Don’t mess with Ferrari or the Government

     Reporting obituaries is always depressing. Even more so when they are friends.

     So here is a more lighthearted story from my days at FAF Motorcars.

     While I was service manager we sold a new 328 GTS to a customer. At that time all Ferraris had to be red and so was this one. Red with tan leather.

      There was nothing remarkable about this car, just another 328.

     The owner owned a construction company and at that time leaded fuel was still available for farm and industrial use.

     The fuel filler neck is designed for the smaller nozzle of unleaded to prevent the larger nozzle of the leaded fuel dispenser.

     The owner brought the car in for service because it was running badly. We discovered the catalytic converter was clogged and melted.

 

     Under warranty we claimed a converter replacement and Ferrari approved the claim.

     It just so happened, the dealer technical representative had stopped in while we were replacing the cats and he inquired as to any running problems with the car.

     We had not found any ignition problem that could have caused the catalytic converter to melt down.

     With that he looked into the fuel neck and discovered the restrictor had been punched out to fit the larger nozzle.

     We replaced the filler neck and cats and told the customer we had gotten this replaced under warranty but not to do it again as Ferrari would not do it twice.

     Several months later the car came back for service, and the filler neck was once again punched out but this time it had a test tube in place of the converter.

     Once again it just so happened that the tech rep showed up while we had the car.

      During his inspection of the cars in the shop he saw the missing cat and the crudely modified filler neck.

     Remembering the previous incident he immediately claimed the warranty on this car was now null and void.

     Ferrari fixed it once but was not going to do it again. In addition, any further warranty claims on this chassis would not be honored.

     Needless to say, the customer was not happy to pay for the current work that should have been a covered repair.

     Gasoline at that time was probably $1.00 a gallon. The leaded fuel would have been a bit cheaper he was buying wholesale.

     For a few cents cost difference this customer ruined one set of catalytic converters which Ferrari paid for and ultimately lost any warranty claims for the rest of the warranty period.

     Shortly after this, the customer ended up in jail for Federal fraud charges. Not because he modified the emissions system but relating to his construction business.

     Poetic justice?