New owner first questions

[rivarama]

Hi all,

as you know, I just closed the deal on a F430 and with it comes the first few questions (to be followed by much more I can imagine)

1- Car needs maintenance: Although I have a connection with DK Engineering (who will take care of the UK registration and modification for my car), I really want to keep the Ferrari history clean and will do all annual service at a main dealer. DK will probably be the one doing the non-service work. As far as I can tell, I can only find 2 official Ferrari main dealer in London: HR Owen and Dick Lovett. Are there any other within 1h driving distance? I would consider going further afield for a better service, or for a better price that would then allow me to pay for the car to be picked up/dropped off.

Are those 2 shops treating the car with love and actually spending the time they effectively charge the customer? I have heard that some main dealer feel like factories in/out as quick as possible, and missed few major things... Urban legend? Anything to be aware of?


2- Car cover - I will be keeping the car in an underground private & secured parking, 2min walk from my house. I would like to attract as little attention as possible, and for this reason I am thinking of buying an after market grey car cover for my car. Does anybody use their car cover? I also read a few reports cautioning against abrasion... how real a problem is that? Although I intend to drive the car, there will be times when the car is not driven for a few weeks (I have 2 small kids and find it hard to jsutify leaving the wife every week end to go on a drive lol) - so I like the thought of protecting the car from dust

3- Using the car - having never driven a true F1 car (my GTS had an auto box), any tips on driving that beast? I heard auto is a no-no, especially in traffic... anything else I should be aware of? I will be planning a couple of road trips to get used to the beast and start the bonding process, but anything tips/quirks to be aware of would be awesome.

4- Detailing - there are a couple of stone chips on the car that will need to be sorted. I really want to avoid a respray due to all the suspicion is raises upon resale... any serious detailer that you can recommend that offer a good combination between value/thoroughness? I used a couple for the Maserati and was really taken for a ride on both occasion. I then fully intend to use the 2-bucket method myself to keep the car clean.

That's all I can think of for now... will keep on posting if can think of anything meaningful !

Gosh am I excited !!!

[jos]

1 - Carrs will collect
2 - ask Mark at More than Polish
3 - basically be positive on the clutch from zero and then lift off a little once its bitten fully https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0mIWy_0hE0
4 - go to Topaz or have http://www.sportscarprotection.com/ visit

As an aside many of your queries have been often asked so its always worth taking a look for previous similar posts - there's a lot of knowledge already available on this site

[355Chris]

1. Maranello (Surrey) and Joe Macari (Wimbledon Park). Not used any of them so can't comment on service. HROwen was best priced when I last phoned round for a car was toyed with buying that was in London.

2. Abrasion will depend on the inside of the cover and the environment. If the underground parking is shielded and so no wind then cover unlikely to move and cause abrasion. I had a car in carport under a cover and had no abrasion (it was reasonably sheltered).

3. Don't sit in gear when stationary (e.g. At traffic lights). Try not to reverse up hills. When changing gear, click paddle and then lift off the accelerator the smallest amount, then press again. When timed right and change is smooth it is very satisfying.

4. I don't agree that resprays raise suspicions. I would have whatever is marked painted (take before and after if concerned about suspicion). It really depends how bad it is. If chips are significant and numerous then no detailer will be able to improve the situation. I have painted untold number of bumpers and often bonnets too so that I have the condition I want.

[Terry]

1- Car needs maintenance: Although I have a connection with DK Engineering (who will take care of the UK registration and modification for my car), I really want to keep the Ferrari history clean and will do all annual service at a main dealer. DK will probably be the one doing the non-service work. As far as I can tell, I can only find 2 official Ferrari main dealer in London: HR Owen and Dick Lovett.

The notion of one for annual service and one for non service work is absurd to me. I understand people and a stamp in the book (which again is nonsense IMHO) but this is just crazy.

Trusting a main dealer to change filters then an Indie to rebuild the engine just defies logic.

If you build a relationship with either a main dealer or Indie then let them get on with it, whatever is required. Going from one to the other would annoy me if I was an MD or Indie and could result in reduced effort to look after your car.

Try and break away from the "stamp in the book" habit and get the work done by a competent organisation whoever they are rather than making the service book look pretty.

[Terry]

I should have also said congratulations on acquiring your first Ferrari.

Have fun in good health.

[Angelis]

As Terry says, it's all about building a relationship with someone you trust to look after your Ferrari.

[mon the fish]

I stored a car outside for a couple of years under a cover, and I found it a huge faff. Every time you use the car you have to make sure it's spotless afterwards, before you put the cover on or it will mark the paint.

This gets tiring quite quickly

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

[sssdu01]

Not sure of your driving history and experience, but 430 is a seriously fast car, so whilst it does have decent driver aids (for its day) get the tyres checked and if over 3 years old I would change them. Learning to drive a 430 on old tires is likely to end up in a ditch, with you wondering what happened.

When I picked up my car it was virtually undrivable as it would loose the back end in the dry as soon as you hit the power band. Checked the tyres and think they were 5 year old original tyres . New tyres transformed the car beyond belief.

[Carlo348]

Congrats on the 430

Dont worry about main dealer stamp, the likes of dk enginering, qv and other independents hold to most, owners and prospective owners enough clout in respect to quality work. The book still gets stamped, most provide step by step photos on a usb stick now as a log/reference. Invoices and whats done are the main thing.
Youre going to have a very restless night the day before it arrives ..Enjoy its a great feeling.

[rivarama]

Not sure of your driving history and experience, but 430 is a seriously fast car, so whilst it does have decent driver aids (for its day) get the tyres checked and if over 3 years old I would change them. Learning to drive a 430 on old tires is likely to end up in a ditch, with you wondering what happened.

When I picked up my car it was virtually undrivable as it would loose the back end in the dry as soon as you hit the power band. Checked the tyres and think they were 5 year old original tyres . New tyres transformed the car beyond belief.

Although I have owned other fast (slower) cars like 911s, maserati GTS etc... and done a couple of driving school like palmer sport and the likes, I would still only consider myself an average driver.

I agree that the F430 still feels intimidating, and could get the better of his driver... I will have the tyres checked as soon as I take delivery. Thanks for the advice