Independent Ferrari shop drove my car for 55 miles!

You're complaining about 55 miles? Really?

I understand complaining if they didn't fix it. Or if the price was too high or the car given back to you in poor or dirty condition.

But 55 miles?

What you should be thankful for is he fixed it correctly and at a price you thought was acceptable.

 

it takes 100 miles for code 1448 to show up...

 

Personally, I’d be happy that he fixed the problem. Image Unavailable, Please Login


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Yes and then hack into the red light camera system and see if you can recover any footage of them going by

 

Most shops are just trying to do a good job and don't have time to 'joy ride' in some guy's car. If you've ever worked on cars, sometimes you have to drive cars to check the fix. Only neurotic Ferrari owners would be pissed about 55 miles. If people actually drove these cars instead of petting them, they would actually work, but most Ferrari gatherings are filled with 'who has the least miles' conversations.

55 miles is nothing. If it's fixed, be happy that you found a good tech.

 

If they didn't write the mileage on the service order when I drop it off, I would have no idea now many miles the shop puts in my cars. In fact, I still don't, because I never think to look when I pick them up. I just smile and take the long way home.

I will say that if the invoice at the end didn't include "Road tested vehicle and confirmed performing to factory specs" that absence would raise more concerns for me than noticing a few miles.

 

Two other perspectives:
1. I recently litigated an exotic car repair shop case. All major components were stolen & never recovered, the shop closed w/o notice & the vehicle was moved to an undisclosed outdoor location which caused ruination of the almost - completely restored bodywork. The trial court's award of $210,000 was appealed by the vehicle owner's insurance company, & we are awaiting the appellate court's decision. So the original poster's concerns are not without precedent, and I think those comments indicating he needs to get a life are somewhat harsh..

2. In spite of the above, I agree that any reputable exotic car repair facility would not put frivolous miles on such a vehicle. I will state right here that those who have worked on my Mondial (Jim Lindsay of Kenner, LA and Chuck Blair - RIP - of Little Rock, AR) are/were completely honorable and above board; car guys who were knowledgeable and fun to be around. So now the question can be distilled to, "which shops are reputable?". Ask around. Send some local (to you) F'Chatters private messages regarding shops they deal with and ones you may wish to employ, and then get their opinions. Go look at the vehicles in the various shop and guesstimate how long they have been there. Get on the internet and research those repair shops.
Just my thoughts. Good luck!

 

He must be.

And I get that--isn't one of the longest threads on this forum pertain to a fella that had his car crashed by an Ontario dealership that was careless w his car?

55miles seems like a lot absent extraordinary circumstances.

 

Let's look at this "case". No parts were stolen. Shop is still open. Owner got car back and appears to be "repaired" for what condition it was brought in for. What "damages" were done to the car.

Let's put it this way.. could you successfully litigate this case based on the owner being unhappy with the car driven 55 miles on the basis it was driven 55 miles for a repair?

May you have frivolous luck with that.

 

vrsurgeon: hell no you couldn't litigate this "case". There is no "case"; the original poster expressed a concern and wanted feedback from other owners of similar vehicles.

 

What she said.

I have my own Ferrari, parked right next to my client's car. I never drive anyone else's car unless there is a reason to. Sometime it's part of the job, get over it. If you don't trust the guy to take care of it, why are you bringing it there?

 

I would be leery of any repairs where the car was not driven afterwards.

Are you happy witht he repair and the condition the car was retruend in, move on.

 

As Statler stated, respectfully ask the shop why/what entailed the long drive. Much better then our speculations.

 

If the car in question was a non-exotic, where miles on the odometer don't translate almost directly into depreciation, then 55 miles might not be an issue. But with an exotic, every mile = $$$. Non-exotics never get taken 55 miles to clear a code. My BMW guy will give me the car back and tell me to drive it those miles. It's F-ing bull that a shop would take the car and do those miles knowing that those miles are $$$ to the owner.

 

When I take my car in for a technical/critical/delicate repair, I expect to receive the car back reasonably dialed in and ready to romp. I remember my guy telling me he was finished but wanted to take it out on the road a bit to check the suspension. I told him to use it as his DD for a few days (he didn't find that necessary). Yes, they MAY have taken it for a joyride, but guess what: If they did (which you'll never prove because as mechanics they'll be able to manufacture technical reasons why it was required), it didn't break, hurt, or devalue your car. At its most basic, it's a machine. Further, it's a Ferrari; they're happier and healthier when driven. You'd have the right to feel violated, but it's a no-harm foul.

