About to purchase my first F430 and need some input

Hey guys,
I am about to purchase my first Ferrari and need some input on the dealer and the the car.
I am just curious if anyone on the forum has dealt with "Global Motorcars of Houston" and if they are a reputable dealership. The reviews on yelp for the dealership is not so great so I'm a bit cautious with them especially when they are asking for a non-refundable deposit of $1000.

I am also going to get a PPI for the car at Lamborghini of Houston before i make the commitment, but they won't take the car over there for PPI unless I put down the deposit. I am also working it out that they sign an agreement stating that if there are any undisclosed damage/repaint/major issues to the car found through the PPI that the deposit get refunded.

I am hoping that someone on the forum has looked at the car or knows about it. Carfax checks out good, but Carfax you all that it's just used as reference.
Thanks in advance.

2007 Ferrari 430 Berlinetta F1 Stafford , Texas | Global Motors of Houston

VIN: ZFFEW58AX70153592

 

Great looking car!! But I might be bias because our cars are twins. GREAT CAR!! I have almost 40k on mine.

 

Beautiful car. Good luck with everything. I don't know much about Global but see them advertise all the time. I'm sure you'll get some local feedback soon. One suggestion, contact Ferrari of Houston with the VIN and see if they have any service history on the car. They may not give you anything, but doesn't hurt to try.

I had to purchase my 430 before getting to test drive it or get the PPI done. I did the same thing with the escape clause pending the PPI report. I don't agree with the non-refundable deposit but I guess they are keeping the tire kickers away.

Let us know how everything turns out.

 

Don't know too much about Global but I know someone who may. Mark Darragh from Spheremotorsports, very well known in Houston as the independent shop who does great work on Fcars. He also does a very detailed PPI. I would recommend to go to him for a PPI since he probably has done many PPI on exotic cars from Global.
I like the scud wheels on this car although I would like it better in the stock color.

 

I would say talk to Mark at Sphere Motorsports and have him do the PPI on the car. He is the only one I would trust to do a PPI on a car. I have never heard of Global before

edit: I see someone else referred Mark, here is his number: 832-277-7062

 

I drove the car last week, bought many cars from Dean and always had good dealings. Mark will charge 350 for ppi, why would you want to take a Ferrari to LoH for ppi? LoH used to be a great dealership when Gary owned it but since Indigo took over most of locals deal elsewhere. I would recommend LoD and LoNB if ever in market for Lambo. Yes its worth the time and few extra dollars to transport your new vehicle back to Houston....But anyway the 430 looked to be in great shape and drove as it should. I am an hour away from Global but if you need anything or advice from someone who actually buys cars from them don't hesitate to ask. Most the bad reviews are from dreamers or wannabes that want a ridiculously low priced vehicle but don't do any due diligence before purchase then have issues they expect Global to fix for free. Its like some of these people don't realize they are buying a pre owned vehicle and may need to put a few bucks in to make perfect.

 

Is it just me, or do the wheel arch gaps not look right...looks like too much gap from the wheels to the arch.

 

Its possible, I didn't look that close and was dark in showroom when I drove out then drove back in when I got back and moved on to the Maclaren. Car had a ton of carbon fiber, from what I can tell the majority of their vehicles comes fully optioned. Pretty sure FoH has records on this car because I know most their cars come from dealership trades.

 

Contact the AutoGallery in California and they will send you the service records that they have. The tool kit is missing from the boot. I also recommend Mark for the PPI.

 

+1 on the recommendation of Mark for a thorough PPI. Here is his link and contact info...http://www.spheremotorsports.com/

 

Thanks guys for all your help and input in this. Gonna be my first Ferrari so want to make sure everything looks good. I called Mark and he will be doing the PPI on Monday. Also I was able to negotiate with the dealer to not put down a deposit Pre-PPI.
Car came from Cali so I will give the Auto Gallery a call to see if they have a history of the services.
Also the car has all books, Tools and car cover that is not in the picture. I verified that with Global. They also say that they have some of the paperwork for service but not all.

 

The wheel gap does look to be quite a bit. But if you compare the gapto the yellow one they have they seem have the same amount.

 

I worked for Mark at Sphere and can honestly say you will get nothing but the best service from him, good call.

 

I guess you will see the car on Monday texasmr2. Take good care of her and let me know how it goes. Thanks

 

I do not work at Sphere anymore but you are in good hands, tell Mark that Gregg said hello and gave him support.

 

Murcie, tried to respond to your PM but your storage is full. Thanks for the response, i'll try again later.

 

Thanks texasmr2, didn't notice the past tense "worked". Thank again

 

Thanks for all the response guys. Keeping my finger's crossed that the PPI comes back clean. I'll keep everyone posted of what happens.

 

1k non-refundable?

 

I too bought out of Houston last year and used Mark at Sphere Motorsports..

I didn't have to do any down payment and I wouldn't if its in anyway non-refundable

 

I cleared out, Global is pretty good about getting everything with all their vehicles. On my CL 63 they had both keys books etc. One key was never used and still had the Greenway MB key chain from where the original owner purchased from.

 

So did you get the ppi done?

 

I talked to them about the 348 hardtop they had for almost a year. Dealership gave me the cold shoulder, and upon researching I found out the car was a pile of crap (lease vehicle for almost 10 years...so no records at all). I wouldn't use them, but then again, maybe going for a slightly more expensive car gets you better treatment from the staff?

 

I got the PPI back, and the car is in GOOD condition. Not Great and not Bad, but Good. Mark gave me a list of things that would need to be done to the car to get it in better than good condition. It is obviously a used car and the color is black, so it will need some polishing and elbow grease. I will use all of what came back from the PPI to negotiate a better price than what was already agreed upon. One thing is that i thought the car had a little under 12k miles. But from the PPI, the mileage was a bit over 13k. I will be bringing this to the negotiating table also.
Thanks to everyone for their input. I will keep you all (yall in TX talk) posted. Thanks

 

I hope the owner is willing to negotiate the price with you now that you have had a proper PPI performed and is not stuck on the "already agreed upon" price. There are always two prices for a vehicle, the one the owner thinks the car is worth and what the market says it is worth once all pro's and con's are taken into consideration.

Happy negotiating.