The Official "Jay Leno Doesn't Like Ferraris" Thread | Page 2 | FerrariChat

The Official "Jay Leno Doesn't Like Ferraris" Thread

Discussion in 'Ferrari Discussion (not model specific)' started by ernie, Jan 24, 2004.

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  1. rodsky

    rodsky Formula 3

    Mar 24, 2003
    1,601
    Los Angeles
    Hey to some degree I think that Leno has the right attitude. I have never had a one on one conversation with him, but have heard nothing but good things about him. He seems to be a regular down to earth guy, who also happens to be very rich and into cars and bikes. I used to live in Hermosa Beach and he comes down every Sunday night to do a standup gig at the local comedy store - very funny. Perhaps he is just not into the process that's associated with Ferrari. We all know what that is. He knows he could play the games and use his status chooses not to. His passion is fulfilled by other marques. There is typically far less of that attitude with other marques.

    Now dealerships and how they are is not the same thing. You have people/dealerships with good attitudes and those with bad attitudes. We have one person say FoW is great and another say its not. Perhaps some of that is brought on by the individual themselves. But I am sure some dealerships are better to deal with than others.
     
  2. benedict

    benedict Formula Junior

    Nov 6, 2003
    741
    NJ
    Full Name:
    Ben
    I'm surprised. I had a very good experience with Mike and Wide World.
    Although I ended up buying my 355 somewhere else, they were very accomodating. Even to the point of letting my 5 yr old daughter sit in the passenger side of the Ferrari with me and go "vroom, vroom!".

    Ben
     
  3. rudy

    rudy Formula Junior

    Jan 13, 2004
    363
    Los Angeles California
    Full Name:
    Rudy Hassen
    If you saw Jay's garage, you would understand service is irrelevant. He has a HUGE garage, with I think 4 full-time mechanics. He has all sorts of weird ass cars. Ferrari of Beverly Hills is a great shop. I like Jay, but I'm wondering if maybe he wasn't getting enough sucking uto satisfy him. He seems normal enough, even if he's a socialist in attitude. Anyway, plenty of "lesser" people buy Ferraris everyday with no problem.
     
  4. Willis360

    Willis360 F1 Rookie

    Aug 4, 2001
    3,928
    Redmond, WA
    Full Name:
    Willis H
    I understand Leno's feeling. Before I decided to order my 360, I actually looked into an Acura NSX for the heck of it. Most of the Acura salespeople ignored me for what seemed like 15 minutes before someone walked up and asked me if I needed help. I asked if I could sit in the NSX they had in the showroom and check out the engine. The salesman let me in the car but walked away. Another guy came up and asked me, not in a nice manner, to leave the car. WTF!? From that day, my impression of Acura dealers have not been good. I'm sure there are plenty of satisfied customers, but that one experience soured Acura for me.
     
  5. Prancing_Horse

    Prancing_Horse Formula Junior

    Dec 23, 2003
    530
    Arlington,VA
    Full Name:
    Dan
    they wouldnt treat him like that at ferrari of washington! If anyone sees him in so cal tell him a trip to virginia will be worth it.
     
  6. spike308

    spike308 F1 Rookie
    Owner Silver Subscribed

    Nov 8, 2003
    4,462
    Austin TX!
    Full Name:
    Mike Z
    You have to figure that a guy with that much money and than many cars has, as someone else eluded to, people that do nothing but tend to his collection.
    How hard would it be to say, hey... I want a red/tan daytona in great shape, and keep it running great (lets face it, money is not the issue).

    For a guy that suffers more than the average Ferrari guy (most would agree that maintaining a Lambo hurts more), I find his attitude towards Ferrari interesting. Does he really take his cars to the dealers?

    Economics 101 would tell you to roll out the red carpet for Jay. But dealers beware, slobs like me with holes in their jeans may just be the guy with enough cash to buy something you have on the lot!
     
  7. WILLIAM H

    WILLIAM H Three Time F1 World Champ

    Nov 1, 2003
    35,532
    Victory Circle
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    HUBBSTER
    Most Ferrari dealers in the US are quite friendly, very different from the factories attitude
     
  8. Bart

    Bart Formula 3

    Nov 1, 2003
    1,522
    Orange County, Calif
    Full Name:
    Bart
    Mr. Leno must have gone to Ferrari of Beverly Hills. Each time I have been there, they treat me like s**t. Up the road in the Valley, the Auto Gallery, are nice to me. At my dealer, Ferrari of Orange County, they show me respect.

    Mr. Leno knows what he is talking about. Stop by FoBH and see what happens.
     
  9. rudy

    rudy Formula Junior

    Jan 13, 2004
    363
    Los Angeles California
    Full Name:
    Rudy Hassen
    Ferrari of BH has been nothing short of great to me, and believe me, I don't "look" like I can afford anything they sell. Isn't Ferrari of Orange County owned by FBH anyway?
     
  10. DGS

    DGS Six Time F1 World Champ
    Rossa Subscribed

    May 27, 2003
    60,052
    MidTN
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    DGS
    I don't get these discussions.

