Ferrari Snobs

You have to understand that a ferrari dealership is not your average toyota dealership. They get SO MANY time wasters you wouldn´t believe. If your dad is serious about buying a Ferrari I recommend he:

*Call in advance to let them know he is coming
*Make sure to tell them what car he is interested in

In that way they can have everything ready for you when you arrive and most often, with just the car you are looking for waiting for you to inspect it.

They are a high end automobile dealership, not chevy, so some things may differ from your average dealership.

Im sure some other Fchatters can fill in.

 

I have found the opposite...you could crawl in the trunk at a GM dealer w/o anyone asking for your help...I've spent plenty of time in Ferrari & Lambo dealerships & learned a great deal from them.

 

Your kidding, right? I cant walk onto a domestic car dealers lot and NOT be accosted by salesmen. They see you drive up and like flies on raw meat they attack you. We dont have a Ferrari dealer in the twin cities yet, and I have never visited the Mas dealer, but Sears Imports, a larger MB dealer I have dealt with for almost 15 years. They leave you alone and let you snoop. If you really want something the receptionist is sure to find someone.

My dealings with this stuff has always been to move slow, and ask a lot of questions of anyone else you can before ever bothering to get serious and before ever approaching a local dealer. There is no excuse not to be educated, and a Ferrari is just waiting to pouce on a dunce.

 

Please, who do you think that you are? Go there again and talk to someone else than a secretary next time around.

 

If that is the basis for your dad to buy a Ferrari.
He should not be buying one in the first place.
You got to be above any BS attitude you incur at a dealershipand be be more dedicated to Ferrari.
If that turns you off your not a real Ferrari fan you are Fickle. Go buy a Lambo.

 

Exactly, if you really want one, that would not have turned you off. The only reason to not buy, is if the particular dealership is crooked or they were explicitly rude to you, in that case, go to another.
A lot of Ferrari dealerships are relatevly small (eg Ferrari of Quebec) and their dealer(s) is busy organising events, doing inventory etc in his office. If you are serious, you would call in advance, explain yourself and the dealer would be waiting for you with a cup of piping hot ristretto.

It is not like he is going to drop everything and run into the showroom, just because two wide eyed people just walked in and are kicking th tires.

Lambo dealerships are actually even worse.

 

It is in my experience too, that once a customer, the dealer and even the General Manager would be very attentive to you and would humour you in every way.

 

asking for a brochure was a really bad idea....

just a little hint.

 

did it ever occur to you to ask someone for help or you would like to talk to a salesman. or go to the service dept.and ask for help.if you were really serious about buying ask the receptionist for help.

 

You should have tried to buy one in Montreal during the Luigi days. It would have taken a letter of recommendation from Enzo himself in order for Luigi to even acknowledge you.

And I can assure that it had NOTHING to do with snobbery. In fact, he would operate in that manner in order to weed out the posers and wanna-be's from the core enthusiasts. You certainly didn't walk into his dealership, flash the cash and say: "I want a Ferrari!" Anyone remember the "Soup Nazi" episode from Sienfeld?

However...that was another era.

 

Welcome to the site!

First step in buying ANYTHING is to research the market.

Which model do you like? Well, sorry all 2005 production is Sold Out, alll 2006 production is Sold Out and depending on the model all 2007 production is Sold Out!!!! So that's why the sales staff didn;t leap up from the chair, as you see they have already done their job!

But seriously everybody is swapping cars, moving up and all right now so a SLIGHTLY USED car is an entirely different deal.

If you tell them you want a 612 you'll get the Red Carpet! LOL!

Also, please understand there are no Sales Brochures for these cars in the sense that Chevrolet does it. The F430 sales brochure is actually a 1" bound book, a probably cost over $50 to produce. They will give you one when they determine you are legit or you could buy one over the counter in Parts Department.

It is very nice, I have one....go back and try again and tell them what car you want. There is just a big problem with a saturated market for the new cars, but all Fcar dealers have trade ins......

BigTex
Dealer Apologist

 

I agree on asking for the brochure part, that spells dreamer, buyers ask for a test ride.

 

*laughing*

That's right, instead try this, get a bottle of your Mom's nail polish..

Take that in, tell them you want to order an XYZ model in custom color match to Revlon, and how much more for ostrich full quill inserts on the seats!

They will know you as a Playa, then!

