service on 328

I would do everything a 30k service requires. Meaning a full 30k service. Going to be around $2500.00

 

I agree. All the more important if the car has had a lot of sitting-in-the-garage time. While you're at it, have a good tire shop check the age and condition of the tires. They may look new but be old and brittle. In that case, see the FerrariChat thread about the upsizing of 328 tires for better performance and looks.

 

2500 is a pipe dream, but you can probably beat the dealer quotes by substantial amounts. Check for independents. I would get it all done now like others have suggested. Then no worries for 5 years.

Dave

 

I'm guessing you're east coast? Fill out your profile.

In LA and San Diego, $3K-$3500 is what an independent mechanic would charge, assuming everything else is OK.

 

Dave, $2500 is not out of the question for a quality 30K on a 328... there's an independant guy in Dallas who did mine for that price and did an incredible job. And he didn't cut any corners whatsoever... as a matter of fact, he went well beyond my expectations.

http://home.earthlink.net/~fiatdr/shadetree.html

And there's a guy in Southern California who does it for slightly more and gets great praise:

http://emelbon.tripod.com/eugeniosferrariservice.html

Paying $5-$7K for a 30K on a 328 is absurd and completely unnecessary IMO.

Alert1, I'd go for the whole enchilada if I were you... then there will be no doubts in the back of your mind.

-Bob

 

here in socal it's 3K check out Eugenios ferrari service. www.eugeniosferrariservice.com.

 

Is the Shadetree mechanic in the DFW area a certified Ferrari mechanic?

 

Email him and ask, or see him at the Italian Car Fest, he's usually out there. [email protected]

There's many local who have used him for the Ferrari (I haven't yet) and have been happy with the work.

 

He probably isn't "certified"... nor to my knowledge is anybody at Norwood's and look at the reputation and credentials they've built in the F-car community. But the guy at Shadetree has been working on F-cars for 20+ years. You don't need to know rocket science to do great work on 3X8s.

 

Alert1----NC area----www.sportauto.cc

 

there wasn't much "certifying" done on 3x8's anyways (back in those days)

and,
i think the dealers are loosing touch with older fcars like 308's nowadays, the talent just isn't there like it used to be

probably best to just go to someone who does them often and not worry about credentials

imho

 

Alert1,

You mentioned Algar. If Philly isn't very far from you, I can recommend a good independent to you that will be much less $$. PM me if you are interested.

 

I think ~$2500 was the norm seven or eight years ago. For my shop, that meant changing timing belts, accessory drive belts, seals, cam cover gaskets, thermostat, all rubber hoses (including fuel crossover lines), all fluids, all filters, remedy minor electrical faults, full alignment and wheel balance, chassis lubrication, hood and engine lid struts and the minor tiddling that took time, but resulted in a much more pleasant "daily driving experience."

Now, we quote ~$3800-$4500 and have room to include tensioner bearings and water pump (if there's any doubt) to keep from having to do anything between the service date and the next service date except (hopefully) for oil changes. We use the OEM "green" gaskets that are more expensive, but last far longer as well as other tested, proven parts. This figure does not generally include brake pads, plug wires, distributor caps and other parts that are not normally thought of as regularly (marked only as "to be inspected" on Ferrari's maintenance coupon) replaced items.

The service intervals are so misunderstood. People ask about changing cam belts all the time, but in reality, this is all about "messa a punto," bringing the car "to a point" where everything works the way it is supposed to. Because so many cars sit for extended periods of time, a "big" (Ferrari recommended 30K interval) service should be done every four to seven years, regardless of mileage. (IMHO)

Shadetree, Tim Stanford, Tom Jones, myself and many other independents have driven hundreds of these cars and can tell you within 300 yards what has been done, needs to be done and can evaluate where and how every aspect of the car stacks up against other, well preserved examples.

For example, we had a fellow bring a very nice higher mileage carb 308 in for "a belt change." We asked him whether he was doing this for preventative maintenance or to resolve a running problem, he said because his friends told him it was important to do. We did a belt change. It was clear someone had not taken the cam covers off before because of crude, painted reference marks on the sprockets and covers. With the new belts, the car ran like crap, so off came the covers and it was clear that the front bank was off on both cams. That corrected, much better, but ignition misfire past 3800 RPM. Take the distributors apart, remove R2 and replace R1 and voila! Car runs like a million bucks. The fellow was blown away, said the car had never driven like that! We had originally said ~$880-$1100 to JUST change the belts, turned into ~$2400, but he was overjoyed and we were (partially) made whole for going on a wild goose chase to track down a running problem rather than to perform regular maintenance. My very experienced tech, Rod Atkinson, said "no more" a la carte procedures! <grin>

Of course, I've also missed the boat with Paul's black Mondial 8 on the diagnosis of a vacuum leak (and I profusely apologized), but after twenty-five years of doing this, that's going to happen. We all can learn, and that is perhaps the greatest resource of this particular board.

The "big service" transaction, first and foremost, must be an enterprise grounded in mutual trust and respect between the shop and the car owner. It is so all-encompassing (or should be) that the final number will always reflect the range and scope of pre-existing problems, the expectations and experience of the owner and the experience of the tech and/or shop principal. It's as much an "education" for the often new owner as it is needed attention to the car. That's why I like doing them so much! It's fun! For that reason alone (along with geographic and infrastructure costs) the numbers are all over the map. Just make sure you get what you pay for.

-Peter (must have had too much coffee this morning!)

 

Absolutely right in your assessment of service procedures; that's why I recommend K&E in Alert1's other thread!
BTW, are you racing @ O'Fest next month?
Olivier Raoust

 

Trying to deide which Enduro co-drive offer to accept! <grin>

Congrats on your GTS performance at VIR last month!

-Peter

 

Thanks Peter. Saturday's race was great and p2 was the best I could hope for, as i was never going to catch Ray's bolide!
Sunday's started out good but went to crap after a few laps with two spins within two laps. Turns out my left front was slowly deflating : (