Ferrari Service Price increase to $295/hr

True but no one is forcing Ferrari to comply with existing law. We could, it would be an expensive long fight and then what would be won? A right to get a subscription to an online service at a price we could not justify or amortize? In the EU it is actively enforced and prices need to be justified. It is intentional in every way. The SD's were required to be sold in the EU and the black market saw them find their way here at very inflated prices. Its the reason they got away from stand alone equipment. When people ask why are the cars so much cheaper to service in the EU that is part of the reason.

The increasing costs we see now are just the tip of the iceberg. A few more years and people will be happy to only pay $500

 

I’m not familiar with the ins and outs of Ferrari servicing, but just from observation, opportunity cost has to factor in to service pricing. When a car is taking space on a lift or in the facility, waiting days to weeks, maybe months for a part, it’s a big drain on efficiency

 

$330 an hour around NYC area

 

Land Rover Brooklyn $499/hr according to Tik tok

 

And unlike most makes a Ferrari facility has to bear the burden of paying for a lot more square footage than it really needs so those cars can be stored safely waiting to be finished.

 

So from Mr So Quiet I know Everything Retro Phit can we hear how absurd $295 an Hr is again?

 

Silence from our resident expert.

 

The Old Ox Road/Business Court Gang is missed.
It was a very different sort of dealership and atmosphere than the current Ferrari of Washington.
Ferrari S.p.A. for that matter is a very different entity than it was 20 years ago.

 

The excitement of visiting different Ferrari dealerships around the nation and around the globe is gone. The character is now 100% homogenized.
All done for Ferrari S.p.A. to maximize profits. Totally understandable from a business POV. Sad from an enthusiast's POV who understands the history of the brand.

Miller Motorcars in Greenwich
Ferrari of Washington in the middle of a Sterling Office/Industrial Park
Foreign Cars Italia in Greensboro NC
Lake Forest Sports Cars outside Chicago
Ferrari of Los Gatos and Hollywood Sportscars on the other coast
And many others.

Anyone that visited those before 2001 enjoyed a unique experience at each. Full of character and characters.
Today McDonald's has more differentiation between locations. Sadly, the only difference between Ferrari Dealerships today seems to be the language spoken, the size of the place, and current inventory.

 

It was an enthusiasts business. Enjoyed every minute. Now its just about moving tin.

 

It only took a few years after Il Commendatore passed before things started to change, and just a bit more than a decade after when the profit motive had fully taken over the motivation of enthusiasm.

 

so so true

 

I think it took quite a bit longer than that. After the Old Man died it took quite a while for it to get to the path it is on now. LDM tried but failed and it was in a state of flux for some time with the dealer network mostly on their own for quite a while. It was a long vacuum of leadership. Or at least it changed enough no one had a solid grip on the reins.

It sure seems now like it is in the hands of a bunch of MBA's who are not really car people and read in a book someplace how to wring profits and develop income streams.

 

Maybe vacuum of leadership was too strong. It was not being micromanaged. Now its being micromanaged and its not for the benefit of anyone outside Maranello. .

 

It's been a publicly traded company since 2015 and to get they had to shape the company years before to prepare.

Bottom-line: You have to answer to the board and your shareholders = profit above all

 

But they never have been nor are they now.

 

Brian - Just to clarify are you saying you believe they (Ferrari N.V.) is not a public traded company?

 

Why would I say that?

 

I've thought about opening my tiny shop up to Ferrari / Exotic Car maintenance and repairs down near Roanoke, VA. I've been doing some restoration/repairs/customization work for the H1/HMMWV community because of how difficult it is to find shops who specialize in that kind of thing.

We don't have any big money down here so there's not much of a customer base. Seems like a decent opportunity to charge normal shop rates for work on vehicles that should be preserved, but with the added cost of usually having to drive out and pick up the customer's car and transport it to the shop.

I of course would much prefer to learn just a few vehicles and specialize in just those than be a general shop.

It is terrifying to think about what Ferrari would do to try to shut me down as an independent shop. For example would they shut online orders down? Would they tell the Greensboro or Washington dealership to stop selling me parts if I went that route?

Since the shop is also a manufacturing facility, Greensboro had mentioned potentially having me make parts. For example, they mentioned they had a Testarossa (I think) which didn't have the window regulators available anymore. And I'd love to engineer new parts based on more commonly available parts with as much of the same Ferrari spirit as possible. But I imagine Ferrari would HATE that and not allow dealers to buy aftermarket parts even when Ferrari doesn't make them any more.

But usually the engineering time on such things is very, very hefty. On some of the Hummer parts I make for example I'd go through 3 months of trying out 10 different hinge types to find the best one for a part that only sells 2 or 3 of them per year.