While Italian automakers are renowned for creating some of the most thrilling cars on the planet, there’s a prevailing stereotype that their build quality might not (always) quite measure up. The arrival of a fresh-off-the-line Ferrari 296 GTB that recently passed through Ammo NYC’s doors, proves that sometimes our preconceived notions are correct.
The car in question apparently made it to the cleaning experts straight from the dealership, shortly after landing in the U.S. Despite being brand new, the 296 GTB has sanding marks in the clear coat, as well as compound residue in the creases, and imperfections in the green paint.
While these problems might be difficult to see at first blush, once pointed out, they’re hard to ignore. That would be a little annoying in any vehicle, but when the car in question starts at nearly $340,000, and it has enough options to bring the price up to $500,000, it’s deeply disappointing.
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Larry Kosilla, the host of the channel, explains that the issues with this vehicle’s paint are likely all related and probably stem from the factory. The driver-side door illustrates this point. While its paint finish is nice and flat (albeit marred by some surface-level swirling), the panel behind it looks like an orange peel.
The detailing professional believes that Ferrari’s quality control department must have noticed the imperfections in the paint finish and tasked the paint shop with sanding the surface down to fix it. That led to the swirl marks and the leftover compound that Kosilla has to clean. However, the automaker somehow forgot to address an entire panel while they were cleaning up the paint finish.
“The moral of the story is, this car, somewhere along the line, had some paint issues,” said Kosilla. That’s “totally okay, what’s not kind of okay, was that it wasn’t completed. It didn’t go through the entire process to completion. That’s what’s abnormal in this process.”
Even Kosilla admits that the driving performance of the 296 GTB makes up for the shoddiness of the paint finish. However, given the cost of the car, it’s surprising that the powertrain has to make up for anything.