Dealing with bad dealers. What should be my next steps? | FerrariChat

Dealing with bad dealers. What should be my next steps?

Discussion in 'California/Portofino/Roma' started by XSpeed, Nov 29, 2019.

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  1. XSpeed

    XSpeed Formula Junior

    Jan 6, 2019
    408
    Full Name:
    SX
    I just had a very annoying experience with my dealer while buying a new Ferrari. I canceled the order. I also had terrible experience related to the service for my Cali T there.

    I'm quite unhappy with the situation and wanted to get your feedback.

    So I don't want to make any business with this dealer in the future. However, I see I'm a bit locked to them since they will be doing the annual maintenance of my current car.

    How does it work with the Ferrari's business model when it comes to escalations with problems with a dealer, What is the right way to approach this?

    Is it possible to change the dealer? Are there any negative things I should avoid?

    There is another dealer about 40mins drive but has much less google reviews, so I'm assuming a smaller one.

    How many ferraris does a dealer sell annually roughly? E.g. a dealer which has about 100 google reviews (just to give a basic estimate about its popularity) vs a dealer with 25 reviews.
     
  2. ttforcefed

    ttforcefed F1 World Champ
    Rossa Subscribed

    Aug 22, 2002
    18,758
    u can do the annual maintenance anywhere
     
  3. Marcel Massini

    Marcel Massini Two Time F1 World Champ
    Honorary

    Mar 2, 2005
    22,738
    Which dealer are you talking about? Which location? Country?
    It is a free world and you can go to any dealer.
    Oh, I really do hope that you don‘t listen to google reviews. That‘s about the worst thing you can do.

    Marcel Massini
     
  4. George330

    George330 Formula 3

    Oct 19, 2009
    1,342
    Switzerland
    Full Name:
    George
    Believe it or not I have found Ferrari very responsive to issues with the dealer network. Usually the best thing to do is to raise it with the Ferrari regional director who looks after your country. My own experience dealing with the factory was surprisingly positive and as Marcel says you can go to any dealer for servicing as well as buying new cars (although it is best to choose one dealer for purchases and stick with them). I am not sure you can correlate google reviews with cars sold annually. Also the number sold varies depending on country, location within that country etc. I trust a 10 minute personal conversation with a dealer or a recommendation from a friend more than a review from someone I don’t know


    Sent from my iPad using FerrariChat
     
    Avia11 likes this.
  5. XSpeed

    XSpeed Formula Junior

    Jan 6, 2019
    408
    Full Name:
    SX
    It is the Autohaus Saggio in Munich, Germany.
     
    Astrid.Didier likes this.
  6. Marcel Massini

    Marcel Massini Two Time F1 World Champ
    Honorary

    Mar 2, 2005
    22,738
    Check your PM‘s/Conversations.

    Marcel Massini
     
  7. XSpeed

    XSpeed Formula Junior

    Jan 6, 2019
    408
    Full Name:
    SX
    Thank you for the kind PMs.

    Just to give you a bit of a background. I work as a CEO at the current company I work with. We had a very successful year & I got permission from my wife to get an F8 Tributo Spider.

    To summarize my experience with the Ferrari dealer Autohaus Saggio: Anytime I went there, I was promised something which was either not delivered properly or not delivered in time. This didn't happen once or twice. Many times.

    The last time I've been there I ordered from this dealer new seatbelts. Many things were wrong during the process and that wasn't the best experience neither. But I did not mind it that much. At the end of it I got an invoice from them and paid it one or two days later when I passed by them. Then I moved on and focused on enjoying the car.

    Then I contacted them to get the standard winter tires for my Cali T. That was first days of Nov. Needless to say tires could be installed just this Friday. They messed up stuff, ordered wrong ones etc etc. Still I was struck by the awe of the cars, so I didn't mind it that much.

    So, I went there this Friday to progress with the order of F8 Tributo and at the same time have the tires replaced.

