Buying my first Ferrari...How important is buying a car from a Ferrari dealer?

Curious on this, I come to think it’s probably a good idea to build a good reputation with a local dealer if you have one

 

Ferrari dealers usually insist that any car they list is cherry...

No accidents, clean carfax, recent major, and most service from them...

You will pay a premium, but I suspect it's safer...

 

Unfortunately that hasn't been my experience buying from a dealer.

I bought my first low mileage F car privately - it was the only one on the market where I live. FSH and still under free 7 year service plan. Saved apx 20k on dealer price.

Second F car I just bought from the authorized dealer. What a HASSLE. Their PPI wasn't 'accurate' and I now have a second PPI showing the actual faults.

There was a disgraceful level of service and bungled transactions which I will be referring to the parent Ferrari company.

It's so dealer dependent - buying privately has been good for me several times but I've ALWAYS viewed and driven the car and done heavy due diligence prior to buying (including all private info authorized by current owner to be given to me).

Just my experience.


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I live in the UK so I am guessing it really isn't that useful.
I have had three Ferraris, none of which were brand new but I have bought two privately and one from a 'dealer' I say dealer but they only dealt with higher end executive cars (in fact my F355 was the first they had ever sold, and my previous Mondial that I exchanged sent to auction).
That was my least favourite experience.

 

It’s a cliche but it’s true: buy the car not the dealer.

Don’t buy from the dealer if you can. Pay less, get a PPI, and set the huge would-have-been premium aside for any repairs.

Matt

 

Do your due diligence, but buy the car you fall in love with. I've bought two from non-Ferrari dealerships and one from Ferrari. No significant difference.

 

Invest in PPI's and demand service history, no matter what. You may have a little more leverage for getting things fixed buying from a dealer, but the premium you pay will probably wash that. You can have your local dealer run the VIN to find out what warranty work it had completed. I've found individuals know their car better and you may have better luck getting that maintenance history from them. Due diligence is the key, not the seller.

 

I bought my first Ferrari from an independent, my next from from a dealer. As other have said, most probably your experience will depend on which independent and which dealer, but my dealer experience has been excellent. I go to Cauley in Michigan and their Service Manager is one of the top two in the world (not just because I say so). I have built up a relationship and that has been invaluable. I get tons of good advice and also am invited to great dealer events.

 

Also worth noting is there is often a disconnect from the level of service you get from the sales folks and the service dept. Some have great sales folks, and less then steller service dept (or vice versa.)

Shout out to Silicon Valley Ferrari, I've had great experiences on both sides.

 

I visited a few dealerships when shopping for my f430 and found them to be unreliable and dishonest.

 

I visited 2 Ferrari dealerships in Florida and both gave information about the f430s on their lots that was not true to include but not limited to clutch / brake %, previous owners, records etc. One would expect when purchasing from a dealership that the process would be seamless and honest but I found this to not be true. I ended up buying by f430 from a private owner. We conversed about the car for about one month. He shared all the records, declared all issues and was totally transparent. I built a relationship with the previous owner and we are still friends today.

 

Flat out not true....they are the same as any other car dealer out there....they want to sell cars.....due diligence is an absolute must regardless of the dealer

 

This is great advice IMO. All else being equal, for a first purchase, I wanted the car to be certified and hence from an authorized dealer. Happily, my wife and I have been blessed thus far to have great purchase (Miller in CT) and service (Boardwalk in DFW) experiences. But, as you will find on these pages, not everyone has a great experience with the sales/service teams @ their locations. I would venture into the regional forums where the places you are thinking of buying/servicing your Ferrari from, gather any intel you can from recent posts, and ask F-chatters about the specific experience @ that dealer, seller, independent, etc. Good luck...T

 

I don't have a lot to add for the OP, and this is my first post...but I have not been treated all that great by the couple Ferrari dealers I have visited looking for my first exotic. I have owned literally 75 cars, but this is my first "big boy" purchase of over 175K and I'm looking for a 458. The 2 dealers I visited were pushy, but maybe that's how they all are. I don't know. Definitely made me want to buy thru an individual though.

As an aside, can a guy with a Bendpak lift, all kinds of tools, and experience building motors and even salvage cars work on his own Ferrari? The dealership acted like it was blasphemy to even ask.

Again, sorry OP...I didn't want to start a new thread with a similar question!

 

My 2’cents is basically this, it is only important to purchase from an authorized Ferrari dealer if the car you want (spec, color combos ect) are on the lot and are CPO or CPO certified and you want the power warranty.

All else aside I think it’s more important to know the faults that can be present in any model you choose and have a good solid PPI and paint, body and frame check done and if buying from an individual try to get service history as mentioned above.

I’ve looked at a lot of cars at independant dealers and found that unless they specialize in rare and exotic cars they know virtually nothing about the car they are selling. And some independant dealers will tell you anything to get a sale. As for authorized Ferrari dealers there are plenty of posts about which ones have been great and ones that aren’t so great. Again some research could save you headache in the long run.

I actually have suspended my search currently since I used the money I had allocated for a recreation vehicle tward the purchase of an appt complex. Ultimately I hope that I’ll be able to be able to afford some of the models that were not able to be considered before with the added income revenue from the new purchase.

 

To your point just saw this video about one particular dealership involved in a law suit over mileage roll back:

https://www.ferrarifobs.com/how-to

Buyer beware.

 

There are several guys here who work on their own cars. You can find them in the technical threads.

 

If you hone down on buying from a dealer there are other aspects.

What car ? All but the newest which are under warranty or service can be serviced at independent service shops. If you’re looking for something newish or special maybe not

How common? Ferrari dealers may have access through clients to more cars not on the market and are able to know who might sell ( as do other dealers ).

Do you eventually hope to buy a new Ferrari?
This aspect is contentious here. If you hope to do do , a used car is a start.

Do you intend to use them for service ? Again contentious but my experience is a good relationship is possible without buying but it may help. I presented to my current dealer as a multi car owner who relocated to the area and then bought from them. It’s different

Do you want to go to Ferrari events new car rollouts etc. ? Do you want help with Ferrari events/ factory tour etc? All are easier access not absolute.

If you are looking for older than 458 (458 goes either way) then the value purchase with a PPI and service history is a private sale. Newer it depends. For me a good ppi is. Ether than a dealer word and cheaper. For the newer cars the dealer will often include if pushed a. Ew power warranty which can be helpful especially on some of the latest cars as a hedge against engine/ transmission issues. Older cars not as important with service and ppi.

These are expensive cars and things happen no matter what.

Hope this helps.

What are you looking for specifically and where? This site can often help.

ScottS


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Ferrari dealerships are no different than any other business in that there are both good and poor salespeople.
There is also most likely a significant amount of turnover of some of the sales staff.
If you don't have a relationship with anyone it could be that the salesperson your talking with started the job 3 days ago and doesn't know squat about anything.
Amazes me how consumers often assume that the person in authority is an "expert"......couldn't be further from the truth.

 

This is so true, do you homework, LOVE my service department, but have bought 2 cars and neither from that same dealership due to poor sales team.

 

I’ve purchased three Fcars from three different Fcar dealerships and have had no problems whatsoever. F Long Island , F Palm Beach and F Tampa
Two of them were purchased over the phone and one involved a trade . I would do it all over again . Maybe I’ve just been lucky. Best, Kirk.