Ok, I just need/want to vent..... Over the past years I've read about these cars and how you absolutely have to take them to the dealer to get them serviced. As if nobody else on this planet would be able to properly work on them...... Well, earlier this month I finally got the balls to actually buy one (1995 F355B) and while I couldn't be a happier daddy, every time I look at my car I find another thing that bothers me. I know I'm making an assumption here (that the prior owner didn't do any of his own work on this car) but based upon my conversations with him I'm pretty sure he followed the "take it to the dealer" mantra. As I started working on this thing I found incorrect nuts holding the hood struts on. I found missing hardware (bolts and such). And regular (straight slot) screws where phillips head screws should be. All of this I was sort of willing to ignore as stuff prior owners had done or hardware that has simple come loose and fallen off. Until today when I went to pull the plugs. As I was removing the covers I was confronted with very nice stainless steel allen head socketed cap screws on the passenger side and a miss match of two screws and two bolts on the drivers side. Well, I guess that could be the way it's supposed to be (sarcasm). And when I get those covers off I find the valley full of water and I look to see why the gasket didn't seal. Below is the picture of the sealing side of the cover... http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h224/andrewmr/P1010066.jpg As I look at my list of things missing I have 12 items that I need to get to put this thing back to where it needs to be. And I can not come up with any excuse why the cover would look like that (it was off not too long ago). All I'm saying, is if we are supposed to threat these Ferrari mechanics as gods then they should at least make an attempt to live up to it. And it's not like owners taking their cars into the dealership to have them services are afraid of paying for service. If the hardware is missing go get the stuff and put it back on the car. In the case of the missmatched hardware, replace it with the correct stuff.... Ok, I feel better now. Thanks for listening.
This is exactly why I try to do as much as reasonable on EVERY car I own. While an f-mechanic is likely "better" than say a Nissan mechanic for example, who but the owner will really care about the car. If for a second you believe a ferrari mechanic won't slip on some odd-ball bolt for a part that he believes will never be seen, you're kidding yourself. It's all about the bottom line for any shop. period.
In seven years ownership I have yet to have a positive experience at an authorized dealer. Now I do everything that I can myself, things I need a SD2 for I take to Brian Crall. With the help of folks here and Daniel at Ricambi I have no need of a dealer.
My 355 has been serviced by the dealer since new and since the last service I found : Alloy air line broken & bent (caused by poor installation and rubbing in the area of the bypass valve), 7 of 8 spark plugs replaced but didnot bother to change the 8 th one , screws missing off the cam covers which cover the spark plugs, broken fittings (due to overtightening)that attatch the cat to the muffler , disconnected vent hose on the left side of the motor, loose coolant hose fittings (and subsequent leaks), loose alternater belt (to the point of screeching)., broken cv rubber boot (there was NO boot left)...ect. The service cost over 8g and the lack of attention to detail is concerning. Next service, may not be the dealer.
Always use a respected indie over a main dealer. There's a reason why the indies put there own money into the business ... they love what they do. The guy who has my car in at the moment for some pre Le-Mans service work went down to our local main dealer for some flywheel grease and an oil filter. They said, nope, we don't use any special grease, just go down to the local motor factors and get the standard stuff (has a name but can't remember) ... when pressed, they happily admitted that if it's a part that cannot be seen they never use a £50 Ferrari part when a £5 Fiat part will do. What they charge is anyone's guess.
When I bought my 355 last year it just had a major done by an independent shop. Well they did not replace the tensioners or the spark plugs. When they changed the oil they did not use the oil drain they used the pressure valve. And to top it off he broke the motor mounts when the motor was put back in.
Sounds like somebody pressurewashed the engine and squirted water right at the unsealed parts. Bummer! Dealer or indy, nobody cares as much about your car as you.
Interesting topic, this is one that came up over lunch at our last FOC meet/run. I am yet to get my car back from our factory authorised service department fixed. That is every time I have taken my car (same goes with my prior 355 also) in to the shop to have something fixed, it has ether not been fixed properly or the car has come back with other problems meaning it needs to return to have these sorted, still I have not got it back from them at 100% done, no need to return. I could go into detail on these experiences but there is not much point to that, 8+ visits in fewer than 12 months, not a great track record. *rant over* Service it yourself, that is what I intend to do (once my warranty period is over), with the help of the great guys on here we all should be able to tackle most things at home paying our selves $60 per hour and saving a hole heap.
Not every shop is like the rants above. I know of a shop that cares more than 95% of the customers it sees (there are about 5% of car owner's that are even nuttier than this shop). So just keep looking. Pride and excellent workmanship has not been killed everywhere yet.
In AZ the dealer is the place you take your car if you want it poorly serviced at best, and destroyed at worst. DIY or use a recommended independent.
