How to deal with a dealership? Poor experiences.

Which model are you looking at btw?

 

Previous 488 coupe and current Pista owner here. Test drove a 812 and I just didn’t love it. It was too big for me. I much prefer mid engine v8. YMMV.

Between 488 spider and F8? F8 much faster. Much more power. Test drive them all to see which one signs to you.

 

Its a Ferrari so yes its fulfilling. However the power difference between 488 and F8 is massive. You can really feel it. As far as the Spider version being more fulfilling than a coupe...not sure Im qualified to answer that. my first Spider will be my incoming 765LT spider. Previously Ive only owned coupes.

 

FWIW, I bought three cars from Algar and every engagement has been courteous, respectful, fair and highly professional. On my first visit to Algar, I showed up in a 15 year old beater and I thought that they would assume I was a tire kicker about to waste their time. The exact opposite was true and without hesitation they treated me like a valued customer. Three Ferraris later I remain a loyal and very happy customer.

 

FWIW, these are good folks......WAY easier to deal with than the local Ferrari dealer.

 

Pretty typical of a Ferrari dealer. Terrible follow up and nonchalant. My local dealer gives me first rate service. When they didn't have a particular pre-owned one I was in the market for, I had to venture out. I will never do that again as the other Ferrari dealers were sub par other than a south Florida dealer I talked to. California Ferrari stores were an absolute ZERO other than my dealer. No call backs and in no hurry to sell a car. Being a larger than average dealer myself, I was shocked. I would not allow my employees to deal with my customers in that manner.

 

Definitely spider over coupe - unless you plan to track a lot. Once you go spider - hard to go back. I have owned F8 and 488 - F8 definitely pulls harder. But I am plenty happy with my current 488 spider. Sound is better in 488 than F8 and sound is more important to me than performance. Drive both and see what you like

 

I bet that if you drive a F8 the game will be over. Don’t drive it I dare you!!!!

 

^^^^^^^^^
We converted John from a GTB guy to a spider dude.

 

First of all, welcome to the Ferrari community. One of the better car communities I've been a part of. Secondly, drive a 458 spider, 488 spider, and a F8 spider if you get the opportunity to. The F8 spider was what I ended up going with, but the 458 was really tempting. I didn't like the 488 as much. Getting an F8 spider as a first car may prove to be difficult as waitlists are long from what I've heard, and the production cycle is likely to be pretty short.

As far as dealership experiences go, sadly that can be the case at so many exotic car dealers. I walked into my local McLaren/Lamborghini dealer and was pretty much brushed off, and then they couldn't be bothered to return my call or emails. As a person in my 20s, I have come to expect that from pretty much everywhere. My experience at Ferrari as a first time client is a little unique in that my salesman was a client of mine, so he knew me well. He's since moved on, but as a client I'm treated exceptionally well.

 

I agree, Ferrari is like Louie V., very arrogant. We dont need you you need us type of deal. Its unfortunate but its the reality.

 

I must say that the Atlanta Ferrari dealer has been putting up with me kicking tires for years. I have never felt ignored or mistreated. I have always been very honest from the beginning that I was dreaming and one day would purchase. Which I finally did. However, the car industry in general I find very frustrating. Especially, the argument of: the car you are trading in is not special there are a ton of them out there versus the car you want everyone wants one and they have to be sold at a premium because if you don’t buy it someone else will.
Everyone deserves to make a living and selling cars can be a hard way to do so but, in some situations it’s not a dealership it’s a stealership. I have purchased many cars over the years and at the end of the day when I was frustrated and the GM was frustrated with me it was probably a reasonable deal.

 

I’m all for capitalism and know they need to make a profit, and in the case of a luxury brand like a Ferrari I expect them to make a healthy profit.
What I object to is them treating you like an idiot. Lying when unnecessary, and it then places you in a moral and intellectual predicament: should I let that comment slide and act the fool they are making me out to be, or should I call BS and risk creating more problems for myself down the road. We usually take the first path and then feel as though we have compromised our integrity.

 

Bottom line is, customer service is a lost art even amongst luxury brands. People just don’t give a damn.
I bought and interacted with 4 different Ferrari’s from 4 different Ferrari dealerships: Ferrari Austin, Foreign Cars Italia, Ferrari SD and Ferrari Westlake. Each one had a ripe opportunity to gain me as a loyal customer. In the end I have a relationship with Ferrari Westlake, due to their open approach. But it’s mind boggling that when you’re buying these expensive units, some of these dealers don’t look at future relationship building. All it takes is to treat the customer nice, something you’re mother probably taught you. But these dealers are so jaded, riding on their luxury coat tails, they don’t have vision towards future growth. Sad.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Agree. 100%. Feel bad for my kids - they are growing up in a different world.

 

Even harder to swallow if you’ve been in the customer service business and had to bite the bullet so to speak.

Having run my own pharmaceutical consulting group, I always tried to remain respectful to the point of occasionally bending over backwards for unappreciative clients.

I’d like to have made dolls of some and stuck pins in them.

