Experienced Ferrari restorer in south of England

Hi, Can any one recommend a good and honest restorer for pre-1974 Ferrari in, SE of England please?
Thanks
Glynn

 

Glynn:

Check out Tyrrell’s Classic Workshop in Chester.

Also watch his program on YouTube...it’s a very impressive operation.

Alan
N.J.

 

Thanks for that. I'll check them out.
Anyone had experience of Barkaway Ferrari in Kent? I read a post from someone who didn't have a very good experience with them.
Cy.

 

Roger & Claire at Kent High Performance, see https://www.tfcgb.com/

 

Rardley have done much similar work

 

Kevin O'Rourke at Mototechnique

 

I haven't used Barkaway's although I know Ian, have visited their premises many times and know many who have used Barkaway's and the quality of their restoration work is second to none. That is why they have won lots of Concours prizes over the last few years.

If you read a negative post about anyone on here or elsewhere on the Internet then I recommend speaking to the business in question to get their side of the story and then forming your own judgement. It is very easy to get one side of a story that may or may not be accurate (and I have no idea whether the post you refer to is accurate or not). That said, lots of positive or negative posts add up. From a quick search, the only negative post I can find about Barkaway's is in a topic called Dual Ownership where the issue seems to me to really be between the owner of the smaller percentage of a car and the owner of the larger percentage rather than Barkaway's and, in a any case, is about selling a car not about the price or quality of a restoration.

 

I'd endorse this.

 

Whilst not doing any full restorations for me, Barkaways have maitained several of my cars and done minor bodywork for me almost since the day they started. There has been some major mechanical works over the years, and it has always been done well. Not the cheapest out there but transparent during the whole process.
I have always found the work overall to be of an excellent standard.

 

Thanks for all your replies, very helpful. However, reading it again, the negative review sounds quite a serious thing, in terms customer care . I would expect the seller's agent to look after both owners, not just the larger percentage owner. I know if it came down to legals the agent was doing it by the book, but as they seemed to have known both owners, I would hope and expect, that both owners would have been kept informed about a buyer. Or am I missing something here?

 

If it is of any interest to you, Barkaways sold a high value car of mine on SOR, and the whole process was transparent and seemless.

You can only write about your own personal experiences, but after decades of Ferrari ownership I have had personal experience with most of the well known independent dealers/garages and official Ferrari Agents. Barkaways are up there with the few that can be trusted to do a good job and are reliable.

On a general note It is always a regret that on modern Ferraris I have always felt the need to go to the official Ferrari dealers for service work, even though over the years I have had some appalling service, due to the dealer stamp being such a valuable commodity when resale time comes along.
And yet, on a classic or modern collectable the likes of Barkaways or AV Engineering in the service history make a car more appealing to a lot of informed buyers.

Just my 2cents worth......................

 

If it bothers you and potentially stops you using Barkaway's then ask them about it. As it is, you're bothered by part of a story on the Internet. Maybe the majority owner said not to speak to the minority owner? FWIW I would expect the part owners to resolve everything between themselves and not expect the dealer to act as intermediary between them.

 

Most definitely! I have seen the most impressive Italian classics being restored/serviced there ... including THE most famous of all ...