Finally Got my baby home!! Not all fun and games though.....

Yes, unfortunately, it was not what I thought it would be like. I'm sure once it's detailed and looks perfect, I will enjoy the experience more. It was a huge let down because the salesman was bragging about how good this guy is, so I was expecting this amazing finish when it was backed out of the car transporter. When it came out it looked like they did absolutely nothing about correcting the paint. I think they just slapped a coat of wax over the damaged paint at best.

Thank you, and I also can vouch that once the paint is properly detailed the car will absolutely look new except for a chip or two, but that's expected and can be touched up. As it should for a 3.5k mile car. I just sold a Porsche that you would not believe if you saw the condition. It was a 2001 with 6,000 miles. There was not a single mark, chip or piece of dirt on the whole car. Not inside, outside or underneath! The car NEVER saw even 1 drop of rain! It shined better than new. If you looked at the paint under any light at any angle, it was completely void of any marks or swirls whatsoever...better than new. I actually did the dealer prep myself when I bought it new. I even pulled off all the plastic protection. (I know that's a little crazy, I'll admit it) I didn't want them touching it. I have actually seen dealers ruin the paint on a car that was never even driven by it's owner!
Thanks for the advice about driving it. It's a great driving car. I've had it for 2 days only, and I already put about 4% of total miles on the car! I'm either driving it, or posting on Ferrari Chat. I made sure that I freed myself up for the next 2 weeks of any responsibility, so I can spend time with my mistress, LOL. We also have perfect weather for it. I couldn't have asked for better timing to buy a sports car.
Here is a pic of my car that I sold. I got well above top dollar for my car from the 1st person that saw it. I've sold over a dozen used cars, and every single one was sold to the first person who sees it. All my cars, even my wifes 14 year old minivan with 140,000 miles sold at a premium over high retail, looked essentially new (from about 10 feet away. In all fairness, it was a high milage car though) and sold to the first person who saw it also. The photo is a little distorted due to a wide angle lens:
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Thank you!, I did all the work myself. I am very proud of it, and happy with the outcome.
The only problem is that the Ferrari can't pull up on the lift, the ramps are too steep of an angle. I miss it by about 1/4". I have it parked under the lift now, but if I have to lift it, I will have to lay a thick piece of plywood at the front of the ramp so the bumper doesn't hit. For some reason, I think I am the only one with this problem. I asked a few people before my car even arrived and they said there was no problem pulling on the lift. I think my runways are thicker because it's a heavy duty model, so the ramp is a little steeper. I was a little bummed out about that. Oh well, I just have find a work around.

There is no leveraging going on because the dealer has no idea about the post. Hence, it is impossible to have any leverage in this situation. for me to have leverage, I would have to say something about it to them first. I am not holding anything over their head, and I won't. They will decide weather they do the right thing for me or not, all on their own. The results will surely be posted here though.
...when did your integrity ever get questioned here anyway? Are you associated with the dealer after all? You sure sound like you are from your posts. I didn't bash them yet, I just stated facts, and told my story.

There is no reason to wait for a conclusion to post anything because even with a positive conclusion there were things to be learned by people about to purchase these cars. Again, if you read my posts you would see that the message that I wanted to get across is to make sure that if they buy a car, no matter which dealer, to make sure the car is to their satisfaction prior to delivering it home. As far as the dealership name, I guess you are correct in that I could have left the name out unless there was a problem with the outcome. I didn't think there was a problem with that because I stated facts about the experience, not feelings about the dealership. By the way, why do you think that it was ok for the dealership to blow off (several times mentioned) my requests that they agreed to. Now I have to be inconvenienced, disapointed, and lose my own time in order to correct things that clearly were pointed out by me and ignored by them after they agreed to do it. It wasn't an oversight because there was still some resistance about the siren issue from the salesman, he knew it wasn't done. Why is it ok that this now became my problem? People definitely make mistakes, this was NOT A MISTAKE. This was a desregard for a customer, not following up with their promise. If you want to start a pissing match, I didn't really make a big deal out of it, but,I would like you to explain why it was ok for them to charge an additional $899 for dealer fees. Before I flew down it was in writing that the price was going to be XXXX amount for a certified car, shipped to my house, "no other charges" clearly stated. They knew that once I was down there I was captive to them so they took advantage of the situation. I didn't make a big deal out of that at the time. I agreed to the charge (so I can't complain now), but in exchange I wanted the salesman to absolutely make sure that everything was done properly that was promised. He assured me for probably 10 times that I wouldn't be disapointed and that he would personally check that everything was done before they shipped it to me. I personally spoke to the Manager and the mechanic before I left, and I tipped them and told them to be careful with it and do a good job. How can you even attempt to justify their actions? I'm really starting to think that you are associated in some way..



