[DSGT]

Green wrench light came on, so I took it in for service ;

Oil change
Brake fluid replacement ( it's been two years since the last one )
All other fluids topped off
Full bumper to bumper inspection performed, suspension, etc..
+ test drive

Total labor 2 hrs. ( $ 225 / hr. , same as my ex- IM shop in NorCal ) Also same amount of time my ex-shop charged for the same service.

Air and cabin / pollen filters were not too dirty, the mechanic said they can wait until the next service . The valve cover gaskets had two "very small" leaks at the rear of the engine more like some minor seepage, the mechanic said no need to replace it now, that can also wait a while . I have 72K miles now, he said we should look at it again around 85 K miles / next service., unless it starts smelling or smoking and then they can do it anytime. Estimate for that job is $ 2,300 , so it looks like about 5 hrs. per each side.
Must be a really small leak, because I only smelled the burning oil once or twice at months+ intervals and just for a few seconds, so it must take a while for enough seeping oil to accumulate and drip on the exhaust manifold..

Separate from the basic service they also fixed the license plate lights ( I have another thread on that but it's too old, not sure it's worth reviving it, there was no one else here who had that issue ). It was a bunch of wires which got twisted ( Jason predicted that ! ) with time and opening / closing of the trunk, which in my case is about six to eight times a day, for eight + years now.. , but they were not in the area which is visible from the trunk lining 'doors" you can open and easily see those segments of the wires . They only charged me an hour for the troubleshooting and the fix, which IMO is very fair .

 

[timado404]

Green wrench light came on, so I took it in for service ;

Oil change
Brake fluid replacement ( it's been two years since the last one )
All other fluids topped off
Full bumper to bumper inspection performed, suspension, etc..
+ test drive

Total labor 2 hrs. ( $ 225 / hr. , same as my ex- IM shop in NorCal ) Also same amount of time my ex-shop charged for the same service.

Air and cabin / pollen filters were not too dirty, the mechanic said they can wait until the next service . The valve cover gaskets had two "very small" leaks at the rear of the engine more like some minor seepage, the mechanic said no need to replace it now, that can also wait a while . I have 72K miles now, he said we should look at it again around 85 K miles / next service., unless it starts smelling or smoking and then they can do it anytime. Estimate for that job is $ 2,300 , so it looks like about 5 hrs. per each side.
Must be a really small leak, because I only smelled the burning oil once or twice at months+ intervals and just for a few seconds, so it must take a while for enough seeping oil to accumulate and drip on the exhaust manifold..

Separate from the basic service they also fixed the license plate lights ( I have another thread on that but it's too old, not sure it's worth reviving it, there was no one else here who had that issue ). It was a bunch of wires which got twisted ( Jason predicted that ! ) with time and opening / closing of the trunk, which in my case is about six to eight times a day, for eight + years now.. , but they were not in the area which is visible from the trunk lining 'doors" you can open and easily see those segments of the wires . They only charged me an hour for the troubleshooting and the fix, which IMO is very fair .

Good stuff.
Ironically I had that same wire bundle issue with my license plate lights on my BMW 535i, just last year. Spliced in a couple of wires, did the trick.

 

[BrianGTC]

Wow sounds like you got good service there!

 

[DSGT]

Wow sounds like you got good service there!

Yes, they seem to be very straightforward, stand up guys. Both the owner and a couple of the mechanics are ex- Ferrari & Maserati dealers service guys who started their own business. Two others jumped ship from Aston - Bentley - Rolls dealers so they work on those also . Saw a Lambo on one of the hoists today so I guess they do those as well. But he said, that's it ; no Porsches or other brands .

 

[Jason@ Enzo`s Atlanta]

You don't want a shop that fixes every European brand...It's overwhelming to keep up with the software, tools, service bulletins, etc...We fix 4 brands and they are related...That is it...We are capable of fixing many more, but just don't...Jason

 

[MaseratiByChance]

Sounds like a honest knowledgeable tech who believes in treating the customer like family, unfortunately the service writer and management would be unhappy he didn’t sell more. Speaking from experience, sad to say.

 

[DSGT]

I took my car to a dealer only once because it was for the secondary air system software patch ( recall by Maserati ) which only dealers could have performed, and it was free .

