Advice with dealer experience

They don't deserve your business. It's just a car. Your pride should worth more. Assuming what you said is true and you can back it up, post the name of this dealer, and the names of the people you dealt with.

Sounds like a ghetto dealer.

 

Has the dealer recently changed parent ownership by chance? Based on the details you shared and respecting you not wanting to post the dealer name my only speculation is that the salesperson and GM you made the deal with are/have been with the dealership a while possibly are now having to take direction from someone new inserted as part of a change in parent ownership who neither respects the dealership's relationships, ethics or reputation and is just there to increase immediate profits and take advantage of the market. Just speculation.

It is obviously ridiculous since you already bought a car from them so you are not someone strolling in that has never been there before wanting to trade in their BMW or Mercedes and order a Roma - You bought you Cali from them and are a regular service customer. You are trading the car you bought from them back in so a) you are a repeat/previous Ferrari owner and b) a repeat customer of that dealership so they get to make profit three times essentially - 1) on your Cali purchase - 2) on the Roma purchase and 3) When they sell your Cali since obviously they will sell it for more that they give you on trade.

Makes no sense to me - As much as I love Ferrari this is precisely why people get turned off by them in some cases and why high-visibility stars/car guys like Leno make negative statements about Ferrari. I guarantee you if you walked into an Aston, Lambo, Mclaren dealer and wanted to trade your Cali and either order a new car or buy one in inverntory should they have something they would fall all over themselves to earn your business.

I am lucky since my local dealer has been able to maintain the same level of customer focus and relationships despite being bought by a parent company a few years ago but in many cases this does not happen and it is sad. IMHO in any business you have to treat your customers like gold during the good times and the bad - it is the same with high-end watches right now - some ADs treat their repeat customers like gold when they had cases full of Rolexes etc, and still do when everything incurs a wait list - others treat their repeat customers like crap just because the market is so hot. This is not a solid/long-term sustainable model and when things crash and go back to normal they will pay for it.

Unfortunately you are in a bad position because if you want a new Ferrari you are at the behest of the dealers and they hold all the cards - sucks. Hope this works out for you.

Cheers

 

Can you physically pay a visit to the dealer? Sometimes these types of situations are best sorted out in person - not suggesting a confrontation but it is a lot easier to blow someone off and ignore them via text/email etc. then when they are physically present - just a suggestion.

Cheers

 

This does suck...big time.

Depending on how badly you want to order a Roma, I would definitely walk and take my business elsewhere.

Just the "ignoring" part is absolutely inexcusable. How hard is it to text back...I am still working with the GM or owner, please give me a few more days...BAM! EASY!

 

I guess it depends on your goal. If you are building a relationship with the dealer so you can eventually get access to more limited production models, then u just have to take it and play the game. But geez, if they make u do that for a Roma, I can’t imagine what ungodly things they will make u do for an f8 pista/speciale aperta…

if not, tell them to take a hike, plenty other exciting cars to be had new or used.

 

Yeah the sad thing is they are not thinking/looking at this from a past and future lens (well the sales guy and GM are but the influx of "new blood" is just focused on short-term/immediate profit) and since the demand far exceeds the supply they frankly could care less if you order a Roma from them because they probably have a list of people who will order one and pay way over list and no trade to deal with so quick and easy short-term profit - and while I personally love Cali's (and with all due respect for your car) Cali Ts are not the hottest selling pre-owned Ferrari and kind of fall in a gap between the normal Cali's and the Porto's so it is possible they could have it for a while before turning immediate profit. Does not/should not matter since you negotiated a deal with them in good faith but my guess is the "new" guy put the kabash on the deal because there is no shortage of people willing to order Roma's without a trade and the fact that the trade might take up showroom space for a while.

My only advice/guidance is to perhaps set up an onsite meeting with everyone as suggested in my earlier post - or just show up if logistically feasible. That said, if it was me this whole scenario would taint the deal even if they end up honoring it and I would be skeptical to spend that kind of money with a dealership (at least currently) being run in an unethical manner.

Depending on how special the spec is for the Roma, you could probably just hang on to the Cali and put the word out for any pre-owned Roma's coming available either from people getting them and then trading for a Roma "GTS" or whatever the Spider variant is or perhaps not liking them and trading for a pre-owned 812 or F8 etc. - opening up your options for a pre-owned car also opens up the wider scope of working with other dealers who will treat you properly. That said, you probably still want to maintain the relationship with the Service dept unless you want to incur the costs of shipping to a longer-distance dealer (which a lot of people do actually).