    After finished with the F8 meeting, I was getting prepared to take the my Cali T and leave. they said, OK here is the invoice for the winter tires. You have to pay it immediately otherwise you can't take your car.

    It is 5k, not comparable to the investment I'm making for the F8. But I'm not prepared for it, I never carry that much cash with me. And at 4PM on a Friday evening there isn't any place I can get that kind of money quickly.

    Keep in mind, I value processes a lot. If a company has business processes for a specific payment approach, I respect when they adhere to it. In this case, I'm neither informed by them nor this was the process the last time I was there. Looking at how disorganized they are I'm not sure whether they really have any standard. But that's just my personal opinion.

    It is pretty humiliating to stand there when somebody is telling you they will hold your car as a hostage because you are not paying.

    Then, I recalled I have my laptop in my backpack. I launched my bank's website and wire transferred them the amount in front of them. I also sent the online receipt to them. I wanted this misery to end as quickly as possible.

    More humiliating was that they didn't accept it. They said, it has to arrive to our bank account otherwise we won't give you your car. Keep in mind, they have my driver license, passport and other information and I'm an existing customer.

    I asked them to escalate it internally to find a solution. I did my part and transferred it before their eyes. They kept me waiting half an hour or more. Every minute was more painful than the last. They said, no we are not giving you your car.

    So, I went to purchase a Ferrari F8 Tributo Spider for over 400k EUR, ended up being treated like a thief and ended up canceling all my weekend plans because my current car is held hostage.

    That's my current Ferrari experience. I honestly don't know what should be my next steps.
     
    ryalex likes this.
  8. Hocakes

    Hocakes Formula Junior

    Apr 24, 2010
    451
    FL
    You can vote with your feet. Never to be seen or heard from again. Or you could politely tell them why you voted with your feet ( & your wallet followed). Or you could angrily tell them why you voted with your feet & will never be back ( & neither will your wallet). But no matter what, leave & don't go back. There are other places to get tires, cars, service, & parts.

     
  9. cool flash

    cool flash Karting

    Jun 18, 2016
    52
    They didnt accept EC Karte or credit card?

    Truely poor customer service by any rate.

    I would never return.

    L

    Sent from my meizu X8 using FerrariChat.com mobile app
     
  10. A348W

    A348W Formula 3

    Jun 28, 2017
    1,741
    North Wiltshire, UK
    Take your business elsewhere!

    and when your new f8 turns up, drive back to that dealer pop in, say “remember me?” Then drive off!

    best served cold !
     
  11. Avia11

    Avia11 Formula Junior
    Silver Subscribed

    Jan 21, 2017
    864
    San Diego, CA
    I am sorry to hear about your experience. You should tell that dealer to shove the F8 spider up their arse and go to another one. I'm sure posting it on here will alert other members to this dealerships unacceptable behavior. Nothing is worth your dignity. If a dealer doesn't treat you right they can ***** themselves. Just report it to the Ferrari regional director and for all of your future purchases go to any other dealer in the world.
     
  12. tomc

    tomc Two Time F1 World Champ

    Apr 13, 2014
    25,865
    DFW, Texas
    Full Name:
    Tom C
    Poor customer service. For an existing customer, it's disgraceful. I'd never go business with them again.
    T
     
  13. ANOpax

    ANOpax Formula 3

    Jul 1, 2015
    1,124
    The Netherlands
    This won’t help you but at my dealership in Holland, non customers get treated better than that. What an utter disgrace.

    Take your business elsewhere. That’s an end to it. Use the dealer 40 mins drive away - even if it costs you more in time or delivery costs for collection etc. Nothing is worth the experience you have been put through.
     
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  14. CT Audi Fan

    CT Audi Fan Formula Junior

    Oct 23, 2011
    619
    Okay ... not to downplay what appears to be awful customer service but ... isn’t it fairly common to pay for service before they will release your car? Wouldn’t you have expected to pay for new tires upon completion? I maybe missing something so don’t mean to offend.


