PPI - Am I being unreasonable?

I would ask for refund personally. How would they not catch the vacuum valves not working.

Its also why I lot of shops dont do PPIs so it cuts both ways

 

Congrats on a sweet CS, post pics!

I don’t easily trust people I don’t know. That’s why I skipped ppi on my last 4 fun car purchases. If the price was good enough, had good maintenance records, and drove solid on a nice long test drive, I would mentally be prepared for any unexpected costs down the road.

It’s always hard to the get the money back after the fact. if they dont refund u, don’t sweat it. $1750 goes by in a flash when taking into account maintenance costs for an f car in the long run!

 

Can't wait for more pics

 

I dont think your being unreasonable

However i dont like your chances of them refunding you

All i suggest is future get someone trusted for ppi and also verify yourself

If that means putting in on a hoist and looking like a pedantic idiot then so be it


Enjoy

 

I had a body shop do a PPI and miss that a whole panel was horribly painted once

I was not a happy camper - “I paid you to literally do just one thing”

water under bridge - def post pics!

 

If you think your PPI was bad... Look what this Ferrari dealer missed

 

My PPI was a terrible experience as well, it was completed by a very reputable company. Several missed items including a fuel pump that was spewing fuel onto the manifolds. Exhaust checked “perfect”, but found the normal cracked manifolds, one non functional valve, ect…… the list of things they missed was very long and the car had 10k of repairs. All things that are typically Ferrari but I asked them to check. The owner called me back after an email and worked with me to make it right and sent me parts that were difficult for me to find equivalent to the money spent (he offer a refund or to help locate parts). I would definitely speak to them! Congrats on the car!!


Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat.com mobile app

 

No you are absolutely not being unreasonable.

Common problem these days across the board:
Lack of caring by representatives and workers getting paid big bucks
Lack of training by the company (in this case the Dealership) to insure a standard is met
Lack of interest in doing work that is deemed as "doesn't pay enough" -- but take the job anyway

I've lived a long time and done a lot of things from restoring a home to restoring cars and designing my own products to market and sell. The aforementioned issues are rampant these days but certainly not a new problem in the business worlds I circulate in.

Funny that recently I contemplated moving to a new state. But the idea that I would have to leave behind all my trusted sources for all the things I enjoy doing was, the more I thought about it, a deal breaker.

Yes you could ask for your money back. But as some here have mentioned, good luck. I don't see that happening and the Dealership knows there's little you can effectively do to get a refund.

On the bright side... Congrats on your new CS. Thankfully it is most everything you expected and you still have a great feeling about your purchase. And of course, tell anyone who will listen about your poor experience with the Dealer.

 

I think PPI's are overrated, hear me out. If they charge you $250 for a PPI, that's basically an hour's work or so. They're not going to take the floor off to inspect under the car and catch the exhaust hole. they're only going to check codes, they're not going to check hose connections for vacuums leaks.

The vision in a buyers mind is that a PPI is an intensive review that should catch most things and the reality is that the cost and time invested in how it's done today won't catch all but the most obvious. My bet is that you're really just paying for a mechanics eyes and a tool isn't really ever picked up (yes an exaggeration). I think the PPI buyers want would probably cost something closer to $2k - maybe the dealers will recognize this and offer a few levels of PPI, the highest level with some kind of guarantee?

 

He said above he paid 1750…

 

Not unreasonable. Probably unlikely they'll refund you though considering they're already downplaying your friend's shop honesty.

I had a not so great PPI as well from a shop that everyone raved about. Paid $650 and then overpaid for some repairs that were needing to be done and ended up with a chip on my bumper that they denied making. No check list, no pictures, just a verbal over the phone and "PPI" written on my receipt. The inspection on my daily beater was more complete and in depth. Took it as a learning experience and won't go back there again. I'm a firm believer in the adage of "if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself." I realize not everyone is mechanically inclined, but if you were, then you really see how bad some "great" shops operate. Couple that with these cars getting older, younger buyers moving in that didn't pay as much, and you can get a mix of snobbyness or lack of interest thrown in as well if you go the dealer route. Not unique to this brand either, that goes for just about any make unfortunately and gets worse as you move down market. I have a few older jeeps that I treat as well as my F430 when it comes to maintenance but shops just treat them like "old jeeps" and throw wrenches around marring things up or not cleaning as they go.

As KC360 mentioned, one of my biggest regrets in moving states was losing a trusted mechanic that was as much of an enthusiast and perfectionist as me. You don't find those easily and so far I've been disappointed in every mechanic I've tried that was recommended as being the place to go.

 

You could ask for some money back but.. good luck with that.

I think that there are alot of misconceptions about what constitutes a PPI and what a Ferrari dealership is.

