Car still not fixed-What would you do?

I purchased my 355F1 10 weeks ago, in the first few weeks of ownership I found a few things I wanted to be sorted, to which the dealer agreed to do, these things were not urgent so I decided to wait about a month till I was in there part of the country again to have it sorted. In the mean time, the car developed a new more serious problem, the dealership were very good about this and agreed to have it sorted out at no cost to me. The dealership is the only factory authorised one in the country, and have there own factory trained service department.

The problem with the car is unusual, it is randomly dropping into neutral, driving along in any gear at any speed, go to change gear and it drops into neutral and flashes the gear indicator light, there seems to be no rime or reason to the fault occurring, it is completely random and does not do it on every drive, it also dose not have any codes stored in the computer, this make's diagnosis very difficult.

So after 5 weeks of ownership I took the car up to be fixed, left it with them. They did not contact me in the first week. So wondering what was happening, I gave them a call; they had not found the problem and were having trouble diagnosing it as it had not faulted on them. The next day I get a call from them saying they had the fault occur during testing and they were still a bit lost as to the cause, no codes etc. Another week goes by with no word from them, so I call again, they still have no idea but are working with the factory to try and sort it. 3 weeks go by, still no call from them, so I call again, this time they have found the problem and it’s all sorted, some relay switch that sends the TCU a message was apparently playing up, cool I think to myself, I get my car back. I make the trip up (150kms each way) pick up the car and proceed 5mins down the road it does the same thing again, I turn around and take it back, the service manager is very sorry about the hole thing, I do not get grumpy or angry, I smiled at him and said no problems, just give me a call when its sorted. At this point I am angry, but I do not like to upset people and I felt it would not do any good, so I left unhappy but calm.

So another week passes, I call again, this time I’m told it was the clutch plate that was the problem, they have fitted a new one and are road testing it, a few days pass and I call again, I am told it was not the clutch as it still has the problem and they are continuing to look for the answer. the next week begins and we were heading into a long weekend over here, the weather was supposed to be great, so I gave them another call to see if my car would be ready for the weekend, I was told that it may be but they were not sure, closer to the weekend I called again, this time I was told it was ready but still need more road testing, ok, I figure there is no difference between me road testing it and them road testing it, so I picked the car up, I travelled home with out a fault, that evening I went out for a drive and the problem returned, so I call them and let them know. They arranged to have the car picked up so I did not have to travel up again.

I called them today, the still have no idea what is causing this problem.

I have now been without the car for 5 weeks, I only had the car for 5 weeks prior to sending it back to them, and it is becoming annoying.

I’m unhappy for many reasons, the main one is outlined above, other than that they have managed to damage my rim and tyre while it was up there, they are fixing this, also the can had a bunch of scratches on it that were not there when I brought it, the car had another problem when I picked it up last, they are sorting this for me also, but strangely enough, the main thing that is bugging me it that every phone call, except one, has been initiated by me, they are not keeping in touch with me and this gets to me, I feel like I have to chase them to get the job done.

What do you think I should do? Should I call the salesman I brought it from and light a fire under his ass, should I call the service manager back and put some pressure on him? Should I sit penitently waiting for something to happen?

 

Thank you for your reply, it would appear you share similar life values as I do, I am not a quiet person, I understand that it is the squeaky wheel that gets the oil, this is why I have been calling them every week to get up dates. I also feel bad about myself if I get upset at someone who is clearly trying their best to do something for me.
I have a vast mechanical knowledge, but I am not a Ferrari mechanic, nor have I worked on any Ferrari's, nor do I fully understand the components and how they interact in the F1 system, so I leave it in the care of those that do understand, and even they are having trouble diagnosing the problem, this is ok with me, I can understand that these things can be hard to find, but I’m not sure that 25 business days is acceptable.

I have just spoken to the dealership again, and I must say that when I speak to them, they install every confidence that they will take care of the situation and come to an acceptable agreement for both parties. They truly are good to deal with. I also just received my second phone call from the workshop, this time it was the technician that is working on my car, he rang to get more background on what is happening when the fault occurs, credit where credit is due, and they called me. It’s a small step, but one I am thankful for. And by the end of the conversation, I don’t think he was any more enlightened than he was at the start, but that may be my poor account of what happens.

I also have spoken to the sale's man I brought the car from, he is a very nice guy, and very professional. At this stage we have all agreed that they have till Friday to sort the problem out, at which point I have been given options as to what I want to do, one of those options is to go shopping for another car.

At this point I am happy enough, I now have a time frame to work with, which adds comfort, I also can see the options laid out, and spend the next 2 day contemplating what I would do given the opportunity.

 

Hi Dave, if you ever get down to NZ, get in touch with me, i could use a co-driver on a south island road trip

Also, what you have mentioned may become a reality depending on what happens Friday.

Regards
James.

 

Thank you for your reply, it is interesting that your service guy is some what similar to mine, I like to be in the loop with my cars, I just assumed most Ferrari owners would be the same, therefore the service manager would keep everyone up to date on progress.
I have no doubt that they can and will fix the car, its the time frame and communication that is my concern, I will get over it, and as I have said in the prior post, this is a very GOOD COMPANY to deal with, I would recommend them to anyone and I will be dealing with them for a very long time, its just a combination of factors that have me pondering the next move.

I’m not bashing this company, they really are good people, I’m venting frustration with the time delay in fixing the car, sure there are things I would do different if I was in charge of customer service at this company, but this is nothing new, I’m just fussy.

 

Man you're awesome! That is the best list of possible causes I have seen in the last 5 weeks, I’m not sure if the workshop can diagnose as well as you can, and they have the car!

1) The alarm siren is faulty, but the car gives 2 flashes for lock, if the door is left open it continues to flash (I have made this error with my car at a cafe, took me a few seconds to work out why my hazard lights were flashing) so it would appear that the door and bonnet switches are working correctly, although if there was a faulty switch and it grounded while I was driving, could this cause the box to select N?

2) Not that I have noticed, but to be honest, I have not looked every time. I can remember it happening and the speedo was still reading, it would be hard to establish if the speedo was reading correctly at that time.

3) Unfortunately the car is 150kms north of me, and I will not be able to get up there until the weekend, which is after the Friday deadline we agreed upon, for interest’s sake, regardless of what happens I will have a look at these areas, I will also take photos of them to post in this thread.

If the dealership loaned me a car of nearly the same value, excitement, or in fact loaned me a car at all, I would be in a much different state of mind about the whole thing, fact is, and I have no Ferrari or other loan car at this stage.
Your idea would defiantly call their bluff, this I will try depending on Friday’s outcome.

Thank you No Doubt, I really appreciate the time you have taken to think of those scenarios and post in this topic.

 

Hahaha, I like your style, but in this case these guys are factory trained experts, the service manager has over 20 years Ferrari experience. They are very trust worthy, or I would not have brought my car through the dealership.

 

I’ve been thinking, no seriously I have, some times it hurts but I man up and get through the pain barrier......

If a door switch was to read open while I’m driving, would that make the car switch to N on my next gear change? Or is that only a stationary caution to prevent one from driving off with there date still half out the passenger door?