Nothing that a keen eye and warranty can't fix!
A few years ago, a lawsuit against Ferrari made big news, as a former Ferrari salesperson claimed they illegally changed the odometer on cars to remove miles driven. This scandal had the ability to throw a huge wrench in the Ferrari world, especially the dealer market, but it seems that nothing really came of this issue. So what exactly happened and should Ferrari owners and prospective buyers be concerned?
The official claim is that Ferrari diagnostic tools were able to reset odometers to zero, and this was used to increase the value of Ferraris, however Ferrari countered these assertions on multiple fronts. First of all, the diagnostic feature supposedly did not work for cars beyond 500 miles, and the software has since been updated to remove such abilities altogether. Plus, they argue that the generally accepted practice of recording miles at each service (Ferrari or otherwise) should provide detailed records for each car.
So, Ferrari admits it was possible, but they did not examine to what extent actual cars benefited from such activity. And even with the software’s update that reportedly addressed this issue, Ferrari did not express how possible it is for 3rd parties to edit such important information. The Ferrari community seems to be confident that it is still possible to change the odometer, mainly because mechanics need such ability for certain repairs. Odometer changes have been an issue since far before things went digital, so this makes sense.
Ultimately, this specific suit didn’t cause much of stir because it appeared isolated and personal. What may or may not have been done at one dealership is not reflective of the entire brand. And the fact that this was the result of corporate in-fighting, instead of directly coming from disgruntled customers, shows that the overall impact of this ’scandal’ on clients was minimal.
At the end of the day the only thing that will save you from buying a lying car is trust and research. Review the cars history and mileage records, and only buy from a trustworthy seller. This is simple advice that most people follow anyway, so the real question here is, can you trust Ferrari? Their sales record says plenty of people trust them, but let’s be honest do we ever 100% trust a salesman? That’s what the warranty is for! And as you drive your new car under warranty, you will develop a true mileage record on your way to your first required maintenance.
