Did I Say Something Wrong? Email Exchange w/ Ferrari Salesman

It sounds like the salseman is responding quite professionally and has determined that you are not really a serious prospect to purchase his car. No offense but if these email messages are all he has to go on, it's difficult to blame him.

 

Why didnt you share the price with him, esp if it's lower ? He would have told you if he can match it, or at least lower the price of his 612 since it has fewer miles.

 

disagree. "Tell me me where you are..." Hows this revelant?
Personally, if you like the car, I would go around the salesperson and speak directly to the Mgr.

 

There is a chance he could be away from work sick or vacation for a few days, so I wouldn't jump to conclusions just yet. The way to find out is to call and ask for him, they will either tell you he is away or that he is in. Then you can speak to him rather than email, that might be more productive - sometimes email turns into a game of "cat and mouse" non-deliberately of course, so if you are on the phone you can ask everything without a "tag your it" email thread.

 

Agreed. By not giving him a price target, you gave him nothing to work with. I presume his asking price is posted, if so it's your turn to make an offer or state where you think the market is. Most likely he'll come back higher and try to sell you on the car and the dealer relationship, but that's up to you.

Because he's offering to establish a relationship and being in the dealer's territory makes it possible to offer him new cars as a possible perk in the relationship.

 

+1 At that point why not call?

 

Your last email makes it sound as if you were just asking for his professional opinion on the 612 you are negotiating. Unless he has a past relationship, i dont think he will take the time to analyze a certain car with its own particularities and give you his estimate.

 

This sounds like rationalization. No deal is done until you sign the papers, for him or for your skitzy seller. Why wouldn't you look at other cars when your seller is giving you iffy messages? If he beats your seller's price with a dealer car and lower mileage then you ought to at least talk about it. He's not going to assume it's a done deal just because of price, these are used cars, i.e. unique, and you always have the option of saying you don't like it after seeing it in person.

 

I don't understand your opposition to sharing the price you had negotiated on the other car. Used Ferraris are literally one of a kind, based on specification, condition, miles, servicing etc. It's not as if you're comparing widgets and trying to get company X to undercut company Y's price.

Neither the salesman you were dealing with or his manager has any idea what they need to do to interest you price-wise. They've listed the car at a price they think is fair, or will at least generate leads (which seemed to work with you). There's no reason for them to 'drop their pants' on the price without knowing what they're up against. Had you disclosed the other deal, they'd have a few options -

1) Beat the price because they can
2) Lower their price and try to sell you on the merits of their car and dealing with an authorized dealer
3) Admit that you have an excellent deal on the other car and ask for you to consider them in the future

Without disclosing the price you had on the other car, they had no way of doing any of those three things.

Plus, as was said, he might just have a couple days off (or be sick)...

Again, each used car is completely unique. There's no reason for you to feel obligated, or for him to think you should be obliged to purchase his car

 

You're in sales.... How do you deal with strokes, chase them? You yourself told him you had a deal in place and are now considering a couple cars as back up. He did the right thing by trying to turn you to his car in a professional manner.

He sells Ferraris and probably hears 97 stories a week.

 

IMO, it is not unprofessional. He needs to know if he has a chance to win your business or if you have the deal of the century, he can just congratulate you on your excellent purchase.

 

these guys have 100 fantasy buyers for every real one; email is trivial. If you're interested in the car, go see it or call him. He doesn't know you from a Chicago toddler, a competitor, a buyer looking for ammo for a private sale negotiation tool, or a possible client. You come across as #3, fishing for a free market evaluation.

Not sure why this has to be posted on a forum, sales 101 for a 612? If you have an issue with a sales guy, call him - don't go running to FChat to see if you've been grievously injured. I doubt many 612 buyers are lol'ing. Price is important, but so are records, condition, options, PPI/leakdown/compression. No offence (ok - some) - you're coming across as an insincere buyer.

Oh, and good luck!

 

I was at an art gallery a couple of weeks ago and I asked the salesman what the price was on a piece. His reponse was, "I don't like to discuss price until I know we are going to make a sale." As I found this to be a dumb response, I rebutted with " I am not going to do business unless I have a price." I walked out shortly after that.

Some salemen just do not have any clue about how to speak to people and customer service. Some want to make the sale before providing all of the pertinent information.

 

With all due respect with your experience at the art gallery, did you ask for price before the sales person had given you all the pertinent information? And did he ask you for a sale?

 

should not matter.
I can admire art.
I can buy it.
But, if I find something interesting, and the price is $50K, I'm really not THAT interested!
Guy should want to sell the piece. For MOST of us, the price does matter.

 

I did not ask if price matters. What I was asking, was the price the first question the poster above asked! You are right the sales person should want to sell piece but that does mean he has to sell the price.

Value is not based on fully on price, value may be based in pedigree. When you start at price, you are discounting the real value that might not be seen by just talking price!

Not to go off topic! My point is more in regards to value!

Back on point!

 

Chet- Pick up the phone and call the guy. All this "who shot John" and I am perfect and "he disrespected me" stuff just does not float. He has a car you like, so call him. What some dweeb at an art gallery says has no bearing on you wanting a 612. If buying cars has turned into some macho "he said, she said" contest on e-mail, then you are not really serious about buying a car. E-mail? What is wrong with talking directly to someone? If you do not like the salesman, deal directly with the sales manager or owner.

Everybody is sure making this more complicated than it is.

Taz
Terry Phillips

 

I'd just play along and give the guy a low number to match. Doubt he'll be where a private party is. If you want to find out how low is low call up a dealer and find out what the trade in value of the car is your looking at.(pretend you have one to trade if you have to) That then becomes good ammo for the private party guy and also then you'll know what the wholesale number is. BTW, a 612 is an easy car to hammer a price on these days. Good luck.

 

Seems crystal clear to me.

 

The other car is irrevelant but telling him your existing deal could not hurt especially if it was significantly lower than dealer asking price. If your interested in his car make an offer subject to personal inspection and PPI. If he gives you an attitude then, you may have a point.