Unobtainable Service records

A) drive/fly/take the train to Ca.
B) schedule and take the service manager out to a lavish lunch
C) presto service records become available.

 

Easy fix, don't buy this 2005 430.

Find another one, plenty of them out there for sale.

 

Post the car's VIN here.

Someone might know something about it or who the previous owner was.

If you can get the contact info from the previous owner, that person can probably get the service docs from the dealer.

.

 

Occasionally a Carfax can give you a clue, I would ask the current dealer for a copy of it.
It may reveal any red flags, or other places that have serviced the car.
If you can get it for free it is another place they may help you to decide to move forward with the deal, and might reveal a clue to also walk away from it.
I only use them to get a "feel" for the car at that moment.
So sometimes helpful and sometimes not.

 

Walk away. It is a buyer's market.
Tell the dealer if he is unable to provide proper documentation there are plenty of alternatives. If they are unwilling to learn.......... they can find another victim.
Many dealers get it, some still don't (yet). Some still have to learn how to sell a car.
Fingers crossed for you, good luck.

Marcel Massini

 

+1

 

I find it very hard to believe that a Ferrari dealer cannot get maint. records from Ferrari, for any work that was performed by any Ferrari dealer. Are they blaming it on computers by Marelli? ;>)

 

THIS ......
If this individual says walk, I would walk.
You are fairly new here with limited posts.
If this man says walk, it is time to walk.

 

agree

 

Just another reason to do business with independents. I was able to get several years worth of service records for my '78 308 from Gary Bobileff way past 5 years after the work had been done.

On the other hand I can see shops not wanting to keep records forever too. But in this day and age when I'm sure all the dealers shops keep them electronically it should be easy to do if they wanted to.

 

If you like the color combo, options, price point whats the big deal? It's a fairly recent model with a lot more dependability than those of the past. In reality only the "last" service is the important one. If the model has known issues, recalls or quirks find out if they have been done or updated and go forth.

 

That is quite odd. Despite statements to the contrary, Ferrari dealers certainly can send service records to a current owner, with customer information redacted. They cannot share it otherwise. It is a case of finding the right sympathetic ear with the right approach. For my own car, I was searching for 1 16 year old service invoice this past spring, indicated on carfax. I was able to stumble into about 7 years worth of service records with the help of the service advisor.

 

The previous owner should have kept copies of the records. Everyone knows this. I think this is a new thing with Ferrari. They don't give out the old service records anymore. Or at least not as willingly or easily as in the past.

 

Unless this is a screaming deal I would probably look elsewhere.

But you could always get a PPI and base your decision on it. Go with your gut.

 

I just traded a non Ferrari car in and offered the dealership all of my maintenance records, which by the way were incredibly complete. The dealership manager told me that if I gave him the records he would have to discard them, per corporate policy. (This dealership is extremely large). Apparently, this dealership always provided maintenance records to the new buyers but in one case the records were either bogus or in error. That resulted in a legal case against the dealership. As I understand the dealership won the case but now refuses to even consider taking records for any cars they take in on trade. I did tell the manager of the dealership if the new buyer wanted my records I would provide them. The manager told me that if I did to be extremely careful since my name and personal information would now available to the buyer of my old car, which might not lead to legal concerns but maybe numerous phone calls asking questions regarding the maintenance records.

That said, on my two Ferraris, all maintenance records were provided when I purchased the cars which were very helpful.

As I ramble on, I think records for a Ferrari are important. As mentioned above I would look for an other 430.
Good Luck

 

Yes, I can see where someone unscrupulous trading in a car might omit unfavorable records such as wreck repairs to obtain a higher trade in value. Unfortunately, the truth is also withheld from future owners unless CarFax or a PPI uncovers the omission.

 

ridiculous. i dont understand the issue. all they need to do is block out the previous owner. oh and by the way original owner info is available in the owners manual and no one makes a stink about that

 

O.P.


Sage advice from Marcel.

If you're thinking, "Who is this guy, and why should I value his opinion?"

Google him.

D

 

Bull****.

Respectfully to the dealer, this is bull****. They don't want to share them, well ok, but this is a pile of crap.

Algar Ferrari, (the only dealer I'm intimately familiar with) has records back to the dawn of time on their serviced cars. Now some were lost in the great roof leak of 1990 something, but generally they keep/kept them forever.

Oh, and even if the paper records are tossed, guarantee the computer file still exists. It's the 21st century, digital storage is forever.

D

 

Good looking car, $115K is a good price? I don't track the 430 market, wondering if this IS a screaming good deal.
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

I was able to obtain my service records (copies) from a dealer who wasn't even selling the car. If they serviced it, they likely have the records.