Dealership attentiveness apparently varies...

The Subaru dealership where I bought my BMW from has the best customer service and everyone greets you. On the flip side of the coin there is a BMW dealership just down the road from the Subaru dealer so I stopped by one day after picking up my license plates and registration. Not one person greeted me which I found odd but not surprising yet I have worked for two dealerships and received high praise from customers for just recognizing them and saying hello.

 

Were you driving the red car?

 

You SURE this wasn't Ferrari of Houston? Same deal, horrible service...didn't even bother to keep appointents multiple times.

 

It is sad when any dealership thinks you need them more than they need you.

 

Yep, one of the reasons I ended up going the other way. The thought of having to go there for service or even buy parts from there repulsed me.

 

I am not specifically pointing my finger at FoH as my dealings and interactions with them have always had a percentage of satisfaction. I believe the quality of any interaction is two fold. Some potential customers go in with the attitude that I will not be taken advantage of. On the other side of the coin dealers are also tired of dealing with unknowledgeable and pretentious customers..it is a no win situation from the start.

 

Unfortunately, there is some truth in this statement IMO for manufacturers who constrain supply below demand (which isn't easy to do - but that's a different topic ).

 

This is how I bought my 575M:

I was in a different town for doing business and had some time left. I always dreamed about a 575M and so I went to the Ferrari dealer in this town and asked about a 575. The sales rep showed me a beautiful black 575M with only 7 500 km / 5 000 miles. So we went for a short test drive and I mentioned that I needed a second and longer test drive before buying this car. The sales rep replied "of course; and I can bring the car to your home so you don’t have to travel again".

The next morning I called the sales and told him that I would like to come back to his offer with the second test drive. He replied "of course, is 7 PM at your home OK". My home is about 100 km away from this dealer and I did not expect him to take a car with so low miles this far.

At 7 PM he showed up and we went for an extensive drive of nearly 2 hours. Some minutes before 9 PM we arrived back at my home and he asked me how it was. Of course I was very impressed about the car and told him so. His answer was that he had expeced this and that he brought some "paper" with him. And I signed the contract right then.

After closing the deal I asked him how many F-cars he sold and his answer was "this was the 8. F-car this week"! Sometime later I read somewhere that this dealer has been awarded as the best Ferrari dealer in Europe.

Markus

 

I have had nothing but good experiences at Foreign cars. My first 430 turned put to be a lemon. Multiple trips back and forth with a CEL finally diagnosed as a bad header and precat that got sucked back into the engine and fried it. They picked up the car in a covered carrier and delivered it a distance of 300 miles or so on multiple occasions without charge. The local dealer where I live now is in a different world all together. Can't say I would use them again

 

Wonderful. I love a good "closer" story - this guy is a champ of a salesman, most obviously because he closed a 6-figure deal in 2 meetings and the client's the one telling stories about how happy he is with the deal! Fantastic. Thanks for sharing.

 

I'll second that. But then again, with that kind if attention on a car you obviously like... I would have signed then and there as well.

 

Although I bought this car in nearly 24 hours it was not a spontaneous deal. I was looking for a 575M since several months and this one was just the right car sold by the right sales person.

Some weeks later I was at this dealer again. There was a beautiful 512M I was starring at when the same sales appeared. He showed me the car but I told him I don’t have enough money to buy this car too. So he said "What is your leasing rate on the Maserati?" (I had told him, that I also have a Maserati). I thought that this is my business and that I won’t tell him what I pay for the Maser. But some seconds later I told him anyway. He just responded "well, for that amount, I could manage that you could lease the 512M instead of the Maser".

He realized what my restriction was and found a clever solution to solve that problem in just a couple of seconds. Anyway, I did not buy (or lease) the 512M as well because even with his solution this would have been too much for my financial situation. But I was deeply impressed about his reaction once again.

Markus

 

Completely agree! And in this situation you don’t even talk about the price. I never negotiated the price when talking to a “friend” as sales person. But when I talk to a sales person who I feel is not committed I always have to talk about the price.

