Service Nightmares

Gentleman of the board, I present to you my unfortunate discoveries as an owner. Names and names of places will be withheld, as I don't care to slander the unfortunate parties associated for posterity on the world wide web. Let this serve as a warning to those who take their cars in for service.

Now I am mechanically inclined, and work on my own car whenever I can. The stack of records I have in my hand are all from an authorized Ferrari Dealer up north.

I will now list everything I found that the dealer did incorrectly:

1. Replaced my plastic radiator drain plug with a metal one. (Don't do this, because your plastic radiator will crack. Ask me how I know.)

2. Plugged the license plate lights into a cat ECU instead of the plug with 12V power.

3. Tightened hose clamps in a way that allowed them to rub and dig into hoses - fuel and cooling hoses.

4. Failed to draw down vacuum and replace the a/c drier after the last engine out. So, the a/c didn't blow cold.

Thank you, Ferrari Dealer up north!


When I first got my car I knew nothing about working on it or ferrarichat, so I took it to an independent shop to look into a check engine light and a frozen roof that was stuck halfway.

This is what they did incorrectly:

1. Misdiagnosed the check engine light. Told me P1448 was an alarm error code. It is of course, not.

2. Not knowing anything at the time, I agreed to wire my bypass valve open since it was "not working". Instead of wiring it open they wired it closed!

3. Returned my car with a broken windshield. They fixed the top, but the idiot tech who proudly demonstrated the now working top let the top slam down on the cowl instead of catching the roof every time! If you do this, your windshield will probably crack too!

So far, the guys who have experience working on Ferraris who worked on my car are indeed, mostly idiots. Thank you! Independent Exotic Shop!


So I take my car to get the windshield replaced... to a guy who does dealer work for lambo, bentley, ferrari.... he replaces my windshield, but uses regular masking tape to mask. When he peels the tape off my car, it takes some of the clearcoat with it! He insists this is not normal. I insist this is why we use blue masking tape with reduced adhesive. He insists the car has been repainted with poor materials. I know it hasn't on the windshield frame. It is all factory. Thank you, Mr. Windshield man, for fixing up my car some more!


I then take my car to a Ferrari dealer in Florida for some paintwork, and pay out of pocket for "top of the line work". This is what I get instead:

1. Parking lights and turn signal bulbs in the wrong position. Nobody bothered to test it after it was done!

2. Driver side door striker was moved outward 1/2 an inch creating an ugly gap between the body and the door. I did not give the car to them like that and sure as hell wonder how nobody noticed this. I did. I made them fix it. Of course, the paint was chipped around it when they were done.

3. Composite pieces under the hood were cracked. (The covers that line the front trunk.) They are quite fragile and brittle if you've ever worked with them, but shouldn't the ferrari dealer of all places know how to take them apart carefully without cracking them? Of course not.

4. Kid detailing my car when I picked it up was washing the car like somebody who doesn't know how to wash a car. I took delivery with swirl marks and water spots all over my car. I sure didn't give it to them like this.

Thank you, ferrari dealer in Florida!

There's more... but these are just the highlights. I have now gone over the car completely, looking for poor work and fixing it. What shoddy work remains undiscovered on your cars? What mechanical failures occur because someone didn't fix it right or was careless? Who do you trust?

 

Who do you trust?

ME - and that's about it. I feel your pain and that's why I do all the work myself on this car. My other two cars are under warranty so if anything goes wrong, it's BMW's problem, not mine. But on a car outside of warranty, I'm afraid that your experience is not unusual. There are some great mechanics out there, but I don't know any of them. I live in Orlando and have spoken with the Ferrari dealer here (they were helpful, but I haven't used them) and one other indy shop who was helpful but never returned my calls and claimed he never got the message. He has a good reputation in this area but little things like that when I don't need something right away make me afraid when I call and I do need something and he's in possession of my car. So, I just do the work myself and then I know it's done right.

 

It's stories like this that lead me to more firmly than ever believe that a good relationship with a mechanic you trust is absolutely critical...if you don't do the work yourself.

 

Yup -

Erik

 

Well . . . I trust Dave Helms and his crew at Scuderia Rampante in Boulder Colorado. Their work is top notch.

 

Clear coat shouldn't have come off with regular tape...

It probably was repainted...

 

Agree with this.

When I got mine spent the first 6 months just fixing what all the past monkeys had done to the car... and yes twisting two wires together with some electrical tape might count as a repair on a used mustang or civic.. but not on a ferrari. I like the piece of wood to hold the wrong battery in place in the car. Or the missing engine surround, or the wrong bolts holding the window regulator in place, etc. etc. Monkeys.

That's why I do as much work as I can on the car myself. I once had a porsche mechanic I hold in high esteem tell me "there's the right way, the wrong way.. and then there's MY way (perfection in a repair that is)"

 

8hrs from me...but this is where I will be taking my 355 for service work now that I live in NE.

 

....and that is why I do all the service on my car myself.

With the King Cab I do not bother........but I will do the service on the AM as well....

