308 GTSi Rebuild motor %2424K

I am being told by Ferrari Beverly Hills that it will cost $12,000 to fix a possible cracked head, and $24,000 to rebuild the motor????? Car went into the shop with a water leak and now.... needs a new motor???? They said that there was a recall on the 1980 308 motor I can't find that info. Any help would be great.

Lots of problems with early injected cars..Many got new engines from the factory. Sorry to say this, but he might be right.

Any way to research if my car got a new engine? I have all of the work invoices including original stickers from the original sale, one of them seems to indicate that there was a new engine put in it. Is there anyway to verify this?

I would think it could be verified by the selling/servicing dealer. Either way, if it was 20 years ago. I doubt you will get any relief.
How long have you owned this car? If it had a new engine, it should have been fine unless something else went wrong. Sorry to hear this. Good luck.

$24,000 to rebuild a 308 engine? You have to joking. Is this guy talking about recasting everything from fresh aluminum, basicly building a complete moter form scratch? Then maybe it would cost 24,000. The engine should cost no more then 10k to rebuild at the worst!!

I'm guessing typical dealer gouging?

Tough to tell without seeing what the heck they're fixing. That does sound a bit on the steep side for an 8 cylinder model.

Cheers

>>I am being told by Ferrari Beverly Hills <<

Have you confirmed that price with Ferrari of Monaco? {}

Not surprising though, last time I was in Beverly Hills they wanted $1000 for a pair of shoes. Luckily I found a better deal in Compton for $25 bucks...{}

Seriously though....Dealers prefer to Cherry Pick their work, easy, high profit, non labor intensive work requireing the least skilled personell and basically no risk. Rebuilding older 308 engines that they would have to warranty doesn't fall under that category, so they price the work so high to chase away the problem. Also their Labor Rate is astronomical so maybe they really could make the math work somehow to arrive at $24K?

But in the world outside Bling Town a normal complete overhaul of a 308 with say 60K-80K miles would top out at around $12K-$14. Anything more than that wouldhave to come with gold plated parts.

As to your question about 80's replacement engines, YES, some of the engines used large quantities of oil and were replaced under a hush, hush warranty goodwill claim program. As far as I'm aware the number of new replacement engines handed out was small, as small as they could possibly get away with. To check on your own car service records would help, also FNA surely recorded every free engine and matched it with a serial number, so records very well may exist with them.

Regards, JRV

Thanks for all of the information - Never having owned a Ferrari before, I just have a few more questions... How would they know that it even had a bad engine without even having done a leakdown test, or a compression test. How would I verify what they are telling me??? Has anyone used or dealt with Blackhorse Motors? One last question - In the same breath that the dealership told me that it would be $24K to rebuild they also said that I should just sell it. Oh, and guess what they may be able to find me a buyer too. Not sure if I mentioned this or not, but it went in with a small water leak that it developed after being in for a smog check.

To best answer your question..."How would they know if it had a "bad" engine without doing a compression or leakdown test...?"

The "best test" of an engines' internal integrity is a leakdown test...Ring condition and valve sealing issues now become a measurable value versus mere speculation.

However, a "small" water leak could prove to be an expensive repair if indeed the leak is internal...Specifically, is the coolant leaking into the combustion chamber? Depending on the nature of the potential crack, the leakdown test may be non-conclusive. Typically, if an internal leak is suspected (in that there is absolutely no evidence of external leaks), the best test that I've come across in 25+ years of working with cars, is to take a CO reading from the coolant overflow tank. If there is CO present in the cooling system, there is a very high likelihood of a cracked head, as the presence of combustion gases are now detectable in the coolant.

Considering the age of your car...I would not discount a seeping hose. It is all too easy to jump to conclusions without doing the necessary diagnostic work first....Dealers are no exception to this rule.

Considering the potential dollars at stake, I'd get a second opinion...if that would make you feel more comfortable.


Regards,
David

Thanks David- I think that I am going to do just that. The leak was a visable one at the top of the engine coming directly from the radiator,it was a metal tube that required re-welding to repair. This they said they did without a problem. We then requested that the annual service be done, just to save us from having to take it back in the few months. After being advised that it was done and car was ready to pick up we recieved another call now stating that the engine was "Bad"... Not real sure how it made it through the smog check &amp; annual service and then..... the next day the engine was bad. Now I am trying to gather more information about the innerworkings of the car before I blame/question them about the recent events. So again, thanks for all of the help with this, I have gotten more information in two days from all of you than the dealership in 2 months.