Euro Motorsports..WTF?

Like most warehouse operations (didn't you just love their "showroom"?!), Euro Motorsports seems to do little more than clean up cars that they acquire from leases and auctions.

They didn't know the right type or weight of oil to use for my 348. They didn't check the coolant, either. Not only was it only half full when I picked up my car from them, but the coolant cap was corroded onto the fill reservoir and I had to remove it with a giant wrench (i.e. there is no way that they even bothered to perform a basic fluids check because the coolant cap hadn't been removed in years).

Now that I've experienced Ferrari ownership, I can say that there is no need for such middlemen. If you want to get the lowest price, then you should bid directly at auction and/or on lease car returns with exotic lease companies like Premier...because dealerships like Euro Motorsports do little more than clean up those same cars and add a hefty price markup for what essentially amounts to a wax job.

 

Well and with such comments and such clients in this marked where exactly do you feel a dealer should make up the money for the "showroom" and fixing a car. Your 348 is worth say $55K retail, you want to trade it to me for $60K, buy my $75K retail 355 for $65K and want me to do a major service at that, buy from a $25,000/month showroom to make you feel good and then explain to the rest of the world why buy from a dealer in the first place....
(This scenario is purely fixtional, I don't recall every talking to No Doubt, but the underlying implications are all over the Exotic Car Market)

 

Mike:
if you cannot get anywhere and have prove that they altered the car after the PPI you had done, go ahead and sue them. Read through your contact. You may have to go through a Broward registered attorney and file suit in Broward. Usually no big deal if the case is under $5K. If you need an attroney referral pm me. Also out of curiosity, who did the PPI for you here?

 

A dealer can add value in a variety of ways. Sport Auto's extensive knowledge of the marque, training of the customer, and standing behind a car after the sale (and likewise on selling your vehicle being replaced). Plus, kudos to them for their excellent service department.

Ferrari of Atlanta's used car warranty...ditto for Wide World of Cars.

Ferrari of Houston's race program. If you want to get into gentlemen's racing of your Ferrari, that seems like a good place to introduce yourself (i.e. to buy your first track Ferrari).

And there are other dealerships that add value.

But most dealerships do *not* add value.

Case in point is my 348 that I purchased from Euro Motorsports. The corroded/jammed coolant cap clearly shows that they didn't even bother to check the basic fluid levels...proof that they performed no evaluation of the car's mechanicals.

Yet they added $10,000 to the price tag above what they paid Premier Leasing when the car came off of lease.

And I bought it.

And that is fine, but Euro MotorSports added no value. Had I purchased my 348 by bidding directly with Premier Leasing I would have had the same car for ~~ $10k less (in theory).

So my point is that if you are shooting for the lowest price on a Ferrari that you might as well cut out the little warehouse dealerships that aren't known for adding any value. Look at Naples Motorsports. Plenty of posters here have pointed out resprayed bumpers and cocaine and pot in the cars from there, proof that they aren't "thorough" in evaluating what they are hawking.

Where's the value in that?

Now, if a small dealership is adding value by actually checking out the car, servicing fluids and basics, and training the purchaser on such basics as checking the engine oil level on a dry sump Ferrari only when the engine is hot/running, then by all means support such dealerships.

But if the dealership *isn't* adding value, why patronize it?

 

Martin is right. Go through the sales contract and let an attorney handle the rest.
This is not a "small claims" case. It definitely looks you've been taken for a ride.

 

...and just so I understand that correct then....Why did you not buy from Auto Sport or FoAt ? I will give you the answer, because you (and everybody else) wanted to buy it for less and still expected the FoAT service and the Sport Auto showroom. As I said, there is a fine line.
Understand that my comments are not to you personal. At the same time your thinking and actions show why being in the business is not fun anymore. Your customers think you are making a fortune off them and the reality is just completely different.
The same car you bought would have cost $ 5000 more at FofAt, and you wanted to save that. So you had to check your own fluids, buy your own radiator cap and are peed because you had not saved $5,000 but only $4,000.

 

At the same time, $$$=Speed bought a car that apparently had certain items on it and when he received it it was missing those items. That is blatant theft. There could be a number of reasons why they did not answer yet and homefully he can resolve the missing items. As for the sticky buttons, the PPI should have disclosed that. Those things should not happen and if he cannot resolve them, sue them.

 

Clearly if it was on the pictures (I am sure you have them) it is with the car. Things like the remotes and keys are essential. You may want to contact your transporter as well and see if they had listed the items on their report. Just so they dealer cannot come back an say they took them.
I had the same exact thing happen to me with my first Ferrari I bought from a "prestigous" dealer in North Miami (with a showroom). They said it was with books and tools and keys and all it had was tools, then later they said the owner never had the keys and books and records so too bad, then I found out that they screwed the previous owner and he simply did not sent them to the dealer until his issue got resolved. He had traded my car and a Porsche. By coincidence I met the guy that bought the Porsche and he had the same problem I had but was able to track the guy down in Atlanta.
Send them a fax that if they do not respond within X amount of days that you will hire an attorney and bring charges against them and also file a complaint with DMV in Florida about unfair dealer practices. That will get their attention.
I would hope that they simply cannot locate those books and keys. They keys are worthless to them. Why hold them back from you. Heck I sold cars on dealer auctions and found keys to cars afterwards and mailed them to the dealer weeks after. Does me nothing good. So I still have hope that this is not intentional.