While I can't say I have had the opportunity to verify that all things were conducted in a proper manner I can say I am very pleased with the results of my Major performed by F of New England. I purchased my car in June of last year knowing it needed a major (7 years on a 348 cambelt). I waited until winter when the car would be out of service anyway and service prices are reduced. I discussed the project in detail with the service manager Steve and my tech Nickola. They were more than helpful, allowed me to provide parts, allowed me to visit the shop regularly, showed me what they found wrong, and attempted to explain why it was wrong. I felt it was important to have a qualified tech do this first major due to my unfamiliarity with the car. I'm glad I did it. There "bed side manner" was perfect. Nick did a fantastic job and made me feel confident in the outcome. Now that I feel I have a good baseline, I'm happy to work on my car myself. BTW - the cambelts were near perfect and did not warrant a major but the tensioner bearings were well on the way. Sealed bearing were no longer sealed. Plastic race cover was gone and bearing did not rotate smoothly. Replaced with Hill Bearings
I suggest you find a company that truly cares about the cars and the clients (Dealer or independednt makes little difference) I consider my clients friends, most have my cell number and can call me anytime. I take any concern they would have with my work personally. I work for a dealer and know of just as many independents that have issues as dealers. Find a mechanic/technician that cares and work with them. Obviously this is going to vary by area.
So glad we an independent shop around here like www.competizionecars.com - - They will not let little just go---They love these cars and know their reputation is built around good customer service!!
I am in the same boat and some of you would have read the horror stories I have had happen to my 355 not long ago. I have since not let a Ferrari mechanic touch my car. I have fixed all issues they couldn't fix and now the car is running better than ever. When yu look at these engines they are not all that complicated to work on. There are some areas that I may not be comfortable to do myself but the majority is OK. For example only recently I changed the RH radiator and repaired the voltage regulator in my alternator all by myself. No leaks and runs fine now. Use this forum to fix you car yourself and more importantly if you have a fellow F-car owner who is willing to help you even better.
As one of those Indie shops I can tell you plenty of horror stories about "so and so said they fixed it" when we tell them it was not. Get a referral! I would gladly give out a previous customers' name for a prospective client to varify we know what the freak we are talking about. Our reputation is our livelyhood! I can't count how many times we see sub-standard work by a "Ferrari tech". And remember just because they sell Italian and German cars doesn't mean they know how to work on them, a detailer is not a tech!! Shameless promotion- www.theimportspecialists.com If you ever hear "cars are all the same" keep driving.
I had my last and final "discussion" around inferior (and the extremely dangerous) servicing of my car by the both the dealer and their satellite shop up my way; new manager in Balto sends me an email to go take it up w/one of the owners instead of handling it himself...I'll continue to rant and tell anyone to avoid the dealer at all cost...then again, I only have 2 Ferarris and am chicken feed to them. Nothing beats the smell of leaking gasoline in the morning from your Ferrari, in a 4-car attached garage. The last straw was being charged to replace a fuel line that was never replaced! At least the smell wasn't napalm. Five Stars to Competizione. Car is sorted out, no thanks to the dealer.
Ok, here's an update... and maybe some rationale behind at least one of the issues. I went to order all the missing hardware and the 16 little pieces came to somewhere around 80 bucks. It's probably five dollars worth of hardware if I wanted to contune down the whatever works path but I want to try and keep things right. I say try as when I went to order the gaskets for the plug covers it turns out the early cars (four bolt not ten) use a different setup and the gasket pack for that is $260. As I was almost recovered from the shock of it all I was then told that was per side. Ok, even for a Ferrari that seems a little out there. So, I thought I would try an alternate path even though I think it's going to be equally expensive. Does anyone have an old set of valve covers with the corresponding ten bolt pulg covers for sale? Or better yet, does anyone have an idea what these might cost if I were to find them? Or... does anyone have an old set of gaskets for the four bolt covers? We see that there are three pieces and we believe the center piece is a metal shim of sorts. Does anyone know what this is?
Did you check for the 1995 plug gaskets at Ricambi America? If it is part 163621, they list a price of $8.20 each. (Maybe this low price is only for the 10-bolt ones?) They break out the 1995 ones from the 1996+ ones on their web page. Check out these links: Part: http://www.ricambiamerica.com/product_info.php?products_id=215493 Diagram: http://www.ricambiamerica.com/article_info.php?articles_id=1349 Hope this helps.
Exotic Cars / Pittsburgh , Juiseppe is excellent .There is never a worry about quality ,attention to detail,if you choose to cut corners/ expense , its left up to you ,you make the call . All issues are shown/demonstrated when problem is found & the path to repair is left to you with several options laid out in dollars & cents.Major service was done 9k ago & all is well.
Just have to throw in a rant about Ferrari of Central Florida. I'm still pissed five years later, in case you haven't noticed ) In 2003, I had finally scrounged enough $ to buy and maintain a F355. FofCF were doing a PPI for me on a 95 F355. On the compression test, most cylinders were between 175-180 - except for #2, which had 142 psi (failing both ends of the spec - F355 compression minimum specs are all cylinders above 150 psi and less than 10% variance between cylinders). They told me that this was great compression - no problem (lie #1). I then asked for a leakdown, and they told me that they couldn't do a leakdown with the engine in the car (lie #2). But it was a magnificent F355.... with luggage and everything. I was staring at the car, thinking about selling the luggage to partially finance the engine repairs, when I realized that I had lost my mind - and was fixing to lose my wallet - in the red mist and had better fly home fast.. After being lied to twice by factory trained and employed technicians - and the service manager - who I was paying to give me straight info, I bent over, paid my bill, and caught my flight home. End of sad story and rant.
