80yo Still Drives His F40

well, im our experience it depends on the parts. Some important stuff is really easy to get. Other parts, wich seem not to be that uncomon or complicated, are not available and are expensive as hell.

We may just need to get a part reproduced, wich was available not long ago, but till now impossible to find...

May keep you all updated, when the part is finished.

 

i can second that.
my own car is on month 10 of a major overhaul. we lost 2+ months during the covid lockdown here and in maranello, but then we lost another couple months trying to find certain parts that we had considered easy to find in the usa, but it was not so easy. we haev all the oparts now i think, but it has delayed the completion - unfortunately.

 

Having dealt with the major maintenance of literally dozens of F40s over the years till the present time, my experience tells me there is no reason for any type of routine maintenance to take more than 1 - 2 months, even if it is major deferred maintenance.

Of course, it all depends where the car is being serviced, and I know some shops tell owners that they can't get the parts either because they really don't have the connections to acquire them, or, as a way to buy time. In some shops, most of the time the car is there, it is not actually being worked on at all, for a whole range of reasons, most of which are not positive, that's the reality in my experience.

I find that any F40 serviced in the extensive FNA dealer network can be serviced in 1 - 2 months, none of my client's F40s have ever taken more than this period to service, ditto any of my own personal cars. Of course the proviso is that we are talking about routine maintenance and not damage repairs, the latter is something entirely different. The other proviso is that the shop is efficient, and the car is actually receiving attention whilst there and not sitting there gathering dust whilst the owner is given excuses. I find the FNA network to be both efficient and diligent, that's why we use them. In California we use and are affiliated with Ferrari Newport Beach who are quite amazing, in Texas we use Ferrari of Houston with whom we have had a long association. F40 parts are not too difficult to source via the FNA dealer network who have their own suppliers in the USA, Europe, the Ferrari factory, plus a network of sometimes obscure parts specialists who comprise what is a small cottage industry of parts suppliers.

Putting F40 servicing in perspective, in my experience the parts availability is not too bad for a 30-year old car, and, F40s are pretty simple machines, so disassembly, maintenance and reassembly doesn't take too much time if the car is actually being worked on.

 

are you calling me a liar joe?

 

Where in my post am I suggesting that?

My view stated as "my experience tells me there is no reason for any type of routine maintenance to take more than 1 - 2 months, even if it is major deferred maintenance" is self-explanatory, I'm saying in an alternative view to yours that it doesn't need to be difficult to find F40 parts and servicing can be done in 1 - 2 months. That's my long-term, consistent and current experience, including during this year of Covid-19, one which numerous other F40 owners some of whom post here can attest to.

Sorry your experience with parts-sourcing and servicing has been slow, and of course I have no reason to doubt I you when you say it's been 10 months, but I'm saying in my professional experience it doesn't need to take that long, and, I think it's important to share an alternative experienced view that underscores this.

 

It never took more than a few weeks to get my F40 serviced here in France, even for a major service including fuel tanks replacement, etc.

Major services can easily be properly prepared in advance by the dealer (I only use Ferrari dealers) so that all major parts are available when the work starts.

Also, although prices are constantly on the rise, parts for F40 are pretty easy to find.

 

some parts are easy to find, some parts are harder to find, and some parts simply dont exist anymore unless you can refab them.
i am not making this up.
ultimately we found all the parts necessary, AND in a cost effective manner.

what i find annoying here is that each and every time somebody posts anything about an F40, you have to step in to add your self serving infomercial.
(if you disagree with my characterization of your posts, you can simply look all of them up and see for yourself).

in this case, unsolicited, you are just trying to tell people that if they buy an F40 (implied through you), and then have it serviced at one of the dealers (that you are trying to curry favor with), all will be fine.
maybe. but not always.

but frankly i dont care. it is not worth arguing about.
i was simply commenting to another poster that i agreed with him and that my own recent experience has been somewhat stymied by covid (probably 4 months), and some part searching time, despite the tech having easy access to the dealer network of parts, both in the usa and europe.

 

Relax, nobody suggested you are making anything up.

You've stated your singular 10 month experience, my experience as both an owner of 3 separate cars and specialist who's conveyed at least 40 separate cars suggests that timeframe is excessive, you should be able to accept an experienced contrary view to yours without getting bent out of shape, and you shouldn't find my posts annoying at all, they're actually helpful to many others if not you. A potential F40 owner reading the posts in these thread should not feel like F40s take 10 months to service which is a conclusion the uninitiated could easily draw, they should also feel like it can take just 1 - 2 months, so it's important that I post my experienced view also.

I'm here to be a resource for the cars, so I will continue to post whenever I feel like I have something useful to covey that balances the views out there and helps the community at large, sorry if you find it annoying, but I started the main USA F40 thread 14 years ago and I have no intention of ceasing to be a resource or going anywhere.

Yes. I am actually saying to potential F40 buyers (not implying, but stating) that if they buy an F40 through myself, I will take care of them and guide them with resources to help them maintain the car efficiently and effectively through the Ferrari North American dealer network, and more besides - as almost any F40-owning client of mine can attest to. This has been my practice for decades, I take care of my clients beyond finding them a nice car. As far as the FNA dealer network is concerned, I am not trying to curry favor with them, but actually have a long-term business affiliation with a number of specific dealerships, Newport Beach and Houston included. This relationship has been exclusively developed with myself and my clients in mind.

Meanwhile, read Jack Congo's post above.

 

Infomercial number 3580


Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat

 

Absolutely, with many more to come, be sure to check out my Instagram and website below as well.

I'm a paying Sponsor on Ferrarichat for over 10 years, am an owner and specialist of F40s, and I'm here to help the community with useful posts, so, when you give a viewpoint about the market, or technical aspects of the F40, if my view is different, expect me to share it.