My New 1994 512TR

On October 11, 2011 I put a call into Ferrari Maserati of Atlanta (FMOA). Listed on their website was a 1994 Black on Black 512TR with 11k miles on it. You will see from my previous posts (some of which are included below), I had chickened out buying a TR in the past

http://ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=278183

http://ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=281505

and instead bought a 328 (which I still really enjoy).

http://ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=288768

At the time I was worried the TR was too much of a car (in all senses of the word – too powerful, too difficult to drive, reliability too low, availability of parts too scarce, etc). However, you never get over your first love – and the TR was mine.

After a negotiation with the owner of the car (the car was on consignment, it was not a dealer owned car, so FMOA was acting as an intermediary - the salesperson truly was a gentleman and a pleasure to deal with – not typical in the car business) we settled on a price.

I asked FMOA to do the PPI. I had two options in the PPI (1) a 101 point checklist that they run the car through and / or (2) a compression / lock down. Given the potential for problems I have read about at-nausea on this forum (and the importance of getting a good TR vs. one with issues) I decided on both. The PPI was performed on 10/19/2011. The compression/lockdown was good (the compression on the car was between 175-180 on all cylinders) and PPI only noted 9 issues:

1) Tires were dry-rotted and old (I figured $1,500 - $2,000 to replace)
2) Left wheel rim had a ding (I would leave it be)
3) Missing front right spoiler lip (I figured $500)
4) Bad wiper blades (I figured $50)
5) A/C not cold (this could be a minor issue or a big one – I bet minor $250, but realized it could be much more
6) A/C/ fan noisy (again could be a small or big issues – I bet $500)
7) Fuel gage light not working (again could be big or small problem – I picked the middle $600)
8) Oil leak – this I was not worried about as the car needed a major anyway – so I had figured it as part of the major
9) Brake fluid looks old – (I figured we would have to replace brake fluid - $250)

I went back to the seller to get a price adjustment for the items listed on the PPI and again the salesperson was great. The seller and I reached agreement and I was the new owner of a 1994 512TR – serial number #98470 – and most importantly gearbox #2102 – which means it has the forged differential and all the big gearbox improvements.

The 512TR arrived at FMOFL on October 28th. On November 1st I got the news that no new Ferrari owner wants to hear – “Sir, we have a problem” – it turns out, as the technicians at FMOFL were going through the car and they noticed a slight tick and slip in the gears. They drained the gearbox and it turns out there were some metal shavings in the gear fluid; it could be up to a $10,000 problem……OH SHI!. The speculation was that the previous owner rested his hand on the shifter while he drove the car which caused the gears to slightly rub, over time it could have caused the problem and/or they were there from when the car was manufactured. I WAS UPSET (1) I had specifically bought a 1994 TR because it had all the transmission upgrades – and now I have a transmission / gear box issue and (2) I had just paid an authorized Ferrari Dealer damn near $1,000 for a PPI. FMOFL was willing to help me out with the fix at a friends and family rate as they knew this was a problem.

I called FMOA and spoke with Kevin Connors, the service manager and explained the situation. To make a long story short – Kevin Connors and Ferrari of Atlanta are a class act. To make the situation right, Kevin offered to ship the car back up to FMOA and fix the gearbox, at their expense. To add to the class of all the folks involved, the guys at FMOFL offered to remove the transmission in Fort Lauderdale and ship just the transmission up to Atlanta, thus saving the guys at FMOA the time and expense of having to take it apart. Cesar Valdez and Brian Sherry, Service managers at FMOFL worked directly with Kevin Connors, the Service manager at FMOA to arrange the entire process. I have owned Lexus, Mercedes and BMW’s and never have I had this level of service, cooperation and professionalism – EVER.

The conclusion was the metal shavings caused some main shaft bearings to have slight wear, the speculation was the metal shavings were from the build machining debris – FMOA replaced all the bearings and shipped the transmission back to FMOFL

So, now, lets get to the good part; I had never driven a TR before, my first time was when I picked it up from FMOFL last Friday OH MY GOD, this car is AMAZING. I had a 45 minute drive from Fort Lauderdale back to Miami, the quickest route would have been straight down 95, however I had just gotten into my new 512TR – taking the quickest route would be like trying to “hurry up” with Bar Refaeli; so instead I took the turnpike.

I have a 328 GTS, and they could not be more different. Several observations (1) my 328 attracts a lot of attention, the TR is like a 328 painted in neon; that is still taking some getting used to (2) the TR is much heavier than the 328, clearly I knew this from reading the posts and specs, but I was not sure how that would translate into the feel of the drive – I must tell you I like the TR feel –it is more sure footed and powerful enough that the weight is easily offset (3) a lot of folks in the this forum complain about the difficult/heavy steering the TR, particularly at low speeds - for me, the 328 and the TR are the same, no difference at all. I did read that the TR vs. the Testarossa's had a substantial improvement in this area (4) the gas pedal is very heavy compared to the 328 - A bit annoying, but over the past 5 days I have become used to it (5) I can see the dash becoming an issue on the TR - just on my 1 hour drive home from the dealer the glove box became a bit harder to open as the dash was in the sun during the drive south - i am actively looking for a sun/tint/UV solution for the windshield (6) I am concerned I will be over confident in the TR. The TR is so heavy, sure footed and solid I am concerned I will get over my ski's - the TR is like the Sirens of Anthemoessa who call to you to push the limits – and each time you push a little more, the car handles so incredible you want to go just a bit farther – eventually though you know its going end in trouble.

I find myself offering to take out the trash, walk the dog, anything to get into the garage to look at the car – below are the pics

Lewis
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Upnorth - it looks like I might have the same problem as you, which is "which one to I drive"?; I encountered that for the first time tonight when I was running to the liquor store for some last minute items. Honestly a problem I never dreamed I would have.

Melvok - I agree - it doesn't seem logical (in essence it means no one has looked at/changed the transmission fluid since they car was purchased). However FMOA incurred a lot of expense to do what they did and FMOFL was also involved so I feel good that it was done right, but agree seems odd. The other thing that makes me feel comfortable is the entire transmission was taken apart in the process and inspected, assuming folks did what they should (and given FMOA and FMOFL actions so far, the evidence would suggest they did) if there was another cuprit it should have been identified.

Thanks for the kind words guys - I have already replaced the radio (original was a 1994 alpine that would skip the cd when I coughed). Next I will do the fuse box upgrade AHudson just did, hat should put the car in great shape.

I also picked up some very nice TR luggage from a fellow Fchatter in black which I have already used and will use again soon when the wife and I take a short few day vacation in the TR.

 

Blown Daytona - you must be omnipotent, note i did not say in my reply to upnorth as to which one I took to the liquor store

 

Adamssss - The car has Tubi exhaust (not sure which version), but no, not at all. It is not untill the engine gets up to about 5,000 rom that the sound enters the cabin area, and even then it is not tiresome or annoying

Open Roads - you are correct, was there ever a doubt

NNO - yes, you are correct, that is the car - one of the very last to come into the US. The VIN on the 328 (which is a 1988 with about 26k miles) is 75882; it is black on tan, the black is a metallic which is nicer, in my opinion than the regular balck

I took the 512 out this morning at about 6am - the sun was just coming up across Biscayne bay and the temp was about 65 degrees, I must tell you an open highway on a morning like today is about as close to Maslow's tip as think it gets. I had the car up to 100 or so and the torque is still amazing - just incredible