Hey, The other day i was driving down North Avenue through Carol Stream and i noticed a new sports car dealer. From what i saw, i think a few porches and posibly a couple Ferraris there... They are about 2-3 miles West of Fox Valley Motor cars on North Avenue.. Does anyone else have an info on this place ??? The building they are in use to be a Chinese restraunt and before that it was a Seafood restraunt. I think it's on the corner of North Av. and Schmale Rd.... I thought i saw a Red Mondail parked out side there???
Oooops, your right, East of Fox Valley Sports cars... Yes, the old Boston Sea party resraunt... Then it was some chinese buffet place for a few years until it closed.
I bet you're looking at D&M Motorsports. Little building on a small rise, red lettering, chequered backdrop inside. Has a few Ferraris occasionally but more into local, used stuff such as Vipers, high mileage SL's, a Porsche and Maser or two. They had the British street racing killer Noble last time I checked, minus the Ford drivetrain. They're nice guys, a little pushy to serious customers. When I arrived in my Hummer I was given good attention and many follow up calls to my inquire about a Viper. What struck me as decent was when a guy off the street in his Saturn stopped by and asked to show his son the cars, they said it was no problem. This doesnt happen at Continental and Fox Valley, where I have had bad experiences and had to expalin why I was there. While at Fox Valley I asked for assistance one time and the sales rep said he was busy at the moment, went to his desk, then called out to his co-workers he was going out to lunch. 2 minutes later another salesman told me the showroom was not for the viewing public. I heard even worse about Luxury Motors, who even chased away Mercedes top tech when he came into town to visit saying customers only, ( and here is a guy who works on the CLK GTR and McLaren SLR but won't get the time of day. ) LFSC, Motorwerks, and many places in SW and Miami Florida are really different. In particular, a place called Autoquest in Ft. Myers has always been very friendly to the South American guy in the Rolls and as equally friendly to the kids wanting to see a Lambo up close. D&M from my one and only visit saw a small selection but decent people. Its not like Lake Forest ( which is open Andreas and quite attractive as the lighting and atmosphere highlight the cars, ) or Motorwerks ( where the GM will give a first time car buyer as much attention as his regular customers Mike Ditka and Scottie Pippen. ) If its D&M you saw, its just a nice little car dealer... One place I want to check out is a Ford dealer who has had some neat cars. The're on Dundee road in the NW burbs I beleive, once having a 288 GTO and Jaguar XJ220. Right not they have a 550 Barchetta, Nart Blue and cream. Check out for the car and the dealer by using this great site.... www.wwwheels.com RocketBoy
Rocketboy, they are not talking about D&M...there is a new place on the corner just as they have described.
Do you ever work at Fox Valley on the weekends? I have heard good things about you through a Lotus owner, ( stating you are the exotic rep.) I met the owner once and his son who I believe took over the service department. However the people I met one weekend I came in based on a friend's recommendation, well the reception I got was slightly cold. RocketBoy
Rocketboy, I am here on Saturdays from 9-5; you are ALWAYS welcome to come in and just look around. And our showroom is indeed open to the public. Also, we are having a detailing seminar in our shop on April 24th, which we have also invited the FCA to come to.
I think Rocketboy must have caught someone at Fox Valley on a VERY off day. I've stopped in quite a few times to see if there was anything interesting on the floor & never had anyone give me grief for spending a half hour or so just browsing the inventory. For what it's worth: each time I've come wearing jeans, so mode of dress obviously isn't a factor.
I'm always amazed at the laissez-faire attitude of the dealers around Beverly Hills, CA. When I'm there on vaca I normally check all of them out and take tons of pictures of all the amazing cars they have. Nobody ever gives me grief over anything. I guess they know that potential buyers can come in all shapes and forms and looks alone don't really tell much.
