BC Judge puts $15,000 price on loss of pleasure of driving an F430

[Harvey Specter]

I haven't been hearing good things about FoV of late, guess this story isn't going to help...

Lawrence Miller wanted $85,000 for loss of ‘great joy’ for seven months to accident at dealership. Ferrari dealer suggested $5,000

BY IAN MULGREW, VANCOUVER SUN COLUMNIST AUGUST 11, 2015


Ian Mulgrew: B.C. judge puts a $15,000 price on ‘pure pleasure’

A 2007 Ferrari F430 Spider, similar to the model owned by Vancouver clinical psychologist Lawrence Miller. After a short trial, a B.C. Supreme Court judge has awarded him $15,000 for loss of ‘pure pleasure’ after his man toy was damaged by his auto dealer.
Photograph by: STAN HONDA , AFP/Getty Images
Ah, the smell of fine leather, the guttural growl of 490 Italian horses and the wind in your hair: there really is nothing like owning a Ferrari!

How do you put a price-tag on “pure pleasure,” zero to 60-plus in four seconds?

Well, Vancouver clinical psychologist Lawrence Miller, described as “a passionate Ferrari enthusiast,” figured losing that “great joy” for seven months was worth $85,000.

Brian Ross Motorsports Corp., which does business as Ferrari Maserati and whose repairman damaged the expensive man toy, thought more like $5,000.

In what is a cautionary tale for luxury automobile owners, Miller took his 2005 Ferrari F430 F1 in for annual servicing at the Vancouver dealership in May 2013. He wouldn’t be able to take it for a ride again for a year.

During a quality-control road test, the Ferrari-certified technician “made contact” in a laneway with a parked delivery truck. The company’s general manager told Miller his pride and joy, worth about $200,000 new, had sustained “a scratch” and the firm was arranging to have it repaired.

As he was out of town, Miller told the dealer not to perform any work until he had seen the damage.

When he did, he was “shocked.”

“The Ferrari was damaged down the length of the passenger side, including damage to the rims and the passenger side mirrors,” said B.C. Supreme Court Justice Jane Dardi in a ruling released Monday.

“As it turns out, the cost of the repairs was $35,644.04.”

Through what the judge called “an unfortunate series of circumstances” the car wasn’t returned from Brian Ross to Miller until December 2013. It still had not been repaired and it would take until May 9, 2014 before it was fixed to Miller’s satisfaction.

He sued for the repair costs, the loss of value to the luxury asset and the loss of his enjoyment driving a “work of art.”

The essential facts and liability were never at issue, and the two parties settled the question of depreciation and the cost of repairs before a three-day trial.

But they couldn’t decide how much losing that Ferrari feeling was worth.

The court heard evidence the daily rate for renting a similar car was $1,250, or a monthly rate of $9,381.

Miller calculated his one year’s loss at $112,572, but “all factors being considered,” said an appropriate award would be $85,000. He emphasized he was deprived of the experience of driving the vehicle through the summer of 2013.

The justice noted driving the Ferrari was Miller’s preferred pastime from which he derived “his peace of mind; the activity constitutes a form of stress relief for him. (And) renting a vehicle would be no substitute for the very special ‘pride of ownership’ of the Ferrari.”

The firm, though, pointed out Miller bought the largely handmade sports car for $134,288 in November, 2011, that $85,000 was two-thirds of the purchase price.

Dardi noted that although Miller was without the car for roughly a year, he was responsible for some of the delay.

A single man with no children who owns several vehicles, Miller had a 2002 Acura he used for meeting clients around the Lower Mainland and maintained he drove the Ferrari for “pure pleasure.”

He took the F430 out for a spin all year round but not in the rain — perhaps 20 days a month, and less frequently in the winter.

As a result, Dardi calculated his loss at only $15,000, never mind the excitement of that Formula One-derived sequential gearbox that cuts shift times down to 150 milliseconds.

She said the rental rates had not been helpful and she was hampered in determining damages because the legal principles around assessing loss of use are undeveloped.

(The decision is available on the court website at bit.ly/1IUnSrS)

imulgrew@vancouversun.com

[fliptuner]

They should've hired an arbitrator, paid him an agreed amount and had him sign an NDA. Not worth the bad press.

