Beware: Exotics of Scottsdale!

Sounds like this ****** did you a favor. Move on you don't need to deal with people that play games.

 

Tim,

It is a jungle out there... They are trying to hide something - they all hope for a buyer who will not ask questions - by putting a price out there that is great and hopes someone will take it without asking the right questions. I am betting that they know the engine needs a lot of work - bad compression, etc and just don't want to have to deal with it. If they run a PPI and lie - they know they will be liable - so easier just to pass you off. In the end - these dealers will not be around long - cause sooner or later the amount of new people they will find will start to dwindle. But it is a shame that this happens.

Keep looking - the one for you is out there. Honestly the no stories 355 Spiders will be in the mid to high 80's... The only ones I have seen in the 70's are those who will need 10 - 15K work - and that puts you back to the mid to high 80's... I have seen many nice 97 - 99's still pushing the 100K range (which might be a little high) and I think the FML - has the average listing price as 101K... So when you start to see someone listing for 70's - low 80's knowing that there is some negotiating room - that usually means there is a good reason to get rid of the car - due to hidden problems.

I know of a great 355 Spider still for sale - that has no stories at all

Rich Wallace

 

its funny that people feel safer buying from car dealers vs private parties..i quess its easier to track them down if their is a problem with the deal or the car but.......there some honest car dealers but a large precentage seem to be scum bags!!! and of course they need to make their 8-10% mark up on the car....i quess the best way to get an exotic is thru a private party that either you or a friend can vouch for..or a dealer who is a personal friend or you know from the past...buyer beware!!!

 

like richards car!!!!hint hint

 

sorry to hear about that, But I can say i purchased a CS from them, and all went smooth. Delivered everything as promised.

 

Good to know Mark, but taking delivery of a new or "like new" CS with zero problems is easy for a dealership to sell. What separates the high-quality dealerships from scum is when you are trying to sell an eight-year old, 27K mile car with potential problems. There are no two ways about it: FoS should have been upfront about the condition of the car.

I'm not even going to comment on the lack of customer service in the days leading up to when they lied about the car being sold.

 

I bought a 97 355 from Downers Grover Bentley for a below market price. Being the first time I bought a Ferrari I didn't know any better and didn't do a PPI. I thought I was buying a car from a reputable dealer. Long story short, cosmetically it looked absolutely beautiful, $12K later and now the engine runs beautifully too. I think they new I needed new cats, manifolds, compressor etc. but they weren't going to tell me. When I called them they wouldn't return my calls, heck I even called the owner and sent him a letter on attorney letter head. They still didn't respond. Buyer beware!

 

Thank you Marknkidz for letting me know I was being bashed on the site and being called a liar. This particular vehicle has been for sale some time now and no there are no horror stories associated with it. This vehicle has had a recent major performed and is in mechanically good condition. There are some cosmetic problems with the vehicle but not to be unexpected. As I was trying to work on the grocery list of items Mr. Mooney had questions about I was notified by one of the owners of my store that the vehicle had been sold awaiting a PPI by our local Ferrari dealer. If it is your opinion that I have something against you, you are mistaken. When I originally approched one of my stores owners with the request of information Mr. Mooney had asked for I was told that this might not be the vehicle for this discriminating of a buyer but I went forward with handling the request. When I was contacted at the end of the day on the 26th that someone had already bought the car I immediately emailed Mr. Mooney and told him what I was told. I don't know what more I could have done. I did not lie, steal or cheat Mr. Mooney out of anything. I can only relay the information provided to me by my dealer principals. As for the telephone call placed by your friend, he was speaking to the receptionist which had no idea if this vehicle was available or not. Also, Mr. Mooney spoke with one of the dealer principals who also confirmed the vehicle was going for a PPI and was sold. I don't know how any of this makes me a liar or dishonest. I can only stand on the reputation I and my dealership have with our customers whom we have sold cars to in the past and are more than happy with the service and product. If this is a case of poor timing it is unfortunate but that does not make me a cheat or liar. I apologize if my responses to you were not timely enough in your opinion but I try to respond to my customers as quickly as I am able.

 

WOW! That sounds EXACTLY like what happened when I was trying to buy a 328 from them about a year ago - same sales guy and all! Offered to pay for their time to take it for a PPI, got the hem-haws about poor relations with "jealous" local shops, because they were taking business away with their super duper state of the art service center, blah, blah.... Told him I was ready to deal if they would answer a few questions....silence..........more (screened) calls......emails......more silence.....Finally got ahold of him and he said they sold it. Should have called back like you did to see if it was still there. Well, then again, I'm glad I went elsewhere. Don't these people realize how small this community is? I don't get it.

