Is the Enzo a problem car? | FerrariChat

Is the Enzo a problem car?

Discussion in 'Other Off Topic Forum' started by tbakowsky, Nov 25, 2003.

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  1. tbakowsky

    tbakowsky F1 World Champ
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    I was just reading the new EVO mag. One of the articals they take an Enzo through New York. It broke down, melted the rear hatch so bad they could not open it, the heat sheilding inside the engine compartment was falling off. The battery died and they could not get the car re-started so they had to call the local dealer to have a flat bed and a couple of mechanics sent out to the car.

    The artical questioned the quality of the car,compared to the cost. This was just a little sidebar blurr in the artical though.

    Does anybody have any insight on this?

    For almost 700k you'd think it would be a better car.
     
  2. tvrfreak

    tvrfreak F1 Rookie
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    Pretty sure it was in Car magazine, not EVO.

    Heat shields falling off is not a big deal in my book. A couple of locking washers should sort that out. And once the heat is shielded, it won't cause the cover to expand/warp enough to make it impossible to open (dont' think anything melted). Although they shouldn't have to know this, I think that if the journo or owner had known how the latch worked, they could have figured out a workaround and managed to open the car up.

    Battery problems could be due to the car not having been run for a while. Or some electrical drain from something left on. I doubt that it's an electrical design issue.

    Even though I don't think it's a beautiful car, I admire it's performance. I don't believe there's any reliability or quality issues that have come to light so far. I think the Enzo is just fine. Benny Ciaola's car, right? Funny, nice article.

    Rgds,
    f
     
  3. tbakowsky

    tbakowsky F1 World Champ
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    Trouble is..these things should not be happening at all. Having a part just simply fall off is kinda strange no? Even if it was just a heat sheild. The other thing is having an entire portion of the car basicly destroyed because of poor engineering. This "melting" issue should have been thought out better mainly because of the fact it is over an engine. The F-40 never had this problem..Why then does this car?

    To me that says poor build quailty. Would you stand for parts falling off a car you just bought? Would you not have a problem if the hood melted on your car?

    The Enzo is an amazing machine. I would love to owne one..but is it a good car..or is it just a show peice that Ferrari was expecting to sit in sombody's collection and not be driven?
     
  4. tvrfreak

    tvrfreak F1 Rookie
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    It's not like that. With the vibration and heat cycling in a stiff, ultra-high performance car, it's easy for small parts to work loose.

    And nothing melted. I believe the excess heat in the compartment caused some latched parts to stretch. Easy to fix, and possibly, yes, it could be better engineered. But no big deal. And the battery dying is not a big deal either, unless it points to a duff alternator. But I doubt that's the case. With such small production runs and such glaring spotlights on them all the time, the smallest things seem to occur in significant numbers and appear like big problems.

    True, it would have been perfect if it had not happened. That record is blemished, which is galling when you consider the price and aura of the car. But it doesn't indicate a quality control problem to me. The price is simply due to the exclusivity, exotic nature, performance, and Ferrari badge on the nose. It doesn't indicate quality or lack of it, IMO.

    Mass produced cars like Hondas and Toyotas are cheap and reliable and feature-laden. We expect that reliability to scale with the price. But it doesn't. And as technology advances, the performance gap narrows too. When it comes to features, we realize that they often add weight and affect performance, so at least expectations don't stretch in that regard when we buy high performance exotics.

    That said, BMW, Porsche, Ferrari even, have all been forced to improve their quality levels because of the Japanese manufacturers. There is always room for improvement, and the Japanese set a very, very high standard.

    I don't think the article indicates a looming problem. If several other Enzos start discarding their heat shields as well, it might be worth Ferrari's while to redesign the bracket/mounting post/fasteners. But it's not an inexcusable oversight in my book.
     
  5. tvrfreak

    tvrfreak F1 Rookie
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    Love your avatar, btw!
     
  6. 134282

    134282 Four Time F1 World Champ
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    This should really be in General Discussion to cultivate a broader scope of views and replies...
     
  7. Napolis

    Napolis Three Time F1 World Champ
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    Driving an Enzo into NYC is not using it it is abusing it. It wasn't designed to run over potholed streets, bumper to bumper for ever, and to be driven anywhere without being checked out. Loose heat shields should have been noticed when the owner checked the oil and tightened. The battery was probably not charged because of disuse. This is a Sunday driver/track car and it's not surprizing that it didn't like midtown NYC. This means nothing.
    Cars like this are more like airplanes. They should be pre flighted before using. Check the tires, make sure nothing's loose, charge the battery etc,etc,etc.
     
