Giles’ 488 Scrapbook

[Nosevi]

Cheers for explaining Giles. It wasn't so much the price I was surprised about, given diagnostic time, parts, labour it seems reasonable. It was more that an engineer felt the need to to put sensors in a seatbelt buckle in order for the car to assess whether to put on the handbrake. It just seems that the more sensors they put in these machines the more potential there is for sensors to throw faults, especially as the years pass and the cars start to get older. Oh well, hopefully sorted now and doesn't come back.

 

[JohnJStewart]

Looks like I spoke too soon!
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In summary, the main dealer has had my 488 for a working week, they told me they fixed the warning messages but haven’t, they were supposed to fit the new rear hub bearing bush (complete hub unit), but parts have been delayed so they haven’t done that either. But they have damaged the bumper.
So when I get the customer satisfaction feedback form to complete, what do I say?!
Cheers, Giles

I had my 488 serviced at Solihull and they wanted almost £1k to fix the radio issue of random no sound. Another main dealer had the upgraded software on a memory stick and did my car for free and it’s all fixed. Never going back to Solihull.

 

[JohnJStewart]

Hi Folks,
With encouragement from various sources, I finally took the brave pill and had a go at removing that god awful carbon wrap from my mirrors……
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Super happy with the result, there are a couple of usual stone chip type marks, but nothing substantial and most importantly it has revealed original Rosso Fuoco OEM paint, happy days!
Now the passenger side to do, fingers crossed!
Cheers, Giles

Just FYI and I don't know if this is true or correct but.....I heard recently that an incorrectly spaced private number plate is illegal - probably true but that it also can invalidate your insurance. Not a great way to be driving around in a £150k car. Just wondered if you knew this?

 

[giles]

Yes, fully aware regarding a fine, but the DVLA grant you the right to use/display the plate, you don’t own it. Therefore if you get caught twice, they can make you surrender the registration mark, that’s the worry. Sounds fair enough to me, but so far so good, no issues….. but who knows what will happen tomorrow

 

[Mike01606]

Yes, fully aware regarding a fine, but the DVLA grant you the right to use/display the plate, you don’t own it. Therefore if you get caught twice, they can make you surrender the registration mark, that’s the worry. Sounds fair enough to me, but so far so good, no issues….. but who knows what will happen tomorrow

I think it depends how mis-spaced they are and particularly whether you try to mispresent the numbers with black screws etc (plus attitude and if it’s a slow day for the traffic police ).
My daughter’s is missing the space completely which interesting enough is how you have to enter it into most systems. I’ve told her to tell them your dad bought it for you (true) and plead ignorance if pulled for it. I think it is two strikes and you’re out.

 

[Mike01606]

I think it depends how mis-spaced they are and particularly whether you try to mispresent the numbers with black screws etc (plus attitude and if it’s a slow day for the traffic police ).
My daughter’s is missing the space completely which interesting enough is how you have to enter it into most systems. I’ve told her to tell them your dad bought it for you (true) and plead ignorance if pulled for it. I think it is two strikes and you’re out.

She’s also had some ANPR based fines so assume they’ve actually seen it.

 

[giles]

Ferrari European touring time again, this time in the 488 and off to the Ferrari factory, exciting times

Ciao, Giles

 

[giles]

Some snaps from my French/Swiss/Italian holiday….









2,321 miles covered with an average of 23.4mpg. Best mpg was 27.5, worst mpg was 20.3.
Cheers, Giles

 

[Nosevi]

What was the camera and mike boom all about? Were you interviewing or being interviewed?

 

[giles]

What was the camera and mike boom all about? Were you interviewing or being interviewed?

It was a quick chat with Sandi who was (I think) doing a programme on the area, Menton/Monaco, hugely embarrassing and Con said I was ‘a bit over excited’! Oh well, done now, can’t do much about it, I will just wait for the cringe factor later!

 

[Nosevi]

It was a quick chat with Sandi who was (I think) doing a programme on the area, Menton/Monaco, hugely embarrassing and Con said I was ‘a bit over excited’! Oh well, done now, can’t do much about it, I will just wait for the cringe factor later!

Excellent. If you don't post it up when it comes out I'm sure someone will do that for you

 

[Kyodo]

I think it depends how mis-spaced they are and particularly whether you try to mispresent the numbers with black screws etc (plus attitude and if it’s a slow day for the traffic police ).
My daughter’s is missing the space completely which interesting enough is how you have to enter it into most systems. I’ve told her to tell them your dad bought it for you (true) and plead ignorance if pulled for it. I think it is two strikes and you’re out.