So the friends as sales persons do not sell more goods but usually also at a higher price.

Markus

 

Not car related: I own a small consulting company. Several years back I was looking for high quality paper to print our reports and presentations on. So I went to a shop that is very close to our company and asked for high quality paper. The lady that supported me was very knowledgeable and professional and advised me very professionally as if I would buy a whole palette of paper.

At the end she asked me what my company's name is and when I told her, she mentioned that we have a special discount because we are part of an office community. I was speechless and just told her that I would be glad to pay the full price and that I don’t want this discount because she advised me in such a professional manner.

I think this was the first time in my life I wanted to pay more than the seller wanted to have.

Markus

 

When I was looking to buy my Scud I went to my local dealer and was blown off by one of the salesman there... and it really pissed my wife off. He acted like we were bothering him and seemed irritated at our questions.

I went back months later after making contact with another salesman, and he was great! It was a totally different experience and we ended up buying a car from him.

I honestly think the first salesman treated us like we couldn't buy a Ferrari and looked at us as a waste of time, it felt good knowing that he didn't get our sale and he knew he lost out on a commission. He was nice to us when were were taking delivery and has been nice to us since. LMAO.

I have since learned that just about everyone at the dealership is a class act, so don't let one salesman ruin it for you.. but I do realize that sometimes it is the dealership (and they let the salesman act that way).

 

I have had nothing but great experiences with FoH. Only Ferrari I bought from them was a 360 10 years ago and they sold it for me 2 years later. Had many Lambos for few years. Recently bought a 599GTO elsewhere and they have treated me incredibly well. From service to parts to sales I have never been treated better by a dealer. And when I send friends to look at cars there they get the same treatment. They are top notch in my book.

 

Good to hear that they treat some people with respect...which was sorely lacking in my case and others that I come accross in town.

 

Fair enough. But there are lots of folks with the same experience as mine.

 

there's a thread on this in the NY section full of people with bad experiences and one guy adamantly defending WWoC

 

Hmmmm....I stopped by F of Hou in February while out sofa hunting to window shop with my wife (we were in a new Bentley GTC). Luke, the salesman, was very attentive even though I don't think he was aware of the vehicle we were driving. I mentioned that we had been considering the California prior to purchasing the Bentley but, as it was to be my wifes DD, we felt the the GTC would be better (more grocery capacity, could fit her daughter in the back seat if needed, etc.). Even though we made it clear that we were going to sit out on the Cali at this point he insisted that my wife drive the 2010 model on the floor. Of course she didn't turn the offer down! While I was killing time during her test drive the parts manager insisted I take a look at an FF up on the lift to see how the undertray was designed and we toured several other areas of the shop. They could not have been more accomodating. When my wife returned and even though I told Luke that I had driven a Cali before he insisted that I also take a test drive....which, after some convincing I did comply. I must say that he nearly changed my mind and had me order a new California (even said I could put down the 15K and get in line...would be 4th or 5th on the list). I could not have asked for a better experience and when I do get a Ferrari I will certainly order from FoH if a new car or used if on their lot. Just my experience.

 

Exactly the experience I had with Ralph Cestero at the old Ferrari of Washington several years ago. Nothing could have been more pleasant, fun and rewarding. Gosh, I MISS the days of real, knowledgable, and gentlemanly car guys selling great cars !

 

Here in Atlanta, I beleive FOA is super friendly - they talk with tourists and customers alike-I'm very biased as I know a lot of the folks personally, but its a real family expereince. always very friendly to everyone.



However at Porsche - Jim Ellis Porsche - you could have a stroke in the middle of the show room and they would walk over your dead body... when we were looking for a 911 - we'd go there and look around - never waited on.... I did not want to go to Ellis anyway but my wife is the comparison shopper - nobody wanted to help you etc... I just dont understand that kind of busienss model. So today I simply have a rule not to even think about service or buying at Jim ellis... they had a car in our price range but I refused to deal with them.

Hennessy Porsche much different experience - we only ran into one guy who i htink was a complete jerk... otherwise everyone else was helpful, without being pushy or clingy...