congrats!
Welp, went through a full service with the car. Got all the fluids and things changed out (standard for a 2 year service). It is now fully exhibiting the DCT issue and will need a gearbox replacement. Total with labor is going to work out to about $46,000. Guess I am stuck with that! I will not be eligible for the new power warranty until that is all complete.
Dec 21, 2020 No way would I even consider spending close to half the value of my car to repair it, You will lose every bit of it. Some Indy shops have been known to repair the DCT in the Cali for 6-7 K, Good Luck
Take the car back, don't fall for it ... even if it costs you $2000 to truck the car to a dealer who can repair instead of replace, you will be almost $40k ahead.
I sent and email to Steve at Boardwalk today. I don't think I am going to pay for that. I just told my wife that, worst case scenario, I will just save up the money to pay off the finance and scrap the car (in which she told me I could never buy another Ferrari again). Looks like this is an age-old scenario that plays out quite a bit. Oh well. Hopefully Steve can help provide some insight.
It's not the end of the world ... there is an independent up here in Boston who can do it -- Autohaus. The owner, Tony, is the former master tech from Ferrari of New England and once said it's a $7000 repair for a $3 plastic clip issue. So he has fixed these before. http://tonyferraricertified.com/ However, I would prefer to have it done at an authorized Ferrari dealer, as the work would carry a two year warranty. And at that point, it's the most expensive thing that can go wrong with the car so the need for the New Power warranty for the next two years anyway is greatly reduced. Call the bigger Ferrari dealers closer to you -- Ferrari of Fort Lauderdale? -- or the bigger ones on the East Coast -- Ferrari of Long Island, Miller Motorcars in CT, Algar in Philadelphia -- one of them is bound to have a tech who is certified to repair the Getrag box and they will know exactly what to do. Figure $1000 to ship the car to the dealer, then fly up and have yourself a nice ride back to GA. Of course, if it's an intermittent problem, you can always wait till it's working again and trade it in
You read my mind. I was going to reach out to folks and see what it'll take. Once I found a reputable spot, I was going to ship it, get it fixed, then have me and the wife fly out and drive it back for a bit of a nice vacation.
So Sean in Ft. Lauderdale is getting me a quote right now. They have 3 techs that are certified to work on the Getrag transmission and can potentially do a rebuild. It'll be a crapshoot, but he's stated as long as the gears aren't burnt, they can rebuild the transmission, get the car warrantied, and then replace the transmission. He also told me the warranty (New Power) is eligible on my car for another 4 years at $4500 a year (not the $4850 that FoA quoted me). I feel like FoA has been fleecing me quite a bit. Sean is getting me a quote on trucking it down to them from FoA now.
That's sounding more promising. If Ferrari of Ft Lauderdale offers the customary 10 percent discount for Ferrari Club of America members, it might be time to join. Although seems like whenever I bring that up I'm told they were already offering the discounted FCA pricing Once they rebuild the transmission, it should have a two year parts and labor warranty on it, so you'd have to decide if it's likely that something else could fail and cost $9000 in the next two years -- seems unlikely -- but peace of mind is valuable, too, and if you calculate it like you are saving $30k plus from what Ferrari of Atlanta was going to do ... One other point to consider, since you just got the car ... in some states, there is a statutory warranty on buying a preowned car. Here in Massachusetts, it goes by the mileage on the used car and covers anything that would be considered a hazard driving it on the road. Certainly a transmission that won't work would qualify, and here you would have 90 days coverage where the selling dealer can either pay to fix the problem, or rescind the sale and give you back your money. Not sure about Georgia but worth looking into -- it may apply in whatever state you bought the car from if it was not a local sale, so check that ordinance, as well. If you had bought the car in Massachusetts, I believe the selling dealer would be on the hook for it.
I did mention our good ole FerrariChat (and you specifically) when talking with Sean earlier. He said because I was on the forums, he was going to take care of me. I am assuming he is helping with pricing. Unfortunately, I explored all those options. Georgia is pretty "backwater" when it comes to any type of "cooling off" period or lemon law on used cars. We don't have one. "As is" sales are very final out here. Unfortunately, I am in it for the long haul on this one. It's a good (although, expensive) life lesson for me. I will try and be positive about it.
I called Ferrari of Central Fl and they have qualified techs with experience to repair the gearbox rather than buying a new one. If speed sensor, expect around 8500. Zach was very helpful and suggested I keep renewing the new power warranty anyway due to inspections, records, resale, and peace of mind since it covers roof as well. If I didn't have the warranty, I would send down there for dct repair due to them being a dealer not so far away. I hope you are having some better luck, but wanted to share my findings since I live in ga as well. Please keep us posted. Thanks. Btw, I've never used focf service...only their sales once, which was great with Curtis, who actually knew watch dealer David sw in Orlando I've done business with as well. Small world. Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk
Well, Steve from Boardwalk reached out to me a couple days ago. He wants me to send it out his way so he can do a full diagnostic on the gearbox and potentially rebuild it. So, I have options. I just got the car back from FoA ($4,6xx later) after performing the 2 year service. This thing has definitely been an adventure, so far.
@w0rtw0rt -- I'm with you thinking of buying a California in lieu of a 911. I hope it turns out to be a sub $10k repair for that transmission. Let us know how it plays out. I was thinking more of the certified $150k range for a California.
That is a good thought. I do LOVE my car, but I wish I had waited longer to go for a certified one with a warranty on it. It would've saved me a bit of hassle that I am dealing with now. In the end, I will probably have spent as much as a certified one costs on this one. I will say, I would still buy a Ferrari over a Porsche any day but that's just personal preference. I don't much like Porsche's aesthetics.
Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Sold porsche for 16 Cali T. Ron Tomkin dealer - they’ve been awesome BTW. Don’t have the new one yet but yea.. waited for one with warranty albeit a bit higher miles -20k. Sorry re yr adventure but I suspect you’ll be happy after sorting it out. I’ll honestly compare the two when I start driving .
How's the shoulder coming along? My brother is a few weeks ahead of you in shoulder surgery and he can take his sling off for short periods. No driving yet...T
Thx for asking. I found the odd stiff sling ( with pad to keep elbow off body) extremely painful. After I stopped taking all the drugs ( morphine etc) in week 3; I found my shoulder was not too bad but my forearm and wrist hurt immensely. I’d take my arm out and lay it on top. I just stopped using the sling @ week 3. They still want me to wear it but concede if I’m careful I’ll be fine albeit my arm gets really tired and I need to prop it up. I sleep in a bed.. they recommended sleeping in chair/ sitting up for 6 weeks. I just couldn’t. So I pack pillows around; rest arm on body and hope I don’t unintentionally roll ... I wake up 2x time a night still. Recommend Intensive use of this “Nice” cold liquid/compression device. Insurance won’t pay but all the athletes use. Reduces inflammation / keeps you off narcotics.. really helped I had a top MLB level surgeon. Up to me now. now on long PT road. . 2x week w/ PT guy. Just range of motion stuff for a long while. Painful. I have some incentive coming!! but frankly a long time before I will be using that arm to drive. If I had a shift... impossible for a very very long time. good luck
What’s the latest on your car? Were you able to get it fixed and certified? Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat.com mobile app
I feel for you, w0rtw0rt, and good luck with it. Sean at Ferrari Fort Lauderdale went above and beyond for me before my purchase and is now my service advisor. He ran many VINs for me to compare options on Cali Ts before I found mine and was always happy to answer questions. That's why I drive an hour past the nearest dealer to get my car serviced in Fort Lauderdale.
