The accountant & his refusal to perform a belt service. “It’s a fraud”

Well that is one way to play. The last 348 motor I bought years ago was under 5k!!!! In a way could be a good play especially if you bought a motor when cheap and stored it.

 

Yes but what about the decrease in value having a non matching engine number in your car? Plus the headache of it all. Cheap insurance a belt service - just don’t do it as often maybe if you think it’s a stitch up.

 

I wouldn't count on this. The bolt-in extra engines won't be available forever and rebuilding the engine isn't free of charge (neither money nor time) either. Combined with the way Mr. Murhpy tends to time such breakouts, I prefer maintaining the car in advance.

 

Probably didn't need to replace the engine. Pull the heads and replaced a few valves. Not the first 348 that broke a belt.

 

Always heard there are no such things as matching numbers on a Ferrari, no? So it doesn't matter anyways...

DF

 

Last few engines sold on BAT were 15 and 17k. Then install cost and service prior to install etc. They are getting expensive.

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good for the old man...

This thread belongs with almost every brand nowadays with manufacturers wanting you to pay for ridiculously marked up dealer service charges just to keep car in warranty (or so the dealer says).

 

I don't think he did that badly, and, with 71K+ miles, a replacement engine isn't such a bad thing to hurt (the already reduced) value (if you can justify the replacement had less miles). The scarcity of good used 348 engines being available is an issue going forward for such a strategy, but he did OK $-wise IMO.

 

In 2017 the car should have been on its (at least) 4th belt (at 7 years per belt).
Belt service in the 1990s should have been $5K
Belt service in the 2000s should have been $5.5K
Belt service in the 2010s should have been $6K
So he saved maybe $18K

And now he has to pay $21K for the motor and $4K to drop the current blown motor and put the new motor in.

I don't see how he saved any money at all.

 

Maybe he put some money aside back in 1991. Invested it in the S&P 500. $5k invested would be over $40k today. So buy investing the cost of the first major he would be ahead $15k plus the $11.5k he didn't spend on the additional two majors which he could have also invested.

 

Play it safe and do the belt service on a 348 at 70K miles

 

It’s actually amazing that an accountant bought a Ferrari in the first place!

 

I want to see someone post receipts for 4 consecutive 348 major services 7 years apart at Mitch's bargain prices .

 

I would never put a used motor in without doing full major on it first. Who knows its state.

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Dont know about you but I love having a car that every time I drive it I wonder if its getting me where I am going.
Have dealt with a few over the years with that service philosophy but it almost never applies to just the belts. Usually its more like if its still under its own power it must be OK. Had one here recently. Car needed a long list of serious stuff but just wanted a minor issue repaired and had a dead battery. I put a new battery in it so he could drive it out and I refused any further work. He was surprised. Car was a rolling break down and I don't need that quality of reference out in the community.

 

Sounds like what I refer to as 'Archie Bunker logic' sometimes it almost makes sense

 

Another thing. His logic about the profit margin on the cars defy's logic. In that period the profit margin on new cars was quite high.

The dollar profit on a 328 at 60 some thousand was higher than the dollar profit on a 160 some thousand 360 Modena.

He must have flunked accounting.

 

My indie in central Florida has show me the shelled remains of several V8 belt failures...

 

BTW - is 7 years now the recommended belt service interval? I recall that it was at 3 years, then changed to 5 years with the availability of improved componenets

 

I always recommend 5 years or 30 thousand miles. Doesn’t mean you have to stop driving the car once it hits the 5 year anniversary.

 

I subscribed to the 5 year interval. Although I once let one of my cars go to 6 years because I was not paying attention.

 

I've got a 550 - and it had a fresh belt service just before I got it. I had planned for a 5 year change - but the virus thing pushed it out to almost 7. I was afraid to drive it and my indie recommended that I did not until he could get after it. That's when he showed me the remains of a few shelled 3x8 motors...

 

348 uses 1 belt and that belt also drives the water pump. 3-5 years max I say on that belt. 355, 550,456,612..honestly with the belt material being substantial and if you avoid the temptation to wash your engine bay down every other hour..you could push 10 years. 7 is a good lucky number..so I leave the recommended time at that number.

 

New motor is a crapshoot. People will tell you it ran well before they pulled it out of the car, but it's difficult if not impossible to fully test it before buying and installing in a car. I'd much rather take care of a known good motor than just keep swapping in unknown motors, that's an odd way to do things.