IMSS Hong Kong, what a farce!

I really forgot just how bad Italian Motors Sales and Service was like. First they told me not to use hyper-flow cats because they would not pass HK emissions tests (and IMSS sell the OEM item for HK$10k more!!!) so I went ahead and ordered them anyway. Passed emission test no problem.

I had taken the car in to have all the fluids changed and to check another couple of things as I had just bought it. When I got it back, there was a terrible vibration coming thru the clutch, gearshift and steering wheel. The vibration was so bad, my left foot went numb very quickly. Took the car back, said sort it out cos it was not like that when I gave it to you. They call me back and say the Clutch bearing is shot and oh, btw, the clutch is over 50% worn out... HK$18k for a new clutch. Now I can't prove they buggered it up in the first place but I have my suspicions.

They keep saying they're gonna call me back and never do. It's always me chasing them for an update. Then to top it all, they told me yesterday the car would'nt be ready for Saturday afternoon as they are still working on it. I drove by and the car was sitting there, no one working on it at all.

They just a) don't give a rats ass about their customers because they've got a monopoly and b) try to rip us off with overpriced parts and labour.

This was the same level of service I had with my last 355 but this time I'm not taking it lightly. I'm going to write to Ferrari in Italy to let them know what's going on and I would ask anyone else with similar experiences to do the same. This will force Ferrari to contact IMSS to see what's going on then maybe, just maybe, IMSS will sit up and start paying attention to their "customers".

Rant over.

 

No, bought it privately but I bought my last 355 directly from them. I know Herbert and have even got them some sales. His wife even plays tennis with my wife.

They just called me 9am this morning to tell me my car is ready. I said to Ben how come it was not ready on Saturday and he mentioned some bollox about a roadtest. Fact of the matter is they close shop at 4pm on a saturday and no one is going to affect that. My car was sitting in their shop all weekend, ready to go. All they had to do was roadtest it Saturday afternoon and I could have had it for the weekend. They did'nt even apologise. I'm writing to Ferrari in Italy because this is outrageous treatment.

You know why people think Ferrari ownership is a pain in the ass? It's not cos of build quality or anything. It's to do with the ripoff monopolistic treatment of the customers by the authorised service agents.

2nd rant over.

 

Trouble is these guys are the authorised service agent. Ferrari won't sell the diagnostic equipment to anyone else in HK. Also, if you have your car service anywhere else it affects the resale value...Ironic really as IMSS are so crap!

I've written to Ferrari SPA with all the details and waiting for a response. Watch this space.

 

PM me your fax number and i'll fax you the exact check they do...

 

Because this is nothing new. The attitude here seems to be "accept it" but I'm not willing to "grab my ankles". They can give me all the coffee they want but that's not what I want. I want decent mechanics that show good levels of knowledge and a decent quality control procedure. That's NOT what IMSS provide. BTW, having spent almost HK$50k in 1 month with IMSS and the car still is not right, I think I have the right to air my laundry anywhere I want.

 

I'd love to use an independent for some upcoming jobs on my 355 like brake change, exhaust fitting etc. Can you PM me the details? Do you take your car there too? cheers, tony

 

Herb called me yesterday to apologize for all the problems. Seems Ferrari have sent him a copy of my letter. He's coming round today to test drive my car so he can feel the vibration problem himself.

 

Herb thinks it's the engine mount. He's gonna refund me 50% of the clutch price and all the labour. I'm taking the car back this week to have the engine mount checked, and if necessary, fixed. Sometimes it takes a jolt from above to get things going....