 

I'm looking to buy my first Ferrari as well, albeit a much lower price point. I have interest in a 360 at Rolls Royce of Raleigh, NC. I can't believe how unprofessional, unresponsive and clueless they are. I've tried for weeks to get information on the car that they've had for sale for months. It was grossly over priced, now it's just overpriced. Any time I've called in and asked for a sales person I get what sounds like a receptionist they hired from the mall. Clueless. Even the sales manager would fail to call when he said he would for days....never did hear back. I'm a serious buyer ready to go. Last thing I told them was I've never seen a dealer try so hard not to sell a car. I don't know how you sell 300k cars. Ridiculous. I was expecting better service than the standard dealer not total aloofness.

 

Hi Luckyboy

Firstly, dealers are dealers all over the world.

1. There's no such thing as a fair trade, nor is there anything like 'the best deal for you'. If you want good money for your trade, sell it privately and use the money toward the purchase - then you have more power as you have the cash.
2. Unless you're buying a new car from the dealer (and as such, money isn't an issue because if you're buying a new Ferrari so we wouldn't be having this conversation), be really careful because the 2nd hand Ferrari market through dealers is very dodgy. They take trades, give it a clean and a detail, make sure it runs and then add $100,000 to the trade-in price and sell it without a 'real' factory warranty - they spend very little time on mechanicals. I saw a friend buy a 2nd hand F430 Spider through a dealer, paid WAYYY too much for it because he was sucked into the 'dealer experience' and then had 2 of the intake valves let go at the same time on a club run... The lightweight warranty didn't cover 'serious' drivetrain issues - and this was pretty serious. So be careful.
3. Take your time. I, like you, am a massive car guy (in fact, I'm writing a book) and have owned many cars over the years, but it took me until my late 40's to buy my 1st Ferrari. Find the model, style, color, etc, etc and then narrow the search to specific cars. Finally, negotiate with the owner (not the 2nd hand Ferrari dealer rep who is only in it for the commission - let's face it) without lowballing or being picky about paint chips, etc - you either want it or you don't. Once a decision has been make, have a non-dealer Ferrari mechanic check it out and if all OK, buy it.

I did this (No.3) and it took me a year to find what I wanted and bought it in 2012. I still have it and it's fantastic. The person I bought it off had 3 Ferraris and wanted to sell this one as it was manual (?? - I know, right) so after negotiations, I had it checked and I bought it. It's never been near a dealer, and never will. I found out later mine is one of 4 Australian delivered, manual transmission, 360 Modena's in the color I purchased - the important thing here is manual transmission as they're MUCH more serviceable and now, are the more desirable trim (worth double what I paid, but 'm not selling).

Do you homework and buy the right car for you, not the car the dealer is pushing at you - because that's the right car for him.

 

My late father acquired a 2012 911 Carrera S Cabriolet Black Edition in 2014 for $50k. It had 18,000 miles at the time that he purchased it. He gave me the car on his deathbed four years ago - I was 46 and had an insanely fast APR tuned Audi RS7 at the time but he insisted that his car in Super Sport Mode was faster. Four years later and with 34,000 miles on the odometer, I sold the car this week for $62,500.00 to make room for a Rivian on order.

The used car market is insane. Sell it yourself or hire someone to handle that hassle for you but it will be worth it in this environment.

 

I think every one needs to reset their expectations. Unfortunately when Mercedes coupes are crossing the 200k mark for purchase, a 360 or 430 is nothing to these guys.

A couple of years ago a Senna had a 600k price tag. Now every Tom sick and Harry is introducing their hyper cars and starting price is 2 million.

Your run of the mill Pirache is 180k msrp.

The world has gone nuts abs dealers have been living the fat happy life. We need a correction in the world to reset everything. Too much cheap money in the world.

 

FWIW, all the stories ring true. Not all Ferrari Dealers are bad apples. Some just play the game by their own rules, particularly with used Ferrari Cars. Trading a different Marque on a Ferrari will never net what you look up in Edmonds or KBB. Most dealers refer to “True Car” and newer social media platforms to price out a trade. The numbers will be miles apart. Most prior advice is correct unless the tax credit is so huge you can’t live without getting it. Spend the time to make sure you get comfortable about the purchase. Don’t expect full acceptance by dealer. First one tries then one trusts.

 

They’re mostly like that because 95% of the people who walk in are just lookers. When I took my car in for service, the service was horrible. I got better at my Lexus dealer.

QUOTE="luckyboy, post: 148098081, member: 244083"]Hello all, I am new to the forums.

I am seeking my first Ferrari purchase. I'm a huge car guy, and growing up Ferrari was the only word I would say when I was a kid. I'm sure you all get it

Can anybody give me pointers as to how to talk to a salesman at Ferrari? I'm striking out left right and center.

*I understand the current market conditions*

I have contacted one local dealer, and three out of state dealers.. Is it normal for these sales people to be friendly, yet nonchalant? I get "not a single care in the world" vibes from Ferrari dealers.

I make contact, they talk about what they have in stock... I bring up my trade, they say they will trade emails so we can both provide details about our cars.... Then poof! They disappear and I end up chasing them... When I finally do get a hold of them it's about 3-4 days until I even get a trade in number on my car which turns out being very low. All four dealers offer the same amount and they're off by 30k. At that point their numbers are so off I get deterred so I don't even begin negotiating.

Is it out of this world to get a proper interaction? If I just got a fair trade in offer on my vehicle I'd pay full asking price for their cars which are greatly marked up.

Any tips?

Thank you all.[/QUOTE]