Am I being ripped off?
Discussion
TREMAiNE said:
I named the thread "Am I being ripped off" as I thought people would be more likely to click on it than if it was called "Is my dad being ripped off?"
Though, in retrospect I don't think it would have made a blind bit of difference!
I'm not paying for the wheel, but I do have to buy him a new windscreen wiper, after sticking my GoPro to the windscreen, it started to rain... The automatic wipers came on... And, well, yeah.
I did say I was being very pedantic (complete with a Though, in retrospect I don't think it would have made a blind bit of difference!
I'm not paying for the wheel, but I do have to buy him a new windscreen wiper, after sticking my GoPro to the windscreen, it started to rain... The automatic wipers came on... And, well, yeah.
at the end of My post).At the end of the day, it's a Ferrari and he's using a Ferrari Main Dealer!
Ferrari parts are not noted for being cheap - A lot of parts seem to carry a "Ferrari tax" on them (although some parts can be surprisingly cheap - there's no guarantee with Ferrari's I've found), and Ferrari Main Dealers are not noted for being a bargain basement operation!
As others have pointed out, there are other options available to run, repair and service Ferrari's that are just as acceptable in the Ferrari World as the Main Dealerships (and on older cars it can actually be more acceptable as the independents often know the older cars better than the Main Dealers do!).
When it comes to thing like replacement wheels, future owners are not going to be too concerned to find that a wheel has been replaced at sometime from a supplier outside of the Ferrari Main Dealer network, so long as it comes from a recognised, reputable supplier (such as Eurospares).
What he could have done is source the wheel from somewhere other than a Main Dealer, got the tyre fitted and balanced elsewhere also and then, if he only trusted Ferrari Main Dealers to do any required alignments, book it in for that work with them. It's a bit more faffing around, but it would be a substantially cheaper way to get the same end result.
So to answer the question you were really asking ("Is My Dad being ripped off?"): No he's not, he's just not being as economical at running his Ferrari as he could be!
Cheers for your in-depth response, 4rephill
Right guys, the plot thickens and I need a few more answers!
Flicking through all his paperwork for the car, he found an internal pre-sales check showing 1x buckled wheel - this was an internal document for the dealership he shouldn't have been given, not the actual sales check - he has that too. But when he actually picked it up he never noticed it driving any different - there was a slight judder (and I mean slight) when cruising at 100mph+ but not so much to think that something was actually wrong with the car.
Anyway, now he's had this buckled wheel pointed out at the service, we've wondered whether they actually changed the buckled wheel before sale - a quick phone call and the dealer has claimed that the wheel was replaced before he got the car.
However, looking at the actual alloy itself, its dated 17/05/2011 and timestamped 13:05. Its a 2011 car and we're starting to think that the original buckled wheel was never actually changed, surely if they'd changed the wheel before the sale (Feb 2014) it would be a relatively new wheel, I don't really think they would have had old stock lying around, its hardly a wheel for a Focus or Fiesta, its one of the optional 20" wheels for a prestige brand and we're thinking that if we remove the tyres from all the other wheels they're going to have the same date on them and that we were actually sold the car with a buckled wheel.
So, after all that, the questions I'd like to ask you guys is:
Are we right in thinking that the date stamped on the alloy would correspond to when either the alloy or car was actually manufactured, is it likely that all 4 wheels would all have the same date on them (assuming the rest are original alloys) and finally, what is the likelihood of Ferrari fitting a 3 year old wheel to a car - surely there isn't old stock lying around for a prestige brand like this?
- Just thought I'd add, if my dad is coming off like a cheapskate, just want to say he isn't! Whether the dealer chargers £20 or £20,000 he doesn't mind paying it (regardless of how cheap you can get it on sites you've all already listed) but just wants to make sure he isn't being taken for a ride.
At the moment he's just furious that he's potentially been sold a car with a buckled wheel, as we've done 160mph+ on it in Germany and obviously that raises quite a serious safety concern.
Right guys, the plot thickens and I need a few more answers!
Flicking through all his paperwork for the car, he found an internal pre-sales check showing 1x buckled wheel - this was an internal document for the dealership he shouldn't have been given, not the actual sales check - he has that too. But when he actually picked it up he never noticed it driving any different - there was a slight judder (and I mean slight) when cruising at 100mph+ but not so much to think that something was actually wrong with the car.
Anyway, now he's had this buckled wheel pointed out at the service, we've wondered whether they actually changed the buckled wheel before sale - a quick phone call and the dealer has claimed that the wheel was replaced before he got the car.
However, looking at the actual alloy itself, its dated 17/05/2011 and timestamped 13:05. Its a 2011 car and we're starting to think that the original buckled wheel was never actually changed, surely if they'd changed the wheel before the sale (Feb 2014) it would be a relatively new wheel, I don't really think they would have had old stock lying around, its hardly a wheel for a Focus or Fiesta, its one of the optional 20" wheels for a prestige brand and we're thinking that if we remove the tyres from all the other wheels they're going to have the same date on them and that we were actually sold the car with a buckled wheel.
