The Official "Jay Leno Doesn't Like Ferraris" Thread | Page 4 | 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. ricrain

    ricrain Karting

    Nov 1, 2003
    213
    Dallas Area
    Full Name:
    Ric
     
  2. cheddah

    cheddah Karting

    Jan 8, 2004
    124

    I would have to say that this is a phenomena in the Ferrari Dealerships. When we walked into one in Monaco (which was almost as small as a closet), they totally ignored our entire family even though their was a 456 there. Our local dealership does have alot of nice people except for one person...(you can guess). I really don't know if this is part of "high-end" car dealerships or not.
    I have been told never to just a customer by their clothes, appearance, etc.
    P.S. "Discuss this amongst yourselves"
     
  3. rudy

    rudy Formula Junior

    Jan 13, 2004
    363
    Los Angeles California
    Full Name:
    Rudy Hassen
     
  4. ferrari_kid

    ferrari_kid Formula Junior

    Jul 5, 2003
    768

    I didn't walk in wanting to buy a car, but at FoW I didn't get the cold shoulder treatment. Sure I was a teenager just oogling at the beautiful cars around me, but they treated me just fine. Infact they took me to the back to show me some older cars and let me look around a bit. The salesman were quite nice. It's probably dealership to dealership, at least I hope anyway. I'd hate to think that they're all a bunch of rude stuckup sales reps only looking for those worthy.
     
  5. rudy

    rudy Formula Junior

    Jan 13, 2004
    363
    Los Angeles California
    Full Name:
    Rudy Hassen
    I remember that one time, me and a friend went into a Lincoln dealership to look at the then new Navigator. We were dressed like the slobs we usually dress as. A guy comes out in a cheap black suit, one size too small around his gut, and said something to the effect of..."Hey guys...that's a really expensive truck. Don't mess with it." We looked at each other and laughed. He watched us walk out of the store as we got into my buddies brand new Porsche Turbo and drive away. DOH!!! I bought a Navigator the next day, from the same dealer, but a different sales guy. Ouch. Santa Monica Lincoln/Mercury if anyone is interested.
     
  6. bluekawala

    bluekawala Formula Junior

    Jan 22, 2004
    436
    Ormond Beach, FL
    That's beautiful! I've heard of some stories like this from some friends of mine back in Atl. They under-estimate the power of youth with money whether its a music star of a rich son! Reminds me of a story I heard about Jimmie Page walking into a Rolls dealership with cut jeans and asking to take a test drive. After getting a bunch of grief he backed the car through the front window and wrote a check for the car! Never think the 'bum-looking' guy is actually a bum! LOL

    *I'm not sure if that's the way the actual story turned out but that's how I heard it.*
     
  7. ernie

    ernie Two Time F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa Owner

    Nov 19, 2001
    22,574
    The Brickyard
    Full Name:
    The Bad Guy
    Speeking of bum looking guys. LOL. I had these OLD pair of sneekers that I wore all the time. I had them for something like 11 years. They had no insoles, no laces, were very dirty, holes everywere. You get the point. I loved them because they were just so easy to put on. A neighbor and I went to the post office in my 348. We met a guy in the line and chatted a bit. Both of us were dressed in yard work cloths. You know the kind that you could careless what happen to. I'm sure the guy noticed my jacked up shoe also. Well after waiting for days in the post office, we finally were help, and then left. My neighor and I got into the Ferrari and were about to back out, when the fellow in line came out. LOL the look on his face was so funny. He didn't know what to make of two guys leaving in a Ferrari that looked like they couldn't even afford bus fare.
     
  8. EnzoNZ

    EnzoNZ F1 Rookie

    Nov 9, 2001
    2,794
    New Zealand
    Full Name:
    Andrew Wass
    Letterman also owns:

    212 Ghia Coupe (0185EL) &
    275 GTB /6C 08157

    Cheers
    Andrew in NZ
     
  9. ross

    ross Three Time F1 World Champ
    Owner Silver Subscribed

    Mar 25, 2002
    36,206
    houston/geneva
    Full Name:
    Ross
    the best thing you did ernie, was to direct him to fchat. if he does bother to login, he will find 100's of people willing to help out and hopefully realize that fna is not the only face of ferrari in america. our board would be better off if he chimed in every so often, even if he isn't a ferrari owner, he has a wealth of car knowledge.

    jay are you hearing this !!! login under a false name for all i care, but come join us - the water is just fine !
     
