Why does everyone bash The AUTO TOY STORE ? | FerrariChat

Why does everyone bash The AUTO TOY STORE ?

Discussion in 'Florida' started by lotusboy, Dec 22, 2003.

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  1. lotusboy

    lotusboy Formula Junior

    Nov 15, 2003
    369
    Madison,Wi.
    Full Name:
    Kevin Geiwitz
    I have met Sam and he seems like a nice guy.He bought my friends 911 from him and the deal went very smooth.I have read things in threads about repainted cars is this true?
     
  2. Cavallino Motors

    Cavallino Motors F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa

    May 31, 2001
    14,143
    Florida or Argentina
    Full Name:
    Martin W.
    Search the archives and you will find plenty of bad deals.

    Bad seeds seldom spread good aples. (does that make sense)
     
  3. lotusboy

    lotusboy Formula Junior

    Nov 15, 2003
    369
    Madison,Wi.
    Full Name:
    Kevin Geiwitz
    How about Prestige Imports? I know one of there buyers and he has offered me a job if I want to move to Fl. I am not ready for a more yet but one must leave all doors open.
     
  4. Cavallino Motors

    Cavallino Motors F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa

    May 31, 2001
    14,143
    Florida or Argentina
    Full Name:
    Martin W.
    well from personal experience...crooks (Prestige Imports)

    How do you pick those with precission that have been federally indited?

    Why would you want to get into that line of business anyhow? Glory? Because there is no money to be made. Look at all the sales guys in those dealerships, they are all making minimum wage.
    If you are good try the real Ferrari dealers. Much harder but much more stable. You will have to start selling the lower end first but can work yourself up.

    At the end of the day you barely find knowledgable sales guys on these floors (independent). Most are just out to get into your pocket since they have the sword hanging over them to be fired if they do not sell so many units per month. Hence you get crap in service and honesty.

    If you are good in selling and self motivated there are so many other jobs that you can make much more money in and then go to those dealers and buy your Ferrari from them with the money you made.

    Just my opinion.

    BTW I am not hiring for my dealership but would consider hiring you for my real estate company. :)
     
  5. ILuv4Res

    ILuv4Res F1 Veteran
    Lifetime Rossa Owner

    Aug 8, 2002
    6,529
    Full Name:
    Fred
    I think anywhere you go, it's impossible to find any business that hasn't had its share of customers that they failed to make happy. However, it seems like there are some businesses that have far too many people that come away with the same feelings.

    I'm sure that somewhere out there, there is someone who had a good experience with The New Auto Toy Store (ATS), because otherwise they couldn't possibly still be in business. However, I know that I would NEVER do business with them for several reasons. 1) I have personally gone into their showroom several times and have seen cars that have been patched back together that they insisted were like new. 2) too many other people have had bad experiences. 3) people who have had bad experiences have not been made happy. Too much chance of being screwed by them.

    The same goes for Prestige- although I have never personally set foot into their store, I respect Martin's opinion enough (because of all of the positive things other chat members have said about Martin) to stay away rather than risk the uncertainty that could come along with doing business with them.

    The same for Exotic Cars Wholesale (exotics4less). Too many people have been ripped off for deposits on cars they don't have, only to never get their deposits back.

    The same for Formula One Sports Cars - I went into their showroom (see my other post about them). Needless to say, after seeing first hand what type of unprofessional a-holes they are, I would NEVER EVER consider even looking at a car there.

    It seems like a lot of the exotic dealers are nothing more than the equvalent of a "buy here, pay here" used car dealer.

    I have had very good experiences with Shelton as well as with Tim Stanford for service. Martin has a good reputation too. I have also heard good things about Naples Motorsports as well as F of Orlando. The collection is reputable, but expensive.
     
  6. Cavallino Motors

    Cavallino Motors F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa

    May 31, 2001
    14,143
    Florida or Argentina
    Full Name:
    Martin W.
    I can only 2nd that. Why buy from someone with questionable reputation when you have a vast variety of good dealers to chose from.

    Shelton, Steve Harris, FoSF, FoH

    We have heard good stories from them and that is all it takes.

    As far as independents there is a number out there as well.

    To answer the original question:

    Why is everybody bashing the New Toy Store?

    Too many "stories".