    Okay, the best Ferraris are art, as well as cars. But why do we expect the dealerships to be art galleries?

    Do you expect to be served a latte when you walk onto a Ford lot? Champagne and caviar from the Hyundai dealer? "Arthur"'s English butler selling Buicks? Ove Anderson working the service department at the Toyota dealership?

    These are cars. And the people working the dealerships typically came from other dealerships. The principles are the same: Caveat emptor.

    Worse; Ferrari dealerships get so many time wasting "window shoppers" that the staff get cynical about anyone walking through the door. Heck, look what happened, a while back, to Algar when they took someone at face value on a test drive.

    When I bought my Ferrari, the salesman didn't spend much time on me, and tried to inflate the price over the newspaper ad. When I ignored his price and quoted a reasonable (low, but reasonable) offer, that's when they started to take me seriously.

    Dealers don't respect people. They respect their commissions. And commissions come from serious buyers.

    The "name tag" for serious buyers is knowledge -- enough knowledge to be buying. Anyone coming in asking about the origins of the little horsey or the size of the engine isn't really ready to buy, yet. Anyone who has to ask what a reasonable price is hasn't done their homework. When you're ready to buy, you already know how much you'll spend.

    That's true whether you're buying a Ford, a Mitsubishi, or a Ferrari.

    Okay, Porsche and BMW dealers get a lot of buyers who haven't done their homework, and will buy anyway. But those are exceptions, not the rule.

    These are cars. Expect dealers to act like car dealers, and be pleasantly surprised by anything better. Expect dealers to act like they're asking you for a favor, and you'll be disappointed every time. You're there to buy a car, not to have someone stroke your ego. If you know what you're about, you don't need the external verification anyway.

    Okay, there are a few sales people who will go the extra distance to find you the car you really want. They get commission from that, too. But it's less work to wait for someone to come in and buy what's on the lot. And that's all most car salesmen bother to do.
    .
     
  11. darth550

    darth550 Six Time F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa

    Jul 14, 2003
    60,788
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    BCHC
    Not any more. Divorce is a b!tch.

    DGS, You are spot on. As you pointed out, there is another side to the story...the salesman's. My wife works in high end retail. She complains quite often about people who waste her time (hours/multiple visits even) with no intent to buy anything. Although judging a book by its' cover (at first) is death to a salesman... I can empathize with the dealers on this one.

    DL
     
  12. bluekawala

    bluekawala Formula Junior

    Jan 22, 2004
    436
    Ormond Beach, FL
    Just my opinion here, :)

    I haven't done any studying, or working, in the area of sales so correct me if my logic is a bit off. Call me old fashoioned but I thought sales were about satisfying the customer and doing whatever is possible to exceed their expectations. Of course stroking their ego wasn't that I had in mind, rather helping the customer with questions or anything they have. If they know what they want and its there in the showroom then great, but frequently that isn't the case. Help me out with any sales tips you guys have if I'm way off.
     
  13. rudy

    rudy Formula Junior

    Jan 13, 2004
    363
    Los Angeles California
    Full Name:
    Rudy Hassen
    Nahhh.........you're all mixed up. You gotta' SELL!!!!
     
  14. normhuff

    normhuff Formula Junior

    Dec 14, 2003
    716
    Peoria, IL
    Full Name:
    J. Norman Huff, Esq.
    I wonder if Letterman owns any Ferraris...
     
  15. bluekawala

    bluekawala Formula Junior

    Jan 22, 2004
    436
    Ormond Beach, FL
    I believe I read in a Forza several issues back that he owns an old one... a 212 maybe? I'm sure someone else knows for sure, but I think he has one.
     
  16. Gilles27

    Gilles27 F1 World Champ

    Mar 16, 2002
    13,337
    Ex-Urbia
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    Jack
    I saw a picture of Letterman's Ferrari. It's an older model, 4-seater in dark blue. These are obviously my uneducated layman's terms for the correct model. It's nice-looking. I think it's from the 50s or 60s.
     
  17. rudy

    rudy Formula Junior

    Jan 13, 2004
    363
    Los Angeles California
    Full Name:
    Rudy Hassen
    I think he's a big Ferrari fan. I also think he owns more than one. There is an artcle somewhere on the internet about one of his staff people always talking about Porsches. One day Dave took him for a ride or let him drive his Ferrari. The staffer is now a big Ferrari fan.
     
  18. Cavallino Motors

    Cavallino Motors F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa

    May 31, 2001
    14,143
    Florida or Argentina
    Full Name:
    Martin W.
    To Jay and all the others that have been mistreated:

    call me at 305-867-7740 and I will change your perception of stiff car dealers. You get the treatment you deserve and your buying experience will be a good one.

    I will guarantee it with 100% money back guarantee.

    Martin
    Cavallino Motors
    www.4Ferrari.com

    (where petrolheads rule!)
     
  19. RacerX_GTO

    RacerX_GTO F1 World Champ
    Silver Subscribed

    Nov 2, 2003
    13,966
    Oregon
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    Gabe V.
    Should I wear my American Express BLACK card around my neck when walking into a Ferrari dealership to get better service?

