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Originally Posted by Jeff Higgins
That's all good news, Mike - thanks for sharing. I do have to say, however, it's a far different picture than that painted by my Ferrari owning acquaintances and that I've gotten by chatting up Ferrari owners at various DE's over the years.
These guys all tell me that Ferrari won't even sell parts (maybe just some parts?) to private owners. They all say that nonsense started with a certain model on, but I'm not sure which one. Even the shop owner I mentioned above says he can't get parts from Ferrari. Comments on that? True, b.s., or somewhere in between?
That, and parts costs I've heard bandied about are simply staggering. The spark plug story is one particularly egregious example, but it seems everything is similarly marked up, even if there is absolutely nothing special about it. It is great to learn there is a cross reference available that could lead a guy to the same part, but without the cost-multiplying yellow box.
And crude? Yes, but that appeals to me, in an odd kind of way. I equate it with "no b.s.". I've had the "opportunity" to wrench on a few over the years for friends and acquaintances (couple of 308's and a Testarrosa) and, yes, they were relatively easy to work on. I think maybe companies with racing in their blood look at maintenance a bit differently than those who do not. "Big" stuff is way easier to do than on your average sedan, just like on our Porsches.
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Just like our older Porsches gravitate towards the DIY crowd, so do the older ferraris (to an extent). There are different types of owners. Some think that spending $65 for a spark plug is something to brag about. It furthers the "exclusivity" of the brand, and puffs up their ego. To a normal person, it's just stupid. Some owners are truly clueless. They just have no idea...they spend their time being a doctor, lawyer, real estate mogul, etc. For them, the car is an accessory, not really look at the way that we look at our cars. They assume because there is a prancing horse on the hood, that only a dealer or super-high end indy can work on it. It's best that they write the check and let those people work on them.
The parts prices are another thing. You just gotta be smart. When I built my exhaust system, I needed to replace the exhaust gasket donuts. Ferrari wanted about $50 a piece for them. I took the original to napa and got the dimensions. The Victor-Reinz identical part was $2.50, arguably made better than OE. I never tell people that the part is off of a Ferrari when I look for new parts. "It's off of a boat"
The newer models are still subject to Ferrari property laws. Ferrari spends a ton of money to ensure that parts are hard to find. JE makes pistons for the F355. Other places make rods, etc. Lots of good motors can be found from crashed cars. I plan on buying a long block from a wrecked car just to keep in the corner of my garage.
The 3X8 cars have rebuilt kits available with all of the parts. In time, you'll find that people will make these kits for the 348 and 355. Lots of them were made, and lots of them are getting older.
The problem is that a lot of people ASSUME things about the car. Owning it is totally different. I guess I was just lucky. I was young and dumb enough to buy my car. I hemmed and hawed over it for a long time. I looked at Exige's, another 911, etc, but in the end, I figured life's too short not to own a car I dreamed of since I was little.