328 30k service

See thread in CLASSIC forum.

 

I think ~$2500 was the norm seven or eight years ago. For my shop, that meant changing timing belts, accessory drive belts, seals, cam cover gaskets, thermostat, all rubber hoses (including fuel crossover lines), all fluids, all filters, remedy minor electrical faults, full alignment and wheel balance, chassis lubrication, hood and engine lid struts and the minor tiddling that took time, but resulted in a much more pleasant "daily driving experience."

Now, we quote ~$3800-$4500 and have room to include tensioner bearings and water pump (if there's any doubt) to keep from having to do anything between the service date and the next service date except (hopefully) for oil changes. We use the OEM "green" gaskets that are more expensive, but last far longer as well as other tested, proven parts. This figure does not generally include brake pads, plug wires, distributor caps and other parts that are not normally thought of as regularly (marked only as "to be inspected" on Ferrari's maintenance coupon) replaced items.

The service intervals are so misunderstood. People ask about changing cam belts all the time, but in reality, this is all about "messa a punto," bringing the car "to a point" where everything works the way it is supposed to. Because so many cars sit for extended periods of time, a "big" (Ferrari recommended 30K interval) service should be done every four to seven years, regardless of mileage. (IMHO)

Shadetree, Tim Stanford, Tom Jones, myself and many other independents have driven hundreds of these cars and can tell you within 300 yards what has been done, needs to be done and can evaluate where and how every aspect of the car stacks up against other, well preserved examples.

For example, we had a fellow bring a very nice higher mileage carb 308 in for "a belt change." We asked him whether he was doing this for preventative maintenance or to resolve a running problem, he said because his friends told him it was important to do. We did a belt change. It was clear someone had not taken the cam covers off before because of crude, painted reference marks on the sprockets and covers. With the new belts, the car ran like crap, so off came the covers and it was clear that the front bank was off on both cams. That corrected, much better, but ignition misfire past 3800 RPM. Take the distributors apart, remove R2 and replace R1 and voila! Car runs like a million bucks. The fellow was blown away, said the car had never driven like that! We had originally said ~$880-$1100 to JUST change the belts, turned into ~$2400, but he was overjoyed and we were (partially) made whole for going on a wild goose chase to track down a running problem rather than to perform regular maintenance. My very experienced tech, Rod Atkinson, said "no more" a la carte procedures! <grin>

Of course, I've also missed the boat with Paul's black Mondial 8 on the diagnosis of a vacuum leak (and I profusely apologized), but after twenty-five years of doing this, that's going to happen. We all can learn, and that is perhaps the greatest resource of this particular board.

The "big service" transaction, first and foremost, must be an enterprise grounded in mutual trust and respect between the shop and the car owner. It is so all-encompassing (or should be) that the final number will always reflect the range and scope of pre-existing problems, the expectations and experience of the owner and the experience of the tech and/or shop principal. It's as much an "education" for the often new owner as it is needed attention to the car. That's why I like doing them so much! It's fun! For that reason alone (along with geographic and infrastructure costs) the numbers are all over the map. Just make sure you get what you pay for.

-Peter (must have had too much coffee this morning!)

 

Nice post Peter---Very informative!!