So, after all that, the questions I'd like to ask you guys is:
Are we right in thinking that the date stamped on the alloy would correspond to when either the alloy or car was actually manufactured, is it likely that all 4 wheels would all have the same date on them (assuming the rest are original alloys) and finally, what is the likelihood of Ferrari fitting a 3 year old wheel to a car - surely there isn't old stock lying around for a prestige brand like this?
- Just thought I'd add, if my dad is coming off like a cheapskate, just want to say he isn't! Whether the dealer chargers £20 or £20,000 he doesn't mind paying it (regardless of how cheap you can get it on sites you've all already listed) but just wants to make sure he isn't being taken for a ride.
At the moment he's just furious that he's potentially been sold a car with a buckled wheel, as we've done 160mph+ on it in Germany and obviously that raises quite a serious safety concern.
Hi Guys
Final update now:
Ferrari took responsibility for the buckled wheel after all... Here is the email my dad sent me:
"Ferrari Leeds gave in after I told them I’d taken it up with Ferrari in Maranello. They are paying for everything – just a shade over 2k. I did speak to Maranello about it and I'm 99.9% sure they got on to the dealer as they asked me who it was. I also made a point of how lucky I was not to have had a serious accident at high speed on the German autobahn. When I think about it, I had a very lucky escape at 180mph."
The new wiper is on, all we need to do now is sort out the ruined paintwork, courtesy of some jealous prick walking past the house... And no, it wasn't spunk!
Final update now:
Ferrari took responsibility for the buckled wheel after all... Here is the email my dad sent me:
"Ferrari Leeds gave in after I told them I’d taken it up with Ferrari in Maranello. They are paying for everything – just a shade over 2k. I did speak to Maranello about it and I'm 99.9% sure they got on to the dealer as they asked me who it was. I also made a point of how lucky I was not to have had a serious accident at high speed on the German autobahn. When I think about it, I had a very lucky escape at 180mph."
The new wiper is on, all we need to do now is sort out the ruined paintwork, courtesy of some jealous prick walking past the house... And no, it wasn't spunk!
Shoddy treatment if you ask me. From the ridiculous overquote for the work through to the fact that it was clearly ONLY the threat to go to head office that made this dealer resolve this.
I don't subscribe to the views expressed here that one should just accept the fact that running a Ferrari is expensive and thus by inference the quotation was reasonable.
I don't subscribe to the views expressed here that one should just accept the fact that running a Ferrari is expensive and thus by inference the quotation was reasonable.
Shoddy treatment if you ask me. From the ridiculous overquote for the work through to the fact that it was clearly ONLY the threat to go to head office that made this dealer resolve this.
I don't subscribe to the views expressed here that one should just accept the fact that running a Ferrari is expensive and thus by inference the quotation was reasonable.
I don't subscribe to the views expressed here that one should just accept the fact that running a Ferrari is expensive and thus by inference the quotation was reasonable.
rubystone said:
Shoddy treatment if you ask me. From the ridiculous overquote for the work through to the fact that it was clearly ONLY the threat to go to head office that made this dealer resolve this.
I don't subscribe to the views expressed here that one should just accept the fact that running a Ferrari is expensive and thus by inference the quotation was reasonable.
So you don't expect to pay a premium to own and run a Ferrari? (Especially if you want to have a Ferrari Dealership carry out repairs).I don't subscribe to the views expressed here that one should just accept the fact that running a Ferrari is expensive and thus by inference the quotation was reasonable.
You think it should cost no more to service/repair a Ferrari than it does a Ford Mondeo or a Honda Civic? (If only!!!!).
Sadly life's not that simple!
You pay a premium to buy the car in the first place (it does not cost Ferrari anywhere near the list price to produce each car! - They charge the prices they do because A) They can, and B) It stops every Tom, Dick and Harry from owning one).
You then a pay a premium to service the car.
If you use the official Ferrari Dealerships then you pay a massive premium.
If you use an independent specialist then you pay a smaller premium, but you still pay a premium over an "ordinary" garage.
Ferrari's aren't built using some sort of black art, witchcraft or mystical power. The mechanical engineering on them is actually quite straight forward, and dare I say it: Basic in places!
On the mechanical side of things, there's actually not that much that would baffle a decent "ordinary" garage mechanic! (And the older cars are even more simple! Try a clutch change on a 348 or 355 and compare it to a BMW clutch change!)
However, due to re-sale values being affected and the myth that has been perpetuated over the years that Ferrari's engineering is actually based on secret knowledge handed down from the Gods so that mere mortal mechanics wouldn't be able to carry out repairs, it is basically accepted that at the very least, you must have specialist mechanics work on the car only, and so you pay a premium.
One way or another, be it a new Ferrari or an older Ferrari, sooner or later you will encounter "Ferrari Tax", be it on servicing or parts. (including generic parts such as relays! If you do your homework, you can actually find the exact same part, made by the exact same people, in the exact same factory, that is supplied for a "domestic" car that is @ a third the price of the Ferrari part!).
Try asking for the cost of a generic full bare metal respray on a car. Then tell them that the car in question is a Ferrari and see if the price stays the same! (In reality it should, after all, it's still just a car being painted - But many body shops will suddenly add "Ferrari tax" to the price, as though the paint has to be hand made from secret ingredients that only Hercules himself can get!).
Like it or not, "Ferrari tax" is a part of the whole Ferrari ownership experience!
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