 

Yes. You said that.

Let me put it another way. Say I went on a Honda forum and started a thread:

I'm thinking of buying a Honda, but my closest Honda dealership is 2 hours away. Do you drive it there or transport it for service?

You tell me.

If you don't want to put miles on it, you've answered your own question.

(scratching my head)

I mean, you're not asking if a brand new car can't make a 2 hour road trip? (are you?)

I'll be charitable and assume no, hence, what am I missing here?

 

Many people I know who are in Houston where we have a dealership, always put the car on a truck to get it to and from dealer. They are too busy to be in a dealership. Plus you still need a ride back. Plus Ferrari takes longer to diagnose.

 

It definitely depends on the service and how busy the dealership is. My own dealership has been able to get me same day routine service many times.

 

I don’t have a problem with my dealers service. It’s great. I’ve just noticed that an appointment to drop off isn’t a guarantee of an answer in 1-2 days. I’m fine with it. I just like to let people who are on the fence know what real life is like.

 

I have a F350 Super Duty dually with a car trailer. This allows me to drop off cars at dealerships and pick them up when work is completed, and not have to worry how long work will take, or if there are delays. I know this is not necessarily an option for some people, I know it was not an option for me years ago.

That being said, an extra benefit of having the truck and trailer, is being able to transport cars to various locations around the USA via boring interstates and then enjoy the backroads at our destination. Most recent example was Colorado. We trailered a car to Pueblo CO, and left the truck and trailer at an RV storage facility we prepaid for a month (had to rent two spots - one for truck, one for trailer). From Pueblo, we basically drove a loop through the state over a period of a couple of weeks, ending back at Pueblo, where we reloaded the car and drove back to TX. This basically saved me from putting 1500 miles on the car.
I know some people utilize trucking services to move vehicles around, but I feel the truck/trailer option gives me more flexibility with my schedule. For example, once used the truck and trailer for a trip to Branson MO. After a couple of shows, we went for some rides on the Ozark roads around Branson. Quickly got disappointed with the roads, so we loaded up the car and headed to the Talimena Scenic Byway / Hot Springs area.

Before the truck and trailer, the wife and I would have to double up on drop offs and pick ups at the dealerships. One of us would drive a car to dealership and the other followed to provide a ride.

 

I'm also 2+ hours from a dealership...

I have a BIG truck, but my enclosed trailer is for motorcycles and not wide enough to transport the car - so I rent a trailer from U-Haul - costs $50 for the day.

Drive it up, drop it off, have a cup of coffee and wander around the showroom floor - then head home. In a week or so (they appreciate me NOT being in a hurry) I do the same thing.

Kevin

 

My mechanic was about two hours away from me and fortunately they also offered storage so I had one of my cars stored there so if I needed something done I could drive the Ferrari up there and take the car in storage home. If it had broken down I would of had it flatbedded up there then would have had to find a way up there to pick it up which would be a p.i.t.a. but you gotta do what you gotta do. Good to figure out all these details before you buy.

 

If it wasn’t broken down, do you drive it there or do you transport it there? And most importantly, I think OP wants to know why either way?

 

Ferrari dealers and most exotic independents routinely arrange flatbed pick up and delivery. I only live 30 minutes from my Indy but still I’ve never dropped off any of my cars myself. Since most of these places are not open on the weekends, it does not make sense to take a day off of work to do this, and it’s no fun either.

 

Ferrari Lake Forest picks my car up in an enclosed trailer. Usually towards the end of winter, so it’s not like I’m driving the car anywhere at that time.