//B//

 

I just hope that everyone checks the work that is done by techs. The managers at all of these dealers were very accomodating and pleasant to deal with, but they are not the ones personally working on the car.

I am unfortunately too far from Senior Helms and Bradan, but I think I am seriously considering shipping her if I ever need anything big.

 

Even if you do your own work (like many here including me), there will be a time you need some help....having a mechanic you trust is a key part of any exotic car ownership plan.

I am continually amazed at the correlation between owning a Ferrari and owning an airplane.

Mechanics that become friends you trust with your life. 100 hour (regular maintenance), Annual's (yearly storage and maintenance), overhauls (engine out)...etc.

Be careful though. There are some really bad eggs out there in the aviation & car maintenance world Sadly, I have met a few..........

 

It's unfortunate that dumb mechanics make Ferrari ownership unpleasant.
There are TWO people I trust on earth: Me and Eugenio "Eugenio's Ferrari Service". Having a good mechanic is half the game and part of the fun...

 

That's why I picked Bradan...having them document step-by-step what they were doing with my cars in pictures helped ease the worry that it was being done wrong or not at all.

Erik

 

Ditto....I'm actually starting to think it's 3/4 of the game

 

Pfffff
I remember the days garages had a " quality control check "manager.
Even then things happend, but usually nothing big.

On my 348 belt-change, the "specialist" forgot to tighten the battery connectors (fryed computer) and the bolt on the cranckshaft pulley( broken sensors)
O and all the hoseclamps were fitted in a way, the bolts were poking in the hose (dripp dripp), or rubbing something fragile(scratch)...
It took me days to get the car in the shape I gave it them...
( guess who's shop went belly-up?)


Don't pay till you are sure youre happy..

Regards. Ben.

 

Aviation has been mentioned, so let me tell you what I found a few months ago on an aircraft engine rebuild:

1 Used the wrong exhaust flange gaskets.
2 Mis-wired the ignition leads(two mags, six leads each).
3 Left six of eight cylinder stud nuts finger tight(or loose is more accurate) on cyl #2.
4 Missing safety wire on two oil gallery plugs(pre drilled plugs with no safety wire).

Any one of these if not fixed could bring down a plane. I took the engine back to the shop, and watched when they took all the jugs off and retorqued every nut and bolt on the whole engine with the rebuild book open. I photographed the whole thing and warned them that if I went down in the next 2-200 engine hours, they or their insurer were facing a large, large bill.

 

Now you understand why I got into this business and why I don't have any employees.

 

No one touches my cars but me. I am not perfect and have made many mistakes in my life but at least I take pride in what I do....it blows my mind how many people just don't give a s&*% about their quality of work.

 

Sorry to hear about your troubles. Surely you didn't take it to Ferrari of Fort Lauderdale.

 

This is across the board in the automotive industry.

Plain and simple, today mechanics are so under paid that it does not attract quality people.

What do you expect for $10-15 pr hr?

 

Or Ferrari of Long Island. They do my work including a major and the car has been perfect for 4000 miles to date. I trust only my dealer and it's my only option because I can't do it my self. It's nice to have someone you trust to have your back

 

You hit the nail on the head with that one...not to mention a tech trying to make a living on warranty times is near impossible ...example... 355 engine out and back in pays 12 hrs warranty :-( ...599 clutch in and out pays 6 and some change. Dealers now days rarely will offer any of their techs a guarantee let alone a salary :-(

 

Maybe I've just had bad luck. Either way, I respect any tech who takes the time to do it right. These days, it's hard to find accountability or pride in what you do in the workplace. It's always "someone else's problem" or the proverbial deniability clause - "that was already like that" - this is not good practice when parts and labor cost as much as they do on any exotic. We should reward those good shops and guys we find with repeat business. I will when I find one.

I'll say it again. The managers and owners of these dealerships care about customer service and making me happy. But they are not the ones working on my car. Would you want to send your ferrari back in the hands of the same techs or kids that messed it up in the first place?

I'm still open to suggestions in my area. No dealers please. In my experience, too many moving parts and employees in the business model to do it right. The more people touch my car, the more chances of my car meeting someone who doesn't give a sh*t. No more "guarantee on making it right". I want a rapport with the guy that's actually touching my car.

 

I strongly suggest Ferrari of Fort Lauderdale. The picture below are the techs who worked on my car (i'm in the middle). The older gentleman to my right (Olivier) has been working on Ferraris longer than i've been alive. I dealt with 3 people: Garrett (Dealership Owner), Gabe (Service Advisor), and Olivier (Technician). They are all awesome people and will allow you to see your car in progress and visit with the actual tech working on it. They provided me with a flash drive with hundreds of pictures of my service "in progress" - AMAZING!!! Their techs have restored cars to win Pebble Beach! Although I have several service options in the DC area, I still send my car down to Ferrari of Fort Lauderdale just because these guys are so awesome. Seriously, call FoFL and ask for Gabe in the Service Department. Tell him Brendan sent you. You and your car will be treated like royalty, I promise.
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