More likely, though, an indie competing with ADs isn't going to risk their reputation or a ruinous lawsuit for an hour drive. It seems the people here suggesting the worst aren't familiar with what's involved in your particular service. Those who understand seem to concur that driving it for about 25mi, then turning around and coming back, maybe gassing up along the way, isn't unusual. A responsible tech would get it warmed up and have a good run through all the gears for enough miles to verify that no codes or leaks reappear. This ensures you won't drive it three miles home and suddenly find that you still have a problem.

If you did proper due diligence on the shop before leaving a Ferrari with them, have faith and give them the benefit of the doubt; they aren't looking to lose business by doing something irresponsible.

 

Testing the operation of a variable resistor would require a complete heat cycle or two. Transmission repairs are best road tested well, as a problem might take a while to show itself. It seems a simple question to the shop owner would have prevented you all sorts of emotional distress.

 

Is it possible he drove it to his home?

Only asking because about a month ago I had my M3 in for fluid changes/tires and asked that the car be left inside overnight (the weather was horrendous that weekend). There were already a few cars who had dibs, so i asked if he had a garage at his residence. He did and left his work truck outside the shop and brought my car home. I had no problem with this as I trust him and couldn't pick the car up that evening. I think it was 60 miles round trip.

I know it's not probable, but it is possible.

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If not, 55 miles seems like an awful lot for what was done. Just ask.

 

Im glad I dont have that perspective.

 

I have no idea how many miles are on my cars when i drop them off...or pick them up.

I would expect them to drive the car.

I trust them to pull it apart and fix it (hence bringing it to them), why wouldn't i trust their judgment when behind the wheel?

We have all become far too cynical in our society; or perhaps cynicism is a trait that aids in financial success.

 

Wow, way too much drama. I have my mechanic drive my Ferrari as much as he needs to to determine if there are issues and if they are fixed. If it takes 50-150 miles, no big deal, I want to be sure that it fixed. For all of those who are so critical of the mechanic putting miles on the car, please do not. tell me that you valet your car or park it in front of a restaurant or club, that is damage central and quite douchey. They are cars, if they cause this much stress and trouble, it is time to move on, it is not worth it.

 

Sell the car, buy a piece of art that has the same value.
Nail it to the wall, it won't be going anywhere and needs zero maintenance.
Problem solved

 

A couple things come to mind - 1St Most independents don't work on so many Fcars and don't have the same skill level working on those cars as a Ferrari tech would so may need to put more miles on car to be sure problem is solved. 2nd for any tech time is money so I kind of doubt they spend so much time joy riding if not necessary. 3rd 55 miles on the clock is not going effect the value significantly if the service is once or every couple of years.

This seems to me to be pretty much of a non event in the possible issues with an Fcar. When I take in a car for service I want it back in as perfect of running condition as possible. I don't want to come back the next week with the same or another issue that putting on some miles would resolve. Just returning to the service facility is also going to put on some miles for the extra trip and return plus my time dealing with a non serviced issue. So if it takes 55 miles to do this then that is what it takes. I think it is time to look at the bigger picture - car fixed - GREAT, cost to fix car reasonable - GREAT - no problems - GREAT! IMHO

 

Agree with this. It's not the number of miles, but how the miles were driven.

Years ago, a friend of mine took his older M3 in for a minor service. Reset the onboard computer's MPG meter when parked, as he always does before dropping it off somewhere. His average is about 18 mpg or so. When he picked up his car, there were an additional 10 or 15 miles, but the MPG readout was 9 MPG. A rudimentary telltale, and a bit troubling.

So, so many stories out there of cars being joyridden by technicians and porters, and sometimes damaged or wrecked while doing so. Anything more than few extra miles on the odometer should raise some suspicion.

Remember this?
https://rennlist.com/articles/shop-owner-crashes-rennlist-members-gt3-rs-joyride/

 

i think you may be refering to my post in which i said, 'time to get on with your life' which to me is very different than 'time to get a life'. my point was simply, its done. its over. forget about it. life is too short to stress these things

 

I've seen a couple of FF's on the market that depreciated at $1000 a mile, so...