Disreputable Dealer -- what would you do?

give us a hint, is said dealer an authorized ferrari dealer or a buy here pay here?

 

They most certainly are admissible. Hence, it is very important to choose your words wisely.

 

You are trying to, in many threads, enforce (or at least state) some sort of standards you seem to have for how our board gets used. Fair enough.

Many of us have standards too, and maybe we even state them from time to time.

So I know you won't mind me stating one of mine (fwiw):

Please refrain from telling folks with 500+ posts to "shut up" and do whatever YOU think is right. It doesn't take a noble person to find a less caustic way to offer differing advice to someone...

I'd PM this to you, but I think your repeated usage of that phrase in the early posts of this thread warranted you at least hearing that some of us would appreciate a fairer, less judgmental approach. YMMV.

Not to mention that many of us (me among them) disagree with your advice and think that this OP's thread is an appropriate usage of an internet forum...but you already know that!

 

SHAZAAM!!!

 

The OP says he was tried to get "satisfaction" for a month with no success. To me, that makes it fair to come on here and ask what to do next.

He got one very good idea here; to go after the shipping company insurance claim. That is the whole point.

Next up, if he gets caught in a game of "he said / she said" he can absolutely post his truthful commentary on what happended to him and can name whomever he wants. Coudl he get sued for libel? Sure. Is it likely? No. If he is truthful and can prove that in a court will he lose the case? No.

Being told the car has all the "accessores" and then not getting them would greatly piss me off (its lying and fraudulently inducing, although some would call it stealing). No one wants to be lied to and defrauded.

Finally, FWIW, when I bought my CS recently, I was told it came with the tool kit. Turns out it did not. The "tool kit" was actually the jack kit that goes with the spare tire. No tool kit. I called the seller and he said "oops, I thought that was the tool kit". Otherwise this was a fair and honest transaction. I didn't make a big deal out of it. I found a tool kit for $500 by posting here on F-chat (lucky I'm sure, but a great benefit of this forum). In my case I believed the seller made an honest mistake and I thought I did well enough on the purchase to go ahead and shell out $500 that I hadn't planned on. There was a similar shelling out of $300 for a battery (installed by F -dealer) that I was led to believe was already "fixed" by simply charging the battery and by shipping a replacement battery along with the car. Turns out the charge was a shorr-term fix and the supplied replacement battery didn't fit. So...caveat emptor on that one...so, I know the frustration that the OP is feeling. If it was a dealer and I had his fact pattern that he supplied, I would be doing the same thing he is. In my case, it was a private party and less clear as to the inclusion of a "tool kit" and "battery" so I paid up $800 more than expected and moved on...happy with my car!

 

Don't!

You stated that you were told by the dealer that the items were there on more than one occassion. Thus you should not feel badly. You should feel pissed.

And, to those that said there should be "due bill" for these items, that is not the case. A "due bill" is for things NOT supplied at time of contract. The missing items were supposedly there (per the OP telling us that the dealer says they were). Thus no "due bill" would have been needed.

FWIW, I am aware of a few instances of dealers (F-dealers in my case) taking stuff out of cars and selling it seperately or with another car. Sadly I believe this is pretty common...

 

I think the purpose of a online community like FChat is to get experience from and share with other members. How can the dealer sue you for defamation if you only state the facts? I would try and get everything I can from the dealer in a polite and reasonable way in a reasonable time frame, say 30 days. If this doesn't work out, chalk it up to experience and bite the bullet and get what you need from FNA, you can go through Ferrari of Ontario. You say you got a great deal from the US for your car, consider it the price of doing business. This is one of the reasons I got my car from Ferrari of Ontario, it's just easier dealing with problems when you have an Authorized Dealer on your side.

 

It is his opinion after all; but as you can see everyone is on your side.

This is a forum with some moderate democracy; I’m sure we all live and learn and hopefully become better people from it; but do not take it tooooo seriously cause no one really cares……..as other fellow Ferraristi said; this is part of the “chase” and you'll become better at it with time .

Do what your heart tells and do not give a damn at what others think of you!!!

 

Good point, but when I buy a car like this I look at depreciating cost, and trade in, and I am thinking I am going to lose about $ 20 K a year on the car for when I trade it in for a 458. I can afford that much per year to drive a Ferrari.

 

*shaking head very sadly*

What a lot of non Ferrari owners might not understand about this thread, is that much of the stuff "in the Books" is VIN matched to the car, so once 'lost' it is most likely gone forever....and it DOES effect to future resale value or even the value of "this deal" at the present time, in real world $$.

The other thing about the "fobs" is that they are also linked to the car via flash memory and ECUs, so the "one red and two black" isn't some color decision on what pair of shoes to wear today, that stuff GETS EXPENSIVE real quick if you have to start rebuying total systems at the Ferrari Parts Department, and pay them to tear the car apart to install.