Anyway - This sucks and I hate to hear stories like this - It is bad for the marque and disappointing for people who love and are loyal to Ferrari. I personally know several people who were financially and culturally ready to realize their dream of Ferrari ownership and went another direction just because they were treated like crap by a dealership.

I think you are taking the right approach to give them the benefit of the doubt - If I had to guess I bet there are some .... ahem .... "passionate" discussions taking place between the sales guy and the GM you worked with and whoever nixed the deal - perhaps that will sort itself out and they will honor the deal - Hope it all works out.

Cheers

 

I agree with your suggestion as that is what us the older folks do. But in this era, it could be viewed as confrontational the moment he steps foot in the door because the other side would be pissed at the guy did not get the point.

 

Yeah I agree - sad but true - the days of sorting things out face to face are kind of over - To your point simply trying to could be viewed as a confrontation. It is just sad to me that something that should be SO exciting and enjoyable turns to crap for this guy. I don't have a dog in the fight but just conceptually annoys me. I mean pretty much everyone on here dreamed of someday owning a Ferrari of any sort - much less being able to spec and order one (hell I currently own two and have owned four and never spec'd and ordered a new one) - for that to get all jacked up is just sad.

Your point is good advice though - Cheers

 

Could it be as simple as the promised build slot is going to a higher bidder?

Even so the ignoring part is unacceptable. I'm with another poster... just a car... speak with your wallet and take it elsewhere. When they decide to call you back when they need you, you can explain why they can shove it. I dont have time for games. They either want to make a transaction or they dont.

 

I'd head to the Aston Martin dealer. The cars are just as beautiful and luxurious as a Roma (some would say even more) and buying one doesn't entail any game-playing.

Having to chase the dealer to sell you a car is absurd. The Ferrari dealer obviously does not care about your loyalty or history with them. If they don't respond by Monday morning, I think you should take your self respect, your business, and your Cali elsewhere.

 

Have you considered a Porsche turbo or GT3?

 

Yup!! FWIW as much I love Ferrari I would take a Vantage or DB11 in a heartbeat over a Roma - and if you are so inclined I believe you can still get a manual in the Vantage AMR (if it is still offered for 2022 - not sure) without paying stupid money for what should be an option offered by any sports/exotic car company.

I have driven a Roma and a Vantage and far prefer the Vantage - and a fully-loaded Vantage is about $100K less than a Roma and you don't have to wear knee pads and get lock-jaw to buy one I have not driven a DB11 but believe it is around the same money as a Roma and if the Vantage was that good then I would think the DB11 is worth the extra money and perhaps even more on par or ahead of the Roma.

As I have posted in another thread I am currently torn between holding out for the perfect 599 or ordering a Roma - given the feedback and after driving the Vantage I have eliminated the Roma and focused on the 599 but the Vantage would be my 1st choice if I were to break ranks with Ferrari for a front-engine sports/exotic.

Good luck - Cheers

 

I don't think you did your homework. I don't think you are telling the whole story .

Everybody seems to like hating dealers. It's old imo .

 

what? you know somebody in the dealer?

 

This story is pretty appalling, but in fact it's even worse than already described in post #3. Not only did this dealership stand to make $ selling you the Roma and reselling your current car, not to mention the $ they already made when you bought the current car, they've made $ servicing it too! And we all know that service is a huge part of any dealer's revenue, especially ones that receive such small allocations of new cars. Such hubris!
P.S.: Consider consulting a local lawyer who's experienced in contract law to see if your various texts, etc. might rise to the level of making out an enforceable contract- it's not likely, but . . .

 

huh?

was I that cryptic?

 

well you said he was not telling the whole story. Why did you say that?

 

so ask that question...

the line of conversation between op & others sounds "off " to me, I know it when I hear it kind of thing. At a minimum I wonder what the intonations were. Was op over excited and failed to hear possible negatives , was salesperson just up selling , can't tell from what he wrote , I only read lamenting.

He wants to buy a car , go to the dealer and make the deal , or wire them a deposit . Not every dealer has the same allocations and lead times , nor can they guarantee lead times.

 

Pick up the phone and call the GM.
Forget text.
If he/she won’t talk to you go find another dealer.

 

The car market is just appalling right now. Can't imagine being treated that way when you want to spend $300k on a mass produced Ferrari.