You should see the long list of the “repairs” they “noticed” I “must have done”, or the car will face impending doom . No one even asked them to look at anything while the car was there for a mere software patch, but of course they felt obligated to alert me of all the things which were wrong with the car , which they will gladly fix for me.. at a cost of ( if I recall correctly ) of about $ 5,000.

A month or so later, it was time for my service interval, so I took the car to my IM shop, and pointed out to them all the items the dealer insisted needed immediate attention . My IM crew looked at everything and categorically stated that not a single item the dealer asserted needed work, really needed attention at that point. Not one ! Some were way premature for replacement at that stage, others were simply b.s., not at all needed. That’s when I gained every respect for that shop, and lost confidence in any dealer‘s honesty. Not to say all dealers are like that, I’m sure there must be honest ones out there, but I think they all have a tendency to push to sell more and more , under pressure by management .

This is not exclusive to Maserati or high end cars, it seems to be a very common practice by many car dealers service departments .

 

[BrianGTC]

That's a sad but all to common occurrence. Even had that with Toyota! Had my wife's 4Runner in for oil change and the service person said we needed to do brakes. We asked if they had even looked at them as we had just changed them several months prior. The service tech said nothing and just turned and walked away. Apparently their 'records' said it needed to be done.

 

[MaseratiByChance]

I saw in my working days as an auto tech a sad state of affairs! Not just where I worked but other places, some sorry individuals, both techs and management, mostly at the dealer level. From steal all you can to down right incompetence. Glad to be out of that environment and Praise the Lord! For all you guys/gals question everything.

 

[Jason@ Enzo`s Atlanta]

I took my car to a dealer only once because it was for the secondary air system software patch ( recall by Maserati ) which only dealers could have performed, and it was free .

You should see the long list of the “repairs” they “noticed” I “must have done”, or the car will face impending doom . No one even asked them to look at anything while the car was there for a mere software patch, but of course they felt obligated to alert me of all the things which were wrong with the car , which they will gladly fix for me.. at a cost of ( if I recall correctly ) of about $ 5,000.

A month or so later, it was time for my service interval, so I took the car to my IM shop, and pointed out to them all the items the dealer insisted needed immediate attention . My IM crew looked at everything and categorically stated that not a single item the dealer asserted needed work, really needed attention at that point. Not one ! Some were way premature for replacement at that stage, others were simply b.s., not at all needed. That’s when I gained every respect for that shop, and lost confidence in any dealer‘s honesty. Not to say all dealers are like that, I’m sure there must be honest ones out there, but I think they all have a tendency to push to sell more and more , under pressure by management .

This is not exclusive to Maserati or high end cars, it seems to be a very common practice by many car dealers service departments .

That is kinda just how the dealer works and if you don't do it their way you will be fired...The techs. do so much warranty work and really don't make any money because of the poor labor times that a car like yours out of warranty is fresh meat and they try to sell everything under the sun..I think you are gonna see a change in the industry in the next ten years...The decline of flat rate...Young guys are not gonna keep working 45 hours and turning like 28 hours..They'll simply go find another profession...You can go on Youtube and find plenty of them and they'll tell you why they quit working on cars...There is already a tech. shortage....Here some links if you are bored.

 

[davethechemist]

That is kinda just how the dealer works and if you don't do it their way you will be fired...The techs. do so much warranty work and really don't make any money because of the poor labor times that a car like yours out of warranty is fresh meat and they try to sell everything under the sun..I think you are gonna see a change in the industry in the next ten years...The decline of flat rate...Young guys are not gonna keep working 45 hours and turning like 28 hours..They'll simply go find another profession...You can go on Youtube and find plenty of them and they'll tell you why they quit working on cars...There is already a tech. shortage....Here some links if you are bored.

Not just mechanics Jason... just about every industry I can think of is having the same problem

 

[rnaidu]

Green wrench light came on, so I took it in for service ;

Oil change
Brake fluid replacement ( it's been two years since the last one )
All other fluids topped off
Full bumper to bumper inspection performed, suspension, etc..
+ test drive

Total labor 2 hrs. ( $ 225 / hr. , same as my ex- IM shop in NorCal ) Also same amount of time my ex-shop charged for the same service.

