550 Service

I thought the services were 15K and 30K...at least according to my owner's manual.
They also don't point out in the service manual oil changes more frequent than that....do people really go 15K miles without an oil change???

 

The 30 includes cam seals for starters......

 

It should be done at 15k and 30k and so on. In a 15k the plugs are changed, air filters, oil filters, all fluids, cam belts, valve adjust, cam seals are done at this time i believe, and al lot of checks.

Were are you located?

 

Theoretically it should include: (all are listed under 18750 mile service, annual only items listed in brackets)
engine oil and filter change, (annual)
gearbox oil change, (annual, check only)
check and possibly replace based on time requirement - auxillary belts -water, alternator etc,
check spark plugs and replace if necessary,
550 has hydraulic tappets so no valve adjustment reqd, cam seals are not on 'book schedule' merely if they are leaking, which isn't uncommon but not part of service.
check cooling system,
check injection system and piping,
inspect air injection and pumps,
replace fuel filters, check/replace air filters,
replace filter on air con system, check exhaust,
emissions check, (annual)
change brake/clutch fluid, (annual)
check/replace power steering ATF,
check brakes, pads, pipes etc, (annual)
check suspension and steering,
check/adjust car geometry,
check/replace air con gas,
usual minor checks and hinge greasings etc

I mention theoretically as I'd be surprised if most places do actually do all they should. Most of the above checks get completed as part of a yearly UK MOT check anyway that costs no more than £50, the rest can be completed within 1-1.5 days, 2 tops including a full geometry set-up on average. Of course if they find further items or issues you expect a larger bill. Alas the pricing is based on the usual not worst case, and alas it's based on the first owners wallet, not it would seem actually how long things take...otherwise based on the bills a 550 would take longer to service than a 355, er no.

On the price differences for the services, in my humble experience, far too many folks seem to wear extreme bills as badges of honour, and fixed price servicing menus are rarely fixed price if you ask them to run thru what's done and get them to do the maths and work for your business. For instance a Ferrari dealer quoted 11hours to do the timings belts because they claim the rads need to come out, yet no-one ever takes the rads out because there's shed loads of room (far far more than most modern family cars have with transverse engine), and usually all done in 3-6hrs including tensioners. In their defence they do say they don't take the rads out but the dealer I spoke with said they charge work by book figures...my cynical guess is that this only works in one direction.

Unfortunately there are a lot of folks out there that think because the car has a horse on the front the owner must have horse dung for brains. If you are looking for a service any time soon, by all means PM me and I will gladly send you some details of where you could get your car serviced by respected indie I use and trust, and know the work is a) done and b) for a cost you both think fair. Depending on where you are in London it's only 30-60mins drive. Some of the dealers are great, but you do pay a price premium for this and it's often pot luck who works on your car...hence I prefer to always talk to the same person and build a rapport but do appreciate some folks prefer the main dealer route without question. Hope the above helps, the only addition I would add is to replace the central V water pipe if it isn't the newer 575 style item as these tend to pop, and as said by all means pm me for indie details if you wanted.

Jon

 

Don't forget that there is an inside cam seal that should also be replaced. However, the Ferrari "book rate" doesn't allow for this.

Best bet is to find an independent who knows what he is doing and pay him. It will be a lot cheaper in the long run.

Dale

 

Hi there, i think I know likely where it went and they are generally very good. Have bought cars there and serviced but i go more locally now in Essex as part from anything it's a pain for me in geography terms, but also I have a great rapport with the folks where I take it and always know who's working on the car etc. Depending on where you take it you sometimes need to check whether a major was actually a major, as I've had and seen cars with them stamped but the dealers haven't done or understood the extra tasks involved, which aren't that major anyway barring geometry work, but the fact they couldn't be bothered to read the front of the service book is a tad alarming. So to me some of them seem to think the difference between major and minor is mostly the bill size. Equally I know some indies that do extra checks yearly rather than at the major mileage points, such as pressure checking the coolant system etc., which is good when it catches issues early.

Utimately it's a fairly small community, there seems to be a fair bit of copying of the 'fixed price' menus but a fair bit of divergence of what this delivers from my experience, and a wide difference of what's on offer in both terms of service items, premises, staff and knowledge, and importantly client rapport. So I found it to be just about finding something that works for you on all levels. The 550 should not be that expensive to service though comparatively, and on majors particularly with belts, it should for sure be less imho not more than say a 355 that needs engine/petrol tank out for belts etc.