Quote:
Originally Posted by Tim Hancock
I have always wondered why folks claim these cars are so poorly built and what actually breaks on them necessitating tens of thousands of dollars to continuously repair them.
I mean can't a hard core DIY type keep one of these running if he is determined to do so? Most seem to imply that Ferrari machanics are some sort of gods..... I just can't imagine that these cars could not be maintained by mere mortals so long as they had the patience and shop manuals.
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I think most of what you hear is hearsay. Kinda like all the rants about Audis...
I owned a couple Ferraris for about 15 years. I can say that they are pretty well engineered and the major pieces are as nice, or nicer, than what you'd find on a Porsche. Nothing of any consequence ever broke, nor was I ever afraid to drive them anywhere. Some of the trim and some of the body construction details were maybe what you'd expect on a low volume car. On the whole, though, the detailing was better executed on the shiny bits, the interior, etc.
Maintenance is more expensive because Ferrari charges more for parts, there are more things to do, and they take a little longer, because of the layout of the cars. Face it, it's hard to reach some of the stuff you have to get to. Pulling an engine on the cars designed for that type of servicing is pretty straightforward, it's just that the parts are a lot bigger and harder to deal with. A Testarossa engine comes out a quickly as a 911 engine, it's just way bigger. Ferrari dealerships are set up with the equipment to do it. The average Joe probably lacks the special cradle for the engine, etc. Servicing a car with the engine left in it (246, 308, 328) is difficult because half of the motor is hard to see, let alone reach.
Valve adjustments take longer, because of the valvetrain design, and because there are just more valves. Belt changes are nothing unusual; you just don't have that job on a 911. Suspension bushings are of a different design. They take more maintenance and don't last as long. Etc., etc.
There are plenty of people doing their own work on a Ferrari. Ferrarichat is full of them. Of course, there are a lot of idiots on Ferrarichat, as well.
One thing I will say is that for most models, there are one or two things that were not done well and cost big money to fix. The early V8 cars had overheating and some electrical issues, 348's had some trim issues (like many other cars of the same era) and electrical faults, early 355's had some bad valve guides and all 355's had the potential for a weird throttle problem. The 456 cars had problems with the side windows... I could go on but I can also say that pretty much every era of 911 had a potential problem waiting to bite you in the ass.
JR