It’s been a long winter; with no pressing need to get the 360 out. (In addition to no Formula 1—perhaps I should take up hibernation—I wonder if I automate my job my boss would notice? Probably.) Anyway, the temperature has started to rise and the sun is out a little more each day, so it was time to have the front bumper resprayed, due to numerous stone chips, and (a slightly delayed) annual service carried out. I went back to my friends at Slade’s Garage for the bodywork but decided to return the car to its original seller, H. R. Owen, for the service. This was primarily because me existing service book was now full of stamps and dates and so I needed them to source me a new one from Maranello. And Ferrari, it turns out, require a fair few items of proof before they’ll issue a new book:

  • Photographs of the vehicle front rear and side view
  • Photographs of the instrument panel with the mileage displayed
  • Photographs of the chassis number
  • Photographs of the gearbox and engine Number
  • Proof of ownership of the vehicle
  • Proof of identification

I decided that returning to a main dealer would make acquiring said booklet easier than attempting to go through an independent/secondhand dealer.

So the service came and went, and whilst there appeared a couple items that I was expecting—such as the engine mounts needing to be replaced—I was a little surprised that I was told I was going to need new wiper blades, given that I changed the myself less than a year ago! There was some play in one of the track rods too that obviously needed sorting sooner rather than later; though I declined belts, coolant, and gearbox oil, as these are three things that are included as part of H. R. Owen’s mileage/3 year service, which is due next year. (It’s been 2½ years since the last major service so I can kind of understand why they were being preemptive on getting those bits checked out now instead of six months down the line.) The front tyres were also on the legal limit, as was noted on the last MOT—one of the rears was getting close so those too—so it was worth getting them all replaced: a nice new set of Pirelli P ZERO’s all round.

That was just about everything to ensure the Ferrari’s roadworthy for another year (or until its major service this time next year) so hopefully it’ll be plane sailing for a short while. Although there’s no time to rest, as soon as I collect the car on Friday we’re off for a busy couple of weekends ahead, especially the long Easter weekend, so stay tuned.

rssyoutubeinstagramrssyoutubeinstagram
FacebooktwitterredditmailFacebooktwitterredditmail

By Ashley

Life-long Ferrari fan, and eventual Ferrari owner. It has long been a dream of mine to own a Ferrari, and in the summer of 2014—shortly before I turned 30—I was lucky enough to be in a position to buy my first: a 2001, 360 Modena in rosso corsa with tan interior. Following an horrific accident in 2017, I had to work hard to get back into a Ferrari, this time opting for giallo Modena with black. This blog is where I aim to share my experiences along my Ferrari journey.