 

Mike, you've got all the "ammunition". Pull the trigger.
"Your throttles", my friend.
Ed

 

to make one thing clear. Daniel W. used to work at Euro Motorsports. He has changed outfit (I wonder why ) a few months ago. He was the "specialist" there. He is not with a different company (one I won't mention them although I told him I was disappointed he was going with them). I am sure he would have taken care of this immediately to your satisfaction.

 

Martin,

Do you mean State Attorney General?

 

No I meant with DMV (Dep. of Motorvehicle)

 

Interesting. I didn't think DMV had any involvement in criminal proceedings if a dealer was less than honest with a customer. I'll have to remember that if I get boned in the future. Thanks.

 

The idea is to not getting boned in the first place. Deal with dealers that you get a good reputation from. Usually a good referral is worth the extra money you may pay. Also DMV does not go after criminal cases but they do investigate dealer dishonesty and if there was criminal conduct they have the power to send it to the State Attorney's office. However if they find there is unfair dealings by a dealer they can pull the dealers license and that hurts more than spending a few bucks in court defending something.

At the end of the day this scenario is not a criminal matter. Speed has not been swindeled out of a car but rather has a civil case with compensation from parts that are now missing. He got the car, the car is good with the exception of certain items missing. For criminal you would have to be able to ptove that the dealer knowingly and willingly held the items back from him and you won't be able to do that, especialy not with a set of keys and remotes that are worthless to anybody other than the owner of the car. The books have a $500 value and the windscreen I don't know...$500 as well? Sticky items should have been disclosed by the PPI that Speed had ordered. Not the dealers fault (although they should have have said it was clean and needs nothing..)

So to make that clear, this is a civil case not a criminal. He can still file a complaint with DMV on a civil matter, even without persuing any matter in court he can file a complaint. DMV will investigate and give he dealer the opportunity to respond. In most cases one complaint will not yield any results but if enough people complain they will yank their license.

 

I think it has to do with the 20K(?) bond you have to give them to obtain a dealers license. Knowing the government I am sure they would love any excuse to get their hands on it. This seems like a good reason to me!

.m

 

Actually the DMV will not touch the bond.
They will shut down a business.
If the court finds that the dealer has dealt dishonest in this case they can award a judgement to the buyer and the buyer then can go after the dealer bond to obtain the money he has been awarded. The bond is good for one year starting May1 of any given year (same date the new dealer license starts) and runs until April 30 of the following year. In order to obtain the dealer license you have to have the bond and insurance at the time of applying for the license, good through at least May 2 of that year. The bond however is always issued for the entire time of the dealer license (may through april).
The State will not go after the bond unless the State has a judgement against that dealer.

 

Well, not getting boned in the first place is the smart thing to do. (Personally, I never buy a car without eye-balling it in person). However, I never knew about the DMV being able to pull the dealer's license. You're right, that would hurt worse than a small court trial. As far as my asking about sending something directly to the State AG, it could be a case of fraud (items missing or "exchanged") which is a criminal offense. Or, could just be a huge misunderstanding.

 

Mike, get an attorney ASAP. Give him all the paperwork, and let him handle the case accordingly. Yes, rolling up your sleeves and reporting it to DMV sounds like a good idea, but we all know how bureaucracy works at those levels. Sue them for the missing items, dishonesty, and attorney fees.

 

Before even going the lawyer or DMV router I would suggest sending a registered letter to them outlining your grievances and what you expect them to do to rectify the problem. Do not editorialize it and do not even mention remotely anything regarding legal action or the DMV. Leave it only to the facts as they know what is at stake, no need to threaten. Put every piece of contact information in it. Again, I stress that you need to be specific about what you WANT them to do. You can't just say you sold me a car, it didn't have the books.

Give them 2 weeks to respond.

If there is no response then you are 100% justified in going to court.

If they respond and tell you to go pound sand, then you know what their case is going to be.

If you just lawyer up all that is going to happen is that your lawyer will send them that letter, and then they will lawyer up and it just going to be messy and will cost you $$$. Then you can try and get fees, etc. It is a pain.

The other way you are going to your attorney WITH a case, rather than him trying to figure out what the case will be. You have documentation that you a private party tried your best to resolve this matter against the big bad dealer, and you had no other choice but to do this. You are the victim so you have to play the role.

Please do let us all know how everything goes.

.m

 

what town are they located in?