    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
     
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  15. XSpeed

    XSpeed Formula Junior

    Jan 6, 2019
    408
    Full Name:
    SX
    #15 XSpeed, Dec 3, 2019
    Last edited: Dec 3, 2019
    The last time I received an invoice from Autohaus Saggio, I picked up the car and then paid the invoice one or two days later when I passed by again.

    I recall, that engagement wasn't a good experience neither. When I mention it wasn't: I picked the car and drove it. After entering the highway/German autobahn, I rolled up my windows because of the wind. I noticed I cannot see anything left & right, and can't see the outside mirrors at all. The side front windows were completely blurry.

    Keep in mind that's the German autobahn on a busy time where everyone including the right lane rushing at 120kmh and above. Whatever wax or chemical they put, they didn't do it properly or did not give proper time to dry. And that put me in a dangerous situation in traffic.

    After stopping in the emergency lane, I couldn't get it out with a fiber cloth neither, that sticky thing was very hard. I brought the car back, asked them to correct it. They said ok, corrected. I took the car, next day same blurry windows. It looks to me they did not have much idea what they are doing about this problem and they were just experimenting. That resulted me visiting them multiple times. Here is a pic. In reality it is much more scary especially when happens unexpectedly while driving in high speeds. I don't like surprises while I'm driving.

    Image Unavailable, Please Login
     
  16. Nospinzone

    Nospinzone F1 Veteran

    Jul 1, 2013
    7,346
    Weston, MA
    Full Name:
    Paul
    Have you ever tried to escalate your concerns to the General Manger, or CEO, or owner of the dealership? I agree that you received inappropriate service, but sometimes employees are bound by company policy and are not allowed to use discretion. A higher level employee may have easily recognized that there was no need for immediate payment and overrode normal policy.

    I had a similar experience with my car insurance policy. I simply sent an email to the COO of the company and the problem immediately went away. I realize the underwriter had strict guidelines because the company did not want to allow a lower level employee to exercise discretion. Once a higher level executive viewed the whole circumstance, the issue was quickly resolved.
     
  17. CT Audi Fan

    CT Audi Fan Formula Junior

    Oct 23, 2011
    619
    Wow this keeps getting worse ... that level of service is unacceptable at any price point. Sorry for your troubles and it seems you have given them enough chances.


    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
     
  18. Marcel Massini

    Marcel Massini Two Time F1 World Champ
    Honorary

    Mar 2, 2005
    22,738
    The problem you seem to have is not with Ferrari. It is with Saggio.
    Plenty of other dealers around. Nobody forces you to deal with Saggio.
    As said before, it is a free world.
    However, there must have been another (additional?) reason why they suddenly asked you to pay the 5K immediately and keeping your car in hostage.
    What else happened before?

    Marcel Massini
     
  19. Bamsefar

    Bamsefar Formula Junior

    Nov 26, 2012
    523
    I would send an email to Ferrari HQ [email protected] - include your VIN and date of purchase, and well in this case it's obvious from which retailer. Let Ferrari HQ KNOW what you have experienced!

    I'm kind in spot like yours: Autoropa has crashed my FF (repaint #1), then Autoropa did some deep cuts into the paintwork on the hood and a bunch of other places when they applied PPF (Paint Protection film) (resulted in repaint #2) - and the last one was guide rails in the back trunk that has been ripped of by Autoropa. On top of this my brand new winter tires (I just changed the tires, the rims are std Ferrari FF) are completely out of balance, so Autoropa will need to fix that too...

    To compensate for this I had an offer for euro 30.000 of, on a demo (low milage) GTC4Lusso - now I could maybe accept that GTC4Lusso since it is close to my spec - but I would have to pay another euro 210.000 to get it. So pay euro 210.000 to get a euro 30.000 compensation...

    I simply can not see that Autoropa will get the opportunity to deliver my new SF90 - there seem to be a risk of over 50% that it will be destroyed by Autoropa even before I get it in my hands....
     