I wonder if he could've sued for loss of use instead and been paid more.

Also, the plaintiffs lawyers name lol - A. Doolittle.

[pastarocket]

Talk about damaging a car dealership's reputation. Why the heck didn't the dealership manager, or even the owner Brian Ross himself, intervene to ensure that the F430 Spider was repaired promptly in a satisfactory manner for the owner?

Seriously? Factory recalls to repair car defects get finished faster than repairing that poor Ferrari.

Any pics of the Ferrari before AND after the repairs?

The picture in that article is definitely not a picture of an F430 spider. -looks like a 599 Fiorano.

[european]

hah

[underscore]

Originally Posted by pastarocket

Talk about damaging a car dealership's reputation. Why the heck didn't the dealership manager, or even the owner Brian Ross himself, intervene to ensure that the F430 Spider was repaired promptly in a satisfactory manner for the owner?

They said part of the delay was caused by the owner. This psychologist sounds like a bit of a moron considering he was wanting more than the car is worth in compensation.

[pastarocket]

Originally Posted by underscore

They said part of the delay was caused by the owner. This psychologist sounds like a bit of a moron considering he was wanting more than the car is worth in compensation.

Yeah, the shrink sounds like an idiot. He's still a rich dummy if he can afford to buy an F430 Spyder. #moremoneythanbrains

[underscore]

Originally Posted by pastarocket

Yeah, the shrink sounds like an idiot. He's still a rich dummy if he can afford to buy an F430 Spyder. #moremoneythanbrains

Depends on if he owns it, or his bank does. I'm also guessing FoV doesn't give two poops what people think of them since it's not like people have options. Ferrari is kinda douchey to their customers in general anyways.

[Manic!]

On the subject of stupid people and Ferrari's: Spoiled Kid Tries To Get New Ferrari By Setting Fire To Old One

[Harvey Specter]

Seems like FMOV doesn't care about their rep nor do they care about doing damage control on social media. Here's a rant from a RS member on IG about FMOV;

[Lomac]

Don't know what the back story is with the IG post, but in FMOV's defence, Canada doesn't have a Lemon Law like the USA. They, like any other dealership, were under no obligation to buy back a car like that guy was expecting.

[nsx042003]

Originally Posted by Harvey Specter

Seems like FMOV doesn't care about their rep nor do they care about doing damage control on social media. Here's a rant from a RS member on IG about FMOV;

eeh...did buddy guy graduate high school?

Sorry..I just can't stand to read that garbage, it hurts the brain

[Jmac]

Loss of pure pleasure for ... Up to 20 days/month of driving, less in winters (when it doesn't rain in Raincouver, so rarely).

So basically $100/driveable day for not having the vehicle for a year. Honestly, I'm kind of siding with the $5000 Ferrari offered.

[westopher]

If the car was manual I think the 15k is fair. Since it was flappy paddles it should have been 5k.

[Galactic_Phantom]

^i like manual too but to say flappy paddles are less pleasurable especially for certain cars like Ferrari that needs it is quite silly

[westopher]

I'm being semi facetious.
They certainly don't NEED those transmissions though. There is a reason that older cars with el manuel are eclipsing the prices of their newer SMG/DCT/DSG/PDK/F1 counterparts.

[Galactic_Phantom]

I assume it has more to do with demand since manuals are slowly being phased out. Yes it isn't a 'need' but you have to admit, newer cars aiming for high performance works well with automatic and honestly it doesn't make it anymore numb to drive such as say, F8x M3/4's DCT compared to its available 6 speed manual . Everything is becoming automated in this world and unfortunately cars are just the same way now

[maxx]

a friend of mine bought then returned two californias from them, but not after so much brain damage. bucketloads of problems on both cars and with the dealer.

[StylinRed]

Ferrari and its dealers are douchey that's why Jay Leno won't buy one, seems like a good pov

[Eff-1]

Originally Posted by fliptuner

Also, the plaintiffs lawyers name lol - A. Doolittle.

lol reminds me of this

[Mr.Money]

wow...if they deal things that way with issues not being resolved,Fuck it,it's Lamborghini time