BIG $$$$, and REAL quickly.

So, this seller and all his (what I call) the "Doo Dah Dance" response to your queries, deserves the scorn and avoidance of our entire community.

He's still lying to you, as there is "no store down the street" where he can drop in after packing his lunch up his nose, and buy your MATCHING books and MATCHING key fobs to go with you car.

They darn sure were NOT taken, (IMO) by a bonded and Insured carrier that bases their entire lively hood on carefully carrying high value vehicles across the country

 

And that's the real catch with all of this - That dealer actually missed a golden marketing opportunity here.

Just think if they had stepped up and replaced the items all at their expense, even admitting fault and apologizing repeadedly. You walk out to your mailbox the next day and there is your package, overnighted, with a $100 gift certificate to a nice steak house in your area as a further gesture of goodwill.


And remember they are even taking full blame, telling you that sometimes these things happen from time to time no matter how careful they are.

THEN what would you be posting here? How much would that have cost that dealership considering what they possibly would get in return in the long run?

 

About $3K Dr. Tommy, the new fobs have to be programmed by a Dealership with the car on hand...

It's easily $2K parts and labor on that, and a set if 360 Manuals and warranty books?

Easily another $500 to $800USD.

Real money, to spend on a car they feel is "Sold!"

 

Given the relative strength of the Canadian dollar over the US dollar and the price differences between the two market and the fact that the Florida market is especially favoring exotic car buyers, the 360 buyer got a tremendous deal.

The books are nothing special. The tool kit is added weight. Unless you are hand with a wrench (unfortunately I like projects) many will keep this in the garage collecting dust rather than in the boot tempting Valets and adding performance sapping weight.

I have never used the car, steering wheel, or seat covers. I drive the car too much even in the rain. Unfortunately, the dealer couldn't find the missing stuff. And face facts you didn't make it a legal part of the transaction. Sales people say and promise a lot. Get it in writing in the future.

Hopefully the car is great. I still love my 360. People ask me if it is for sale almost everytime I drive her.

Sometimes you have to roll with the punches. But you still ended up ahead. My advice is to get driving and remember that what is in the rear view mirror is not so important.

 

Of course I do.......

My new Ducati has EXACTLY the same key system, one red and two black, thankfully I got them all in the purchase, (It was an untitled machine, and had no license plates though, he DID neglect to mention THAT part!!!)

Reading thru the manual I found there was an Emergency Wallet Code Card, if the alarm system ever failed to sync up properly with the key in use. You could still start the bike.

THAT was missing and he had no idea where it went (Private Seller)

Per the dealershp "as long as you have the red key everything is okay" but still, a missing component the Factory felt you needed.

Idiots.

I'm afraid incompetence is the new competence, my friend.

And I grow really tired of people driving complicated expensive machines and failing to take care of the components. This dealership EVER seperating the books from the glovebox of the car, marks them as wankers.

 

He knows what VINs he has handled recently, he'd better go and find your ^&%&*$ books.

I have people in South Florida........

 

Newby,

Maybe FNA can help out, with a set of "Blank" books???

I know for the earlier cars it was possible to replace your Warranty Coupon Book (which shows the VIN info) in case it was lost, you got a blank one and redid the info.

 

That is good to know...I was told they are not.

 

Newb - sorry to hear the trouble you are going through. There is another member here from Michigan going through a 360 lawsuit from a Florida dealer. PM him : http://ferrarichat.com/forum/member.php?u=40496

All the best.

 

Just got to this thread inadvertently.
I'm sorry if this annoys the OP but the way he went about this is all bass ackwards.

I understand that there is a legitimate issue here. The buyer didn't get what he believes he was sold and paid for. A relatively straightforward contract dispute, for which there is a pretty well defined path to find resolution. Starting with a call to the dealer all the way to a full blown lawsuit alleging damages in court, and many intermittent stops in between those two ends.

Before he went all the way down the road and reached some point of a permanent outcome, this is a dispute between buyer and seller, and has no place on FChat unless it was purely informational.

To build a thread in the hope that he now has something with which to "shame" the dealer (the OP's assertion) is simply wrong. Bdelp's points, although couched in very direct language that may be upsetting to the OP, are spot on. Given that the OP started this thread to gain "advice", he got advice and if he doesn't like it, should simply ignore it. To criticize the advice is little asinine in my opinion.

Caveat Emptor is always great advice, especially in international car deals. I'm sorry to say the buyer is totally responsible for not ensuring that he got what he wanted. He could have delayed shipping until he had proof positive that all the items that should have been included, were actually included. He didn't do that and subsequently has a problem. A problem of his own making. To get down on someone who tells him the truth is ridiculous, but he won't be the first person who takes out his anger at his own failings against anyone he can.