    I have said it before, if they would have changed their ways they would have renamed their name. You would hardly see another Cruise Ship named: Titanic, trust me!
     
  7. lotusboy

    lotusboy Formula Junior

    Nov 15, 2003
    369
    Madison,Wi.
    Full Name:
    Kevin Geiwitz
    Martin, From what I was told the worst guys selling at Prestige was making over $100000.00. I have known Dan D(Prestiges buyer) for over 10 years and have seen him at auctions. From what I have seen he is very carful on what he buys. What I would like to do is open my own highline lot up in WI. Ferrari of Madison?
     
  8. Cavallino Motors

    Cavallino Motors F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa

    May 31, 2001
    14,143
    Florida or Argentina
    Full Name:
    Martin W.
    I have to seriously doubt that the worst guy was making that kind of money. I have known some Prestige sales man as well and they were all short of making any kind of serious money, anywhere near the 6 figure mark.

    Maybe in the hey-days of Miami and drug smuggling , when money was not an option and cars were paid in Kilos.

    All I can tell you stay away from the highline. There is NO MONEY to be made. Trust me on it. NO MONEY!!!

    I can safely operate my "hobby" dealership because I have virtually no overhead. I own the warehouses I operate from. The money I use is low interest since I own it. The equipment is paid in full. My monthly expenses is cell phone, land line and internet connection. For the "office/lot" I have $450 in maintenance and property tax. But still this year the income is slim to none.

    Have not done books yet but will be in the $10,000 plus/minus, without paying myself a salary :)

    The glory of exotic car sales !
     
  9. lotusboy

    lotusboy Formula Junior

    Nov 15, 2003
    369
    Madison,Wi.
    Full Name:
    Kevin Geiwitz
    What type of real estate are you into?
     
  10. Cavallino Motors

    Cavallino Motors F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa

    May 31, 2001
    14,143
    Florida or Argentina
    Full Name:
    Martin W.
    Commercial Development.

    My wife has a residential real estate brokerage.

    I buy and sell and develop commercial mainly also some land sales, although that has slowed in recent years due to inflated prices.
     
  11. ECW guy

    ECW guy Rookie

    Jan 14, 2004
    21
    This is directed to ILUV4res

    I work for Exotic Cars Wholesale. We have NEVER kept a deposit that wasn't earned.

    You're spreading rumours without personal experience. I challange you to produce ANYONE who has ever lost a deposit with us.

    In 8 years we've chosen not to refund deposits maybe twice. In both cases, the customer signed a contract, comitted to the car, inspected and accepted the car, even had us put wheels on it, then failed to come up with the balance of the payment.

    We're not in business to keep deposits, we're in business to sell cars.

    Unfortunatly, not every customer is as honerable or honest as we'd like them to be. I'm sure Cavallino Motors will agree.

    Buying a car is like buying a house. When you put a deposit on the house and sign a contract, and the inspection is satisfactory, and all contingencies have been met, if you don't show up a closing, do you think you get your deposit back? Do even expect to get it back?

    When we take a deposit, whether it's on a car we have in inventory or not, it is ALWAYS 100% refundable continent on inspection of the vehicle, or financing. What that means is that a customer can turn a car down for any reason and get their deposit back.

    We refund deposits all the time. We run an honest and legitimate business. But it is a business. As you said, there will always be someone unhappy with any business. Somehow that one person spread a rumour and now you're perpetuating it. We've sold $200 million worth of cars and have multitudes of happy and repeat customers.

    You want a refrence from someone you trust? Call John, Bud, Ben or Will at Shelton and ask them for a refrence on us. There are only 2 dealerships in the country that they trust enough to accept a company check from, we're one of them.

    I invite you to come to our showroom. Look at the quality of our cars and our people and then decide. We treat everyone as we'd like to be treated, because we don't want to sell you just one car, we want to sell you all your cars for the next 50 years. It is certainly not to our benefit to alienate customers.

    The owner of our dealership holds integrity and credibility as his highest priorities. He preaches it all the time.

    I don't mean to come off angry or flippant, but enough is enough.
     
  12. spyderman33

    spyderman33 Formula Junior

    Jan 9, 2004
    486
    MIA/ATL
    Full Name:
    Julian
    Funny that you go into that much detail about the company you work for but still use an anonymous name.. This post would be alot more valid if you signed your real name..

