Buying - specialist - v- non-specialist dealer

Hi Andy..

I have brought a 360 privately in the past because I knew its history and I knew it was a good car, but I would say on balance, the best cars are at dealers, the good cars are at specialists and the average/poor cars are with general car dealers. However that aint set in stone and the best way to cut a good deal is to find your car and get it checked by a garage you trust, besf of both worlds then, cheaper motor that you know is ok...

 

I would agree with that....I think the dealers have a certain criteria to meet with the cars before Ferrari will put a warranty on them, so usually they will have the best cars but are usually the most expensive.

But I bought mine private and I think is the usually the best way, you get to meet the previous and you get a bit of a vibe on how they have treaded the car, plus with any car before you purchase always get a PPI done.....so it doesn't matter where you buy from.

But if you want one the Ferrari approved warranty you usually have to go to the main dealers.

 

Interestingly this week there have been 2 Ferrari's advertised in 2 seperate non-franchised, non-specialist car dealers in my local City. Now, Dundee is many things but a Ferrari hot-spot it certainly isn't... till now.

One of them, a pristeen red 348 was sold this weekend for the full asking price to someone who travelled up from London specifically to see it. The dealer was, until last year, a franchised Kia specialist and is owned/managed by a Ferrari owning, good friend of mine who said that the car was a fabulous example, complete with a full specialist service history. His opinion was that no one remotely local would buy the car because everyone knew he wasn't a recognised exotic car specialist and that the car could have sat for months. He told me that he had more interest from Specialists down south looking to buy the car cheaply and put it on their own forecourt than anything else.

I suppose it just shows that each car should be taken on its own merits.

Jim

 

thats the biggest load of crap i have ever read HAZY a car is a car no matter who is selling it

if you buy a car fram a main dealer = best car
if you buy the same car from a specialist = good car
if you buy the same car from a general car dealer =poor car
if you buy the same car from a private owner that you dont know = is it scrap

 

+1

I know people who have tracked and thrashed cars and traded them back into a main dealer who has promptly put them up for sale.

 

I said ON BALANCE Steve....most main dealers will sell mediocre and poor cars on to the trade...most indies will sell the poor cars on too.

General car dealer will work with what he has got....scrap or not

 

Jim who was it that was selling this car? I do remember a couple of years ago the people that do my electrics(Alan Petrie at Alan"s auto electrics) had a friends(His not mine) 348 GTS at the dundee car show, this car was in absolutely pristine condition I know that he stayed at piperdam, could this be the same car?

 

hazy i have been in the job for 25 years now and main dealers are the worst people to deal with as the salesman and mechanics just work there for the plc company your specialist and used car dealer are more careful as its there money they have down in the car as said in other post biggest load of crap i have ever read

 

Agree with you, i prefer dealing with dedicated entrepeneurs who need to sell good stock in order to meet their mortgage repayments. The managers in plc's will get their wage whatever, its no big deal if they lose 000's by buying an old dog of a car in error. I suppose the only problem comes when, or if, the independent traders become lathargic and complacent - they dont have the man-management paramenters and financial management of the bigger players and naturally their level of attention to detail could suffer if they take their eye off the ball. A poor salesman/ mechanic can always be dismissed, with a poor business owner it is a bit more difficult to rectify problems in the business.

 

I do sort of agree with you Steve, but its always wrong to tar everyone with the same brush isnt it??? I agree there are main dealers who I wouldnt touch with a barge pole, but that goes for some small car dealers too.

Just making sure you get the right car is the main thing I suppose Steve..... BTW, which mongrel dealer dealt you with that pup 512 you cant sell????

 

Hi Dave,

http://atsearch.autotrader.co.uk/www/CARS_popup.jsp?nU=0&make=FERRARI&model=348&min_pr=&max_pr=&postcode=DD11%204RZ&miles=40&max_records=200&modelexact=1&photo=1&hassearched=Y&start=1&distance=21&adcategory=CARS&channel=CARS&id=200730106214120

This is the car. (I guess the link will stop working soon now the car is gone)
It was at Fairfield Garage Services. Think the owner was a J. Doyle / Boyle.

Jim

ps.. I spoke to Carlo today and will get the 355 service and belts done with him early next month. Cheers

 

In my experience it's the same car that's being sold, regardless of who the vendor is.

The one car I had from a high profile main Ferrari dealer came out of there with a litany of faults that should have been put right if they had even bothered to take half a look around it before sale.

'Flog it on with the bare minimum of prep and put things right if the customer kicks off' is how it seemed to me.

The only thing in the favour of a main dealer for me, (assuming this is actually the case of course), is that perhaps you can shout louder at them if the car is duff and they won't run off into the night.

Maybe.

Rob

 

Mine is going for belts on the 18th.

 

I am putting mine in on 2nd but then am off to the States so get it back on 16th.
That should give them time to practice for yours