Ferrari....frauds with the worst customer service in the world!! | FerrariChat

Ferrari....frauds with the worst customer service in the world!!

Discussion in '458 Italia/488/F8' started by mittal, Feb 13, 2014.

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  1. mittal

    mittal Rookie

    Sep 29, 2012
    14
    India
    #1 mittal, Feb 13, 2014
    Last edited: Feb 13, 2014
    i am writing this after trying all avenues to resolve my problems. I bought a 458 Italia in India in November 2012.

    Since the day i have bought the cars, the car has had a few issues. One of the TFT screens where the speedo is, keeps flickering. Also, the grommet in the fuel filler cap came off after the 1st week of usage. The metal ring around the main headlight switch fell off. Now i am not saying that i expect none of these problems should have happened, and thats fine. I would simply expect that the problems be resolved in a timely manner.

    I first contacted my dealer to resolve my problem in December 2012. The dealer kept giving me dates as to when the pats would arrive and he would install them. Months passed and nothing happened. Every time i spoke to the dealer, i got a new reason that the parts were not available at the factory, they were on back order, the problem was so rare that the factory never kept them as spares, etc etc. Many times he told me the parts have arrived and are in customs, and then i didn't see them for months.

    I finally gave up on the dealer 10 months after buying the car and 9 months of following up!! Obviously, this dealer was phoney.. He has been known to mess around with clients. He used to be the sole importer of Porsche in India and ended up messing around only to have his contract taken away. There was a big legal issue between him and Porsche in India. He was also the dealer for Audi and Ducati and both were withdrawn from him. He is the only Ferrari importer in the country as on today. Now i am not sure why a company like Ferrari would not do their due diligence when signing an exclusive contract. But it seems Ferrari have stopped supporting the dealership due to to their internal issues and they seem to have no way out of their contract with the dealer and are afraid of a similar issue Porsche faced legally.

    After having given up on the dealer, i contacted the Ferrari customer service at the factory directly. i spoke to a lady called Ms.Althea at the plant. This was in September 2013. I provided a detailed analysis of the issues i had along with photos as requested by her. I received an immediate response that they would forward the matter to the concerned manager and address the same. i was a little relieved. However my relief was short lived.

    The factory's tactics turned out to be exactly like the dealer's. I have 20 emails from them saying they have addressed the matter and i should refer to my dealer. The dealer even to took my car for 8 weeks from October onwards, telling me the car was getting fixed. the factory wrote me an email saying the car is now at the dealers and the issues are getting fixed. I kept following up with the dealer and the car never got fixed when in December i got frustrated, went to the dealers workshop and drove my car home. The car was untouched and no work had been carried out.

    I contacted the factory and Ms. Althea told me that the regional manager for India will travel to India and meet me in January. Now January has lapsed and no one had the courtesy of contacting me, irrelevant of whether someone came to India or not. I contacted the factory again, and Ms. Althea seems to behave as if she doesn't know whats going on. The company does not have the courtesy to have the manager contact me and explain to me whats going on.

    Considering i paid 900,000 USD to own this car in India. I would have thought that the company would provide better service. We may be a small market, but clients are clients, and no company should behave the way Ferrari has in this case. I have the complete chain of communication between the dealer and me, as well as the the factory and me, and its clear that Ferrari customer service has handled this case as if it were a Mickey Mouse outfit...with cartoons working at their office and company.

    I am a very angry customer, and Ferrari has no right to treat clients this way!!

    If anyone at Ferrari has any ounce of shame...i can be contacted by email on [email protected]
     
  2. BullsFTW

    BullsFTW Karting

    Feb 26, 2011
    108
    #2 BullsFTW, Feb 13, 2014
    Last edited: Feb 13, 2014
    Well ... I don't know where to begin ... speaking of shame ...

    ...anyways, I won't get into it. Congratulations on your $900,000 car purchase in India.
     