Air and cabin / pollen filters were not too dirty, the mechanic said they can wait until the next service . The valve cover gaskets had two "very small" leaks at the rear of the engine more like some minor seepage, the mechanic said no need to replace it now, that can also wait a while . I have 72K miles now, he said we should look at it again around 85 K miles / next service., unless it starts smelling or smoking and then they can do it anytime. Estimate for that job is $ 2,300 , so it looks like about 5 hrs. per each side.
Must be a really small leak, because I only smelled the burning oil once or twice at months+ intervals and just for a few seconds, so it must take a while for enough seeping oil to accumulate and drip on the exhaust manifold..

Separate from the basic service they also fixed the license plate lights ( I have another thread on that but it's too old, not sure it's worth reviving it, there was no one else here who had that issue ). It was a bunch of wires which got twisted ( Jason predicted that ! ) with time and opening / closing of the trunk, which in my case is about six to eight times a day, for eight + years now.. , but they were not in the area which is visible from the trunk lining 'doors" you can open and easily see those segments of the wires . They only charged me an hour for the troubleshooting and the fix, which IMO is very fair .

I am looking for a good Maserati shop. I see you are also located in the Northern California. Who do you recommend?

 

[DSGT]

I’m in Southern California now ( moved almost two years ago from Northern California)
In Northern California I recommend ( without the slightest hesitation ) Taormina Motorsports
in San Carlos.

 

[rnaidu]

Thank you. Have you heard of Roselli Foreign Car Repair?

 

[DSGT]

Thank you. Have you heard of Roselli Foreign Car Repair?

Yes, I have . A lot of excellent reviews on them, I stopped by once and spoke to the owner, and would have used them had I not discovered Taormina, which happens to have been a five minute drive from my house. Roselli was 30-45 minutes away ( and that‘s in good traffic …) from where I lived.

 

[ktisafox]

Green wrench light came on, so I took it in for service ;

Oil change
Brake fluid replacement ( it's been two years since the last one )
All other fluids topped off
Full bumper to bumper inspection performed, suspension, etc..
+ test drive

Total labor 2 hrs. ( $ 225 / hr. , same as my ex- IM shop in NorCal ) Also same amount of time my ex-shop charged for the same service.

Air and cabin / pollen filters were not too dirty, the mechanic said they can wait until the next service . The valve cover gaskets had two "very small" leaks at the rear of the engine more like some minor seepage, the mechanic said no need to replace it now, that can also wait a while . I have 72K miles now, he said we should look at it again around 85 K miles / next service., unless it starts smelling or smoking and then they can do it anytime. Estimate for that job is $ 2,300 , so it looks like about 5 hrs. per each side.
Must be a really small leak, because I only smelled the burning oil once or twice at months+ intervals and just for a few seconds, so it must take a while for enough seeping oil to accumulate and drip on the exhaust manifold..

Separate from the basic service they also fixed the license plate lights ( I have another thread on that but it's too old, not sure it's worth reviving it, there was no one else here who had that issue ). It was a bunch of wires which got twisted ( Jason predicted that ! ) with time and opening / closing of the trunk, which in my case is about six to eight times a day, for eight + years now.. , but they were not in the area which is visible from the trunk lining 'doors" you can open and easily see those segments of the wires . They only charged me an hour for the troubleshooting and the fix, which IMO is very fair .

Where is this place?
Name and addy?

 

[DSGT]

Where is this place?
Name and addy?

Mark Douglas Motorworks
23255 Madero
Mission Viejo Ca 92691
949 472 8842

 

[ktisafox]

Mark Douglas Motorworks
23255 Madero
Mission Viejo Ca 92691
949 472 8842

Thank you 😊

 

[ddsski]

I expect to smell mine 1st start of the season....

 

[tommylotto]

I just had my 2018 GT into Mark Douglas Motorworks too.

45k scheduled annual maintenance
oil and filter, engine air filter, cabin air filter
brake fluid flush and refill
replace accessory drive belt and water pump belt (they were starting to crack)
inspection, top off fluids, tire pressure, check brake pads, road test, etc.

5 hours total, so 3 more hours for those filters and those belts.