To back up my claim and not to state an example of oh woe is me, I have a bit of a story from a friend. A successful broker I know used to collect Lotus. He had an Elise ( do not recall where it was purchased, ) and a few Esprits. His second Lotus was a project car, and his love for the name of his car on par with the many 308 drivers who contribute to this website. He went to FVM looking for a part and possible service. Same exact thing happened to him on a Saturday. However, instead of asking for a sales rep it was for the service department. When told no one could help at the moment they also reminded him that the showroom was not for the public when he said he would wait for help. I can understand hesitance towards me as I am in my late 20s, but this friend of mine in jeans and a t-shirt is in his mid 30s, family man, and well known in the broker industry. He wound up buying a part from there but the whole experience left him sending his cars to someplace in St. Louis for major service. MikeFVM, please feel free to contact me via private message on the details of this person as he goes through cars about every two years. Burning bridges with him probably cost sales in autos and parts and service. He recommended me to go check your place out one day, and simply laughed after hearing about what happened to me. This broker, Scott, is now a Viper collector, already owning two after moving on from Lotus. If you would like to contact him I would give you the information in private if I know his is looking once again. RocketBoy
I called twice on a 308 at D&M last summer... told them I was coming to look at the car, that I was serious about buying... Took me 45 minutes to get there... the A-HOLES would not even start the car, let alone take it out of the showroom for a drive. If I was not willing to write a check that day, "fugget-about-it" They thought a PPI was absolutely not needed.... Belts had not been changed in NINE years.... "you don't need to change the belts in a Ferrari..." They also felt the fog lamps in the front were stock.... "Owner"... high pressure, very sleazy... Felt this 308 was something to behold, a rare treat... (come on, its a 308!) CROOKS, IDIOTS, AND LIARS!!!!! AS for FVM, the Lotus parts manager, Ben quit last year, which was a blow to them, as he, by all accounts, was unmatched in his customer service and knowledge. They get a lot of traffic, and I have been guilty of leaving drool stains on many of their cars.
It is disappointing and frustrating when you're shopping for a car and they wouldn't even start the engine for you. For me the story (and the buck) normally stops right then and there.
I think this may be the place in question: http://www.autoshowcase1.com/ At present, they list only one Ferrari in inventory, an 85 Mondial cabriolet.
From the map on the site, that has to be the place Tod is talking about. Pretty proud of that 85 Mondial $35000 for a $25000 max car!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yep, Thats the place i saw.... Interesting.... Hey Bob, Maybe on one of our Ferrari cruises this summer, we should end up here to check the place out and see how they treat us, HAH! Pulling into thier lot with about 5-10 Ferraris.... HAH! I'm sure they would like that.... So, it looks like they had another dealer in Bensenville, wonder how they are with treating people???
Nice idea, but I'm not sure it would have much of an effect: Some dealers are so snobby they look even more down on you when you arrive in a 308. You'd probably be better off arriving in a Merc or Beemer. Sheesh.
And it may still need its 15K service---one would think they'd say so if it had been done. Well, maybe it will still be there when I'm ready to start seriously shopping. If it is, maybe they'll be ready to deal.
Chasking. When you are ready to start looking. Don't forget to check with Continental or Lake Forest Sportscars to see what they may have. When I was shopping for my 308,a little over 3 years ago. I called Continental,but,they didn't have one at the time.(But did offer to find one. But,I wanted it NOW.) And,I checked LFSC,who usually don't advertise. They had 2. I bought one of them. So,give them a call. Either dealer may have just gotten one in,or,perhaps has a customer who has one,that mentioned to them that it's For Sale,if anyone is interested. They also told me that in the Springtime. They are usually really busy making "House Calls" to charge or Replace Dead batteries in Ferrari's that had sat all Winter. And,thats when some people tell them that they'd like to sell their car. But,if it's at an Authorized Ferrari dealer...ESPECIALLY,at one of the 2 in our area that both have Rock Solid reputations,that would be my First choice. Also,there is a Grigio/Tan 1987 Mondial 3.2 Cabriolet For Sale in the "Auto Focus" Car Sale paper thats usually at the newsstand as you leave the Grocery store. Asking $29K...but it's been For Sale for awhile... Says it has 35,000 miles,and is Immaculate. Or,if you don't mind travelling abit. Pick up a copy of Hemmings Motor News,or The DuPont Registry of Fine Automobiles. Always quite a few available there. Good Luck!