Call me lucky!
Jim

 

Thank you Marknkidz for letting me know I was being bashed on the site and being called a liar. This particular vehicle has been for sale some time now and no there are no horror stories associated with it. This vehicle has had a recent major performed and is in mechanically good condition. There are some cosmetic problems with the vehicle but not to be unexpected. As I was trying to work on the grocery list of items Mr. Mooney had questions about I was notified by one of the owners of my store that the vehicle had been sold awaiting a PPI by our local Ferrari dealer. If it is your opinion that I have something against you, you are mistaken. When I originally approched one of my stores owners with the request of information Mr. Mooney had asked for I was told that this might not be the vehicle for this discriminating of a buyer but I went forward with handling the request. When I was contacted at the end of the day on the 26th that someone had already bought the car I immediately emailed Mr. Mooney and told him what I was told. I don't know what more I could have done. I did not lie, steal or cheat Mr. Mooney out of anything. I can only relay the information provided to me by my dealer principals. As for the telephone call placed by your friend, he was speaking to the receptionist which had no idea if this vehicle was available or not. Also, Mr. Mooney spoke with one of the dealer principals who also confirmed the vehicle was going for a PPI and was sold. I don't know how any of this makes me a liar or dishonest. I can only stand on the reputation I and my dealership have with our customers whom we have sold cars to in the past and are more than happy with the service and product. If this is a case of poor timing it is unfortunate but that does not make me a cheat or liar. I apologize if my responses to you were not timely enough in your opinion but I try to respond to my customers as quickly as I am able.

 

LOL!

 

So is the car sold or not?

 

Tim - I really do not relish in it - well maybe a little

We are only ~10K off in price - 86K includes you and I meeting in Cinci (a few of the other Michigan Memebers will probably want to join in (As Guest at the Wallace Palace which will include lunch and a full history briefing on the car) - doing the mechnical checkup/PPI in columbus (I hour away - which you can drive it to ensure you like the feel) - the visit to the mechanic will include full oil/fluids/etc and then delivery to your door in Michigan Lunch at my place is worth that alone

You know my number -
Rich

 

When I first read Moondog's post, I was in disbelief. The people at Exotics have always been very well respected among the few customers I have know. I then read Marko's response. Like all arguments there are two sides to every dispute and the truth lies somewhere in the middle.

I would also consider this a blessing, if Marko states "this might not be the vehicle for this discriminating of a buyer" then all that says is that he recognized that the buyer was looking for a lower milage car with less flaws, but he definately should have communicated that to the Moondog as soon as he received the list.

I sincerely believe that Marko is an honest salesman. Everyone I know that have dealt with Exotics, have come away with a good feeling and have had very few issues. I just think Marko should have communicated more clearly.

Regarding LopeAlongs issue of PPI problems: Unfortunately our area has at least 4 exotic dealers in the same town and the relationships between them is not always good. I have heard stories of one dealer refusing to PPI another dealer's car without explanation. Also refusing to sell parts to another dealer.

I do have to say though, Alex (Exotics of Scottsdale's Mechanic) is one of the most honest and knowlegeble mechanics I have ever dealt with.

 

The car is at Ferrari of Scottsdale as we speak getting a PPI. The potential new owner scheduled a PPI yesterday and we dropped off the car this morning. If we had something to hide, I assure you that car would not be getting a PPI. As far as the 328 that appearantly I lied about as well. That car is in Georgia right now with the gentleman that purchased it, as a matter of fact he drove it back. Was the car "sold" when you called, I am sure it was.

 

When I was shopping I called Exotics about a car they had listed. Actually, I called several times and had trouble getting my calls returned. When I finally made contact and asked a few questions, they said they would research and get back to me. Never heard from them again. I would not say they are dishonest, but from my experience they just did not seem real motivated to make a sale. Instead I bought a car through Martin (Cavallino Motors www.4ferrari.com) who referred me to Mike Grande at LNS (http://www.lnsmotorcars.com). I highly recommend each. After 11 months of ownership and 5K miles I could not be any happier. I only regret I could not put on more miles (but that was due to an injury).

