Opinions on the Worst Ferrari/Maserati Dealership in Aust

the one and only in Adelaide, would rate worst and close second is its own shadow

 

Yeah, but they're hand tied by the factories mafioso way of dealing. For them to even break even, they have to employ errr, cost effective staff.

Be grateful you have an outlet to buy one and the parts from, then take it to a specialist for anything outside of warranty.

 

thats the whole problem, u leave a car there for something minor and a week later its still sitting there, now take the Lambo/Aston/Bentley dealer, when i drive in with my M3 they ask for the keys so they can wash it, go figure, i know where i will be buying my next car.

Phill, if ever i buy a new maser or ferrari it will not be from Prestige, i will go interstate

 

Good luck!!

 

Funny how buyers in every state often buy from everywhere BUT there own state!

 

I certainly had my problems with Dixons. They certainly had their good points as well, though.

I don't know how Zagames will turn out. All the same staff, so maybe not much different.

One thing for sure....if they stuff something up, and believe me they do (at Dixons, at least) they fix it PRONTO...no questions asked...no delay...and the car come back clean each time. Also, unlike Goob's experience, when the car's booked in, they work on it. It doesn't just sit there gathering dust.

I'm really happy they give such good after sales service, but I'd rather not have to put up with the stuff ups in the first place.

 

well i heard Sydney is pretty good

 

after 2 years, I stopped making the list..but it went on and on....

OBSERVATIONS OF LANCE DIXON FERRARI SERVICE.

LDF=Lance Dixon Ferrari
SV= Steve Varrasso
GVA=Graeme Vincent Automotive
PP=Peter Pless
AVO=Advanced Vehicle Operations

LDF didn’t replace or even check air filters at major service.

Request made to fit coolant thermostat. LDF originally said impossible won’t fit. LDF fits standard thermostat as asked, no problems.

Power steering problem. Was meant to be rectified during major service when engine out. Nothing done. LDF said new pump was needed, after already overhauling existing unit. Turned out to be steering rack, as PP had informed them after getting expert advice.

LDF could not fit muffler as requested (when engine reinstalled after service) and refitted original without permission from PP. PP took car to AVO who fitted the same requested muffler with no modifications. Waste of time to PP 6 hours and $300.

LHS head light adjustment broken. LDF says only way to rectify is to buy new $500 head light. SV fixed for $30.

RHS headlight wobbles. LDF says can’t be fixed. LDF finally fixed when PP made enough of a fuss. (adjustment)

Difficult to get into reverse. LDF says nothing can be done as is the fault of the racing clutch not fully releasing. LDF finally fixed when PP made a big fuss. (adjustment)

Rough idle attributed to throttle butterflies out of balance. LDF balanced butterflies. Idle was still rough. Racing clutch and wear in car blamed by LDF. GVA re-balanced butterflies, which were still out a lot (not done properly in first place by LDF), and now car idles nicely.

Passenger racing seat couldn’t be fitted by LDF. Fitted by GVA.

Not getting full throttle. LDF blamed condition of car and wear in linkages. GVA adjusted, no parts required.

Stiff throttle movement blamed on condition of car and wear in linkages by LDF. GVA found throttle cable casing broken (very obviously) and inner cable frayed near top of engine (should have been seen by LDF when engine out) GVA replaced throttle cable. Now very smooth and light.

Excessive throttle movement from rest to floor. LDF blamed condition of car. GVA adjusted throttle for short movement. No parts required

Driver’s window not closing properly. LDF blamed condition of car. SV adjusted window and now OK. No parts required

Clutch pedal has excessive movement for racing clutch. LDF says nothing can be done. GVA adjusted in 5 mins. No parts required.

Suspension had rattles. LDF had no idea why after inspection. Turned out to be wrong springs fitted to car which were hitting shock absorbers.

LDF carried out compression test at my request and said that two cylinders were significantly down in compression and that I would need new valves and guides. Cost $25k approx. (plus whatever else is found). Took the car to GV who did compression test TWICE..found nothing wrong.

LDF changed half shaft rubber boots at g/box end. Circlip was not installed properly, so half shaft fell out a couple of days later. Car had to be towed.

 

Lance Dixons mechanics sound like a bunch of dumkopfs to me PP. You are better off swinging the spanners yourself
Or employ little guys like baby Georgie. He is a handy little guy on the tools
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i can't afford my hourly rate

what's Georgie charge?