You: "You had not even spoken to them yet, so as far as they knew you were a happy new owner."
Me: They should have known I was not going to be happy. The aforementioned items were discussed ad nauseum, leaving no doubt about my expectations. Another salesman that happened to answer the phone and took the message initially didn't seem surprised about my concern. He asked right away if I was upset about the way the hood looked. He know that it looked like crap. He said he saw it when it was there, but didn't pay much attention because he wasn't involved with that sale. I also told him about the Light that was out, and the dead remote. I told him that I'm not going to make a big deal out of that because it may have been checked , and died during the 3 day transport. He chuckled a little and said "I doubt that". Apparently he does not think that I am being unreasonable, and he works there!


You:"I am familiar with the Long Island marketing grapevine and its basic workings."
Me: I have no idea what you are talking about, and I lived here for 43 years.

You: "I will pass on the customer offer. (although you probably are)"
Me: Tell me how I do business, or have done business with you, and I'll gladly avoid giving you any further business if you wish.

You: "I hope everything works out to your satisfaction."
Me: Thank you! Me too.


The more you attack my posts, the more attention you are creating about my situation. I am not going to just let it go by, and I'm going to defend everything I say, so the more I defend, the more it sounds like I'm badmouthing the dealership. Don't try and back me into a corner to try and make me look bad. Just let it go for now, and I will post the outcome, along with my satisfaction with the outcome. Please don't try and make it a bigger deal than it is at this point.


......I'm starting to think that you just like to start fights on this forum, instead of being constructive. I hope I'm wrong, but remember, my gut was 100% correct with the way that I predicted that the dealer wasn't going to take care of the things that they promised me.

 

Thank you, I am glad to help any way possible. I wish I had the heads up when I was shopping.
Please remember though. I am not saying that the dealer I bought from is a "stay away from" dealer yet. They actually have been pleasant to talk to and deal with.
BUT
Assuming that they do the right thing for me at this time. If they have a car you are interested in, please do yourself a favor and make sure it is squared away to your satisfaction prior to paying for and shipping or driving the car away (that goes for ANY dealership).
I will assume that they will do the right thing, but if they don't do the right thing for me, well you know the rest.... I will definitely stay in touch through the forum.
Good luck with your search!

 

Thank you, thank you, thank you! that is exactly what I am talking about.
If I didn't have to worry about getting the things taken care of, that were specifically spoken about, the light bulb, remote etc. would have been a complete non issue for me. It's about the cumulative issues. For example, can I be confident that all the fluids were replaced as they were supposed to be? For example, the F1 fluid change was written down on the receipt, but in the parts breakdown, the fluid is not listed. All the other fluids, filters, and belts are listed. Was it a documenting oversight? was it not done? I have no idea, but I just assumed that it was done. Can I trust that it was done? I don't know, you tell me. For now, I'm just assuming that it was done, I don't need any more aggravation.

