Ferrari, Not for Everyone?

+1.

I bought a cheapie 360 and to be perfectly honest its been a great car. Many cars depreciate so that new owners can buy them that wouldn't be able to afford them when they were new. Happens all the time with Porsches... New they're cars that cost close to six figures. In 6 or 7 years they depreciate to the price of Hondas. Problem is... the parts and maintenance don't depreciate. So you get these guys that buy the cars for a song and then something breaks. They either half ass the repair, ignore it, or it sits in their back yard for a couple of years until they sell it on craigslist.

A modern Ferrari is at its heart a car. You can afford to own it, or you can't. Not everyone is meant to own one.

OTOH I wouldn't let outliers like this posting form the majority of my opinion. I suspect a Lambo won't be the end to the PO's woes. Something here doesn't add up...

 

I don't think the OP has mentioned anything about not being able to afford the repairs.

I feel it's more about how often the cars he's owned have been in for repair. And then, how long it takes for the repair process itself.

Even under warranty, there is an approval process we have to follow.

Simplified:

Car arrives
Car is diagnosed
Estimate created
Prove to FNA Technical that the failure is real
Provide pictures, video,and written dox of failure
Hold for Ferrari SpA to agree with diagnosis
Pre-Approval process started with FNA / SpA
Get approval from SpA to order parts
Order parts ( which you cannot do before pre-approval ) **most of which come out of Italy
Perform repairs
Submit for payment
Payment adjusted down for "xyz" reason
Appeal claim
Get paid less than pre-approved amount...


No, it's not a quick process, but it IS the Ferrari process... all Dealerships have to follow the same rules... and alot of the delay is the time delay between the US and Italy, which in itself can take 24-48 hours per communication.

Oh, and don't forget, they close for Holiday each August!

S

 

6 gearboxes? that is astonishing - as in, statistically hard to believe.

3 gearboxes on a 2011 458C? Steve can correct me, but the 2011 458C's had the "early, dreaded DCT issue" with internal wiring issues. IIRC, FNA facilitated upgrades/swaps for many. If you went through 3 of them, I wonder if you were replacing them with the same afflicted box. I think my current car has a 4th generation version. Lots of threads here on others suffering gearbox issues. I think a problem early on was nobody understood the gearbox and replacement was the simplest/quickest option.

Quick math - our team has had 8 cars over 2 seasons, (knock on wood?), zero gearbox "failures". One gearbox lost due to destruction in a crash. There is the odd gearbox error, but these days they are easier to diagnose/correct. Our dealer also now has a gearbox repair expert trained by FNA/Getrag.

Hard to imagine being harder on a Ferrari gearbox than in a challenge car. Curious if there is any data on current DCT "failure rates".

 

Wasn't intended towards OP.. but to some secondary buyers of FCars and PCars. You know the owner I'm referencing. He's the one you DON'T see because he takes the car to the VW/Mercedes repair shop that works for $30/hr and causes $1000 in damage with the fix.

 

No Comment... lol

S

 

Enjoy your closed market with import limits. Fact is, in Europe (and especially in Italy) driving a Ferrari, for the Ferrari owner is an activity. KNowing that every mechanic knows how to repair them (excluding the DCT transmissions, ofc). In USA from what I read here is a SHOW. I mean, being proud of affording to have a car standing still 2 months for repair, sounds quite lol to me.

That's not the Ferrari experience. That's the American Ferrari experience.

Then again Ferrari S.p.a. behaviour is outrageous indeed.

you MUST, not should.

14k miles in 5 years ? OP says he uses his Ferrari as daily, you don't seem to. He prolly drives that mileage in less than a year.

 

+1

You know, I've been thinking the same thing since the initial post of this thread. Something just doesn't add up.... so many cars (OP is reports to be 27 years of age?), so many problems, and the OP keeps with the brand??

So "Something here doesn't add up"
Just figured it out....Maybe this is where the OP is getting his cars:

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/ferrari-discussion-not-model-specific-sponsored-algar-ferrari/457176-fake-ferrari-seized.html

 

I've been fortunate enough to have owned 3 Ferraris so far.

Two of them are classic (328 and 512 BBi) and one Modern (612), that I purchased 6 months ago.

All were purchased very used - 328 had 30K miles and 612 had nearly 24K miles, for example. All had major service done PRIOR to inspection & purchase.

My thinking here, as a USED exotic car buyer, is very different from a NEW buyer. I don't have to worry about lemons, get a much better deal, but need to be vigilant in determining the condition of the car and if it was loved or not. The later is not that difficult, IF you can find a good inspector who is intuitive enough to separate the dogs from the gems, and just good common sense.

As mentioned above, one still has to be prepared for operational costs. Much of this is determined by what you do with the car - occasional use for shows & meet-ups, daily driver, track, etc. The difference between occasional and tracking the car can be pretty substantial. So, make sure you speak with other owners and budget for planned (and potentially unplanned) expenses.

