Not a good day for the 4200, or me.

Just collected the 4200 back from its yearly service at a reasonably local Ferrari specialist and as soon as I got out of the car when I was already home, I saw a large scrape and a deep gouge in the front bumper. It wasn’t there before the service, guaranteed. And please don’t say I should have checked it before I drove away from the garage, I have already had that from the wife and she is totally correct, so my fault. Before leaving the car they went over it with a fine tooth comb, and highlighted a couple of blemishes on a sketch, just like when you hire a car. Unfortunately I didn’t do the same thing before I drove away after the service.
The other thing is that due to the MOT being due soon I requested them to do a thorough check, and I was exceptionally surprised by the results, break pipes corroded (fail), R/H/R shock absorber leaking (fail), Break discs heavily corroded (fail) , all suspension bushes split, shock absorber rubber platforms split, R/H steering rack boot fitted incorrectly, and then some. All of this after having an MOT provided by the dealer I bought it from less than 3K miles ago, without even an advisory on the new MOT. So if nothing else I have learnt two things today, check your car thoroughly before you drive it away from a service, and have an independent check carried out on the vehicle before you buy from the dealer, no matter how good his reputation may be. The failures on mine could not have materialised in 12 months / 3K miles without a previous advisory. All issues will be sorted soon, that’s life. The Ferrari specialist did tell me the shocks can only be purchased in pairs, even though I need only one , 900£ Each. Break discs we all already know about. Off for a few beers.

That's rubbish about the dampers. Or at least it was

Assuming Skyhook:

220939

Still £700+VAT though

C

That’s a real pain - the problem is that most of us default to trusting people so don’t check.
My son had a massive fight with a VW dealer over damage to his wheels which had just been powdercoated and fitted and then it went to be serviced. Came back with damage around every wheel nut but he didn’t check before he left hence the fight.
I would definitely argue the case with the dealer - bill them for the damage and even take the to the small claims court ...... afterall you know you are in the right.

CatmanV2 said:

That's rubbish about the dampers. Or at least it was

Assuming Skyhook:

220939

Still £700+VAT though

C

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Yes skyhook, you referring to £700 + vat each and can be purchased separately ? I can live with that but why did they say Ferrari (who is their supplier) Will provide only as a pair. If I have no choice I will buy a pair, obviousally prefer not to if possible. Cheers mate for your reply.

Dreading this myself as I never had mine inspected, I am relying on the fact that it has had a very comprehensive inspection and repair bill 8 months before i bought it, however its due a service now and MOT in October.... " and i think I have a couple of issues"

Edit - Feel your pain....

Scaf said:

That’s a real pain - the problem is that most of us default to trusting people so don’t check.
My son had a massive fight with a VW dealer over damage to his wheels which had just been powdercoated and fitted and then it went to be serviced. Came back with damage around every wheel nut but he didn’t check before he left hence the fight.
I would definitely argue the case with the dealer - bill them for the damage and even take the to the small claims court ...... afterall you know you are in the right.

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You are correct, but when it comes down to the nitty gritty it’s my fault for not checking, but morally they are responsible, unfortunately people don’t think that way anymore. Someone at that garage knows it was them, I can never prove that, but it won’t do their reputation any good.

It wouldn’t hurt to take it up with them tho and register your grievance.

I did take a photograph, and sent it 5 minutes after getting home, no response but let’s see how it goes, Cheers.

Euro spares will sell you a single shock and there are some on ebay now and then...what about breaker only as well?

Which disks are req?...someone may have a forum set spare and we know the new batch due soon
.

PS I had damage to my car just days after I got it. Well respected indi was asked to change the bonnet badge which they did with a screw driver!!!

Only noticed when I washed the car after getting it home. Took a while but they did compensate me.

safrane said:

Euro spares will sell you a single shock and there are some on ebay now and then...what about breaker only as well?

Which disks are req?...someone may have a forum set spare and we know the new batch due soon
.

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It’s the front ones heavily corroded which equals a fail, the rears corroded, not a fail but would change for the sake of it. But just to get through the MOT would need front . An advisory last MOT would have led me toward getting things sorted in advance, makes me wonder sometimes if an MOT supplied along with a sale from some dealers is as good as it should be.

Saigon said:

It’s the front ones heavily corroded which equals a fail, the rears corroded, not a fail but would change for the sake of it. But just to get through the MOT would need front . An advisory last MOT would have led me toward getting things sorted in advance, makes me wonder sometimes if an MOT supplied along with a sale from some dealers is as good as it should be.

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My car was given a completely clean MOT with the only advisory being a small stone chip on the windscreen... even though the inspection report commented on the discs (which I also knew to be on their way out). The front pads also have just expired - ironically the light came on the day before I planned to change for up-rated pads anyway. We're talking less than 500 miles since that MOT and 250 miles were on the motorway driving it home. Should they both have been advised on that MOT. Absolutely they should. Was that left of because the dealer was trying to avoid pressure to sort them before I bought. Absolutely it was.

Whilst in this instance I was lucky in that I knew my destiny, the point is it is clear evidence of dodgy practice in the industry... from a national dealer. So the answer is... be careful who you trust and try to work with recommended people. Ergo my first suggestion would be to verify said Ferrari specialist with others on this forum... a prancing horse hung over your door doth not immediately make you a trusted person in my book.

I really hope you get it sorted. As long as it doesn't hurt too badly financially, all of those things are at least wear items which will need doing on every car sooner or later... and thus when sorted... you will have a wonderful car you can enjoy for years to come! Good luck!

Where did you buy it from? Consumer rights is up to 6 months and in some cases can be longer. Have you spoken to the dealer?

Corroded brake discs...
Can't you just take the car for a good run to clean the braking surface, pop the wheels off that give them a solid tap all the way around the outside to knock off any indent / loose corrosion to pass an mot...?
I appreciate it's a Maserati, but brake discs corrode, and so long as they are safe and work as intended... Or am I missing something?

Other stuff, sounds fishy though. Hope you can get an agreement about sorting the damage out too

Don’t ignore the corroded brake lines though!!
I did
To my peril, ended up posting a picture in the The Low Loader Thread.
Soft copper lines are an easy and effective fix

For the pipes... give them a brush down with a wire wool pad for the MOT but get them replaced as soon as funds allow.

Good advice re the discs... I do a few blasts up and down the local bi-pass just before the MOT to drive any rust off.

Sorry to hear you’ve had a bad time. If you’re based in Chester, go to Autoshield Maserati in Manchester, a proper Maserati specialist.

I believe, for the pipes, if it is just surface corrosion, and they aren't expanding, you can give them a brush. If the corrosion is very clearly surface, and you can see the cause, it might be worth giving them a paint, but as said above, replace if in any doubt.
For example, the brake pipe on the Elise which crosses the chassis between the front calipers sits in the tiniest plastic clips, attached to the chassis and perhaps too widely spaces. Between the clips, the pipe is maybe 3mm from the aluminium of the chassis, which means with the softness of the pipe and vibration of the car, if they touch, they cross corrode. Caught early enough, and a slight rub down and a lick of paint sees them ok.

If you end up replacing, I personally wouldn't buy a genuine pipe unless they are very well priced. Any decent garage should be able to make up a replacement pipe with the right bends. I believe cunifer is the material of choice, rather than copper.

Sorry to hear this, after I bought mine with full ‘specialist’ history I was very disappointed on quite a few areas.

The original brake pipes are available and cheap still, I replaced all mine over the last 2 years. They are a pain to install though, like most things corroded and not moved in 15yr.

Might be worth going to a different MOT centre, I use one that only does MOTs and not any repairs so you get a fair test, since it does not benefit them to fail.