What are the terms of the new Ferrari dealer buyback contracts?

Just curious what the agreement the buyer makes is...

 

For me (2008 F430 spider, FoSF) it was to only sell the car back to the dealer within the first year at a "fair market" price NOT to exceed MSRP.

I also had the distinct impression that this wasn't something they would spend a lot of legal $$ on chasing me if I violated it. Just part of the game to stay in good standing with the dealer.

 

Doubtful they'd sue for damages ..probable you'd never buy a new one again from them...LOL!

 

So lets say they buy it back from you under MSRP------Can they turn around and sell it as used for more than MSRP?

 

Nooooo, FNA would NEVER do something like that!

 

Yep, they do it all the time just check out all the pre-owned F430 inventory for tens of thousands above MSRP.

 

Well, that's exactly the point of having the contract - they want to recapture the gap between MSRP and the market price back from the customer.

 

I'd sell it to whom ever I wanted---F the dealer if you can sell it and make a few bucks...

 

You would run into two problems:

1) breach of contract with the dealer for the money over MSRP, since you had guaranteed him that income (are there liquidated damages in the contract? I'm not sure); and

2) they probably wouldn't ever sell you a new car again if they found out you flippantly breached your contract.

It would be interesting to see that contract being enforced. I've heard that Lake Forest uses the buyback contract.

 

Most dealers use ROFR. They lose next allocation of flipped car, immediately. If 430 flipped, dealer who sold it originally loses next 430 allocation. Pisses off next guy on list, and blows up in everyone's face. You can consign it, and work with dealer to skirt problem.

You will NOT get another car from the store you bought it from. Period. You're on another list, you get your deposit back, and are shown the door. You can't buy new from dealer outside your "home dealer's" territory, unless you live in area of overlap. Still, it will be very difficult.

I've seen it happen, watched guys get checks handed to them.

Dealers not in control of this, FNA franchise agreement has it in there. They aren't supposed to sell new cars for over MSRP either, but that isn't as enforced as flipping. I have draft of ROFR with legal comment from FNA. FNA and dealer can try to recover damages. Will they? Doubtful on one flip, for sure on second.

Bought lots of new F-cars, still getting them @ MSRP New supercar list has one guy on it for years, and 599 list had one guy on it for 5 years (3.5 years by myself) before I ordered it. Smile and wait. Helps to plan ahead

 

There aren't that many dealers either, plus it is only getting harder to develop those relationships and get allocations.....

Do the dealers ever collude to not sell to a guy who blatantly screws them over like that?

 

The dealers don't collude but FNA keeps a data base of all their customers. FNA will see the customer's name and inform the dealer not sell a car to this customer.

 

Well that's good!

 

Really? Interesting.

 

customer service. where has it gone?

we will see how long they do this. many of us in the younger generation will by Lamborghini or Porsche instead. or, stick with the old cars nobody cares about. why dont they raise the MSRP if the market will tolerate it, so the dealer and FNA make more?

this " you must sell back to me " thing seems like a caveman"s marketing idea.


good luck having this mentality with the way the global economy is shifting.

 

This has nothing to do with customer service. This is simply a policy to prevent people profiting off of Ferrari.

Ferrari feels that it is better to keep people from buying a Ferrari simply to flip it for profit. They feel if that is the persons intention they want to dis-enable them to do it and keep the profit within their dealers. They realise that in addition they were leaving a lot of money on the table and in concert with this policy have and will continue to raise list price to bring more money back to the factory. Wanting to Make profit for their company and their dealers is something that shouldn't surprise anyone nor should their interest in dis-enableing people who's only interest in Ferrari's is to flip them for profit.

I think they are doing the right thing.

 

It seems as if I'm the only one who's outraged by this then? I mean, who owns the car? Me or FNA or the dealer? Or are people just not saying anything in fear of being blackballed?

I've taken a pass on several of the "unique" agreements SpA/FNA have come up with over the years. Sometimes, you have to stand your ground. This reminds of a recent phenomena I experienced in the RE market. I put a contract on an investment property. The developer wouldn't sell to you unless you signed a contract agreeing not to rent or sell for a year. In other words, the owner had to occupy it (or leave it empty). And, btw, this was on top of numerous other developer-biased terms. It made it so unfavorable, that I took a pass. Obviously, as things have transpired, I'm glad to not have purchased (as I would have lost 15-20% of the value), and I understand that as the market has changed, the development hasn't sold as anticipated. Surprising!

Listen, I've been around the F game for a long time. Maybe not as long as many of you, but nearly 20 years. I've paid my dues and lined my dealer's pockets over and over again. Why must I continue to play coy little games with them, FNA and SpA? Frankly, I'm not even terribly excited by what's coming out of Maranello's gates these days. Technical marvels to be sure, but I find their designs to be inelegant and think they lack the passion and quirkiness that made Ferraris special in the days of old. I find it harder and harder to want to do business with FNA/SpA.

CW

 

Some will just say no, others won't. The sun will rise and the sun will set.

 

Right or wrong, when a MAN signs a contract with his eyes open, he should honor it!

If someone doesn't like the deal he can always vote with his feet!

 

+1. We need more enthusiasts!

 

Agreed 100%. So, all these defaulting mortgages shouldn't be bailed out, IMO. I digressed, but the point is valid.

Anyway, as Dirty Harry said, "A man's got to know his limitations." If he can't honor it, don't enter it. Voting with you feet, however, seems to be the only option, as nothing's negotiable. It's the seller's deal, or nothing. And, an awful lot of opportunities these days seem to be so one-sided and favor the seller. Whatever happened to the notion that the customer is King?

CW

 

That's really the point. People who buy Ferrari's simply to flip for profit aren't customers Ferrari needs to have. Keep in mind that the term is one year so it's clearly aimed at flippers not real customers.

 

True. And, I'm sure there's a never-ending supply of new F customers waiting in the wings, right?

Oops. Wait a sec. Many sectors of the economy are deteriorating, the stock and housing markets are steadily coming down, borrowed money isn't plentiful or cheap anymore, and inventory is growing. Hmmm.

F is free to do whatever it wants. But, it's well known that recapturing a scorned/disappointed customer that leaves is much more expensive than just keeping them happy all along. Maybe F is happy with a lot of customer churn, but when a lot of buyers wash out of the market, who's door is F going to come knocking on? The old, trusted customer. That's who. However, when they continue to burn bridges with me, why would I be receptive to pouring even more money into their pockets?

BTW, for the record, I've never flipped a car. NEVER. I've owned all my F cars for multiple years, and many of them were traded towards new ones. At one point, I was even in discussions with a current dealer about opening another dealership in partnership. So, I was "inner circle", so to speak. So, don't get me wrong. It's not like I'm not an enthusiast, but I just won't tolerate F's over-reaching.

CW

 

+1....remember the days when speculators walked into a Ferrari dealership, muscled their way onto new-car buy lists, bought cars, and then attempted to sell them at 50%-100% over list the day they took delivery? REAL Ferrari enthusiasts could NOT buy cars in that environment, circa the late 1980s. These 'speculators' couldn't even spell Ferrari - the car was just another investment commodity to them. They didn't care about the Marque, weren't interested in supporting the dealership network, they were only interested in 'cashing in' on Enzo's death and protecting their 'investment', with many of these 'investments' secretly sitting un-driven and un-serviced like stock certificates waiting to be traded-up for cash when the right sucker came along.

 

So, really what you're all upset about is that dealers sold cars to a bunch of new money, chav-type customers to the exclusion of enthusiasts? This has nothing to do with ROFR agreements. It has everything to do with customer screening.

CW