Maybe I misunderstood, but I believe the original poster stated that he had to buy a 458 just so he could get on the list to buy the spider, not to get a car earlier than someone else. That to me is complete and utter bull crap. It's not enough that I am going to fork over $350K+ and wait 2+ years, I have to spend $300K with you now to buy a car I may or may not want, just to get on the waiting list? Feck that. And since when is McLaren the only other sports car manufacturer out there? There are plenty of other fish in the sea.
It's called supply and Demand. You don't have to buy a used car but then you won't get on the list at all. Quite simple. Apparently there are more buyers then cars. Kai
Actually - the Dallas McLaren dealer will order you a Spider tomorrow. ETA on delivery about 12 months. No requirement to buy anything. In fairness to Ferrari I am told not all dealers operate this way.
The only part that I see wrong in all of this is paying so much for the coupe. There's plenty of sub-300k Italias out there. I would contact some other dealers and see what it takes to get on their list. There's plenty of top-notch dealerships out there that should be able to work with you. The only thing is you may have to wait longer than a year to get that spider.
Why do you HAVE to buy from them? If your goal is a Spider, why not shop dealers for the best order slot OR buy a used one? I wouldn't buy one car just to get to order another one.
I thought that you could not order a Ferrari outside your residence area. Has that changed? Can I just order a Ferrari from any Ferrari dealership now?
I was told you can only ORDER a new Ferrari from your area dealer. You can buy a ferrari from anyone. Anyone know the answer?
You cannot buy a new, previously untitled Ferrari from a dealer outside your area of residence. STILL. However, if you have more than one home, you certainly have options.
I would put a deposit on a MP4-12C Spider and take my order confirmation over to (I assume you are referring to Boardwalk AG) and tell the salesman you spoke with to bend over. There is no need to treat potential customers that way.
You don't see anything wrong with trying to force a potential customer to buy a used car before he can purchase a new one? I know Ferrari's are special but come on! Not all of us are Kool-Aid drinkers!
+1 it really is a supply and demand issue. That being said some of the smaller dealers will have shorter lists. If you are able to prove residency in one of the states with shorter lists you may get lucky and get a spider within a a couple of years.
I don't think its "forcing" anyone to buy anything. The problem is there are more people that want the 458 Spider then Ferrari is building. At least currently. As in most other businesses....at least ones that are customer centric, Ferrari dealers give preference to someone who has done business with them before. I think thats true of any business that has a limited supply of product. That probably won't be the case at the end of the model run though. But you're right. There are plenty of other options out there. More and more each year. However Ferrari has cornered this market when it comes to the desirability of their new models.
These discussions are interesting. The bottom line in life in case some have not heard. The Golden Rule --------- "he who has the gold makes the rules". No avoiding it, an actor once said about justifying yourself in a relationship or anything else, " a rationalization is more important than sex --- you can live without sex" I remember a verse from a book written in the 60's that always stayed with me. A guy responding to his friend asking why he broke up with a woman, answered , "because the screwing I have been getting was not worth the screwing I have been getting". Choose what you want and bend over. Best
Don't get me wrong, I'm not blaming the dealerships for doing what they're doing. If they can get more money out of a customer, more power to them. What amazes me is that people who are obviously smart with their money, will jump through hoops just so they can have the "privilege" of giving Ferrari their money. For the amount of money you guys are spending, the dealerships should be kissing YOUR asses, not the other way around! If I ever have enough money to buy a Ferrari, I want the dealer to treat ME like I'm someone special! I don't want to have to "bribe" the sales guy just to get in line to write a check and then thank him for the reaming I just got on the price!
Feel as you wish about the dealers, but at the end of the day they are in business to make a profit.When business is good they don't have much time for people with your attitude.Quite a few posters here have tried to explain the situation to you but apparently you dance to your own music. Now we find out we have wasted our time since you are obviously just "kicking tires".Good luck at the dealership down the street.
That was their offer - not something I would take. My guess is they will take something more reasonable. I offered them sticker for the 458 but they refused. My guess is this game is for someone else.
You may want to read my post again. I have no problem with the dealers. They're out to separate you from your money, I get that. I have no problem understanding supply and demand. I get it. I think you guys don't get it. They need your money more than you need their cars! Think about it. If you don't buy the latest Ferrari, what happens? Not much. You go buy some other sports car and life goes on. But if they stop selling as many Ferrari's as they used to, that makes a huge difference to them. When you are dealing with such a high-end, limited quantity product, you need to keep your customer base loyal, not treat them like just a way to make a quick buck. It's YOUR money and they desperately want it, yet you act like the dealers have all the power. If just a few of you were to stop your dealings with your local dealership for 1 year, I promise you would see a drastic change in the way they treat you. They will be bending over backwards to get your business back. Things have gone on this way for so long that you just THINK that's the way it is, but it's not. You're just allowing it to happen and the dealers have become accustomed to treating you this way. Turn the tables on them and you will see how quickly they realize the error of their ways.
The Fchat hypocrisy: "Ferrari's need to be exclusive! We don't want to see them everywhere and we want good resale value --- but please make it easy for ME to get one!"
It is what it is. When you can sell every car you can get an allocation for years in advance you can do business a lot different than other retailers.When the situation reverses, well they will do a tap dance for your business. In the meantime quit kicking tires, buy a car or two and report back.