 

It's not that simple, the whole process leading to the outcome was what caused my grief. If I wasn't the way I was, there would have been a lot more than that required. Like I, and other posters said previously, it's more about integrity and honesty.
I can assure you that the car needs WAY more than clay to correct the paint. My Lexus was way less damaged and Bradan worked on it for a few hours, just for the top surface with a wheel and several levels of compound! I am not experienced enough to feel comfortable with that level of paint correction. Believe me, if it was just a claying, and a wax job, I wouldn't have said a word. I am not a psyco!
The tire issue had nothing to do with the dealer, that was a shipping problem. It was an accident, they don't even know about it. I was however, considering to call them. Not to complain, but just to let them know so they don't damage a future owners car. It was an accident, I don't make big deals about accidents. It did however cause a very scary and stressful situation for me, because it was my first 20 miles with the car, and I was stuck in the roadway of a busy street without a spare and all tire shops around me closed! I am very grateful that it all worked out. That whole process didn't even cost a penny, but I would have rather had a less stressful situation that cost me a few hundred bucks.
A car like that shouldn't be a rescue. See my post about my Porsche I sold. It was 100% perfect. It always had fluid changes. Never had short drives that build up moisture. When it was driven, it was driven! Low mileage was due to being busy with work, not trying to keep mileage low. I couldn't care about that. Cars depreciate no matter what. I take care of cars because I like my cars nice, not because I'm trying to preserve their value. Even my commuting cas look newer than many other people's exotics. For example: I always park very far, and walk, no matter what vehicle I'm driving.
I'm very sorry that you had all those troubles that you had with your car when you bought it. I know that you probably handled it better than I would have. It's hard for me not to think that if you had more knowledge going in, or a better PPI, maybe it wouldn't had been so bad for you (I don't know your story though, maybe I'll do a search to see). If it wasn't that, and it was just bad luck, I feel really bad for you that you had to spend that much money and it could have happened to anyone after a purchase. Things like that can happen with new cars also, but at least there is a warranty. Just because these small things were needed on my car, it doesn't mean I'm out of the woods yet. I only put about 120 miles on it, and things may happen to my car moving forward. That's a risk I took buying a used car, and I can't complain that the dealer did anything wrong if that happens. New things happening to my used car, is a very different situation from promises not being followed through with even if it cost 1 penny, it's not about the money for me. Besides, I didn't get such a great deal on the car where putting a few grand into it was calculated into my offering price. I calculated the offer assuming that everything worked, and looked as it should. My gripe from the beginning is that I pointed out specific items (a few times) that werent done.......

My front attached garages are also the same as yours, dirty with compound stripes. This garage was built as a seperate man cave garage. The flooring is Motofloor from Costco believe it or not. As I wrote in my previous post, Costco is the best store on the planet! It only cost about $1,100 and it was VERY easy to do. I finished in about 3 hours. Maybe 3.5 hrs with clean up. I had it for about 2 years now and it stays nicer than I thought. I have done a lot of work in there too! I have done: Oil changes, transmission oil changes, differential oil changes, belt changes, suspension work, exhaust work, tune ups, accessory installs on a truck, brakes, brake fluid changes, tire rotation, detailing, etc. as well as a lot of stuff I probably forgot. It's easier than I thought to clean. However, I am careful when I work, and put down a shower curtain where I'm working to protect the floor, and clean up after each job. All that considered. I wouldn't recommend the floor for a garage that is used for daily drivers spot that will get wet, snow sand etc. It will definitely look like crap in no time at all. When I finish my front garages (I will probably do it this fall or next spring), I'm thinking of just going with that flaked epoxy for durability. I love the look of my garage, and I did that floor, mainly because it was a long time dream of mine to have a garage that looked like that. It came out exactly as I had envisioned! The benefit of doing it your self!