Someone I know has had a slightly mis-spaced plate on a car for seventeen years, something like M7OPO. Although not legal, the gap created by the slant to the 7 and the use of the correct and correctly sized typeface actually means it looks pretty much ok, totally 100% legible to all. No issues so far. Some others are so bad you can barely make out what they are. I'm sure that going so far as to invalidate your insurance, that's probably a myth created by a bored millennial journo trying to magic up a story for a newspaper website. The same bolx as don't drive in flip flops or the police'll do you.

Back to the thread though, the pictures are nice. I'm sure I have near replicas of most but with our old 360

 

[Mike01606]

Someone I know has had a slightly mis-spaced plate on a car for seventeen years, something like M7OPO. Although not legal, the gap created by the slant to the 7 and the use of the correct and correctly sized typeface actually means it looks pretty much ok, totally 100% legible to all. No issues so far. Some others are so bad you can barely make out what they are. I'm sure that going so far as to invalidate your insurance, that's probably a myth created by a bored millennial journo trying to magic up a story for a newspaper website. The same bolx as don't drive in flip flops or the police'll do you.

Back to the thread though, the pictures are nice. I'm sure I have near replicas of most but with our old 360

Who might that be

 

[giles]

I think my summary of the cringe worthy factor was well judged, but you can see for yourself in the link, the good news is that it isn't very far in to the programme when it all gets a tad embarassing
Head in hands emoji!

https://www.channel4.com/programmes/sandis-great-riviera-rail-trip/on-demand/77574-004

Cheers, Giles

 

[giles]

I’ve recently bought a house, with the sort of garage I’ve always wanted! It’s also close to my parents place as they are both now in their 80’s and it might be prudent to be close by at somepoint.
So while in the area when we were house hunting I took a drive around the area I grow up in the 488. These photos are the first houses I lived at as a child, my parents were starting a journey to become teachers, both recently finishing teacher training college and doing open university courses.
My first house is in this close but it’s the type where you can’t park outside your own home, just communal parking.


Then they got jobs at local schools so it was time for a semi-detached 3 bed. My dad even built a double length garage for his 1971 Beetle


Then after that and at 13 years old we moved to a detached house(!) where they still live. I can walk there in 20 minutes and drive there in 3



After moving out of the family home at 26 (it seemed old at the time to still be at my parents place but these days I guess not so much) I bought a 2 bed semi in the old part of the town. Photo below is how the house is now, extended, but critically where a lovely large single garage would previously house my first Ferrari (a 308GTS carb) and a Firdblade, the current owners have turned that into part of the house, sacrilege!
Everything above the Audi is new and the lovely detached large single garage has gone, sad face emoji!

For reference, this is me in my 308 in year 2000, still on it’s 14” rims although I did buy a set of 328 16” rims off Robin at Damex Engineering (last of the big modders strikes again! ).

Interestingly, for me at least(!), where I took the photo of my 308 is on the road where I’ve just bought a house! To me back then it was purely aspirational, I did think at the time, one day, just one day….. (Rodney!), as all these houses had double garages and some had triple!
Since then I moved to Stratford, had a new build house (met Con, got married), then we moved to a bungalow, but only with a double length garage……

And as you can see from the photo above, I really wanted more garage space and the new place has it!
In the road with my 308 photo above we have managed to get one of the houses with a triple garage and I’m in the process of getting a car-port added to the end of that, this really is garage heaven for me!


Garage now looks like this with the car-port taking shape….
Using my 360 in all weathers, having the ability to put a wet car in a car-port to allow it to dry off is, in my opinion, a better bet than putting it away in a garage where it would stay wet.
Garage progress!

The things we do for our cars! Hopefully it won’t be too long before it’s finished and maybe I can get another Ferrari to fill out this dream garage!
Cheers, Giles

 

[Nosevi]

Quite a journey, Giles.

For your 360 being an all weather, practically daily use car I take your point re the carport, especially its convenience, but for the 488 just chuck a dehumidifier in the garage for after you wash it or if you get caught out in the rain etc. With those roller shutter doors keeping the humidity down in there will be no issue.

