Ferrari’s Statement: "What can you expect from us?"

[andre@carpassion]

Dear Community,

Please don’t be hate me because of the headline of my report, because it truly and literally is a quote from the Technical Head of Ferrari Germany, Mr. Mueller!

So how did things get to the point of this amazing self-assessment from Ferrari Germany, something which still offends me? Early in 2001 I ordered two cars ( a 360 Modena and a 360 Spider) from the Satzer Ferrari Dealer in Hamburg. Despite the fact that I didn’t explicitly say I was ready to buy and given my relatively sporty clothing, the salesman was completely friendly and customer-oriented. This was unfortunately the last professional impression I received from Ferrari along the way.

A short while ago I received my 360 Modena which is certainly one of the best-driving and most attractive sportscars there is. As long as you don’t completely shut off the driving aids and leave the sport settings on, you continually have the feeling that you are one with the car, and you never encounter the situation of losing your control of the car. In contrast to older Ferrari models, the seating position and posture is suitable for longer drives, and according to my girlfriend it’s “surprisingly comfortable”.

But let’s return to the disappointment at hand which is making me consider cancelling the order for the second car and spending my money on a car-maker who’s more friendly to their customers.

I was feverishly excited about the delivery date and about the professionalism and quality I considered to be part of the Ferrari brand.

After some unpleasant and time-consuming problems

concerning the Ferrari comprehensive insurance (for unexplained reasons of coverage approval, and just to be careful, my car supposedly shouldn’t be driven at first), which stands in contrast to the professionalism mentioned above, some bitter defects in quality appeared. The much-mentioned quality check at the factory, the love of building automobiles, the time-intensive final checks – these things certainly were not applied in the case of my car:

Dents in the upper front wheel case, caused by a local car dealer (I live about 250 km from the authorized dealer). The dealer explained the damage by saying that the kind of denting in that position could only have happened already during the production. That nobody noticed this very visible denting was a complete mystery to myself and the dealer’s repair shop.

The glove compartment was visibly hanging crookedly (about 1 cm difference in height between the left and right closing edge).

Remnants of putty across from the right edge of the door was painted over and thus created considerable optical irregularities. It protrudes like a small razor blade in the direction of the door.

Remnants of putty around the right wheel case area was also not removed, but was instead painted over and is a defect. (light bumps across the surface).

The driver window did not return to the original position twice after closing the door.

Extreme paint defects in the motor’s ventilations slots (also with an unprofessional putty fill, with full of holes and painted over). At this location the paint quality also is less than inadequate (uneven and feels porous to the touch).

To top it off, one of the car keys is bent. I haven’t even bothered to try whether it still fits in the door. For me it’s a total puzzle how these types of mistakes were not

noticed at the factory.

Until now, though, I was rather quiet and relaxed about the whole thing and was certain that Ferrari would solve the situation at hand quickly, expertly and pleasantly. The Hamburg dealer reacted to my complaints and picked up the car by truck from my hometown.

According to the salesman, a car like that "should in no case ever be delivered“. I was informed that the Technical Head of Ferrari Germany, Mr. Mueller, would be notified and that I would be called back right away.

Let me just preface the next few sentences by saying that I am the customer and I’ve ordered two cars for several hundred thousand dollars (with sales of 4,000 units per year, I would at least try to be nice to my customers).

Mr. Mueller was now on the telephone with me and I was very hopeful that we could come to a quick and harmonious solution to the well-founded defects I was faced with. At first I was puzzled that he didn’t even know that my car had been standing in Hamburg for two days already – because according to the information I had, Mr. Mueller has spoken to the dealer a few times and it was his suggestion to bring the car to Hamburg.

Mr. Mueller’s second sentence was then the statement that "hopefully I (meaning me) was aware that I bought an Italian car and that Italians don’t place as much value on quality as a German would." My comparison that a $ 10,000 Opel was subject to higher quality demands that a brand new Ferrari was answered by the Technical Head of Ferrari saying that at the Ferrari factory things are not done that precisely and that alone the distance between the “sheet metal” would make every Ferrari vehicle fail a German manufacturer test.

With regards to the bent key, he tried to convince me that maybe it was my fault that it was bent! Due to my insistence, it was agreed that the car would be repaired in Hamburg and that this was an issue for the dealer from now on; after all, the dealer is where I bought the car (the concept that whoever made the car is irrelevant is the same as saying “anyways, it’s just another Italian manufacturer with bad signs of quality”) :sad:

Finally at the end, there was NO apology for any inconvenience, NO offer of a replacement vehicle (Mr. Mueller: "This is not my responsibility") or something similar.

Fact: For me personally, the brand has lost a lot of the value I had attached to it, and I am considering cancelling my order for the second vehicle. The idea that you can still deal with customers this way in today’s world is an absolute mystery to me!

But many brand name manufacturers who disappeared from the market also thought that their brilliant shine would go on forever. But 60 year of Ferrari is not forever...

[Anzeige eBay]

Hallo andre@carpassion,

 

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[Seb2]

Sad to hear about it. That Italian cars has bad quality has been known for a long time. Some Ferraris has very good quality some has like your very bad. From what i heard the best is to buy your car directly from Italy. Anything of this shouldnt exist on a car for that kind of money it doesnt exist on a VW, Opel whatever for just a small amount of the money you laid out. Well this is why Porsche is my favourite brand. Service costs are so so high on Ferraris and Lamborghinis and you could wonder if those cars are made for racing sometimes. A Porsche you know if its from 70s its still i good condition and loved to be driven hard. Funny is that 911 gets faster and faster over the years. Engine runs smoother after like 15000km. BTW why buy two cars wich is just the same but one is a cab?. Give back the Modena and wait for the Spider then if it has the same bad quality give it back and go for a new brand.

[andre@carpassion]

New informations: Today I had a friendly call with Mr. Mueller and he said Ferrari Germany is very sorry for everything. Now they will do their best and I will get my car back soon as possible.

[Shaunt]

It seems as if they were giving you excuse after excuse, and not willing to take the blame.

But since he did call you back, that shows that they care for the customer, which is good.

Good luck with the car man.