 

Ill have to ask him for you. But im sure the small jobs,clutch pedal adjustments,cooling system pressure checks,service's,tyre rotations ect..... would be a box full of formula or a box full of nappies. And the big jobs,engine out jobs,clutch's,t-belts,valve shim adjustments,tuning with his oscilliscope ect.... your looking at wiggles concert tickets or an elmo doll Ill have his people contact your people PP

 

hahaha

sounds like a plan!

 

I daren't put my list up as it is embarrassing

looks like LDF think your car is an OHOS which accounts for all the problems and GVA is a wizard .... can I bring my car to Graham ?

I've spoken to Graham on the phone a couple of times, he seems like a nice guy and someone you'd like to deal with.

Sucks that the main dealer is telling you the car is rooted while GVA fixed everything you listed without using parts

 

OHOS? The would be correct. I told him to get rid of the rattly old heap of **** years ago. He should buy a gaylambo.

 

you know, when I bought that car it had 2000km.

I was sick of Dixon's blaming everything on wear and tear...it was ridiculous! A 2000km car doesn't have wear and tear, that's all there is to it.

The facts were that as a race car, no one cared how it was put back together. Hinges and levers were badly adjusted, etc etc. THAT'S why GV and SV were able to fix everything so easily. It just need a mechanic instead of button pressers.

You can imagine how annoyed I got when Phil told me that my cam cover oil leak was caused by a worn engine.....at 13000km!!

I was so happy when he proved himself wrong.

Can mechanics just never admit they've done something wrong? I don't know. Maybe good mechanics never have to make excuses for anything. I don't recall having any problems with GV or SV. I'd happily recommend both of them over anyone else I've used.

 

the one very true statement you made a long time ago is that a good mechanic is the difference between a good Ferrari experience and a bad one.

My oil leak went from $3,500 at one mechanic to $300 with another and this time all the problems will be fixed properly, mind you Marc is using my hoist and tools but his knowledge of what is definitely broken and what isn't is invaluable and he is meticulous in cleanliness which is paramount to me being an ex-aircraft engineer.

 

I make lots of very true statements...that was just one of them

 

Oh dear, do we REALLY have to go over it all again......
I didn't tell you that at all (which makes you a liar) , I said it "might be due to excessive crankcase pressure, and we should check before replacing the seals/gaskets".

I wasn't wrong at all, I was precautionary.

You forgot the bit about your cam timing, the oil tank mounting, the air intake ducting etc etc etc.......

 

NOBODY CARES- Don't start this rubbish again.

 

And you still say that thye are not that bad??? If I would have experienced just one of those instances, I'd be bagging them for ever to everyone and certainly would never get anywhere near them again.

Sounds like my Zagame's experience last year where their factory trained mechanic fitted a new clutch in the Esprit and I couldn't put the car into gear afterwards. Zagame's blamed the clutch I supplied. I knew they were full of it as it was a factory original part. When I asked their 'specialist' whether he set the adjustments as per service notes, he said that he didn't measure anything, he just refitted all by eye!
Once they measured everything in front of me and adjusted it all as it should have been, guess what? it shifted smoothly as it should've. I just can't stand main dealers.

 

i went in there once to look at a boxter (sorry) they had. i even drove up in the rensc cabriolet. i couldn't even get anyone to talk to me about the car. never been back (although they do have a black TR there that i'd love to have a closer look at!)

 

that's been there for at least 2 years i reckon.

 

PP I was going to make some smart ass comment about aircond instalments having the occasional problem/fault but if you ran your business like LDF, you wouldn't be in business,competition would kill you!

 

ahhhhhh...sorry...so wrong of me. rather than say "bring it in and I'll have a look...I might have done something wrong" it was "oh well...it's probably blow by....let's just fix it when you get an engine rebuild" and btw...you NEVER said "we should check before replacing the seals/gaskets" if you'd said that, we'd never have had a problem, would we?

I didn't forget...i made it quite clear that the list was just the first 2 years!! There's HEAPS more over many visits and many more years.

 

i wouldn't have a problem with the occasional mistake. people make mistakes..it's what we do.....but almost every time I take the car in there (dixons), I have to take it back. Like i said, lucky they never give me the brush off...they just fix it.

again...I live in hope that Zagames might be better