360 Belt Service Cost Today

Hello, a few weeks ago I attended a cars and Coffee where I met a fellow Ferrari owner. He stated that he recently had the fluids changed in his car for a cost of around $4500 (365 Daytona) I know his car is different than my 360, but when we started talking about the belt change on my car, he said it would probably be close to $10K, this to me seems crazy as I have seen in the past other FChatters posting anywhere from $3-5K to get it done from an independent shop. What are your thoughts and experience on getting this service done?

 

A belt change can be done for as little as $800 including new HE bearings if you do it yourself. The job is actually a lot simpler than it looks or that people fear. If you have a Spider, you don't even need to remove the seats. Almost all the special tools (except tensioner wrench ~$85) required can be 3D printed for virtually nothing too.

 

Diy enthusiast

vs

indie shop

vs

dealer

Nice to have choices.

you are in the right spot for 360 support!

 

Anyone that pays anywhere close to that is getting ripped off, dealer or not. A "lock and swap" should be maybe a couple grand and and optional degreeing of the cams maybe another grand if that.

 

i believe the guy may be a bit confused. Unlike earlier cars, the belts are accessible without having to remove the engine.

 

Getting a quote on a 360 service form an owner of a Daytona is not likely to get any usable information.

 

Dealer to dealer pricing can also very significantly. Local Ferrari dealer charges 13k (two years ago), while one 5 hours away charges about 3k. Difference is the "local" one pulls the engine even though it's accessible because "we go the extra mile for our customers" is what I was told after I dragged it out of him. Other dealer goes through the cover. If you don't know any better, you'd think the local dealer is giving you better service, which they may be since it's easier to work on almost any car with the engine out, but you pay for that.

 

Thats been going on a long time. Some dealers used to pull Testarossa motors to do valve adjustments. Its called getting screwed. Whats amazing is how so many of their clientele will swear up and down how good they are. Goebbles was right.

 

Thank you for the replies, I will keep this feedback in mind before getting service done. I know prices have gone up on everything the past couple years but didn't think it would jump to that high of a price. As for taking the engine out vs completing the service through the interior panel, I am going to do it through the panel.

 

Do your due diligence… some people claim they know how to work on these.. only to screw up the timing.

 

I cannot think of what fluids you would change on a Daytona that would run $4500, even if one does hold 16 liters of oil. That sounds like maybe the chain was also adjusted, valves were also checked, or some work was also done on the distributors.

 

I agree. Its a wildly inappropriate price. Daytonas are actually quite easy to work on. Common problem when asking owners how much something cost. Very few really know what was done. Without an invoice its just talk.

 

Not sure if I was surprised or not when he said it's what "OUR" customers want...guess that's why they give me funny looks when I walk in...in my cargo shorts and t-shirt!

 

Its easier to screw people when you convince yourself its what they want. Kind of like beating your wife. Very similar sickness.

 

Having owned a Daytona for 30 years (sadly sold years ago) and having done all fluid changes myself many times, it is hardly rocket science. The idea of paying $4500 is beyond absurd.
As P.T. Barnham said, "a sucker is born every minute."
In response to the initial post, the belt change service at a dealer charging close to $300/hour will be very expensive. Pricing in the last few years has exploded to the upside. I try to find alternative providers for services/repairs I do not feel comfortable doing. Ask other owners for recommendation of technicians and do your due diligence.

 

Donnie Callaway and Brent Ozar's 328 comes to mind.

 

My car had full service + belts done in January at a main dealer, it came to about £1k, but there's no oil listed on the invoice so I guess the previous owner supplied his own. Add £50 for that.

 

US and UK service prices are not comparable, for whatever reason.

 

Is it because there's a non-negligible number of Ferrari owners in the US who actually *want* to spend $10k on a belt change as if it's some kind of flex ? I should move there and set up my own business as a Euro car repair expert

Do a few youtube vids along the way and boom. Winner.

 

Mostly it is hourly rates for techs. Good ones here run around $250/hour or more. My tech's rates are higher than mine were as a rocket scientist. Of course, all that rate went to me and not to facilities, support staff, etc.

Lots of ex-pat Brits here. Brain drain is still ongoing in the UK for doctors and other high-tech professionals.

 

For whatever reason, a good mechanic in the UK works for 50 pounds per hour. The same in the US charges $275 per hour. There is absolute no professional shop anywhere in the US that will do a timing belt job on a 360 for $1,000. And if they did, I would not consider it.

 

I would do a timing belt change on a 360 for free just to see how many hours it takes. I guess first one will take me 6; next one 4. Maybe I can do 3rd one in 2 hours? just estimating looking at complexity. A rod bearing job on my M3 takes a professional shop about 8 hours (full day) , and that is ALOT of suspension and front subframe removal. I did it in about 10, with breaks in between of course and during 2 days, no rush.

A "Ferrari" shop will just charge you ferrari prices, no matter if they can do it in 2 , 3 or 5 hours. It is what it is. If you think that paying more means quality, you can be in for a surprise. It's just like saying I'd buy the most expensive Jag I find on Autotrader, it will be the most reliable.

 

I had all my fluids changed in my 360 at a very reputable indie shop who is a vendor of this website and they hit me for $2300 dollars which I thought was ridiculous but I paid it. My belt service is due in two years but I have been seeing some silly estimates which this question being brought up is very needed.

 

Dealers get $250-$300/hour, but the techs only are paid a fraction of this. If you have a relationship with a tech, perhaps you can have him do it after hours if allowed by his employer .

 

And pay only the tech, and not pay the dealer for the use of the service bay, the power and utilities, the tools, the liability insurance, the waste disposal fee, the rent, and the property tax? I don't think a dealer would allow an employee to compete directly with them while using their resources.