That's good to know about Trent, I'm glad to hear that he is usually spot on, and I am looking forward to reading some of his informative posts, instead of the (not so spot on) banter regarding my post. Hopefully he is able to also see my real intent of my original post, and see how important integrity and customer service really is. See how a persons personality can be mis-judged based on writing alone? Maybe if Trent and I met in person, I would have a very different perception of him...hopefully I would, lol

You actually are correct that I AM a little OCD with my cars. I have always been. When I was 17 I had a show car that had approx. 70,000 miles (I bought it new) and I always won car show trophys with it. I'm not into garage queens, but I am into cars that look perfect....tough battle, I know! But, all all my cars look good, and run good. No matter how many miles on them. I am that guy that you definitely want to buy a used car from. I know that the mileage that low sounds real bad, but I never had less than 4 cars at once and I worked many hours and days for a long time. After adding up the mileage on the 4 cars, it totals a normal amount of mileage driven. There was a point a few years ago that I worked 7 days a week for a few years straight. I busted my butt so I can retire young. I wanted to retire early so I had to make sacrafices for it. One of sacrafices was lack of time to enjoy my toys (I like anything with an engine). I was not only working a "regular" job, but I also had to run my own business. I retired from my "regular" job, so now I only have my business to run. I now have way more time, as it frees me up substantially, and it's on my schedule. I still have many cars, but my goal is to try and put at least 3-4 times the mileage of the Porsche, on my Ferrari. It will be easy to do because it is just so much more entertaining to drive than the Porsche! I'm actually having withdrawals right now!! lol I'm anxious to get out there and drive!

 

I understand your advice, and I truly wish I was like that. I do have a touch of OCD with my cars though. All that said I do like to drive them as well, so it can become a battle. My toy cars do not get dinged because I don't park them in harms way, however an accident may happen. Believe it or not, I don't freak out when accidents happen. I seperate accidents from carelessness and apathy. I also think that some people on this forum lost touch with my complaints. My complaints up to this point have nothing to do with the condition of the car. I love the car, and it is awesome (other than the paint, believe me, in real life, it looks way worse that the crappy iphone photo I posted). I am having withdrawals sitting here typing, I want to go for another drive! My complaints have to do with the lack of follow up and improperly prepping the car prior to delivery. Yes, you are correct that everything can be made right, but that shouldn't be MY worries, time or money! I will not back down from my feelings about that, but I will take your advice and turn this positive as soon as I have more to write about. Like I said, I didn't write this just to complain, I wrote it to describe the adventure I had with the delivery of my car,as well as, a learning experience for those in the market for a car. That learning experience can be for ANY used car from ANY dealer.
The reason I fixated on the paint is because that is my pet peeve with cars. I always had show quality car finishes on all of my cars. I also made that expectation VERY clear before I flew down to inspect this car. The dealer was NOT blindsided by my expectations even a little bit.
Here is an excerpt from the original e-mail I sent to him regarding my initial expectations before even going to see the car. This was just a recap of stuff we already spoke about on the phone.
".........that is based on the information you gave me that:
- The vehicle (vin#ZFFYU51A940136615) is in perfect condition inside and out
and certified by your dealer. Everything works, and looks as new. There
are no "sticky buttons," no marks, scratches, chips, swirl marks, dings etc.
on the paint.
- There were no repaints, or accidents of any kind."

Me neither, but I don't think it's everybody. It's just a select 2 or3 that can't comprehend how I'm feeling about it, and keep trying to change the issue at hand. I agree with you fully, you are correct. It really is just THAT easy. Thank you.

Understood...I am unfortunately closer to #1, but I would love to use it every chance I get (of course in nice wether only though). It does seem to be a fools errand sometimes, but it's who I am, and it has worked for me for a few dozen cars and almost 30 years. I don't think I'll change any time soon. Believe me, I wish I didn't care. I have been trying to become more like #2, I do realize that it is better......I can't do it though. It's a passion, it doesn't make sense. A Ferrari owner of all people should understand this because if you really break it down, these cars are bought in the first place because of passion. They really do not make sense to own, unless there is passion involved.

 

Here we go again!
Not even going to waste my time and comment any further on this one.