Nice article in todays Sun-Sentinel business section on exotic car sales featuring Ferarri of Fort Lauderdale. There is a reference in the article of a "5 year wait list for the 458". It's amazing how some things just never change no matter how much time passes or ownership changes when it comes to the infamous "Wait List"
The wait list is absolutely real. Was on the wait list for 3 years for my 360. When I took delivery of the 360 I got placed on the 430 wait list which I resided there for 5 years until I finally took delivery of that car.
The article clearly states a quote by Garrett Hayim that "his preowned exotic cars in stock sell within 30 days, but theres a waiting list for new Ferarri's. It's about 5 years for the 458 Italia, Ferarri's latest and greatest". I have heard that if you step up and buy a 599 or a 612 now you could potentially or mysteriously be moved up on the waiting list
Maybe I should put myself on the waiting list. I might actually be able to afford one by then! Yikes.
Eh, in 5 years, the used ones will be like $75k since the transmissions will cost a lot to maintain and they will be a dime a dozen since they're mass produced. Fcar second hand market ftw.
Thank you, that's exactly my view, what normal guys who may be able to buy a car at about $80K, will be able to afford to fix an F1 tranny? I don't see any of these new cars being the 308's - 355's of the future.
Do you really believe him and the rumors? Again, facts. My order went in two weeks after first contact with a new dealer. Also had offers for an immediate order from two other dealers in different states where I own homes. Car arrives in Dec. Believe what you want. Times are different.
Did you by chance receive an offer for an immediate order from Fort Lauderdale? If not, I'm not sure what your point is as what is going on with dealers in other states (or Palm Beach for that matter) is irrelevant to this thread.
No, another Florida dealer plus one in the North East and Oregon. Picked Oregon for the zero sales tax. Interesting that Lauderdale has a "5 year wait" while some others apparently are ready to order you a car now.
Hi Lou, Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Garrett Hayim and i am the owner of the Fort Lauderdale Store you referenced. I understand the frustration with the wait list and trust me we certainly do understand that times are different. But since we own a few stores (long island, Manhattan, etc) and recently purchased FOrt Lauderdale a few years ago in June 2008, our secret to success has been the way we treat our customers. Meaning that we try and tell it how it is. We are fortunate to be in one of the best places for High line cars such as Ferrari meaning that i am sure the demand is lower in middle america than sunny south florida. But after providing our cusotmers with a wonderful experience delivery after delivery we have developed a loyal following and we are greatful to every one of those customers. Unfortunately our loyalty to those customers usually leads to little room for new customers to come in and just order a new car. We do not sell over MSRP and we do not move peopel up for purchasing a 599. Although i admit it can be tempting. I wish i could supply eveyr cusotmer with the car they want now!! But with limited supply (much less than th 360 or 430 b/c Ferrari cut production b/c they too are aware of the times) it is often hard to make everyone happy. In additoin, it is my philosophy to tell customers a true wait time rather than tell them a shorter time and string them along with delays which often happens!!! And while it is true that new dealers dont have the loyal following water does seek its own level. But the allocaiton they get is much smaller as they have not yet earned the cars. SO often the promise of easy availability is a way to get New faces in the door. I am not saying that is the case with you but it does happen. I want to congratulate you on your new order. Wiat until you drive that car.... As an enthusiast who happened to buy a few Ferrari Dealerships (I was not in the car business and happened to add Ferrari) i can say that you will be blown away and enjoy every single blistering mile!!! As for the change in the times. I cannot agree more. Whatever depreciation you felt when Lehman Brothers collapsed we felt 100 times over with 100 cars in stock at all times. It was a shock!! as was my home value and my stock portfolio. But when i looked at the overall depreciation, i would have been way better off in a Ferrari. I mean what was MSRP on a 2005 F430 coupe - about 170K. At the bottom of the market it went to 130K over a 5 year period!!! thats less than 10K per year. Jeez.. .my SL 63 lost 50 K in a year!!! In short i agree, times are different. But we were not stuck up and pretentious and we are grateful for each and every customer in good times and bad. Thank goodness they are once again getting better. When you get that hot 458 I would love to see it and go for a ride together. Maybe a run. Come in any day and say hi. ONe final note to another post. The Transmission info you commented on is inaccurate. It is not an F1 transmission. It is a Dual-clutch automatic transmission with Zero Mainatence for the life of the gear box. No Fluid changes. and from the evolution of the belt driven engines and early F! gear boxes - to new chain driven and auto transmissions. you have obtianed better performance but more importantly much much less maintenance!!!! Trust me we enjoy the large service jobs from the 355s as a service boost for the month compared to the simple oil change fro the newer models!!! But thats a win for the driver!! i am ok with that too!!