    Nothing against you or your company.
     
  13. ECW guy

    ECW guy Rookie

    Jan 14, 2004
    21
    Sorry. I thought every one used a nickname in the forums. I'm Vince Greene. I've worked here since we started 8 years ago. 954-941-4200 x209
     
  14. ECW guy

    ECW guy Rookie

    Jan 14, 2004
    21
    Thank you for the links. What I'm seeing is one guy (Modman) who obviously is not happy with our company. But what gives him credibility? Why do you assume that he's not lying? There are 2 sides to every story, but noone bothered to look into the other side, they just passed judgement.

    If you tell me who he is and what car he tried to buy, I'll be happy to give you an explanation of what really happened. In fact, I'll produce paperwork and proof, so you don't have to take my word for it.

    Everyone else it seems is perpetuating his complaints. I am here and I am willing to face any challenge to our credibility.

    When someone takes a rumour, that they have no knowledge is true and they spread it claiming its a fact, its called slander and libel. And it's ignorant and illegal. I would think the moderators of this site would frown on it, if only to protect themselves.

    Anyway, that's a tangent. What I really want to say is come here and judge for yourself.

    As far as deposits are concerned, every exotic dealer in the country uses them. It does 2 things. It ties up a car so it can't be sold to someone else, and it shows the dealer the serious intent of the buyer. We advise all buyers to have all cars (whether bought from us or not)inspected by an independent 3rd party (unless its a new car). If we ran around having cars inspected for anyone who was interested (with no deposit) we would waste alot of time and money.

    It's also important to note that we started in the business as a broker. We kept little or no inventory. Now we have a big showroom and keep 20-40 cars in stock. Although, we still broker cars if we don't have what the customer wants.

    We have NEVER kept a deposit that we didn't earn. That's a fact.
    We sell only quality cars and disclose everything about them. That's a fact.

    What's a shame is that someone who feels cheated posted their whining and a bunch of ignorant people, with no first hand knowledge of the situation and no way to know if the story was true, jumped on the bandwagon

    I appreciate you taking the time to respond to my post and apoplogize if my attitude is too stern.
     
  15. FL 355

    FL 355 Formula 3

    Nov 3, 2002
    1,665
    Ft Laud
    Full Name:
    Frank Lipinski
    Vince - Your point is a good one. The net can be a run away freight train and there are always two sides to each story.

    The fact that you are willing to disclose the details in writing suggests to me you have nothing to hide.

    Although I have not personally been in your store, I did have a phone contact with one of your employees and he never called me back. I don't hold that against you or the store.

    I have been in the Toy Store on several occasions and they completely ignorned me! I was dressed well, had a $13K Rolex watch and pulled up in my P-Turbo. Of course, there was the Fed raid on them and other horror stories that can be substantiated.

    After an exhaustive search, I ended up buying from F or SFO.

    Personally, I'm tired of people bashing Florida on this site. It's not different than anywhere else.

    Be happy to meet with you for lunch some time.

    Frank
     
  16. ECW guy

    ECW guy Rookie

    Jan 14, 2004
    21
    Thank you Frank.

    I'd love to know who it was that didn't get back to you so I could find out why. We try very hard to follow up on every call.

    Also everyone is welcome in our showroom regardless of what you wear or drive. I have had experiences like yours where I've felt very unwelcome and even uneasy walking into a dealership. It's no fun.

    I'm glad though that you found the car you were looking for. What did you get?

    Please come in anytime and it will be my pleasure to buy you lunch.

    Vince
     
  17. FL 355

    FL 355 Formula 3

    Nov 3, 2002
    1,665
    Ft Laud
    Full Name:
    Frank Lipinski
    Vince -

    Over a year ago...maybe Chris???? Not a big deal.

    Got a 355 Spider red/tan.

    I think even Martin bailed on me (lol)...that's before we knew each other from this board and F Car events.

    I would like to visist your store. Will give you a heads up before time.

    Rgds
    FL
     
  18. Joe G.

    Joe G. Formula 3
    BANNED

    Dec 9, 2003
    1,109
    Los Angeles
    Full Name:
    Joe Gazzani
    Toy Store has had many many complaints over the years.

