Brothers.......... Has anyone thought of self-insuring???

Interesting idea for you guys.......

Been thinking about some kind of 348 Brotherhood "self insurance". What I was thinking was.........

Would you guys put your money into a "pool" that would insure one of the brotherhood from any kind of belt failure?? Here's the thinking....

If we had 30 guys signed up for this "insurance" and put in $500 each, we would have $15k which is enough to cover any catastophic damage timing belt damage that would happen to any member.

If you look at the amount the timing belt service costs every 3-5 years it is about $6k give or take. Now that Ferrari has "created" the fear around these belts, they are saying 3. So, every 2 years, if you are follow Ferrari of NA's advice, we are spending $2k yearly. If you are doing your service "by the service manual", we are still spending about $1200 per year. And with all that money being spent, we get NO guarantee that our belts won't snap the day we leave the shop.

For all we know, for that $6k, we just bought a belt/tensioners that have been sitting in a warehouse in Italy since 1990. Who knows??

For $500 I think I would like the idea of getting to do my service every 5 years/30k miles and know that I was "covered" in between then.


So here would be the rules.......

$500 per person (per car)

$750 if you track the car (maybe more?? I don't know??)

Required to get major service done at "group-certified" shop every 5 years/30k miles - This means that the group gets to vote as to if your "shop" is worthy of inclusion. No jobs for $1000 down at some Ned's Foreign Auto. Major also has to include tensioners. Also valve adjustment if needed.

Oil/fluid changes to be done every 3000k minimum.

If someone blows up their motor, they will need to show "proof" to another member of the group (maybe two) in the form of bent valves, open motor, and all else.

Written/signed Ferrari Dealership quote/testament required to get "insurance" money as proof of belt/tensioner failure.

Payment to service person/group for work completed ONLY. Signed paperwork on work done for all to see.

When/if this "catastophic" event occurs, the money is taken out of the account of people pay up their $500 and the thing starts over (or it is a one-time thing).

Sell your car and lose the $500. It stays in the "kitty".

These cover timing belt/tensioner related failures only.



I have been thinking that, if TMobileguy had this "insurance" he would still be a happy camper. And I would have had peace of mind every time I drove my car for a relatively cheap amount of money. That alone would have been worth paying up $500 to a fellow "brother" who had a misfortune. Say we made it 5 years without someone having a problem......That means that for $100 per year, I got to drive my car worry free.

I pay more than that per year for my FCA membership and get basically nothing for it other than a crappy sticker, a crummy newsletter, and a lousy magazine that comes about 3 times or so a year......

Anyway, I have NO idea as to logistics or payment or escrow(?) or how this would work. But just an idea..........

 

Well, the first one would be covered and then we would have to ante up for the second one again with another $500 (if that's what people wanted to do). How many of us here have busted a belt (out of curiosity)??

 

For SURE you would have to show record of the service having been done. All of that would have to be verified before you are "in".

 

I hear ya. I can do all the small stuff. But the major?? I would be too concerned with putting the timing belt on wrong or something. That first time I turned the ignition (ever after turning it over by hand, of course) would freak me out!!! ;-)

Not to mention I have NO means of pulling a motor at this time....

 

I will quote you so as not to get anything wrong......



"This only works if all members are aligned in temperament, attitude towards their vehicle, vehicle usage, are closely knit friends, can put themselves and their interests behind those of the group, etc."

**Nope. This only "works" if it helps out a fellow "brother" pay for a bill that he/she otherwise would be burdened with. We don't have to be friends, much less "closely knit". I could care less what their attitude is in regards to their vehicle or usage. I could care less about their temperament. And I could care less if they put the group in front of themselves. Just drive their car. Or don't drive their car. But when they do, know they are "insured" if their belt snaps. Does AllState monitor my driving.........or mileage.........temperament?? Are they "friends" with me before I sign up a policy?? Please don't make a statement about reviewing my driving history. I already accounted for that with the guys who track their car. Pretty simple concept to understand.........




"I especially fear that such a scheme would encourage irresponsible, or maybe less responsible, behavior since the group had a safety net. That way, if more than one feels this way, it would be a matter of time before multiple events caused a catastrophic collapse."

**Maybe. Maybe not. I really don't care. If someone wants to drive the snot out of their car, that's their choice. And maybe they would finally have more fun with it. So they wear their brakes down faster. Or their clutch. I don't care. I don't care if THEY care. The insurance would cover belts ONLY. I think I was clear. But, again, I could care less what they do to their car. It's their car. Would I drive mine a little harder than I do?? Probably. But not a lot harder. I would probably have $500 worth of fun with it. Either way, the beauty of this thing would be that people would drive them how they always wanted to drive them whether it was 5 mph more or 50 mph more. Whatever.
**Multiple events?? I think I said that, when the first bit of insurance was eaten up by that first belt snap, we could do it again, or not. Who said anything about multiple events?? Did you even read this thread??



"You'd also nned a monitor, auditor and referee and any friendships going into this plan would soon become road kill."

**Why?? If someone snaps a belt and can show proof to two members and documentation/pics of the work done to fix it from an "approved" place, what's the problem??
**Apparently, there weren't friendships to begin with; as you complained about their needing to be a tight knit group. And now you say I should be worried about losing a friend who was, apparently, not that "tight-knit" with me from the start??
**This is really such a simple concept.

1. Pay $500
2. Drive car as you wish
3. Maintain car per Ferrari 348 owner's manual
4. Show proof of maintainance
5. If car's belt breaks, collect "insurance" and pay for fix
6. Repeat cycle if you want to



Dude, what is your deal??

 

Bo,

I wouldn't mean to get that involved in it. Basically I could care less if they were racing, dumping their clutch, driving it like a creampuff. For $500, it would give me peace of mind that my belt wouldn't snap. If someone offered me an insurance policy for $500 annually to protect against a belt snapping, I would take him up on it. That's where this is coming from is all. And, over the weekend, I was thinking of how many people we would need to cover a belt. I figured $15k should do it. Or maybe we cover up to $15k??

Anyway, it was just an idea.

Trying to think of where the legal would come from?? If someone blows up a belt, the dealership gets paid. And they would have to show full documentation. Is there trust factor involved?? Yes. But there would also be more anti-fraud factors involved. I know Ferrari guys in every inch of this country that would go and check out this "belt" issue and come back with full documentation of if it is legit. Maybe this is where the law would come into play.

Who knows?? Just an idea though. Just an idea......

What I DO love is how a guy comes on here with a solution (albeit not a good or bad one) to solve all of the pissing and moaning I have heard about Ferraris and their belt issues/fears. Not once have I heard of another SOLUTION other than "suck it up and pay to play". I think there has to be better than that out there......

 

I think I have answered the question about two people blowing their belts. First one to blow it gets "insured". Unless we did it again with another $500.

The engine won't cost $25k to rebuild. There is another motor on this very site for sale for less than 1/3 of that price. If it did, we would insure up to $15k and put that in writing.

Pretty sure this won't happen anyway. Instead, we will be left to listen to stories about people getting tired of FoNA's new 3 year belt service, people's fears of snapping a belt, and people not being able to afford the repairs when it does snap now and then.

Same old same old around here....... ;-)

 

"Crazy idea. Only a socialist could have come up with this one. Either that or someone who clearly does not understand human nature."


My apologies for taking offense or thinking you were judging me in the above-referenced quote from the first sentence of your reply to my post.