How long should a service test drive be?

How long should a service test drive be?

Author
Discussion

355fiorano

429 posts

241 months

Thursday 1st November 2018
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I heard the same absurdity from a main Ferrari dealer about clients asking them not to drive their cars to the point of them having to push them off and in the trailers and similarly to position them in the service area!
Each to their own but I really find this state of affairs ridiculous and predominantly fuelled by the price rises (vehicles and parts) and the correlation to mileage meaning that in reality, owners cannot actually afford the cost per mile of ownership ... so turn something that is designed and engineered for "fast" travel into a static, ornamental existence ... and yet continue to service it as if it was being used !

355fiorano

429 posts

241 months

Thursday 1st November 2018
quotequote all
.. and also to stay on topic I think 10-15 miles would be a reasonable distance to drive assuming there are no issues found that would require re-testing.

mike01606

531 posts

148 months

Friday 2nd November 2018
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For me as long as is necessary to do what’s required. It’s not how far but how they drove it that would concern me more e.g I wouldn’t be happy if they thraped it from cold but otherwise it’s a sports car and I’m happy for it to be tested especially by someone who knows them well.

Drclarke

1,185 posts

172 months

Friday 2nd November 2018
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Larry5.2 said:
Could have been used as a courtesy car for someone else's service...
Where did you get your tin foil hat from??!!

willy wombat

906 posts

147 months

Friday 2nd November 2018
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I’ve never checked the mileage after a service (I trust the Ferrari main dealer) but I do expect them to give the cars enough of a run to check all seems well after being serviced so I suppose at least 10 miles. My bigger concern is making sure they use trade plates and cover the reg or else they get nabbed by ANPR cameras (my cars are always serviced in the winter when they are SORN’d). Still waiting for the OP to tell us what astronomical mileage has got him worried.

JuniorD

8,616 posts

222 months

Friday 2nd November 2018
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Whatever the distance is to red line it in 1st, 2nd and 3rd gears, so probably the length of the average industrial estate road

cayman-black

12,625 posts

215 months

Friday 2nd November 2018
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JuniorD said:
Whatever the distance is to red line it in 1st, 2nd and 3rd gears, so probably the length of the average industrial estate road
biggrin

Larry5.2

496 posts

107 months

Friday 2nd November 2018
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Drclarke said:
Where did you get your tin foil hat from??!!
Que? No hablo metaphor Inglesi...

anonymous-user

53 months

Saturday 3rd November 2018
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Not a supercar but when I was a poor broke student I put a full tank of fuel in my car for the first time in 5 months on a Friday... 2 miles after leaving the fuel garage something went wrong with the battery...the car still drove but the power steering, heater etc stopped working. Drove to the garage and left it there overnight, had them fix it, will take 5 days they said. When I got the car back it had 5 miles of fuel left and it had +550 miles on the odometer. Of course they claimed complete innocence, never went back there...you learn. Take pictures of the odometer next time, super easy with smartphones (didn't have them back then).

LotusJas

1,322 posts

230 months

Tuesday 6th November 2018
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Whenever I leave any car at any garage I photograph it all around and each wheel, and inform them it's tracked, and I will watch what it does.

Simple.

The Surveyor

7,576 posts

236 months

Wednesday 7th November 2018
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LotusJas said:
Whenever I leave any car at any garage I photograph it all around and each wheel, and inform them it's tracked, and I will watch what it does.

Simple.
Isn't mutual trust a beautiful thing...…

If I had reason to take such steps with my dealer, i'd be looking for another dealer. Simple.

Durzel

12,232 posts

167 months

Monday 12th November 2018
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Indeed.

If you're that distrustful of your dealer, why are you even taking it there at all?

Regards the wider question - "as many miles as are necessary to verify all ok". People who ask for their cars to be pushed onto trailers etc are a bit bonkers in my opinion.

LotusJas

1,322 posts

230 months

Saturday 17th November 2018
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As I said, I do this routinely, at *any* garage.

Not just at my regular dealership.