  20. XSpeed

    XSpeed Formula Junior

    Jan 6, 2019
    408
    Full Name:
    SX
    When this was happening, I was at the lobby of the dealership, in the building. I asked them to escalate this internally and gave them time and waited there. I don't know whether I should be the one informing the CEO. If she is not informed, that's because she didn't pick the right employees who follow proper internal communication and escalation. If she is informed, then she let that happen.

    I see, the arrows are starting to point at me. No, I'm not the annoying customer who thinks he owns the world just because he paid for something. I don't have any liquidity issues neither.

    However, I don't believe in coincidences. And I don't think this is just a dealership issue. This is an authorized dealer. After giving this a bit of though, I can see it is the responsibility of Ferrari to enforce proper quality in all the services executed by them. At no point of my service engagements at this dealer I recall getting a call, an email survey or a link from Ferrari to give feedback them about the perceived quality of work and customer satisfaction, which creates an independent escalation route to prevent the reoccurrence of them. So I had the blurry windows and could have had a traffic accident just as a basic example. What are the lessons learned, are they recorded, is anything done to prevent another customer have the same, etc. etc. My feeling is that they aren't. Most likely it happened to another customer or will happen to another customer. So next time I go there, there is unknown number of other issues which happened to others, waiting to happen to me.

    My opinion is that Ferrari is throwing some foot soldiers in the field and letting people blame them for everything when something bad happens and keeps its great image. However, I look at my experience as a whole. I went to get an F8 Spider and be happy as a small kid, I felt like a thief, which made me question the whole experience. And I see the whole experience was substandard, not just the thief part.

    I just went to search for another dealer. Below is the official dealer locator on the MyFerrari iPhone app.

    The app is built by Ferrari according to the app store. The app is spinning for the last one hour. It doesn't work.


    Image Unavailable, Please Login
     
  21. Marcel Massini

    Marcel Massini Two Time F1 World Champ
    Honorary

    Mar 2, 2005
    22,738
    #21 Marcel Massini, Dec 4, 2019
    Last edited: Dec 4, 2019
    Mr Carmelo Saggio passed away four years ago. His widow Uschi Saggio took over.
    Each dealer and garage owner can make his own payment conditions (including for service work), it has nothing to do with the factory. The same goes for down payments when you order a new car. Some dealers ask 20'000, others ask 100'000 Euros down payment, I know of one who doesn't require any down payment at all, when you sign a contract. It is all totally individual.

    Marcel Massini
     
    tommygun64 likes this.
  22. ferry430

    ferry430 Formula Junior

    Oct 21, 2012
    264
    Bavaria
    Full Name:
    Andrew
    @XSpeed

    It looks like you are around Munic.
    So the nearest Dealers may be:

    1. Ferrari Gohm in Böblingen or in Singen
    2. Ferrari Mertel Italo Cars in Nürnberg

    https://www.ferrari.com/de-DE/auto/haendler

    Kann auch einiges zu den Händlern beitragen, aber nur per PN
     
  23. odellicour

    odellicour Karting
    Silver Subscribed

    Apr 15, 2019
    87
    Brussels
    Full Name:
    Olivier Dellicour
    I have very good experience with LUEG. Very nice, customer oriented and good follow up after purchase. I would recommend them.
     
  24. XSpeed

    XSpeed Formula Junior

    Jan 6, 2019
    408
    Full Name:
    SX
    Just got an email from Ferrari that they are not working with Autohaus Saggio anymore and all future car sales business is suspended with them.

    Am I happy?

    Yes!
     
  25. TifosiConch

    TifosiConch Karting

    Jan 15, 2020
    213
    Full Name:
    Paul Maurer
    That's an incredible story, glad it ended to your advantage. I recently had a cashier's check(local bank) refused at a dealership because I was gifting a new car to my son and his name was not on the check! This occurred after business hours, they were quite insistent. They finally agreed to my offer to pay for the car with a credit card, I was amazed and a bit pleased in the end as I got a lot of frequent flyer miles.
     

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