  3. Ferrari 360 CS

    Ferrari 360 CS F1 Veteran

    Dec 4, 2004
    6,856
    Cape Town,SA
    Full Name:
    Jacques
    Seems to me the dealer could have and should have provided better communication and service. However expecting the factory to sort our the issues is in my opinion unrealistic when you factor in the fact they work through any appointed agent in the country at the time.

    Was your expectation that the factory would fly over a mechanic to resolve the issues on your car?

    The whole situation seems to be very unfortunate to me.
     
  4. Drive550PFB

    Drive550PFB Two Time F1 World Champ
    Silver Subscribed

    Are cars really that much higher in India? A 300K car sells for 900K?
     
  5. tazandjan

    tazandjan Three Time F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa Owner

    Jul 19, 2008
    39,071
    Clarksville, Tennessee
    Full Name:
    Terry H Phillips
    Taxes, not that different in many countries.

    Sounds like the wrong person got the franchise. All that is good and bad flows down from the boss, and it sounds like all that is flowing down is BS. Here in the States, it would already have been lemon and lawyer time.
     
  6. pluto

    pluto Rookie

    Jun 2, 2011
    19
    india, china, singapore have import tax and other taxes that sum up at around 200% to 270%.

    ordered a range rover for my father last year, with MRSP around 400k and mark up of 60k in china, that what truly rip off is about.
     
  7. mittal

    mittal Rookie

    Sep 29, 2012
    14
    India
    Unfortunately Ferrari is not officially present themselves as they simply sell to an importer. So legal action can only be taken against the dealer, not Ferrari. They are not a legal entity here.
     
  8. mittal

    mittal Rookie

    Sep 29, 2012
    14
    India
    No I don't expect the factory to fly down a Mechanic, but it's the company's responsibility to ensure their appointed dealer acts appropriately in sync with the norms of the company. And it's the company's job to provide a solution when the dealer doesn't, not just ignore the situation and procrastinate the matter like Ferrari Italy has.
     
  9. NSXLuvr

    NSXLuvr Formula Junior

    Oct 3, 2006
    575
    Tx
    Full Name:
    Ritesh
    Sorry about your bad luck. I don't see an easy solution. You have done plenty to get resolution already and like you said Ferrari technically isn't an existing company in India. Your best bet would be try to meet the manager/owner in person(not via email/phone).

    Is the car mechanically fine though? I.E. - other than the TFT screen(which is a major issue), the car is driveable etc?

    Good Luck.

    Ritesh.
     
  10. dipesh.tank

    dipesh.tank Formula Junior

    Jun 10, 2013
    323
    900k USD is a lot of money. In the UK if i had any issues i would just change dealer without blinking an eye. Not sure how many official dealers are in india?
     
  11. mittal

    mittal Rookie

    Sep 29, 2012
    14
    India
    Just the one unfortunately..
     
  12. Caeruleus11

    Caeruleus11 F1 World Champ
    Rossa Subscribed

    Jun 11, 2013
    11,474
    Perhaps you should contact the Factory directly? Sorry to read of your troubles. I hope they get resolved ASAP.
     
  13. Madaboutred

    Madaboutred Formula Junior
    Silver Subscribed

    Aug 10, 2013
    750
    So, Ashis Chrordia himself talked to you or a Shreyans Group representative?
    You purchased the car from Precision Cars or from the newer company SG?
    Why didn't you ask for legal advice already?
     
  14. Bas

    Bas Four Time F1 World Champ

    Mar 24, 2008
    42,559
    ESP
    Full Name:
    Bas
    Fault lies with the dealer IMO.

    I'm sure there is something in the contract between the dealer and Ferrari that Ferrari can not send parts directly to one of his (the dealer) clients without it going through his dealership.

    Sucks to happen though. I hope for yours and others' sake that the dealership gets taken away from this person and a competent person put in his place.
     
  15. BullsFTW

    BullsFTW Karting

    Feb 26, 2011
    108
    There are no Ferrari dealers in India...


    Sent from my Lumia 1520 using Tapatalk
     
  16. TheMayor

    TheMayor Ten Time F1 World Champ
    Rossa Subscribed

    Feb 11, 2008
    105,189
    Vegas baby
    This I believe is the real problem.
     
