On becoming a certified Ferrari mechanic

you dont want to be a mechanic to be close to the cars. trust me on this, as i thought the same thing. try to moonlight at a shop with the sole purpose of learning enough to work on your own ferrari's. stay in school, get into upper management and pay the mechanics to maintain the car. do it yourself is a great thing, but not when you HAVE to do it everyday , for someone else. and they rarely will thank you for it. i am putting my tools up as soon as my degree from Embry- Riddle is complete and i find a "REAL" job, away from business jets. IF YOU LOVE THE CARS THAT MUCH, WORKING ON OTHER PEOPLES CRAP WILL RUIN YOUR PASSION FOR THEM OVER TIME. JUST MY .02

 

Our local Ferrari Mechanic here in Charleston uses his talents to pay for his hobby. Since he works on Ferraris, Mercedes, BMW, Porsche and Lambo (also the occasional Lotus/Rolls/Maser+), he stays quite busy, rakes in bundles, and drives a new 550 Maranello while he works on his own Lambo race car that he campaigns in One Lap of America every year.

Yes, he has butthole customers now and then, but at the end of the day when he climbs behind the wheel of his paid-for Maranello, I'm quite sure he's happy about his position in life. How many college-degreed Cubicle prisoners out there can say the same? A good, honest Auto Mechanic is one of the most honorable professions out there.....certainly better than being a lawyer!

 

Thecarreaper you sound a little bitter about the subject! I am a master certified Ferrari tech and all you need is a good reputation, exeptionally clean work and the passion to do it evey day and enjoy it. I work on other peoples
"crap" and don't own a Ferrari, but I enjoy my job and these cars immensley.

 

Very True!! I am a certified Porsche, BMW, MB and Lotus Technician. I love working on these cars because they're always clean. The pay is "good", paid for 2 of my Homes, my 03" Porsche Carrera, 2 Bikes and now here at F-Chat looking to buy my first Modena. Not a bad career considering I don't even get grease on my hands most of the time.

DEFINATELY BETTER THAN BEING A LIE-WYER!

 

ouch, and ouch :]

 

Interesting discussion.
Just how long and through what channels (i.e. training) would one get to that level?
I imagine it would be a pleasant profession for one to have their own small 'practice' taking care of people's prized vehicles.
A friend in Seattle just mailed me some photos of the shop where he takes his 911S; nice, well kept little shop with a Kremer 935, original 289 Cobra, and Pedro Gomez's 512 (#14) currently in for service. It would be nice to walk into that every morning than into your typical offcie environment (although being in a studio is somewhat better than being housed in the cubicle zoo).

 

"How does a person become a certified Ferrari mechanic and what are the required credentials to specialize on Ferraries?"

I was asking the same thing...

GTO84,
Maybe you could give us more details?
I would love to open a shop working on Ferrari's.

So David ...You do Int'l Commerce first and then you specialize on Ferrari's and then you find some money and you're in business? right?

 

Tried that. Even if you beg you will be turned down. I can do amazing things in my driveway to my RX7s but never made the grade for an apprentice in the local exotic thing.

 

You must gain experiance first working on normal cars. Being a mechnic is very much a "feel" thing as a skill. You must know the point were a bolt "feels like is going to break" of if it's just over tightened. You must know how to fix others mistakes correctly without making it worse. You know how electrical systems work in your head, so you don't lose time looking for it in a manuel. You must have a basic understanding of ALL points of the car whether it be a Ferrari of a Ford.

Being a mechanic is not it's all cracked up to be. Working on Ferrari's and other exotics is nice and I feel hounered but the become like anything else once you have been around them everyday for a long time.

Working on Ferrari's can get very triesome aswell. You see the same model of car many alot. Like TR's and 308/328. Once you have seen one you have pretty much seen them all. Ferrari's did not change much from year to year in those days. An 86 TR is still almost the same as a 91 TR. Just like a 308 is pretty much the same thing as a 328. Just more vlaves and different switches and trim peices. Doning the timing belts on Ferrari's is pretty much the same for all cars. So once you get comfortable working with them..they become just like anything else.

HEck working on a Ford now is like me taking a Ferrari to a Ford mechanic!! Funny though it may seem it's true.

More later have to go get the wife.

 

I think i know you!

edit: hahaha, i didnt even realize you started this thread untill i took a second look at it.

 

Yep, dad and i are going on friday too. So i guess were all goin together. the new 612 is there, that should be interesting. And i think the new maserati quattroporte is there too, im looken forward to seeing that. Anyways......
Adios Amigo

 

dave, you got a message. Click on the message thing in the top right to read it.

 

Once you own your own Ferrari then you will be able to answer that question.

I worked as a service manager and lead tech at a jet ski / motorcycle dealership in NM. After working on customers crap all day long the last thing i wanted to do was go home and work on my race boats and bikes. the fun was no longet there and i think i only went out on the water a dozen times a year.

I am still in the same field but no longer dealing with customers and fixing there junk. and i enjoy going out and tearing it up on the weekend and fixing my own equipment again..

Carreaper is not incorrect in his analogy.

Rob