Yes, you are right: I was just joking. But a big engine rebuild (that is not a car restore) can cost 20+ k very easily. In any case I was just joking ciao
I'm at around 35-40k the past few yrs. body, paintm extreme engine service, and also paying people to screw things up and then pay someone else to fix it or do it myself.
Tommy makes a good point and I completely agree with his distinction between a simple functional repair, where a local parts shop hose clamp or repurposed dryer vent duct would be acceptable, and an owner who wants to keep their car Ferrari original, where the correct OEM Norma clamp is appropriate. Same for the aircraft ducting, where the original material Ferrari used is NLA, and the only ducting that met the same specs as the original, down to the details, just happened to come from an aircraft parts source. (and was less costly than many yellow box parts, BTW)... Some of us are willing to pay a premium for these parts and the time and expertise it takes to source them, or to get Verrell to make them for us out of Unobtanium... Either way, for many here on this forum, use of such OEM parts is just table stakes, even for simple repairs, and my point was simply this: if we aren't willing to pay our Ferrari service provider for that expertise and service in addition to just 'wrenching', then how will we get it done? I don't know from experience, but I'd bet that gold standard providers like Patrick Ottis likely don't charge by line item for their sourcing activities (or do they, through a % markup on parts costs?) or for applying their vast Ferrari knowledge, but it's certainly rolled into their "labor charges"... which may be one reason why their charges seem so high, compared to the repair shop down the street. I'd also say that when a gold standard Ferrari service provider charges fair labor for checking cam timing and, if needed, replacing the drive gear bearings on top of doing a 'simple timing belt job', it's not fair to compare the cost of that service to the guy down the street, who did the 'simple timing belt job' by just blocking the cams and replacing the belts, without checking cam timing, or anything else. I dunno, but I'm just saying, maybe some of the seemingly exorbitant charges we're discussing here were of that nature? BTW, I agree completely with Tommy about the case of the guy who wanted to be paid to learn how to do the job for the first time... but again, I don't think that's what we're discussing here, where we're talking Ferrari-trained gold standard service providers doing more than just 'fixing' our Ferraris...
I didn't know that air duct or clamps were factory, I thought it was just uber engineering by a enthusiastic owner I take back what I said, I want that for my car too.
I spent probably over $30K in my 12 years of ownership. But that included things like a total new interior which I think I spent about $12k on. I still have never sat down and added everything up for a grand total. Not sure I ever will and I also know I didn't keep every receipt from oil changes and minor stuff like that. Oh, and the vast majority of that was doing the work myself. There were a few trips to the shop but if it had all been done at a shop I'm sure the total would be well over $40-$50K.
I put 10 in my interior back in 02. Every piece of fabric, leather and carpet was replaced. I believe I got the last roll of headliner for the 80-82 cars available in the entire world. Funny thing is now THAT interior is almost as old as the one it replaced and it actually looks better than the original did when it was the same age.
You have probably taken better care of it. I would like to say I did after redoing mine but I probably really didn't and now it's someone else's problem.
The only care it has gotten from me is almost 100% seat cover use. The original was really faded and my "new" one really hasn't at all. Sure, I keep the seats covered but not the center console and it still matches the seats.
Aside from all of the discussion about the $32K in repairs to this '84 308 GTS, I looked at the original ad in e-bay (and it's also on Craigslist) and I have to say that its apparent excellent condition took my breath away. What a well-preserved beauty it appears to be!
I'm sure I'll spend at least that much before I'm done. I'm very good at breaking things with tools, so I pay professionals to do the work. I'm a perfectionist, so the bills get pretty large. I. don't. care. On my 456M, I had the motor out/main seal replaced, the top end rebuilt with new valve guides, all the belts and hoses replaced, new motor mounts, and a few items that were not 100% fixed. The bill was just over $20K. Again, I don't care. I put over $40K into the car in just over five years, but it was electrically and mechanically perfect when I sold it, and the experiences I had driving it were priceless.
32k is totally plausible... When I had my 79 308 gab 10 years ago, I decided to do a complete mechanical restoration, incl. engine complete overall down to the pistons rings, suspension, steering, brakes, etc. no interior or body work. The car was a driver, well maintained, but after 25 years, you know... every week, after dismantling one thing, another appeared and it took 2 years to get it all done... properly. The guy who took care of it was an ex-F1 Ferrari mechanic, now independent, 60+ years old. He was slow, but a perfectionist! It ended up costing me ~24k then. I could see it costing twice as much now. Btw, the 2years restoration process was an incredible adventure, and I loved it as much as the driving before and after Sent from my iPad using FerrariChat
$32,000 is excessive what ever car it is, but more so when it's close to 40-50% the value of the car... More money than sense springs to mind.
I and other people said it made no sense when I was spending so much money on my car. Funny thing is the market shot up and I ended up almost breaking even. Had I put about $1-2K more into it I'm sure I could have gotten even more at the height of the feeding frenzy and might have even made a couple bucks on it. Yes I got lucky and sold at exactly the right time it turns out. No I didn't ever think I'd come close to breaking even on the car. I put the money into it because I could and I wanted to and hadn't really planned on ever selling it so I didn't care. But life happens.