 

I also think that when selling high end products, being low key (i.e. not pouncing on everyone who walks in the door) is probably a better strategy. Certainly, as a customer, I prefer it.

 

I agree. A lot of serious customers for high-end products want to set the pace and the salesmen in this category learn to take their cues.

I find posts with this type of dealer complaint (dealer didn't pay attention to us, didn't offer us a test drive, etc) a bit disingenuous. If the posters demonstrated the same energy in making their wishes known at the dealer as in making the complaint here, they probably wouldn't have a complaint in the first place.

It's fairly simple to separate yourself from the drooling tire-kickers and put yourself into the "real buyer" category. You walk up to the receptionist and say "I want to talk to a salesman, if none are available I want to make an appointment". To the salesman you say "I am interested in buying a car" and the salesman will take their cue from there. After you've been shown the car and you're still interested, but you've not been offered a test drive and want one, you say "I am seriously interested in this model, but first I want a test drive" and the salesman will generally do what is permitted in that dealership.

If you feel you've been mistreated after you made an honest effort to make your wishes known, then you can come here and complain.

 

Well said.

This post should be copied, and offered as the standard reply to this type of thread, as this topic comes up quite often.

 

If you don't call ahead and make an appointment, your not a real customer to them. At least here. I actually set up interviews with my prospective mechanic and all.

 

Am I the only one who gets the feeling this particular customer described in the opening post is someone looking for an image booster? Sounds like he has no experienced at all with exotic to luxury car brands, and compares it to Toyota.

 

My dealer, Ferrari of Seattle, has the most perfect approach. They let people browse their showroom floor and typically let them know "please, if you have any questions I'd be happy to help" and then leave them alone. The salespeople there, heck even the service/parts people, are all car-mad and speak with great enthusiasm about the cars with anyone. I've seen salespeople spend a great deal of time answering dozens of questions from "dreamers" and kids that walk off the street. They're always polite and very helpful, to customers and non-customers alike.

I agree with the comments about the brochure -- I'm on my third car and I've not been given a brochure (but then I've never asked LOL). It is a very expensive brochure and would not normally be given away to unqualified prospects....

Most first-time new-Ferrari customers do not go out on a test-drive, or even request one; they've dreamed for years of owning a Ferrari and they are not going to let silly things like not being able to fit in the seat, hating the driving position, or horrible visibility interfere with that dream ....

 

Last winter in Geneva motorshow, lamborghini dealer told me they were able to see who can afford to own a car or not. I think it is the same with Ferrari salesmen. They feel it with a lot of stuff.

Nevertheless, there are Ferraris for a lot of prices and for a lot of % of your savings. No dealer should ever snob whoever it is, even if they meet time wasters. It is just like the stars complaining about being in the tabloids.

2 months ago, went with a friend interested in buying a ferrari but not before 1 or 2 years. the salesman opened us the car we wanted, and took at least 30 min to make a tour of the garage. very kind and very professional. this way, my friend was just hooked.

In France, South, before bying the firist ferrari, we went to see a 348 and the salesman even not moved and answered us snobbishly.

I think it only depends on the guy you have, the passionate people being more willing to interest you even if you wont buy right now.

 

Heck, last time I showed up unsolicited at the Lambo dealer in SF, they wouldn't let me in the door!

Now that was a bit much, IMO...

EDIT: Although, to be fair, I wasn't a serious buyer, I just happened to be killing time and spotted the dealership, thought I'd stop in.

 

What's wrong with being a drooling tire-kicker? I simply don't have the means to take one home but does that mean I should be allowed in the dealership to admire the wonderful machines that it houses?


And I don't know about anyone else, but I've never even been allow to touch one of the cars, much less kick a tire.

 

LMAO...............I visited Luigi when I was living in Montreal. You are so right about him! It was just him and 1 mechanic, in a tiny little place that looked nothing like a dealership (before his last place).

 

Unless you're lucky enough to be born into a family of wealth and privilege, we all start out as tire-kickers and dreamers. How we get treated by Ferrari or their dealership network may impact our view of the brand or our eventual ownership. There have been many, many stories of people dropping by a dealership as a teenager frequently until the day that they're able to walk through the door to be able to put a deposit down.

I'm using the term tire-kicker here, as some others are I assume, as a euphemism for a person without means/desire to purchase -- not as a literal person who actually kicks tires. I don't think a literal tire-kicker would be tolerated in any dealership, regardless of marque.