First of all the Ferrari dealership is just. another. repair shop. That's it. Their "trained technicians" have not likely trained to work on 20 year old cars. I wouldn't be surprised if the techs don't have any official training and worked at a Honda shop before working at Ferrari and there is only one laster tech supervising. They're a new car dealership that services faults in the new cars under warranty. You want someone who knows your model.

Now what constitutes a PPI. And this might ruffle some feathers but I don't care.
1. How much do you think you can actually do when inspecting a car that you don't own? When the inspection is done... you don't own the car. Would you let some mechanic take a wrench and physically disassemble YOUR car for someone who might not physically buy it? No.
2. There will be issues that aren't picked up in a PPI. You CANNOT pick up everything on an exam. The vacuum leaks? Part of the course. Should have thrown a code but presumably didn't
3. When i had mine inspected there were things that weren't picked up. As there will be. It's a used car.
4. To find everything wrong with the car, you have to disassemble things to do it. This will not get done and you're not going to have permission to do this by the prior owner.
5. The reason why PPI's are do expensive.. is because the new owner expects EVERYTHING to be picked up in the inspection which is simply not possible. So shops jack up the price or just stop even offering to do them. I wouldn't do them. The buyers expectation is ridiculous IMHO.
6. Again.. you cannot look at EVERYTHING on the car during a PPI and even with an inspection scope you're going to miss something.

 

In hindsight, everything is visible. The key is the PPI did do what it was intended. You got a great car that can be made perfect. There were no really big things that were missed, and I hope you can now enjoy the stallion in the garage! You've earned it.

 

Your expectations aren't too high, they are simply misplaced. While I'm certainly not a certified Ferrari tech, I do know this platform decently enough. If I were to inspect a car for someone I would prioritize inspecting the common failure points. A tune without a heads up would pass just about everyone without blatant CEL codes, and even then.... A hole in the exhaust is not routine (aside from when the muffler leaks out insulation material). A PPI will most likely not catch the outliers. Nobody is going to inspect every single surface for a car they aren't personally buying, and even then that isn't possible without disassembling things like Vrsurgeon said. My only issue from what I skimmed over is them not reading the clutch life without being told to.

 

@collegeboy
Sorry this has tainted the buying experience for you. Hopefully all is this resolved without the saga that our buddy Rob is going though.

 

Hi Mike,

Bummer to hear your PPI didn't turn out well. Mine wasn't all that great either - hence I did a Post Purchase Inspection - but I'll open up about that PPI on another thread more specific to that shop at another time. I honestly just lucked out with my car, so far...so knocks on wood

From my understanding, the PPI is only as good as you - the buyer - want it to be so I did my due diligence and emailed them a complete list of ALL the things that need to be checked from the car. Very detailed and full transparency. Once they confirm and gave a price, I would expect they did not miss any of those along with all the standard stuff that they do specific to your car model. I asked for a sample PPI that they recently did so I can see the level of detail and what I can expect for my own PPI.

Of course, a PPI isn't the end all, be all of a car purchase decision but it is a service you pay for because the outcome heavily affects your decision, and to some degree, the negotiating factor with the person or dealership you are purchasing the car from. You are essentially relying on their expertise and knowledge to factor into your purchasing decision.

With that being said, if you felt the PPI failed you, you shouldn't feel bad to present your frustration and see what they'll be willing to do about it. Keep it open-ended. Either they can offer to refund you, pay for parts, or something of that nature if they care enough about their reputation.

 

One thing which is typically missed during PPI is finding any re-paint jobs (which translates into finding previous accidents or body damages). In some countries it's obvious and given to check the paint with electronic paint thickness gauge (capable of reading on both aluminum and steel) before buying a car. In USA I'm still to find a dealer or a body shop which would not be surprised by my questions about paint thickness reading.

After buying an out of state car with a repainted fender (certified all original paint by a body shop not affiliated with the selling dealer) I'm not taking any chances and I always ship (loan) a paint thickness gauge to any inspector looking at a car I'm considering to buy. That, plus a detailed list of things to check, as posted above, should increase the chances of a successful PPI.

 

Interesting...I too had "issues" with my PPI, done by a reputable Indy Shop, when purchasing my CS. The brake wear and clutch readings were not provided until I asked. I got a few pics of the underside showing some front bumper scrapes, some fender lining rock chips/wear, and compression numbers. When I picked up the car the alarm led was on all the time (had to teach the "knowledgeable tech" how that works), it was leaking oil from the valve covers, and the front caliper pistons were starting to pit/corrode causing the brakes to bind occasionally. I have seen better inspections done on Chevrolets when trading them in. I learned not all PPIs are the same and before you go through with it, make sure you and the shop have a clear understanding of your expectations.
-Matt

 

Another vote for mine was quite less than stellar


Has anyone had a good PPI? Ie, issues caught, price renegotiated as a result, or repairs performed, or at least knowing what you're getting yourself into?

 

Keep it up, and keep posting! I reluctantly sold my CS last year, so I'm living vicariously through you.
-Matt