The outside of a car will dry with a bit of airflow but under the panels and inside all the nooks and crannies it'll dry out far better if kept in around 50% relative humidity rather than the 80s or 90s we regularly see in the UK. That's why car panels can often rust from the inside out. Placing a humidity sensor in my 'dry' integral garage was a real eye opener - on damp foggy days the air in there was practically as full of moisture as it is outside. My 348 is now in a sealed detached garage with roller shutter door and a dehumidifier ticking over keeping the UK's humidity at bay.

 

[giles]

Quite a journey, Giles.

For your 360 being an all weather, practically daily use car I take your point re the carport, especially its convenience, but for the 488 just chuck a dehumidifier in the garage for after you wash it or if you get caught out in the rain etc. With those roller shutter doors keeping the humidity down in there will be no issue.

The outside of a car will dry with a bit of airflow but under the panels and inside all the nooks and crannies it'll dry out far better if kept in around 50% relative humidity rather than the 80s or 90s we regularly see in the UK. That's why car panels can often rust from the inside out. Placing a humidity sensor in my 'dry' integral garage was a real eye opener - on damp foggy days the air in there was practically as full of moisture as it is outside. My 348 is now in a sealed detached garage with roller shutter door and a dehumidifier ticking over keeping the UK's humidity at bay.

That’s a good point, I do have RH sensors so I’ll assess where my garage is sitting through the seasons. I do also have a good dehumidifier if required but not sure it’ll be up to the job of this triple. The 488 has now been sold and the 458 is the replacement, which will be a mostly dry weather car. After washing I use a high power air blower to dry off the callipers and around the handles, mirrors etc..
I’m still pretty convinced about the car-port strategy for the regularly wet 360, but yes, the convenience of getting in and out of the car-port is also a big plus. Another benefit of using the car-port means I can take the double space for the 458, which means both doors can be opened and the car can be walked around for cleaning or suchlike. It also means I don’t have to be ultra precise with positioning the cars enabling a safe door opening… can you imagine how gutted I would be if I dinged one of my own cars?!
Ref the garage, who knew garage doors were so expensive(!?), but still love my Night Oak finish Hörmann 42mm insulated sectional remote garage doors! Fab!
Cheers, Giles

 

[Nosevi]

That’s a good point, I do have RH sensors so I’ll assess where my garage is sitting through the seasons. I do also have a good dehumidifier if required but not sure it’ll be up to the job of this triple. The 488 has now been sold and the 458 is the replacement, which will be a mostly dry weather car. After washing I use a high power air blower to dry off the callipers and around the handles, mirrors etc..
I’m still pretty convinced about the car-port strategy for the regularly wet 360, but yes, the convenience of getting in and out of the car-port is also a big plus. Another benefit of using the car-port means I can take the double space for the 458, which means both doors can be opened and the car can be walked around for cleaning or suchlike. It also means I don’t have to be ultra precise with positioning the cars enabling a safe door opening… can you imagine how gutted I would be if I dinged one of my own cars?!
Ref the garage, who knew garage doors were so expensive(!?), but still love my Night Oak finish Hörmann 42mm insulated sectional remote garage doors! Fab!
Cheers, Giles

My garage is a double rathe than a triple but as I have a golf simulator in half of it I had it custom built with the ceilings about one and a half the height of a normal room so the volume of air in there is the same as in a triple garage. With an insulated roller shutter door my dehumidifier has no issues with keeping the relative humidity down at around 50% and is in fact not running the majority of the time.

My car is now 33 years old and has spent the majority of that time in a climate controlled atmosphere (she was previously in a dehumidified garage in a private collection for 15 years and I've owned her for 15). When you look under carpets and inside panels there's not a spot of rust or even tarnish. If you're going to keep cars long term it makes a difference. Excuse a photo on your thread but it really does make the point:

Edit: Photo removed so as not to impact Giles' scrapbook

 

[A348W]

very cool “trip” Giles; just one mistake…getting rid of the 308! If I could fit in one I would definitely have one.

Car ports are great; we had one before I converted it to a garage. surprising how dry they are and the temp difference when its cold, definitely keeps the frost off. unfortunately no room for one here…next house!

 

[Nosevi]

Clean as a whistle! Love it!

That was literally how it was when I removed the door cards, it wasn't cleaned up at all. It's just in a climate controlled atmosphere you don't get rusting/oxidising/tarnishing inside panels and under carpets etc as you would get normally.