  17. BullsFTW

    BullsFTW Karting

    Feb 26, 2011
    108
    ... Ya, and there is also a complete lack of social conscience in India.


    Sent from my Lumia 1520 using Tapatalk
     
  18. dipesh.tank

    dipesh.tank Formula Junior

    Jun 10, 2013
    323
    $900K and that type of service is crazy tbh. I have around 5-6 dealers within 2 hours drive from me but india is a big country. I am sure if you were in england this would have been sorted for you real quick. you've got 4 year warranty so why not just repair the issues?
     
  19. MM3.9GT3

    MM3.9GT3 Karting

    Per the Ferrari Website, there are two authorized dealers in India - New Delhi, and Gurgaon.
     
  20. TheMayor

    TheMayor Ten Time F1 World Champ
    Rossa Subscribed

    Feb 11, 2008
    105,189
    Vegas baby
    That doesn't jive with the OP. Something is weird here.

    He's complaining about 2 really minor things. Surely a dealer could fix these in a week, let alone a year. It doesn't make sense to me. Ferrari pays the dealer for warranty work so what's the big deal?
     
  21. Graz

    Graz Formula 3

    Oct 15, 2012
    2,328
    New Jersey and Florida
    Full Name:
    Graziano
    I agree. Can't understand how any dealer could drop the ball like this. Something doesn't jive here. I know we can't expect service like we would get at a Lexus or a Toyota dealership for that matter, but this level of service is ridiculous.
     
  22. Surfah

    Surfah F1 Rookie

    Dec 20, 2011
    3,142
    LOL
     
  23. NSXLuvr

    NSXLuvr Formula Junior

    Oct 3, 2006
    575
    Tx
    Full Name:
    Ritesh
    The car is in India. That says it all.
     
  24. Entropy

    Entropy Formula 3
    Owner

    Jul 10, 2008
    2,149
    Been waiting for the OP to provide more information....only 7 posts and drops a bomb like that.

    No doubt spending any serious money on a Ferrari, you have expectations about support and service, and frustrations can mount.

    What is unclear was whether this was an "official" dealer? Maybe I failed to pick up that nuance in the original post(s).

    I would imagine (hope?) that Ferrari would back up their customers and authorized dealers better than what is described. I've been around a while, with our cars and many friends, and while sometimes the wait for parts or clearing up warranty work can be annoying, this sounds like a 1% case.

    If the car was not sold my an authorized dealer, and/or the car was not an Indian market car, I would imagine some complexities in managing warranty claims, but seems like there is something else going on here.

    I have done business in India for a long time, it's definitely a bit different than Tokyo or San Francisco, but global brands tend not to let complete messes go unaddressed, especially when they are in rapid growth mode, as the word gets out quickly. Stuff happens, it's how it gets resolved that matters.

    To that end, I'd love to hear the (full) story. The web and boards are great places to let the truth be known, though a peeve of mine is often it's not the entire story.
     
  25. tortesq1

    tortesq1 Formula Junior

    Feb 6, 2012
    844
    New York
    Full Name:
    Stephen H. Frankel
    It makes no sense to me that this poster states that there is no authorized dealer in India. A cursory web search reflects that Ferrari has a "new" (I think as of 2011) major authorized dealership in New Delhi. Whether your 458 is covered under a warranty or not, any authorized dealer can handle any problem with your 458. Stop dealing with whomever sold you the car and go to the authorized dealer. If the authorized dealer can help they will refer you to the regional manager for service. If they can't help you then you can talk to Maranello. Unless what you have posted is BS (and in that case you can take your crap elsewhere), you are part of the Ferrari family and that family will bend over backwards to help you. At least thats my experience with Ferrari of Long Island (in NY). Seems to me that your problem may be that you purchased a pre-owned car from an unauthorized dealer and your reticent to admit same. If that's the case just say so and you can still obtain assistance.
     

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