Here in LA there are shops that specialize in Ferrari / Lamborghini / whatever same as there are shops that specialize in Ford / De Soto / whatever

 

As a rule of thumb, modern supercars can be diagnosed by most any dealer, as they share basic electronic and engine control functions with other models from the same make, but service is delegated to a select few dealerships. If repairs are needed due to an accident, negligence or component failure, the trained team of specialists will make a decision on whether they feel competent to carry out the repairs to a high enough standard.

Porsche: For the Carrera GT, like I mentioned above, certain dealers had personnel that were specially trained to handle routine maintenance. If the car is damaged, an assessment is made by the dealer on whether the car needs to return to Stuttgart for repair.

Ferrari: Enzo service is similar to Carrera GT. Not sure on F50, F40 and 288GTO.

Ford: GT service similar to Enzo & Carrera GT.

Lamborghini: No "halo" car, so everything can be handled by the dealers. I'm not positive, but I think bodywork on the Reventon must be taken care of at the factory due to the special exterior finish, but I could be wrong.

Pagani: Regular engine service, as well as diagnosis of engine problems can be taken care of by authorized Mercedes Benz dealerships. I believe when you take delivery of the car, a booklet is included with a list of these dealerships. Repair work and anything beyond routine engine maintenance must be carried out at the factory.

Mercedes Benz: For the CLK GTR, I think only a handful of dealerships in the USA and abroad could carry out any service on the car. At the time, this wasn't an issue because the car was only built to homologate the Le Mans cars to run in the GT1 class. As such, production was super limited and nearly all of them went into private collections and were rarely driven.

I knew a guy who had 2 Jaguar XJ220Ss and he had the mechanic that serviced his Lamborghini Diablos handle the work on the Jags. I once went with him to check on the work and saw that they were servicing the Cizeta Moroder V16 too.

 

When I bought my Ferrari 360 I wrote a Buyer's Guide.

It used to be a sticky in the Ferrari section but is buried about 5 pages deep now. Link below.

In that guide I talk about the virtues of a good independent mechanic.

https://teamspeed.com/forums/458-430...ers-guide.html

A Ferrari dealer will bleed you dry and charge you double what a reasonable indy guy will.

I could not stay in the exotic car game if not for my honest and fair independent mechanic.

I have seen him service every car you can imagine. Enzo, CGT, vintage. He is THE MAN.

Mark has a great independent guy too.

 

Completely agree with you about the mechanic, Barrister. Especially since my dad was one, so I know how a highly competent and qualified one can be the difference between a great running car or a mechanical and financial nightmare. And those are really difficult to come by. In the future, I'm actually considering getting a classic, but doing as much work myself. I sit behind a damn computer all day, so it would be a nice change of pace to tinker with.

That must mean that Bugattis could potentially be serviced by certain Audi dealers? BTW, thanks, for quenching my curiosity. I like to think about abnormal things. Like why we park in driveways but drive on parkways.

 

^ I have read that the tires on the Bugatti must be changed at least once a year and don't they run like $25,000 a set??

 

I think you're right on the tire price. I saw the Top Gear episode where May took out the Veryon SS and he mentioned something about that. But I guess if you can afford a $2mil car, $25k for tires is pocket change. Now, if there was just someone on this forum who showed some knowledge in this area. That guy from the Porsche GT2RS thread perhaps?

 

Like my mechanic told me once when servicing my Jaguar, it's all nuts and bolts. For the most part, they all turn the same direction. Any intelligent mechanic with a good understanding of systems can usually figure out most cars.

As others have stated here, many exotics and higher tier cars source many components from lesser cars, so finding someone familiar with them should do the trick. You'd be surprised how much parts sharing goes on among manufacturers, and there are only a few suppliers in the world for certain components, such as brakes. You could almost say these days that the manufacturers are merely assembling cars, save for the obvious bespoke items like bodywork and interiors.

I remember reading on a Lamborghini forum somewhere that the distributor cap for the Countach is the exact same one used in a Jagaur XJS. It would not surprise me in the least to find out that a Veyron uses a Volkswagen oil filter for example. I can tell you for a fact that it uses Volkswagen spark plugs! (I have some in stock!) I am sure there is much more, but good luck trying to find out. For parts for your exotic, it really does pay to do your research first.