fyi-i didnt mean to throw Zebra308 under the bus on my comment of his post . we are good friends (with different opinions!) I felt it ness to explain the "ambiance" of the shop as i experienced it first hand.
Jim, I seriously doubt anyone goes to Maranello and gets "Factory Trained" w/o some affiliation w/ a authorized dealership which is what I was really getting at. Richard is certified because he was in the right place(FoW) at the right time. Again, nothing against Richard as I actually think quite highly of him. Regards, Chris
Ed, I suspect there might not be any right now at FoW which is why you asked this question. If I'm wrong I apologize...but your unfavorable bias towards FoW is well known. Regards, Chris
The OP was asking for independent shops other than the dealer because of his bad experience with them. All the posts up until this one--your first of the thread--recommended other shops. Your first post here doesn't help the OP or answer the OP's question...This is EXACTLY how threads go off topic and end up taking away from this forum...You should apoligize to the OP for hijacking his thread to state your own opinion and not helping his question.......
Thanks alot for all the info guys. I will be calling all of the reccomended as well as some others some of the german car friends i have reccomended. Just to add my 2 cents I am not particularly concerned with the look of any shop. Also i am not impressed with factory certification or should i say that wouldnt be a deciding factor for me. A factory certified tech can take shortcuts to save time, and make mistakes. My father was a mechanic and he would be the first i would trust this car to if he were not retired. He also had a very small shop. But again i appreciate everything greatly. I will keep you gentlemen updated.
I would agree with you if we were talking Nissans or Chevys but knowing what I know as it applies to this scenario; Ferrari factory certification and the experience to back it up does mean something. The one shop that has been recommended to you repeatedly does not cut corners and operates from the mindset more in line with customer expectation. I gain nothing from recommending them BTW. I'm just that satisfied I won't get ripped off and the job will be done right .... the first time through.... Maybe the condition of a shop is superficial for some but for me and many others here it goes along way towards helping to create a sense of trust that you'll get your car back in the same condition appearance wise as when you dropped it off. Good luck to you.
Just so I'm not misunderstood. The original poster didn't ask for help in diagnosing a software problem with his car. Had that been the case, I wouldn't have made my recommendation. I still don't know what exactly his issues are, except they're "minor". He asked for a shop in this area. He's located in Towson, Md. , about 10 min. from Di Fatta Bros. I was just trying to save him time. My recommendation wasn't to ____use____ Di Fatta, just to call them. I agree that an F430 would require some pretty sophisticated diagnostic equipment (you know, the kind that has a lot of lights that blink, whirling sounds and complete with a print out.) with a matching tech, who knows how to use it. I just don't know if that's what he needed?
'the place is as nasty as a preakness day porta potti' This was the comment I had a problem with. It is not accurate, period. If the poster did not feel the Radcliffe was the best place for that car then just say that. Now a new member to the site has an opinion on a shop he has not visited. And an opinion that would not be accurate. I have an older car. I have had it at Radcliffe on serveral occasions. I drive my car frequently and on long trips. I don't mind getting some piece of mind knowing that it is ready to go. On every occasion the bill has been less than what I had estimated. The work has been done well and on time. If the above was meant as a joke then fine. But the new member would never know that! Anyway said my peace.
Not to stir up anything , but I think you should READ the posts before you say something totally STUPID! No where did MD348 mention Richard Garre's shop! He was accurately describing Di Fatta's shop! SAY YOU ARE SORRY and kiss and make up!
i'm in good company on this board. For good reason. Funny though,because i actually used fow as an example because of your comments about dealers and how it is apparently no big deal that someone would be factory trained on the enzo. You'll notice i didn't say a word till you brought it up.
I think i just figured you out. You must be on the scuderia list and you're trying to win favor with fow. i heard you had to buy a bunch of maseratis (and not have richard work on your car) to get one. Is this your cs that fow is selling? http://inventory.fwash.com/car/site/site.php?view=pur-information-f&context=inventory__1&vid=345 It's all becoming clear now, like my bias.
why is it always me? he started the ****. The best Italian car mechanics on the east coast will be taking care of it. But i'm hoping I won't need them .
being a b'lair road boy i've no qualms about having paul at difatta's working on my 308qv. they did my belt service. i was pleased with the service. now a 430, that's a horse of a different color. as to the apperance of the shop, well after all it is b'lair road hon.
Concur. I find it odd that it is claimed Richard has no computer equipment. He just got through resetting the TP sensing system on my 575. Sure wasn't anything but a Ferrari computer he was using.
That's great but who said Richard Garre had no computer equipment? You guys need to go back and read the postings so you understand all the players involved (mentioned) in this thread. We've talked about Competizione... DiFatta.... and Radcliffe. No one has said anything derogatory about Radcliffe.