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

I think there were a lot of facts that were lost through the post. Our communication wasn't verbal only. I have emails reminding him of details that he assured me would get done. Also while at the dealership I have work order slips that were signed, stating everything that they owed me. I got burnt the first time I tried to buy the Ferrari in North Carolina, so I made sure everything was covered. None of that matters because I did a risk assessment before I left and realize that in a worst case scenario, I'm looking at a little trouble and maybe $1,000 at Ferrari prices. Not the end of the world. I was counting on them following through with their promises Even though I protected myself leading to the purchase, I did that to make sure I didn't waste a trip down, and made sure all the important things were done prior to leaving Florida. I didn't do it to protect myself afterwards. What am I going to do, go to Florida to sue them for $1,000? That's not going to happen. What will happen though is that I will let everyone know about my experience, whether it's positive or negative. By the way remember yesterday's conversation when he said "I'll call you tomorrow". I'm still waiting for a call....I'm taking the car to Ferrari of LI tomorrow, for the paint correction. I'll worry about what FoPB will do for me afterwards. I just want it fixed, it's pretty bad. A lot worse than it looks in the photo that I posted of the hood.

 

Well said Kai, my feelings exactly. As a matter of fact after reading all your posts in this thread, I feel that you totally get it. You sound like a very nice guy who is honest with business practices, as well as a great sense of pride in the things you do, and have a lot of respect for your self and others. Definitely the type of guy that I like to associate with. I'm not saying that because you agree with me, I'm saying it because you are obviously sticking to the presented facts and leaving emotion out of it.

Still waiting for a return call from yesterday morning. Yesterday he said "Don't worry we want to make you happy, I'll look into it and call you tomorrow" It's been 35 hrs now, not 10 minutes like it always was before they had the sale. I'm not going to call back because I don't want to be a pain in the butt, I'm just waiting to see if they do the right thing. Even if I call him and get him on the phone, it won't change anything I do regarding the paint correction because it was going to the local dealer for the fix no matter what. If he doesn't call in a few days, I will get a copy of my invoice for the detailing, along with a proposal for the alarm siren and fax it to him and his boss. I want to give them one last opportunity to take care of it before I accuse them of wrong doing. As far as I'm concerned, the wrong doing was done, but I can forgive them if they back peddle to make it right.

I got it in writing in many different forms. It's useless to me because I'm over 1,000 miles away, and any follow up is not worth it. Yes, under normal situations, it is definitely important to get things in writing. The better lesson to all is: don't leave the dealership without the car in the condition that you paid for. Have it fixed before you leave. Like I said previously, for me it was not possible due to time constraints, but that's why I took the calculated risk knowing that I may be out $1,000 or so. That doesn't mean that it is ok for a dealer to take the opportunity and screw me out of the agreed upon work. I would never do that to someone. I wouldn't be able to sleep at night.

First of all it's not just a detail that is needed. I wouldn't complain about that. It's PAINT CORRECTION. If you don't know the difference, please look it up and educate yourself before telling me it's no big deal. Secondly, you just don't get it do you? I really don't think you know right from wrong. It's not about the car, or the cost to make it perfect for the 100th time!! Your posts make me think of a contractor that shows up, does 1/2 of what the homeowner wants, then disappears off of the job.

I don't plan on chasing them, or even wasting much more time complaining to them. I am letting them make their own business choices. However, they will get what they deserve from me. Positive or negative feedback. If it happens to be negative, Ferrari North America will also get a call.

Niether did I. Exactly!

I didn't really have a choice because it was a long distance sale. Does it make sense that I shouldn't be able to trust them to take care of a few silly little things? I would think a repeat customer, reputation, referrals etc. are worth way more than the junk they owed me.

Precisely! I never asked for anything unreasonable throughout the whole purchase. It's not like I got a bargain either, I paid for my expectations.

It is in writing, several different forms of writing. It's not an issue unless I plan to go after them legally. In my case a gentlemans agreement is, and should be the same thing. The salesman is not denying anything I said they owed me, I just don't understand why they left me to sort it all out when it was supposed to be done prior to shipping it.

It's hard for your garage to look bad with all those gorgeous cars in there!!

Unfortunately the early indicators were after I got down there. Initially I figured that they were so easy going, and it was going to be a real easy transaction as it should be. When I got down there, I realized that I was getting yessed to death, and not seeing action. A very simple example is when I tried to get the service documents. I asked for an e-mail that day, and the originals to be shipped with the car when I was down there..."no problem". a few days later, no e-mail and the car was sent to to the shipper. I e-mailed him and said: "If you didn't put the documents in the car, please send them to me via mail"....Response "no problem". The car came 4 days after that day, no documents in it. No documents in the mail yet either. Yesterday's conversation, I said "Where are the documents?" , his response, "I'll put them in the mail today, and over night them". Guess what, it's over night, and still no documents! unlike the other issues with the car where I'm going to back off and see what happens. With the documents, in a few more days, I will call every day if I have to until I get the documents, because they are important when it comes time for me to resell the car.

