I just purchased a 1987 328 and all the service from day 1 has been performed at a Ferrari Dealership. Looking long term and for resale is it better to continue servicing at a Ferrari Dealership or is it ok to service at specialty shops where the labour rates are typically lower.
With that old of a car, it really does not matter if it is serviced at a dealer or not. It matters what was done and how it was done, even if by you.
makes no difference what does is who lays theyre hands on car like above says if care about re sale may not discover magic of 328
You will likely find buyers who are looking for a history of factory service, the assumption being that they would know what they are doing. If you want the car to drive I would find an independent with factory training. New techs would likely not know old cars. YMMV.
Welcome to the family, as others have said, knowledge and experience far outweigh the actual location / where a repair is performed. But you may also find that labor rates are not always lower , today, or in the long run. I have heard a rumor that Ferrari has a program coming out Where they provide an annual certificate when you service your Ferrari with them. I believe this new program will apply to cars that are 10 years old and older .. Just my .02 worth A
It all depends on who is working on the car. When I worked at the dealership, I was the only tech there with 308/328 experience. All of the other techs were in their 20's and were not even alive when the 308 first came out. Many of the best 308/328 techs in the industry worked at the dealership when the cars were new, but now work at an independent shop. The other issue is parts. Ferrari dealerships are required by Ferrari to use parts sourced from Ferrari. In the case of old cars, which is anything older than a 360, any part must come from Ferrari UK, which is where Ferrari shipped all of the "old" parts. All of the old parts at the Ferrari warehouse in New Jersey was shipped to the UK. So even if you need some little part like an ignition rotor, it will take a week or more to come from the UK, or might not be available at all. An independent shop can get a part the next day from Ricambi or T. Rutlands at a much cheaper price.
There are a lot of great Ferrari technician/mechanic out there who’s used to work at the F Dealership and are factory trained that left and are now working for themselves as an independent shop, those are the one you need to find and go to.
The responses are correct. Find a shop that you can trust and has a tech that knows your car. Having been at a dealer for over 22 years, I can say that independents are only as good as the techs they hire. Once you find the tech you trust, stay with them.
The quality of the service is number one! My second thought would be if it’s been taken care of its entire life at repair facility “ A “ why would you want to change to repair facility “ B “”assuming there have been no problems to date ? Go meet the team that has been working with your Ferrari , introducing yourself, and see how it goes. Steve
This would be news to me, we get parts in on a weekly basis from the suppliers you list above and others. We even let owners supply parts on occasion whe they have a preferred vendor. We still stand behind our labor warranty. Non-OEM parts may or may not come with the same 2 year parts and labor warranty that OEM option have. And when owners mention that they are FCA or Ferrari Chat members, labor rates are adjusted to be competitive with our local independent shops ( Value adder ) I acknowledge that not all Dealership Service departments offer these options, but I am aware of many in the network that do, don’t cut yourself short of options. Steve
I don't know of any 3X8 (besides yours, I suppose) that has never left the dealer for service elsewhere.
I have had a 1986 328 for 19 years. Things have changed in those 19 years. The independent use to be way less expensive than the dealer, not any more. The independent use to provide a quicker better service than the dealer, not any more. Labor rates between most established independents and dealers isn't much different any more. I would still prefer an "old tech" independent working on my 328, but many of the established independents are putting their new techs who aren't as experienced on the 328. So difference in skill may not be much compared to a dealer. It ultimately comes down to your location and the quality of dealer of the independent options. In DFW we have an outstanding dealer service center (SAFE4NOW) where the once outstanding independent (Norwoods Auto Italia) has outgrown itself, less attention, higher rates, and less quality work.
I don’t have the luxury of carrying on at the dealership it was serviced at, the car is coming to Canada
It probably depends on what your options are in your area. In my experience, servicing at Ferrari was kind of mixed whereas servicing at an independent tech was exemplary. Granted, I live in a place where the independents are fantastic. -F
How many techs at a dealership have experience with analog automotive technology today? These guys hook up laptops and read codes. Ask a 30 year old in the back of a dealership to troubleshoot K Jetronic or set points and sync carbs on one.
I'm shocked to learn that a current Ferrari dealership would (could) work on one of these cars at all; I'm impressed! Heck, try taking your 1970 Hemi Barracuda into the local Chrysler dealer for a tuneup!
6 of my 9 , since you asked < wink > Some are the way you describe , but not all, Ferrari still offers out of production training twice a year plus Factory training options. With our relationship with FCA being better than ever , we have increaaingly more “analog cars “ in at any given time. Off my soap box , back to the OP S
I am wondering if the initiative Ferrari announced in early 2017 to offer new apprentices (from the Sept 2017 intake) a Classic Car Technology module as part of their third year of training will eventually bear fruit? https://en-gb.facebook.com/GraypaulEdinburgh/posts/1333939653334293 https://www.iwantobea.com/apprenticeship/ferrari-apprenticeship/ There seems to be some interest in getting older cars back into the authorized Ferrari dealer service network, or is it only for the Classiche certified workshops? While the initiative is commendable, I'd bet that many dealerships would also have to significantly improve their parts inventory (even on the most basic service items) to attract these customers.
