Why don't more Ferrari owners do their own maintenance?

For those of you ever on the 348/355 pages, look up the Stooges. Great group of guys (including ernie) that work on their own cars and share the knowledge with others. I did my first 355 oil, gear oil, coolant and brake fluid changes at a Stooge party 6 years ago.

 

FINALLY an honest answer!

 

If it was not for the DIY section and the support group in that sub forum the overall population of 355's would be down about 100+

Specific example pertinent to this thread?

I had my engine out done on my 355F1 and needed the F1 clutch system reset on an SD computer.
My Ind shop (Motion Products) SD computer crapped out so they sent the car to Lake Forest in Chicago.

The Ferrari Dealerships diagnosis? I needed a (quote...direct quote from the Ferrari dealer):
"Carbon fiber actuator shaft on the clutch system"
"Really??? How much" I ask
"$12,000" They respond.

No such thing as a carbon fiber actuator shaft in a 355. I had the car shipped across town.
Continental did the clutch reset for me for $250.

Wonder how many "carbon fiber actuator shafts" Lake Forest has sold?

I do almost all my own work and have since I was 14 for this reason.....

 

Cars have been a hobby for 40 years, so I pretty much do all the maintenance and service work on all my ( out of warranty) cars, including the Ferrari's. Friend say I have mechanical OCD, my baseline is that all that my cars are flawless mechanically / electrically. It comes down to taking the time, having the right mindset, tools and space. I also find that my experiences with dealers and cars under warranty are mostly dissapointing from a quality / time / stress perspective.

IE Take car to dealer under warranty to fix one thing, then discover they have broken something while they are doing it, argue with service advisor about it, take car back for repair, then while fixing that they scratch something, argue with service advisor, they arrange to get it fixed, then find that some bolts have been left off when taken apart for paint, argue with service advisor, take it back to get it fixed. You don't end up having much confidence with that kind of an organisation so "dealer service" means nothing to me.

Or I could tell you about a Porsche Cayenne with a full dealer logbook service history at 2 Porsche dealerships, including one actually owned by Porsche, that at 80 000 miles still had the orignal (filthy) air filters fitted that were datecoded as when the car was made at the factory. It made me wonder how often the the oil had been changed....

Plan B is I can fix it myself, then I know its done properly first time with no collateral damage, with little stress and avoiding multiple trips to dealer.

On the other hand there are owners who have no business going anywhere near the mechanics of a car, sometimes you see this in threads on FCHAT where you can tell by the nature of the question the owner has no clue at all, and should not be attempting that job at all, ever.

 

Fear . My reply has to top them all . I am and have been a Auto service technician for all my adult life both in independent early on and 35 years in a domestic dealership. I know what I'm doing and still enjoy it . Fast forward to me getting a 458 and now for the most part I'm paralyzed . There's no one on the planet that knows better than me that cars are in fact a bunch of parts bolted together but when it comes to my 458 I'm scared to death I'm going to break something and it will cost 10k to fix. After you get the shields and covers off these are pretty simple cars . Expensive to fix but fairly simple.

I know if anything screws up on this thing I'll hit it with a vengeance and tear it apart but I really do get that other people let the pros fix their rides.

 

Fear has always held me back on my Fcars. However, my 599 which I've had for a year now has seen me do more little maintenance issues than my other cars. I think I'm just to the point of thinking " either I'm going to fix it, or I'm going to break it". If I break it someone else will fix it!

 

I have been working on my own cars since day 1. Primarily because I couldn't afford to pay anyone to do the work and frankly (back in the day), when I brought a car to a mechanic, I was generally much smarter and way better at figuring things out than any of these characters!

The cars at the beginning were cheap and cheap to fix. As I did better in life, the cars got better, and more complex, and so did my skills. But at the end of the day, it was bunch of parts bolted together. The difference is a mistake on a Fiat X1/9 will cost $25, and a mistake on an F40, will cost $10K. Solution. Take your time and do it right. Over the years I have gotten better, but it is definitely getting tougher physically to do the jobs. So, I am teaching others how to do the jobs. I love figuring out and working on these things. The McLaren has presented a bit of a problem, because McLaren hides any and all information, but when there is a will, there is a way!

I will say electronics irritate me. But thanks to 360Trev, he has kept me from becoming suicidal!

As far as records and value. It's all about condition. My records are second to none, and I have always gotten all the money out of my cars. If you have ever sold any of these cars, the tire kickers, weasels and dreamers try to beat you down. I throw them out. As some of you know, my CS is for sale. It is titanium and no stripe. This guy call me up telling me he must have a red car with a factory stripe and the stripe is worth $50K. "But if I'll take $X, he'll buy mine. He got the dial tone.

 

have a look at the boxer/tr/m section. a lot of members doing most by themself and also a lot of members there have big knowledge and help others

 

Lack of a lift and tools. Otherwise i would give it a go. From what i´ve seen my F430 is easier to work on then other cars.

 

Echoing others...time. I am better at making money with my time, and paying other people to keep things running for me. The limited free time I have, I spend it with the wifey, kids, or enjoying my cars. Maybe when my kids get old enough, I will do an older, Ferrari project car with them (456M perhaps). For now, my free time is devoted to my family, making babies, and non-car activities.

 

I am mainly on the 308/328 sub-forum and cannot disagree more.