  8. 134282

    134282 Four Time F1 World Champ
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    Neither was the Testarossa, but you did it just fine and put over 100k miles on it... :) So why, over a decade later, can't this technology be subjected to midtown Manhattan...?
     
  9. Napolis

    Napolis Three Time F1 World Champ
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    The TR was the 360 of it's day. At that time the equiv. to an Enzo was a 288GTO or an F40. Great cars but not daily drivers. Sunday drivers/Track cars.
     
  10. 134282

    134282 Four Time F1 World Champ
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    Ok, then how do you rationalize fetching milk from the local 7-11 in a Le Mans-winning, Ferrari-beating MK IV...? :)

    i see what you're saying; i guess i'm hesitant to admit that it's not a practical car 'cause i like it so much... i know if i had the means, i'd drive it everyday... Hell, Jim Spiro drove his F50 to work everyday and drives his 330 to work, 3 or 4 times a week...! :)
     
  11. Napolis

    Napolis Three Time F1 World Champ
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    You can drive them to work. Point to point. It's just that before you set out you should have a good idea as to where you're going to wind up and what the traffic and roads that you're giong to be traveling on are like. If you're setting off for points unknown I'd advise a Toyota Land Crusier. Perhaps an armoured one...
     
  12. dwhite

    dwhite F1 Rookie

    Earlier this year, I spoke with a man who brought his Enzo(had over 700 miles) to the gathering at F of LI to watch the USGP. He mentioned having put in 3 batteries and not being able to open the engine cover - something about it won't open without power. Are they reliable? I don't think anyone will use one enough to fully answer that question.
     
  13. 134282

    134282 Four Time F1 World Champ
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    LOL...


    Dave, an owner here in the states has already put over 10,000 miles on his Enzo; i'd love to hear his opinion...
     
  14. dwhite

    dwhite F1 Rookie

    DES, that is wonderful. Glad someone is using the car. I wonder how many miles it will have when he parts with it ;).
     
  15. Jerrari

    Jerrari F1 Veteran

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    The only "problem" is that I don't have an extra $700K to buy one....are you kidding me? PROBLEM CAR?!?!
     
  16. Agent Smith

    Agent Smith Formula 3

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    Pretty soon after the Enzo's started being delivered here, there was a thread about this. And there was talk of one (maybe even two) clutches needing replacement even before the car was deilvered. It sat around for like two weeks before replacement parts could come in. Don't get me wrong - I would love to have one, but I would expect the bugs to be pretty well sorted in a $700k car.
     
  17. Kds

    Kds F1 World Champ

    A couple of weeks ago Ferrari of Scottsdale had an Enzo apart for "clutch problems".........it may have been Roger Penske's personal car, which is now on display in their showroom.
     
  18. tbakowsky

    tbakowsky F1 World Champ
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    O.k. We have seen F-40's driven hard and driven often..not too many problems as far as I know...nothing like not being able to open the hatch due to melting. We have seen F-50's driven daily..and reported to be reliable. Yes the F-40's brakes are a weak point..don't know much about the F-50. We have also seen 288 GTO's driven hard with not to many problems either.

    But so far in recent tests by magazines, problems however small seem to be creeping up. I have heard that the Enzo leaks oil like a GT4 :eek:)!! But as other have said they only built 399 of them. But for 700K you'd think they could at least seal the engine better. Bad batteries? Geez which company is Ferrari using for batteries Wal-Mart? There is obviously a problem with the charging circuit in these cars.

    It will be very interesting to see what 700K gets you in a Ferrari. Don't get me wrong I'm sure it is a fantastic machine and I would love to own one if I had the disposable income but it seems that this car may not be as good as it seems.
     
  19. tvrfreak

    tvrfreak F1 Rookie
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    Since you keep insisting that something melted, can I ask what it was that melted?

    Since you keep insisting that there's obviously a problem with the charging circuit, can I ask on what basis you formed this conclusion?

    Reason I am asking is, the "evidence" that has been cited in this thread is not evidence. There may very well be problems with Enzos, but these incidents don't indicate problems per se, at least not to me.

    Thanks.
     
  20. robiferretti

    robiferretti F1 Rookie

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    Its a finely tuned full fledged street race car, as with any other street race car issues wil be had. and its 1.3 million market adjusted :)

    Its still an enzo, problems will be had with any car in small or large production runs, just dont have the time to solve them until they pop up
     
  21. donv

    donv Two Time F1 World Champ
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    I don't think it's really fair to compare the Enzo to the F40 (F50 maybe). The F40 was based on an existing production design, and had the 288GTO as a direct predecessor, so it was more of an evolution than a totally new car.

    Second, I would be surprised if F40s didn't have some problems when they were new. Now they've had years to sort them out. In ten years, the Enzo will probably be well sorted out also!
     

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