    I believe after reading all the stories that those guys are CROOKS.

    There's plenty of honest places out there to do business, why bother with those guys.
     
  19. lotusboy

    lotusboy Formula Junior

    Nov 15, 2003
    369
    Madison,Wi.
    Full Name:
    Kevin Geiwitz
    Vince, what do you do at the dealership? The only time I went to the TOY STORE,I was not aloud to go on the show floor.I guess the rental car and the fact I only had a 3500.00 Rolex on and I was wearing shorts was not good enough for them.The fact of the trip in was,I am a buyer for the 3rd largest dealership in WI and was on a buying trip with a checkbook good for about 4 mill. I did buy 50 car in 3 days none for them.
     
  20. eam3

    eam3 Karting

    Dec 16, 2003
    107
    South Florida
    Full Name:
    Ed Mendez
    My experience with Prestige was negative on two occasions - both with Porsches. One was back in 1994 when I was looking at a 1991 944S2 in their ad that I was told was pristine inside and out. I went to look at it and it was obvious that certain panels had been repainted. It didn't drive as well as my 85.5 944 and pulled badly to one side. The inside was not that pristine either. Thankfully I passed.

    Fast forward to 1997 when I was looking for a Porsche 968. They advertised a silver one as being like new. From the outside it looked nice and after lifting the carpet in the trunk area I could see where many panels around the spare tire had been replaced (obviously due to an accident) because they were not body color and were black instead. I mentioned this to the sales guy and he swore that all 968s had black panels and he refused to budge, insisting that the car had never been hit and it was flawless. I finally told him that my dad had a 968 himself and that I had looked at several already - none of them had non-matching panels. I even offered to buy it if they put in writing that the car had never been hit with the condition that they would buy it back for the full amount if I found out otherwise. The salesman talked to the manager who then came out and admitted that the salesman must have been mistaken, the car had indeed been in a rear end collision.

    Two times did it for me. I never set foot in that place again.
     
  21. ECW guy

    ECW guy Rookie

    Jan 14, 2004
    21
    Lotusboy,

    I both buy and sell. We all pretty much do both sides here. I was the first employee here. I started the week after the dealership was started.

    Please call me if your looking for cars. We wholesale to alot of dealers. Also let me know what you have to sell.

    Who do you buy for?

    Vince
     
  22. lotusboy

    lotusboy Formula Junior

    Nov 15, 2003
    369
    Madison,Wi.
    Full Name:
    Kevin Geiwitz
    Schoepp motors in Madison Wi. We do about 400 cars per mth. Lexus BMW are what we come down for.Might have a Boxter,CLK320 to wholesale.
     
  23. Cavallino Motors

    Cavallino Motors F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa

    May 31, 2001
    14,143
    Florida or Argentina
    Full Name:
    Martin W.
    Vince,
    lets see now.

    Exotic Car wholesale offer a car I had listed on my website for more money. Took my pictures without my consent, told a buyer they had the car in stock and wanted a deposit from him.

    Modman has sent you a deposit which was not returned.

    Claims of cars in stock that are not. Cars mysteriously "just sold" after buyers sent their deposit.

    There were others that has similar experiences and if you go deep into a search on Exotic Car Wolesale or exotics4less you will find quite a lot of complains.

    Vince, I am not saying you are doing such things but someone there is not dealing honest.

    I have yet to take a depsit of my clients. Buy when you pick up the car. That simple.


    Martin
    Cavallino Motors
     
  24. Mark308GTS

    Mark308GTS Rookie

    Dec 4, 2003
    13
    Miami
    Full Name:
    Mark Shuman
    I've been to Prestige Imports several times because they're near my home. My experience has been the same as eam3's. Twice I looked at Porsche 968s that were obviously wrecked (one had different color quarterpanels in the trunk), but the salesman denied it both times. I looked at an Audi A4 and after I pointed out that one of the fenders was painted, they couldn't tell me why. Most recently they wouldn't let me drive a 1978 GTB after they couldn't get it started, because it had just rained and they didn't think I was "serious." I bought a 1984 308 GTB QV about a month ago and after lurking on this news group for several months, this is my first post.

    I did meet Martin when looking for my car and I would buy a car from him.
     

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