I was in Greensboro today so I dropped by Foreign Cars Italia and snapped a bunch of pictures. What a great collection! Enjoy. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
DANG IT!! Now I need to go up there Monday to snap a few pics of that F50. Looks like my Monday scheduling has just been rearranged. I also need to see if they have set a move-in date for the new showroom as I wish to be there for the opening.
What's the story behind that one?? 360 Spyder... they won't let you any closer to the F50 than it shows in my picture. It's by the buyer's request.
December of 2002 I decided I was rich enough to start buying exotic cars. My mother who was sick with cancer had been telling me to have fun now that I had left the club company and I also decided that she was right, so except for my Marine Corps Duty, to hell with work and I retired for good. That same month I went to FCI and met with a salesman. He was nice, patient, listened to my questions and answered them clearly. We decided that a 348 would be a good choice as they were reliable and I was still a bit skittish about dropping close to $200,000 on a brand new one. I even started calling the 348 a good starter Ferrari. I left with a promise from the sales man that he would find ma a 348 to my specs and get back to me. (Note: My Specs were- Red, miles below 40,000, spider, if over or close to 30k miles have the 30k service. In other words, nothing major.) Never heard from the guy. Called six times, no return phone call. Left six emails, no reply. Stopped by FCI in Jan 03, he was as nice as could be, said he did not get the MSGs or Emails, but had not forgotten me and was still looking. More phone calls and emails with no return. So I called and got the SM who said he would look into it. Still nothing. Stopped by in Feb and he was not there left a card on his deck and that did nothing either. In April I saw a 348 on the net at Ferrari of Atlanta. I called and spoke to Carson and he said to come on in and he would show it to me. So weekend of The Masters, which I always attend, I showed up and Carson said, Want a test drive???? Well I did not drive stick at the time but I let him drive me around. I sent him a check for the full price two weeks later. Flew down and drove it back to NC. (God I love that car!!!) So, that weekend I had discovered F-Chat and a great guy in NC, near FCI, named David (WorthIt here). He heard my story and said, **** that, meet me at FCI and we will set the record strait!! (He knows them all, see.) So he introduced me to the GM and others there, made sure that they knew they screwed up, who the sales guy was, and held my hand, and gave me a hug, and also introduced me to SodaCom should I need anything. Anyway, thats the story of how FCI did not get my money due to extremely poor Customer Service and not returning msgs. Needless to say, when next year I plan to move up to the 355 it is going to be tough not to go back to FoA, or maybe Sport Auto!!!! DrS
Should have spoken to lawrence martin or go to Steve Barney's showroom rather than monkey around with the salesman
Steve Barny is at Sport Auto. He does not work there. (And he is now a good friend!! Sport Auto does al my work now!!) And I did that (Though not with Steve of course.) It didn't help. The only thing Carson could tell me, esp when he got his GM out to hear the story, was that I was too young. They just did not take me seriously. (sigh) DrS
Steve Barney at SPortAUto is the the best - he is real old school and remembers the days when Italian cars were a tough sale in North Carolina (70's). Back in the late 80's when I attended school near FCI and STeve was the owner I was always treated great when I visited to drool. I was even allow quite a few test drives of used Ferraris - first Ferrari I drove was an early 80's silver/blue mondial coupe. Now I can finally afford to be an owner and fortunantely Steve Barney is still around to take care of all my Ferrari needs. He is straight forward and honest. He has put together an outstanding staff at SportAuto. If you are in the area, you really need to check it out. Cheers, st.tully
Unless you want to zoom in on the headlight, I don't see how it will help. The only angle you're going to get is the angle I posted. Did you notice the divider in front of the car? Anyway, Dr. Strangelove... I had a similar experience with FCI when I was shopping for a 996. But being 26 years old, I never actually expected them to get back to me, so I never thought twice about it and bought it somewhere else. I haven't dealt with a lot of salesmen there, only a few. I'm sure there are hit and misses there just like every other business in the world. Overall though, they seem to be on top of it. So you're going to a 355? Have you given any serious thought of going straight to the 360?
They were on top of it as long as I was actually standing there. I got the serious feeling that the sec I left, my buis card got tossed in the trash. Yea, I have been thinking of the 360.....thinking about it...... DrS
That's one hell of a commitment, bro. Speaking from a sample size of one, thanks for your service. DrTax
Just catching up since I was off line for a few days. Dr. Stranglove - Thanks for the positive comments - Always willing to help and let me know when you are passing by G'boro. Same for anyone else coming to town. As mentioned I know most of the guys at FCI and Sport Auto - In Dr. Stranglove's situation I did take him directly to Lawrence. He needs to know these things about the sales staff. He heard it and only he knows if he did anything about it. There is good and bad everywhere, just reach your own decisions. Obviously they are trying to sell cars, so I hope they can do it well.
Please do not take this as me being a jerk, but the sign said ask for assistance. I did. See my pictures here... http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=4287039357 I did not get as many pictures as I would have liked to due to the space being cramped, but I hope to get more this weekend. Plus my 4-year-old son was with me and he is just as facinated by Ferrari as I. Enjoy!
And Thanks again to David!!!!! He told me the best thing to do, after seeing Lawrence, was to show them my 348!!! Lawrence was very concerned, or so it appeared. But in the process of all this, I meet three really cool people!! David Steve Barney Tom Jones (Best Mechanic in 50 states!!!) DrS
I liked the pictures. I know you're not a jerk, but maybe the salesman there was when he seemed like he would rather jump on a grenade before he let me get within 5 feet of the car.... no matter how much "assistance" I asked for. When I told him it was no big deal and that seeing an F50 up close was not an earth shattering experience to me, he just kept going on and on about how nobody is allowed close to the car until I finally walked away.