Quick question: Working on Ferraris, Information, training and so forth

Sorry, I don't have the answers, and I'd get yelled at a lot if I told you to search the archives.


To the moderators and anti-ASN's, can we make one or more of the threads on this into a Sticky or put it in a FAQ ? Maybe Fchat needs a FAQ forum that just gets commonly occurring threads like this (what, about every month?) moved into it.

 

Good luck !

If you're gonna be an electrical/nuclear engineer, I'd just assume work on my own Ferrari for therapy if you enjoy that sort of thing...

 

If you want to really work on Ferraris, go to a independent shop that works on old ones. The dealers prefer the newer cars that come in with warranty. The repairs are more computer oriented.
Owners of 6yr and older cars seem to gravitate toward the independent. Less expensive and usually quicker service.

 

So let me get this straight,
You will soon have a nuclear engineering degree,
but you want to be an auto mechanic?

 

I am currently working towards a PhD in Optics, thesis in novel medical imaging techniques. I also wondered what sort of path there is to becoming a Ferrari technician, as I also enjoy working on cars on the side. After reading the other posts here on Ferrarichat about the very same topic, have come to the conclusion that it must be done "all in." That is, there is a highly selective demand for these technicians and if one is not going to fully concentrate on this task or goal, it would be futile. Certification on top of heaps of experience is usually required, and where that isn't the case, a lot of luck takes its place. With your engineering background, the ability to work on these cars is potentially possible. If you can understand nuclear and electrical systems, you would surely be able to comprehend a Ferrari's mechanicals with the right training. But someone who instead went to a technical institute for certification to be a mechanic, will have better ground than you will to eventually step into a Ferrari garage. I say work with what you know, be successful, and enjoy the 'scuderia ferrari' in your own garage. Wish you the best in your studies...

 

Presumably, you're not frightened of computer work (if you have EE and nuke certs -- from the military?).

But most Ferrari mechanics worked on other things before -- Alfas, Masers, Mitsus, etc. While there are some F-car owners who have money to burn, many of us are nervous about our cars, and having a "rookie" work on them isn't a glowing recommendation for a shop, so most exotic car shops only hire experienced mechanics -- typically from "lesser" dealers.

(If there's a heirarchy, I'd guess it would be general service indie shop then either indie shop that does exotics too or a "mundane" dealer (Toyo, Honda, etc), and then move up to the "necktie" service bays. Or to put it another way, you only work in the clean shops after paying your dues in the dirty ones. )

"Put your analyst on danger money, QUICK!"

Seriously, you don't have to be a gazillionaire to own a Ferrari ... if you don't insist on a new one. And if you're going to be a mechanic, with a whole shop at your disposal, you wouldn't have problems with an older one.

 

A little Free advice...
Use your degree, make lots of money, buy your own Ferrari,
and work on it yourself!
If you blow off the education you invested in to go to work for someone else as an auto mechanic, there is a good chance you will never earn enough to own a Ferrari.
And of course you may not care about owning a Ferrari,
you may just want to work on them.

I'm not an auto mechanic, but I work on a boat load of Ferraris!

 

I do most of my own work........and I'm not a Ferrari mechanic. It is just great therapy.

I think most of the dealers are using ASI certified techs and then take them on and send them to Fcar school on the different models.

But I agree with the others..............use your degree.....make plenty of $$......buy your own and work on it for pleasure.

Ciao........Dino

 

Nope, I was never a fan of Miami Vice. If it makes you feel better, TV rarely uses real cars. I've heard that Ferrari US got tired of seeing the bad replica in MV, and gave them a real Ferrari to use. I'd guess that episode was the writers' way of getting rid of the replicar.

But to answer your question about daily use, I used an Alfa Romeo as a daily driver for ten years. (Okay, I had two of them -- the spider I bought new for good weather, and the "beater" Alfetta GT for daily.)

I used my 328 as a daily driver for a couple of years after I bought it ... for summer. By that time, I had a Celica AllTrac for New England winters. While a mid-engined Ferrari wouldn't be too bad in the snow, most people like to keep them away from road salt. So the Ferrari was only a "daily" for summer.

The reputation Italian cars get for being "unreliable" comes entirely, IMO, from poor maintenance. You just can't skimp on routine maintenance on an Italian. Most people, these days, completely ignore the service schedule -- and then have to replace their cars every few years. An older car -- Italian or otherwise -- needs to be maintained to keep running. I service all my cars the same way: Fix it on the maintenance schedule, instead of waiting for it to break-down on the highway. And in the last 25 years, I've broken down on the road four times -- three of them in the Toyota.

Now I have the new EVO for daily use, so the Ferrari gets used in good weather -- or mood swings. (I drove it every day last week, but not at all this week. (We've had rain all week.)) But Italian cars run better when used daily. (It's just that my current commute is a bit short and slow for the Ferrari -- sitting in gridlock isn't really "exercise".)

Oh, and, using that maintenance schedule, I still have that Alfa Spider I bought back in '79. (But it has no aircon, so it's a spring/fall car.) (Having more than one car isn't much of a trick if you maintain them and keep them for decades -- they tend to accumulate. )