 

I tackled the side marker light today. A little bit of a pain, but not too bad. For those who haven't done it. You have to pull the wheel off, then there is a panel in the wheel liner fastened by 6 screws that has to come off, so you have access to the rear of the light. I pulled off the panel to replace the bulb. The bulb was good. The problem was that the power jack was not plugged into marker light! So much for me giving them the benefit of the doubt that the bulb burnt out in the 3 days that it was being transported. Apparently the 101 point inspection was someone sitting at a desk, checking all the boxes. Tell me when it's ok to accuse them of not doing their job, lol.
If they didn't see something as obvious as a light, that lights up in their face. What is the chance that they checked anything that required more work than turning a switch on, and doing a quick walk around the car?
I'm pretty sure they didn't check anything and relied on the fact that it is a 3,500 mile car, and figured what can go wrong in 3,500 miles? Why waste a technicians time?
Who ever reads this, please don't respond with "It's a stupid light, what's the big deal", or "it's fixed now, get over it". If you are tempted to write that, don't waste your time because you are missing the point and wasting your breath (typing)!
Remember two words: Accountability and responsibility.

 

I have never been blown off this bad by any dealer, and I bought many cars from dealers. It's very unfortunate.

 

I didn't choose the dealer blindly for the paint correction. It was a recommendation from a close friend of mine (also a Ferrari owner). He has been detailing cars since he was a kid, and used to detail my Daily drivers as well. He does an awesome job.
He knows a great detail job when he sees it, and is the one that told me that the guy who does detailing for Ferrari of Long Island does a phenominal job. My friend got a detail from the same guy that is going to work on my car, he said he could not find any flaw with his work. Fof LI says they will need my car for 2 days! I am going to go through withdrawals without it! Boy I wish it was taken care of already, like it was supposed to have been.

 

Shame on me for thinking that a Ferrari dealer is held on a higher standard than a corner used car lot. I figured that they would be better because they had more accountability to the parent company. Lesson learned!

 

I can also vouch for a great Porsche dealer in my area as well, Porsche of Huntington. I bought my car from Jason, who is a great stand up guy, I have a lot of respect for him. I also became friends with the mechanic Nadim. He is one of the best, and most careful technicians I have ever met. I have such great respect for him as well. He takes so much pride in his work. I actually have to force him to take a tip. When I give him my car, I have zero concerns about any damage, or him not doing a job as per the book with proper torques etc. I get the car back without even a finger print anywhere. He always wears gloves, and constantly changes them. What really made me feel comfortable with him, was an incident when I first purchased the car. There was a gas cap recall for it, so they changed the gas cap for me. I went outside to take a look at the cap, just to see if it looks any different than the original. Apparently, I had just washed my hands and had a paper towel in my hand. As I bent down to look at the new cap (with paper towel in my hand), I hear him in the distance saying "no, no, no don't do that" as he is running towards me at the car. I froze in my tracks and asked what was wrong? He explained that if I wiped the car with the paper towel, it would cause light scratches in the finish. I had no intention of wiping anything with the paper (of course), apparently he thought that I was, because I had a paper towel in my hand. He thought I was wiping finger prints off of the fuel door. From that moment on, I figured if he cared enough to come running, so I don't harm the finish of the car, then he was the right guy to work on my car! That comes from pride, I think you are born with it (or not). I almost bought a 911 Turbo, just because the dealer is THAT good. This time around, I had to follow my dream, and go for the more exotic car.

 

I have every intention of putting it behind me, that's not really the issue. As a matter of fact I started sorting things out. The only things left are the alarm, and the paint damage issue. The alarm can wait, no big deal for now, it doesn't spoil the experience. The paint is going to get taken care of tomorrow morning, into Thursday. I wanted that done asap because that does spoil the experience for me. I'm one of those people that swears that a car drives better right after it is washed, lol. I know it's not true, but it sure feels that way!
If you had a bad experience with a dealer, why won't you reveal the dealers name? It will help any future buyers that are looking. I don't think that you should say any false or harmful made up things just to hurt them because they didn't satisfy you (that can be libel or slander, and exposes you legally) but I do think you should present the facts surrounding your experience. Others can use it as a guide. For instance, in my case, if the dealer eventually makes things right for me (even if they don't), it shouldn't prevent people from shopping there if they see a car that they like. If they do choose to shop there, my information will definitely help them with the purchase tactics which will likely eliminate any purchase problems for the purchaser. You wouldn't be naming them to tell people not to go there, but you would arm them with knowledge on what to expect before going in. I see no problem with that. Correct me if I am wrong legally or morally.
Wow it's getting late! I have to get up early and bring my car in for the paint correction. Good night to all, to be continued.....