Specialist Ferrari servicing
In the minds of many owners, there’s a pecking order of who should look after their car. At the top is the franchised dealer followed by a marque expert, with a more general garage trailing somewhere in third place. Ferrari owners generally won’t (and probably shouldn’t) take the latter option, but that leaves two in the running, and for some owners it can be hard to choose between them.
The perception is that only the official dealers have the tools, expertise and diagnostic equipment to keep your Ferrari in top condition, but what about the independent specialist? The reality is that many marque specialists also have all of the tools and diagnostic equipment, and often the same level of expertise, because they’re usually staffed by technicians who cut their teeth in the official dealer network. That’s certainly the case for Bell Sport & Classic, which is staffed entirely by people who have worked for franchised Ferrari dealers and their protégées.
Bell Sport & Classic have built an enviable reputation for their expert servicing of all eras of Ferrari and the highest levels of customer service. That alone is enough to convince increasing numbers of owners that they are the best people to look after their car, but what seals things for many is the cost of such expertise.
Official dealer hourly rates have risen dramatically across the franchised network in recent years and whilst Bell Sport & Classic recognise that they could price-align closely with the near-neighbour dealer, have chosen to maintain more reasonable rates to give owners looking at servicing options the best possible value and the highest quality alternative.
Service manager Alex Stevens comments: “Everyone wants the most that they can get for their money without compromising on quality, and we’re seeing an increasing number of Ferrari owners looking for better-value maintenance alternatives. Owners with cars under Service Plan tend to stick with the dealer network for the seven years then think about switching to an independent specialist. But you don’t have to use one or the other as we offer what we call a hybrid service model.”
“All of the scheduled maintenance is covered by your Service Plan, but anything that falls outside the scope of the plan is additional work which has to be paid for. More and more owners are having the routine tasks performed by their preferred dealer, then having the additional extra items which commonly range from mechanical and electrical fault diagnosis to batteries and brake pads carried out by a highly regarded specialist such as Bell Sport & Classic”.
Alex continues: “We have a huge amount of expertise on the older tipos from the sixties, seventies, eighties and nineties, but increasingly we are seeing the later and current cars. We can work on any Ferrari of any age, and with ten ramps in our workshops it’s not unusual to see a sixty-year spread of cars.”
“We use the official Ferrari time-based service guidelines, but often tailor schedules to an owner’s circumstances, use and the age of their car. We also use official diagnostic equipment and recognised parts carrying a 12-month warranty. Throw in a continual investment in the tooling, training and technology needed to maintain and service Ferraris, along with more affordable pricing, and we reckon we offer numerous compelling reasons to allow Bell Sport & Classic to look after your Ferrari.”