Maranello Sales Classic Parts at Tower Garage
From the inception of Maranello Concessionaires Ltd, over forty years ago, the
company has always maintained a comprehensive stock of spare parts, initially for
the then current models. However, as time passed by it was inevitable that some
of these parts sat on the shelf, and concurrently as new models came along the
parts inventory increased. As a Ferrari is rarely consigned to the scrap yard,
particularly in the case of the earlier models, the availability of early model spare
parts has been of benefit to the owners of these cars, when restoration has
become part of the agenda.
It was not just a policy of keeping old parts that remained unsold, but one of
actively building up a stock of parts for models no longer in production. These were
sourced worldwide from dealers who did not share the philosophy, and in the case
of parts no longer available, a re-manufacturing programme was instigated. This
was carried out with the full co-operation of the Ferrari factory that provided the
blueprints to enable the process to proceed. Contrary to normal motor industry
policy of scrapping obsolete and slow moving stock, Maranello Concessionaires
have implemented a policy to preserve stock in support of motor cars with a
lifespan far in excess of normal.
The factory themselves have for a number of years only kept spare parts for current
and those models in production within the previous ten years. Any surplus stock at
the prescribed cut-off point was then sold. Unsurprisingly Maranello
Concessionaires have been at the forefront of purchasers of this ”new old stock”.
Naturally a full inventory for current and recent production models is also
maintained, as apart from servicing the current needs of the clients and dealer
network, this could eventually form the basis of more ”new old stock”.
From the preceding comments, it can be seen that the spares inventory has grown
enormously over the years. In 1969 it ran to 1450 stock lines occupying a floor
space of around 30 square metres, in 1985 the stock lines had grown to 18500
(with 31000 parts listed on the computer) occupying more than ten times the
space, whilst today there are 45000 stock lines occupying 3500 square metres. A
walk around the warehouses that are home to this cornucopia of elemental Ferrari
parts, illustrates the depth and diversity of items available. How about 330 GT 2+2
wing sections, a 365 California Spider front end, a 308 GTB fibreglass rear section,
a rack of Pininfarina badges, sets of carpets, crankshafts, cylinder heads, gearbox
casings, down to the more everyday items like spark plugs, filters and gaskets.
The list is virtually endless!
The most recent parts acquisition from the factory has been all the 328 and 412
models parts stock. In 1999 came a new agreement with the factory, whereby
Maranello Concessionaires would become the sole official world supplier of factory
parts for cars beyond the 10 year cut-off period mentioned earlier. This included
exclusive access to all original factory drawings and rights to manufacture.
To embrace this initiative a new channel has been formed with the factory to deal
specifically with this element of the operation via the internet, which is known as
The Ferrari Owners’ Site. The Ferrari Owners’ Site offers Ferrari owners a
preferential channel of exclusive communication with the world of Ferrari, with
access to events, information, services and limited edition products. It is within the
vintage section of the Owners’ Site that the Classic Parts service resides
alongside such services as copies of original build sheets, copies of heritage
certificates, homologation sheets and driver’s handbooks.
Prior to the new agreement, ”classic” parts could only be supplied to individuals
abroad through an official dealer/concessionaire in that country. The new
agreement now allows parts to be supplied direct by the Maranello
Concessionaires to clients worldwide.
The benefits to the clients will be speedier delivery, with less risk of the wrong
items being ordered/despatched because there is one less link in the chain. They
can also check availability together with prices, view parts and order online over the
Internet, through a direct link from the factory run web site.
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