    Oh wait, Jay Leno went into a dealership and didn't get VIP treatment. That about sums it up right there.


    Kudos for the dealerships bucking the trend of sour customer service and treat all their potentials well. They will get my business.


    - Gabe
     
  20. Jet-X

    Jet-X F1 Veteran

    Nov 2, 2003
    5,688
    Orange County
    Full Name:
    Brian

    Jay was very clear about his Ferrari experience - having a salesman expect a celebrity to pay double for a car sitting on a showroom floor is bad business. Having spent time with Jay, he's the last person that wants his ass kissed. He wants people to be straight with him, that's all. And that was his point about trying to buy two different Ferrari's (a Daytona and a Maranello) - no one was ever straight with him either at the dealer (550) or private party (Daytona).

    I don't think he should give up like he did, but obviously he was soured on the whole thing.
     
  21. SRT Mike

    SRT Mike Two Time F1 World Champ

    Oct 31, 2003
    23,343
    Taxachusetts
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    Raymond Luxury Yacht
    The problem is that people are not born as serious buyers of this or that... people who previously were not buyers become buyers for various reasons. Those reasons could be a divorce, new found money, lifestyle change, new job, anything really. But one of those reasons is NOT "because the salesman convinced me". The "serious buyers" are always changing - someone who is not one today, may be one tomorrow.

    For this reason, a GOOD salesman knows that people they work with today that are not buyers may become buyers tomorrow or next week or next year, and they treat them accordingly.

    I doubt there are too many people that don't like Ferraris and would never buy one that still spend their time moping around at the dealer.

    The problem with most salesmen is they are fixated on what they can get out of you TODAY. If they don't think they will get your money TODAY, they don't want to deal with you. They are short-sighted and you will find the truly exceptional salesman will identify those who are not really serious, but will manage to be friendly and accomodating to those who are not currently serious so that they will come back to them when they are.

    The exceptional salesman appreciates those who are not current buyers who may be in the future and IMO doesn't complain about how they just take up their time.
     
  22. Ingenere

    Ingenere F1 Veteran
    Owner Silver Subscribed

    Dec 11, 2001
    6,336
    On the Limit
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    Dino
    Jay is spot on.....US Ferrari dealers think they are doing you a favor. They treat you like crap.....and then overcharge you on the cars and then gore you on service. Scottsdale Ferrari is a huge offender.
     
  23. wax

    wax Five Time F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa

    Jul 20, 2003
    51,459
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    Dirty Harry
    I know this story and the site address by heart.

    That's Tom Yang (pronounced "Young"), he and Dave were both Porsche nuts for a long time... Tom's been an Audio Technician on The Late Show since '92. While in California shooting one of his periodic special Left Coast Weeks, Dave had his Dino on hand which he requested Tom take for a spin - *not* Tom requested - Dave requested, adamantly... and waited on the lot as Tom took off. Tom came back after an easy cruise, got bawled out by a high-ranking VP for driving "too fast" on the CBS parking lot (I can attest it isn't that big a lot, anything over 5 is considered fast) - eventually the VP realized it was Dave's car, sucked up. Dave made Tom go drive it again - hard.

    Tom was hooked, eventually came upon a 330 America - the rest is well-documented history. They very recently had a baby girl - those 4 restored seats will come in handy, just hope the kid doesn't get car-sick.

    So much for memory - this I had to look up, as Dave currently owns this 1963 Ferrari 400 Superamerica
     
  24. ryalex

    ryalex Two Time F1 World Champ
    Consultant Owner

    Aug 6, 2003
    24,957
    Las Vegas, NV
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    Ryan Alexander
    I spoke with a dealer who said Dave's *people* are a-holes to work with... he eventually refused to deal with them. He's friends with Jay, and speaks the world of him.

    I think Jay doesn't have a Ferrari because it's what every hick or yuppie knows as a prestige car, but Jay has the cars that Car Guys know are exclusive cars! Like guys who watched 12 hours of Barrett Jackson on Speed this weekend, if they weren't there in person ;-).

    Frankly, if I were FNA I would give Jay WHATEVER he wanted, at cost. Even Sultan of Brunei-type customs. He's the #1 late night host, one of THE foremost car-guy celebs, writes columns, does car TV shows, car shows, etc... and he's super-opinionated about his cars. Score one for Mercedes, getting Jay to write that SLR preview from the Germany testdrive; he'll tell everyone about that, and even dissed F SpA in the article

    The only ones that have treated me poorly (as a well-dressed mid 20's non-owner, but asking questions about the cars) were FoSeattle. The J&N guys in Honolulu weren't very social, either. Had great experiences with Park Place, Boston Sports Car, FofNE, Martin, and others.
     
  25. Willis360

    Willis360 F1 Rookie

    Aug 4, 2001
    3,928
    Redmond, WA
    Full Name:
    Willis H
    I called Park Place one time about their detailing service. The person on the phone was not helpful with my questions nor was he courteous.
     

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