Funny.... Both LFSC and Continental had my name/#/e-mail for a 308. I "checked in" with them on occasion, with the same salesman. Never heard a word from either of them. I got the overwhelming feeling they could care less about the "low end" of the Ferrari market.
Hmmm....I didn't have that problem. When I first called Continental. They were very enthusiastic about looking for a car for me,albeit it was the beginning of January '01. And,LFSC usually doesn't advertise much. Occasionally I do see an ad in the Sunday Trib auto classifieds. But,I NEVER see ads for LSFC in the DuPont Registry of Fine Automobiles. And,for some reason...must have been fate...they had an ad in the DuPont Registry that Month,with the car that I ended up buying,in that ad. When I drove up there,they had 2-'81 308's. 1-Red/Tan,which I bought. And,a Black/Crema. Which I also wanted to buy,but,already also had a Corvette,only a 2 car garage,and Mrs.thought that 2 Sportscars-1 Ferrari-was enough at the time.
Why are the women in our lives always trying to be the "voice of reason"???? An old girlfriend of mine said I would be happy living in a tent, as long as I had a big garage full of cars.
LOL! Agreed! When I was married to Wife #1. I always had 3 Corvettes. An Admiral Blue/Tan '95 LT-1. A '75 Convertible,that I was restoring. And,a Black '81 with a 383 Stroker,2400 Stall tranny,4:88 Rear end.(sucked up $3.50/Gallon,100 Octane Racing Gas like there was no tomorrow. But,Scary Fast ). And,before I bought the Black '81. I had a White '75 Coupe,that I bought very cheap,to fix up a little,and sell for a small profit. My neighbor,2 doors down,had 4-Porsches. 3-914's,(1 had a HotRod 6 in it) A 928. And,a Delorean.(and a Big extra long Dodge Van) He was Divorced,and single. I was CONSTANTLY getting Grief from my Ex that our House looked like a "Hillbilly House" with all of the cars we had.(We had 2 other,"regular cars" too) I told her,"well,at least they're Corvettes,and not Rusty old Pick-up Trucks,or something". She didn't care. CONSTANT Grief!!! My Neighbor could hear her yelling at me and he'd just be Laughing,and laughing. I'd tell her,"Look at him. He's got 5 sportscars in his Driveway/Garage". She didn't care. Now,Mrs.#2 says that I can have all of the Sportscars that I want,(Well,right now,that can fit). But...NO! Motorcycles. But,the funny part of it was. My Ex had no qualms what so ever about buying $2-300.00 pairs of shoes (LOTS and LOTS of them) or Jewelry. Go figger.....?
It's at the corner of North Avenue and Schmale in Carol Stream. Looks like a nice lot with some nice toys. (Why cant I own a carlot like that???!!!) I think they are strictly used cars. As for Fox Valley Motors, all I can say is that they are a bunch of great guys. Even though I did not buy my car from them (purchased from a private party), Mike helped me with my purchase as if I was buying from them. He is also the one that introduced me to F-chat. You cant say that about too many dealers. I take my car their for service and I visit their dealership about once or twice a month just to see and touch nicer toys. No one there has ever been snooty towards me and that is where I got to drive a Ferrari for the first time. Both of my little boys got rides in a Diablo from them also.
Hey Dan! What's up? Thanks for the kind words! Spike: I can understand how you feel about LFSC and Continental seemingly not following up to your inquiry about the 308, but in their defense, I don't think that many 308s go through either dealer much anymore. I know that here at Fox Valley, there has only been one in the last 3 years. Most of the Ferraris we get are 550s, 355s and 360s. In general, the 308 has reached a price ponit to where it really does not make sense for owners to trade or sell their 308. If I had a 308, would I sell or trade the 308 for $20-$30K...heck no...it is way too much fun to get rid of it at that price, and I think that is why its not so easy to fiind a 308 at a dealer. I'm sure that LFSC and Continental, as well as myself, would be happy to let you know if we had a nice 308 for sale.