Welcome to the forums. I hope that you are correct in that the transmissions will last almost indefinitely with little need of additional servicing. I'd like to see these cars not become disposable items like Hondas, but rather last decades for others to enjoy. Time will tell.
With all due respect Garrett, I for one have been a customer of your location for a number of years and have bought 3 "new" cars (F355, F360, and F430) and I have had to fight the same battle each and every time to get within a reasonable position on the infamous waiting list. Having held an executive position (CEO of the captive finance divisions) of 4 auto manufacturers (2 of them exotics) I fully understand and am sensitive to the challenges you face with limited allocation coupled with high demand. The first instinct is to offer cars to the most loyal customer which generally happens to be the ones with the deepest pockets that will buy no matter what they're offered (and we all know who that local customer in F.L. is) and then there's the customer that buys both new and used cars multiple times unlike customers like myself that only buy new and whenever we're able to buy that new model. Over the years I have seen these loyal customers of your's (actually Shelton) on the front end of the list only turn around and sell the car within 3-4 months and walk away with a nice profit. I understand that there have been various policies against this practice put in place over the last few years, but some of us can't seem to make our way to the front and be recognized. I personally spoke to one of your salesmen (and I won't name any names) and was told that I would probably be able to see a car within 2-3 years and I perhaps could possibly see one sooner if I bought a 599. I questioned this practice with another dealer only to learn that they had heard of this same practice across other dealers and it was common. I'm not quite sure how any one dealer should address this same issue or how you should either, but you may find that the depth of loyal customers runs a bit deeper than the first 25 to 50 guys that you sell to first every single time a new car gets released. I'm not speaking for anyone else than myself when I say that I was at least hoping that change would ocurr when you came in and purchased the point and some of the old bad habits like selling first to this exclusive group would be broken giving some of us other loyal customers a chance to get to the front of the line. When I last checked, my money was worth just as much as everyone elses. I guess what I'm trying to say is it would be nice to spend some of that money sooner rather than a few years from now
Fiorano, All good points. Since your name is anonymous i cant look up any records on you wiht our store. Like i said originally this is a tough topic. Of course you are just as worthy as any other guy especially having purchased many cars from the Sheltons. I too was frustrated with the way it was run and to be honest many of our closest customers are not those guys that did business with the Sheltons in the past and you refer to. OF course "Mr. Infamous" is a valued customer but it is not because he buys so many cars or because he is my godfather but he brings a lot to the table (lent over a 100 Mil in cars for our parties, has restored many many cars in our restoration shop, and generally a lot of fun to be around) and not just because he is who he is. But more importantly he is 1 in a million. Basically, because we always have more demand than the supply we are forced to reward our best customers and not those that have the deepest pockets. But it is so hard to choose that someone is worthy and others are not. I AM NOT GOD NOR DO I THINK I AM so i hate that part!!! And whatever choice we make the majority of people don't get cars right away and are not happy. It's really is a no win situation. All I can say is that we have flushed out the old ways and allowed many new customers in who have found new ways to be part of our family. The first 3 cars were owners who never were able to do so from the sheltons. I think that speaks volumes. But my door is always open. i cannot promise a car but i can promise that i have no snobby barricades. So when you are in the area come in and say hi. oh and PS we have no 599s or 612s and we have sold our allocation. Please tell me who said it so i can hang them!!! that is unless you want one!!! hahah.. kidding
Thanks for the warm welcome. i am new to it all. And yup. warranty is for 4 years but it requires NO maintenance. Do you need any info on this?
Welcome. We haven't met yet but I love your store. Great to have you with us! Simon One complaint... I wasn't offered a test drive of the MC12.