Having read so many of Richard's posts over the last year, I think you are making a mistake not to buy his car. He is the poster child for the perfect 'previous owner'. $10K sounds like cheap insurance for knowing you have a well maintained Ferrari. When you buy a F-car, you buy the previous owner and/or dealer as much as you are buying the car.

 

Without trying to take anybodies side or say who may be at fault or more at fault:

I see it sometimes as well in my biz. There are two or three individuals inquiring about a car. One asks a lot of questions and I try to answer them as quick and detailed as possible. By the time the answers are all in or/and are reviewed by the buyer, another buyer comes and snags the car.
Leaves bad feelings for the buyer that is reviewing the info but that is unfortunately part of the biz.
Now if a car is sent to PPI that does not mean that the car is sold. It means that at this point it is in PPI and there is a serious buyer. Once it comes back that serious buyer will have a day to read through the results and then, if he does not pull the trigger, the car is back for sale.
Marko, this as my advise, never say it is sold until you have the money in your hands. Let the client know exactly what the status of the car is. It is in PPI and will be out in two days, then I know if the buyer wants it or not, we are waiting for a wire, it looks like it is sold but till the money is here I am not 100% sure.
All of my clients apreciate this honesty I am sure yours will as well.

Hope you guys can work this out. As a salesman myself I learn from these comments. It means there was a lack of communication from you Marko. Just make sure you understand his reaction instead of being offended. My second advise is, never dismiss a client like this in an e-mail. You should call him, explain the situation and see what else you can do for him. You may have a car or know a car that may be right for him.

As for the buyer, trust me, this biz is not easy and it is always hard for us in sales to see how real the buyer really is. You can be spending a lot of time with a guy that is not really interested in buying in the first place.

As I said, this is not taking someone's side, just so all sides here understand where the other is coming from.

 

Rob,
thanks for the roses!
I also got a call from your Dad today and hope I can find him the right car.

 

Bingo. I was scoping out a Lotus Europa (by driving mine to the dealer) for sale in completely restored shape, but as it turned out done badly. It had nothing original or correct, so it was a pure driver and not a collectable car. They had it priced as a correct top condition Europa and I kept pointing out stuff that didn't warrent the price. Finally, in a buddy buddy voice, the salesman (who obviously knew nothing about the car) said that "People who don't know about these cars, like sports stars, pay these prices because they don't know any better. We'll get our price." I told him it was a $16-18k car tops. They wanted mid/high 20's.

Well, the car did sell on eBay after 2 reserve auctions that didn't hit the resrve of $24k.....for $18k.

Ken

 

That to me sounds really odd. Your company's front-line interface to the outside world does not have up-to-date status on cars in inventory, and they just make stuff up when they don't know the real answer?

Is that OK with you?

 

Moondog:

1. I think you will be hard pressed to find a dealership that sells exotics only that has a sales volume of 1/10th of what you are doing unless they do some wholseale biz on the side.

2. in general I agree that 4 days to get back to a buyer is poor, however (!) this really depends on the entire conversation. From the way you wriote it it looks clear that Marko should have handled the situation better and had better conversation but without hearing the calls and the entire conversation nobody here can really pass judgement.

Again this is not to take anybodies side.

I give you an example that just happened to me yesterday:

A friend of mine told me losely that he is thinking of selling his Enzo and his 360Challenge. I threw the Enzo to a dealer friend and the 360CH to a buyer that called me on my Challenge yesterday. I never thought that this would stir into anything. Turns out my dealer buddy has a serious buyer for the Enzo and that client is a serious buyer for the Challenge. Here is what I have: no VINs, no good description on the car (other than what I know about them from driving both), no miles, no service history and updates basically no nothing except color and that they both are nice cars.
Of course they both have "questions" (heck I have them as well). I can not get a hold of my friend to get them answered and probably will not till Monday. Friday, Saturday, Sunday, monday, there goes 4 days to find out something basic like a VIN.

Again, this is not meant as an explanation or excuse but rather as what sometimes happens. In case of the Enzo it is double bad because it looks like the car does not exist or I have to go through middlemen, which I don't.

 

Martin.

I bet you're going to call those prospects and inform them of the situation, not just wait a week to let them know what's going on when you have more information.

I think that's the problem here. Not the information took a while to get, or wasn't immediately available, but that the dealer failed to return the calls on a timely basis.

Ferraris may be easy to sell, but I'm still sure you'd follow up a lot quicker than 4 days later.

DM