360 Yearly Fluid Service Question>>

I'm looking at a very clean 2003 F1 360 with 2800 miles on it. After going through all the service records I noticed that while it did have the cam belt service in Jan '07 (year 4), there is no record from all of the dealer paperwork showing that a fluid service (yearly or otherwise) was ever done. I plan on sending it to the dealer for a PPI tomorrow. The cam belt service paperwork has no fluids or filters in the parts list. I'm concerned that a yearly fluid service was never done due to the inherent low miles on the car. I know the engine oil/filter and brake fluid are supposed to be serviced yearly and the tranny and differential at least every other year, regardless of mileage. From all the dealer paperwork, from Dec '02 until Jan '07, all I see, other than the cam belt service, is the ECU updates, OBD2 connector updates and a burnt interior light bulb replacement. None of the service records show any fluids in the parts or service lists. Is this possible? Should I worry? The car "seemed" to run fine and sounded fine on a 20 mile test drive. It seemed to have been used consistently for the entire five years.

 

No receipts is as good as "not done" to me. A 2003 car should have had its major service done. You can find out what is included as part of the major service by searching the web. It is far more than belts. One site you might check is http://emelbon.tripod.com/eugeniosferrariservice.html . One caution, their price is very low by my experience. If I was purchasing the car I would count on spending at least $5k or so for the major, maybe more. Find a competent shop to do your PPI and they can counsel you on the cars needs. Fluid changes throughout the cars life are important for various reasons. For example, brake fluid attracts moisture. Moisture in metal brake lines can rust the lines. Changing the fluid manages the moisture level. Another thing, low miles means the car has been sitting most of its life. Generally speaking, sitting is worse driving. Best of luck.

ps: I personally prefer the 6 speed manual in the 360 as the F1 didn't get really good until the 575M or 430 cars.

 

None of my 5 cars have any dealership oil or any other fluid change records. Yet I change basically all the fluids every year regardless of the mileage. I do keep a record of my own work however. Ask the owner, insist on speaking to him/her, this is vital information. If in fact no fluids have been changed, there will be trouble of many many sorts. Also important is air filtration.

The whole engine and driveline may be getting sand-papered as you drive. Corrosion in the brake system will be very costly as will corrosion in the coolant system. Avoid the car if the fluids have not been changed every year - as required by the owners manual.

aehaas