Servicing

Author
Discussion

anonymous-user

Original Poster:

61 months

Wednesday 13th November 2019
quotequote all
Does anyone change oil and filter, brake fluid, coolant themselves?
I understand it's a bonus having a book stamped when selling but with a car that's racked up 30k+ miles do you really need to take it to a specialist for straightforward jobs?

m4tti

5,466 posts

162 months

Wednesday 13th November 2019
quotequote all
Depends on the car... what is it.

anonymous-user

Original Poster:

61 months

Wednesday 13th November 2019
quotequote all
m4tti said:
Depends on the car... what is it.
Ferrari F430, Maserati 4200

m4tti

5,466 posts

162 months

Wednesday 13th November 2019
quotequote all
I’d do the work, as enthusiast maintained cars can be some of the best kept examples out there, but I’d still get an annual “stamp” from a dealer/specialist. Certainly for the 430.

john_1983

1,449 posts

155 months

Wednesday 13th November 2019
quotequote all
Personally I put no store by stamps... do it yourself, keep copies of the invoices for the parts, and take lots of photos of the work. Keep the photos on a separate USB stick for each service, and attach it to the parts invoices.

I'd much rather see that than a book of main dealer stamps, having seen some examples of how main dealers can leave cars

Trev450

6,439 posts

179 months

Wednesday 13th November 2019
quotequote all
Once these cars are more than about 4-5 years old, a good, reputable indy stamp is far more creditable than main dealer ones imo,

Nano2nd

3,426 posts

263 months

Wednesday 13th November 2019
quotequote all
IMO anything you save by doing it yourself you'll loose (and then some) when it comes to sell, sadly regardless of whether an indy or hobbiest does a better job, 99% of the prospective buyers want to see main dealer stamps on the highest priced cars (and lowest price ones too!)

davek_964

9,301 posts

182 months

Wednesday 13th November 2019
quotequote all
Nano2nd said:
IMO anything you save by doing it yourself you'll loose (and then some) when it comes to sell, sadly regardless of whether an indy or hobbiest does a better job, 99% of the prospective buyers want to see main dealer stamps on the highest priced cars (and lowest price ones too!)
There are people who insist on main dealer servicing, but it's way less than 99%.

I sold my 348 which had indy history - and one minor service myself - with no issues.

I've had enough interest in my 360 when I've considered selling it (but changed my mind) that I know the indy history makes no difference - and that includes talking to an independent Ferrari car trader.

There are loads and loads of cars that are indy serviced these days - the idea that the potential buying pool for those cars is 1% of people wanting to buy one is a massive exaggeration.

Fiammetta

404 posts

95 months

Wednesday 13th November 2019
quotequote all
Yes I do all the fluids and enjoy it .
It’s a Ferrari GT4 Dino 208:
Not being funny but for some 1/2 the pleasure of ownership of an older car is the DIY maintenance.
It’s all documented in detail .
Contrast with the PO who just sent it to Joe Macari .........Invoices just say “ brake fluid “ or “ gearbox oil “ and the quantity . But not the type of fluid that’s important and frequency.
Something like coolant on a mid engined car needs a few miles and hrs to burp out any air etc .
Fortunately I have an inspection pit so it’s easy to access the under sides .

Done a few jobs on my Bentley GT Conti too .Kinda preventive maintenance.

There’s a school of thought with hard driving oil changes should be done every 3000 miles .
Sounds low even with fully synthetic but you can indulge that kinda of fluid changes if DIY .

When I had a 360 flappy paddle I used to refresh the F 1 fluid regularly by pumping out the expansion tank and adding new . Never had any trouble in 9 years of ownership .
Recharge the Aircon gas etc DIY and do the brake fluid .
Because it was fairly new it went to a dealer for the stamp .

Having said all this I recognise many younger lads who park on the street ( no garage ) and never played with mecano or train sets , never striped down an engine or changed disks etc , purchase on the never never with end date aren’t gonna get there hands dirty on a week end .
A lot of cars need a dealer diagnostic to open the rear callipers for a pad change .
Anyhow fluids are easy to do if it’s a keeper .

Nano2nd

3,426 posts

263 months

Wednesday 13th November 2019
quotequote all
davek_964 said:
There are people who insist on main dealer servicing, but it's way less than 99%.

I sold my 348 which had indy history - and one minor service myself - with no issues.

I've had enough interest in my 360 when I've considered selling it (but changed my mind) that I know the indy history makes no difference - and that includes talking to an independent Ferrari car trader.

There are loads and loads of cars that are indy serviced these days - the idea that the potential buying pool for those cars is 1% of people wanting to buy one is a massive exaggeration.
i guess it's difficult to put an exact figure on it, i can only go on my experience selling a few reasonably expensive cars. Obviously at a certain age it makes no difference, i sold an RS2000 in 2016, last serviced in 1988 wink

Certainly the few SOR agents i've dealt with, first question is almost always does it have MD FSH?

Chris355

822 posts

203 months

Saturday 16th November 2019
quotequote all
If it’s a ferrari I’m looking for a service by dealer or well known Indy. I like to see a service every year irrelevant of mileage of possible. I wouldn’t buy a car that had been DIY serviced, even if they had receipts for the parts. Too hard to sell on.