Best from Germany
Martin

 

I used to be worried when I first got my 360, now I'm like.. meh I'll take it apart. Did the same to a friends 458 to try to isolate a part. Turns out the bumper had to come off so I held back and let his body shop have a go.

I will say though... the price for ham fisted work and mistakes made during a repair (hmm let me just move this out of the way.. *crack*) are ALOT higher for Ferrari than other cars. Another example is clips with body work, you need to know what you're doing and go slow or it's going to be expensive. One stupid mistake when I replaced some worn parts in the shift assembly was pushing DOWN and not INWARD on the connector to the shift cables. *pop* broke the side lever in the assembly. $150 and a weeks time for that mistake added to the repair.

 

Yeah, today's connector designs. But this is not specifically Ferrari. For a spark plug change on my Fiat 500 I first had to search for and watch YT-Videos to learn how to disconnect those ingenious single coil connectors.
One wrong movement in the wrong sequence and you have to purchase a new coil or help yourself with cable ties or other hack solutions.
Like said, it's not a Ferrari thing, but a 'modern cars issue'.

Best from Germany
Martin

 

And that's it. I gave up two old Ferrari's because I didn't have the time nor garage to take care of them.

 

I'm confused. You realize they're pretty simple cars and you possibly may tear it apart...but are fearful. Sorry, it just seems like mixed signals. So are you likely to DIY on the 458 or not?

Truly curious.

 

I hate new connectors …. Porsche and Audi are the worst.

 

His ass color is bad? might need to get that checked....

But yes, that color is super cool. have always loved the 355 most of all the non-special-edition V8s but now I know what color I want!

 

I am going to work on mine when the time comes. I’ve actually redone the shielding underneath and cleaned mechanical things. It’s just the thought of the cost of a screw up that concerns me. Fortunately the 458 is reliable and I don’t plan on having too many issues with it.

 

No skilled technicians where I live (I would only trust the dealer to vacuum the carpets in my TR if I was watching) means all the major and minor work gets done by me. The side benefit is that there are a lot of low priced, poorly serviced Ferraris for sale where I live. Not bad, if you can fix one.

 

I still don't get it, why a workshop serviced car should be more valuable than a car serviced by a skilled and passionate owner.
In workshops it's all about time and profit and there's a service time schedule for most of the tasks, created on desks at the manufacturer.
Such narrow service times are causing hurrying and hurrying often creates errors. As well as routine.
For a passionate and skilled owner the best result counts and not so much how long the job takes.
I have done a cambelt job on my Fiat 500 and it took around 8 hrs. working slowly and careful. According to the service time schedule the mechanic at the official workshop is allowed 4 hrs.
To make a long story short. I'm a mechanical engineer, sitting in front of my 3D-CAD or meeting rooms most of the time and enjoy the recreation while working on my 308, or '72 Alfa, or even the modern Fiat.

Best from Germany
Martin

 

I have owned and worked on/maintained all my cars since I was 16 and all of the Ferraris I’ve owned over the last 30 years. I do journals on the services being done and take pictures of what I have done. No dealer or independent could afford to or would a customer want to pay for the time it takes to do what I do. For example changing the oil in one of my cars is not just draining oil and changing the filter there is a thorough inspection of the engine, suspension and any cleaning of the undercarriage of the car. It can take me hours to just change the oil or gear oil, brake fluid.
Doing my maintenance is part of the mystic of owning a piece machinery. I learned how to tune Weber carbs on a friend’s 246 Dino and then on my 308s and friends 512 boxer. There have been many clutch jobs, timing belt replacement(engine out service) etc. over the years. I think you guys that don’t work on your Ferraris are missing part of the emotional connection to the shear beauty of the engineering behind these cars. The pictures below are engine out services on my ‘92 512TR and ‘97 355CH. I don’t mean to sound boastful or demean those that don’t do their own work I just love these cars and like being envoled in them more than just driving them

 

I think it is simply because a [Ferrari] mechanic is a known quantity.
I have a friend who also does his own and produces concourse cars. I would buy one of him without thought because I know what a brilliant job he does. Anybody that knows him would agree, but that is the crux of home DIY mechanics/enthusiasts.

 

Not to add more to this thread but for me I learn best when someone shows me the steps/process. I watched/assisted in one belt change on a 328. I remember the overall steps.
At first I too was intimidated by the car...more of the brand than the car. ‘My god, if I screw it up how much will my mistake cost me?’ But now, though I have not done major work on my Ferrari, I am less intimidated and like others say, ‘it’s a car held together by screws and bolts.’
What I am still intimidated is the lifting of the car. My luck my buddy has a shop where we use his lift. I would be hesitant in trying to use floor jack and stands in my driveway/garage. For one, I don’t have the space in my garage and work would have to be done in the driveway.
Another concern of mine is if I can’t put the car back together again in my driveway or if it then does not run or runs worse.
We will see... belt changes are in the near future for my two Ferrari.


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I bought a long 6×4 piece of wood and cut it in foot long sections. I stack two of those, then get a smaller piece of a scrap wood and put a foam and plastic furniture mover pad on it. I feel safer with this setup and you can get a lot done. Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

i 100% am envious and jealous that i wasnt born with the skills to ever accomplish anything close to this. for me this wld be utopia. you rock, well done!