No matter what I did, the 328 & Boxer would always leak something (usually not serious), there were always strange squeaks and other noises, and you usually have to be careful about warming them up. The 612 doesn't leak a drop (fingers crossed), no strange noises, and doesn't need anywhere near the coddling the other cars did. That said, if something does go wrong, I'm sure the 612 would be more complicated & expensive to resolve. It took the Ferrari dealer weeks just to figure out how to get a 612 replacement key reprogrammed, for example.

Even if I had the money, I probably would never buy a new exotic car. The depreciation and other foibles that come with an unsorted new exotic is just not my cup of tea.

Play the game right and you'll have a inspirational experience. Be a fool, and you'll be more than sorry.

 

The OP is real
The OP's cars are also real
( California / 458 Spider / current Lamborghini )

S

 

I know this isn't funny to you, but made me LMAO.

 

This has been a very interesting read, I'm surprised a marque as great as Ferrari "seems" to value its customers so little... Does anyone have anything good to say?

 

I've been in the industry since 1985 and I cannot think of another company that I would rather be working with than Boardwalk AG and Ferrari / Maserati!

I feel I can also speak for my entire fixed operations team and say that while they also could work anywhere else , they chose to work with Ferrari / Maserati. They are all passionate about the product, good and bad.

The experience(s) we have working with these amazing cars, clients dreams, and more, on a daily basis is priceless.

I'm positive about that!

S
;-D

 

Yes, I have a lot of good things to say. I've worked a hell of a lot with ferrari of Washington, sales and service, and think the world of them. I'm just finishing up a transaction with ferrari of Denver. Fantastic folk. Really stand by their product, both. Squeaky wheel. I know guys who aren't in love with Fow. Not every experience everywhere can be positive. But yes, I for one have good things to say about ferrari dealers.

 

I LOVED the ;-D in the end. But I'd debate on the "priceless".

 

I have been in the Ferrari business for over 40 years. We all do it by choice. I will say dealing with Ferrari is the worst part of it.

 

It is very true though. Every dealer who has been around long has stories. I had a transmission replacement pre approved. Got the parts, did the job, filed the claim only to be refused. Burned us for about $28,000. We weren't the only ones.

I did another. A parts warranty claim on a BB. Required removing the motor. Preapproved.
Claim was denied because they said "can't process it because BB isn't in our computer system".

 

I didn't say in what context " priceless " was though ... LoL

S

 

That really is unreal to be treated by an OEM like that. Sorry to hear that this seems to be common practice.

 

By "BB", I'm presuming your referring to a Boxer (512 BB). They were never officially sold in the US. They are all Grey Market cars. Hence, whilst the dealers will service them, they are probably not obligated to do any warranty-related work that was not done by the dealer itself.

There is a good side to this. GEICO Insurance did not have my 1983 512 BBi in their system either and simply classified it as the only other Ferrari they had for that year - a 308. Result - very low insurance.

 

It was about 6 months after the dealer meeting when Ferrari officially announced that the new parts warranty applied to all Ferraris no matter their age or origin. That particular dealer sold more BBi's than any other and warranty work was in fact done on them in the USA. Grey market status did not change that. For grey market cars the selling dealer made warranty claims directly to Ferrari Spa because we bought them direct. FNA had no horse in the race except for parts warranty.

I spent 20 years in Ferrari dealers and processed many warranty claims. I was pretty familiar with the procedures. This isn't just hearsay.

 

Very interesting.

Don't get me wrong, I'm with you on this. I wish they had approved your request.

However, the general presumption I've been told many times, is you're on your own when dealing with grey market cars; all responsibility, compliance, and accountability falls on the current owner. For example, I could not go after the importer if the installed emissions are not up to spec for my particular state - even if they were certified when it was originally imported.

 

All Ferrari's built had warranty. That lie was told to many. The emissions were not installed by Ferrari, naturally they had no responsibility.

 

Your not wrong! "Red on line" claims, what a nightmare! Paying you 0.2 for fixing a wiring fault and nothing for the four hours it took to find it. Throwing out a warranty claim on a 355 guide job because part of a rocker cover gasket was missing from the returned parts. Having to take photographs of a dial gauge them wait two days for authority to renew a wheelbearing....and on and on and on.....

 

You should have been around in 80-81 when all the 308's had an oil burning problem and all the verbal gymnastics Ferrari went through trying to blame the dealers.

Even after having to admit it was not a global conspiracy against them by an international cabal of dealers we had to do a couple of hours of WEIGHING oil to prove consumption because we didn't know how to read a dipstick.

 

Do u think Ferrari does that because they are greedy or because they have gone through some "smart ass " customer too much ?