  10. parkerfe

    parkerfe F1 World Champ

    Sep 4, 2001
    12,887
    Cumming, Georgia
    Full Name:
    Franklin E. Parker
    I though he just bought an Enzo. I believe that would qualify as a Ferrari since it does have a proper 12 cylinder engine.
     
  11. writerguy

    writerguy F1 Veteran

    Sep 30, 2003
    6,786
    NewRotic
    Full Name:
    Otto
    Back around the dawn of time I started out as a Sales guy at a Ford Store in Halifax Nova Scotia. My Dad had worked there years before me and he always told me to "Never Judge..."

    Well late one afternoon a delapidadated old F series pickup barely made it onto the lot and an old man and woman got out, They looked around and not being my "UP" I pointed them out to one of the other salesmen who schrugged them off and said "Na you go get them, probably just tire kicking."

    I went out and chatted.... Showed them a new F-150 and we had a fully loaded F 250 4x4, THis thing had EVERYTHING on it.

    Well to end off we went into my office, the smell of sweat and Fish guts off the old chap was pretty bad but we talked it over and landed on a price for the 250. To my shock he nodded at his wife and she opened her big old purse and pulled out a coffee can that had almost the full $30,000 in it and he fished down into his overalls and had the remaining.

    She left in the old truck, him in the new. The salesman who passed on it was mad at me for a week.

    Shortly after (3 days) I saw a somewhat distinguished Arabic man walking the lot. Same sales guy was up, He passed again -- (Them A-Rabs never buy Nothin new, Cheap Bastards, You go get him kid)

    Went out and talked to him, after 20 min I walked into the sales managers office and asked him to come with me up to the board room where I had put our A-Rab. Turns out he was a Kuwaiti prince and the ground war (first one) in Iraq was just about to start. He bought EVERY rearwheel drive @ Air and half the Trucks and SUV's we had on the lot. They went across the street and onto a container ship and were gone by the time CNN was broadcasting from the Al Rashide

    I didn't get the comission for all but did get a nice little bonus.

    Needless to say the other sales guy was ready to kill himself when he found out......
     
  12. Matt LaMotte

    Matt LaMotte Formula 3

    Oct 30, 2002
    1,874
    I have yet to visit an actual Ferrari dealership or any exotic car place for that matter so I don't have any real relations with anybody. However I must give credit to Michael Wogronic (sorry if it's spelled wrong) up north at Fox Valley Motorcars. I had mentioned in one of my post that I had yet to see a Murcielago and was dying to check one out. A few days later I recieved an email from him inviting me if I was ever in the area to come by and he would let me take a look. Now I'm in Florida and I believe he's located in Chicago and for him to take time to do that shows me he really enjoys the cars as well as his job which to me is one of the key things for a car salesmen in his line of work. Thanks again Michael and I hope to see you someday.
     
  13. Napolis

    Napolis Three Time F1 World Champ
    Honorary Owner

    Oct 23, 2002
    32,118
    Full Name:
    Jim Glickenhaus
    Before I was old enough to drive I'd ride my bike to Mr Chinetti's dealership. He was very friendly and let me sit in and air shift the cars. One day it started raining when it was time for me to head home. He took a team jacket off of the wall and handed it to me. I still have it.
     
  14. milstanselnino

    milstanselnino Formula Junior

    Jan 8, 2004
    573
    MN
    Full Name:
    Jon P.
    Continental Motors in Hinsdale has been nothing but polite to me. I have purchased parts there in the past; they gave me much free advice, and we visited and they graciously allowed my son and I to test drive a 348.

    When my wife and I went to Germany, we visited the Ferrari dealer in Berlin. My wife speaks German, so she explained that we were just looking. The sales guy was VERY gracious; sent us on our way with Ferrari brochures in German. What a fun experience
     
  15. Texas Forever

    Texas Forever Seven Time F1 World Champ
    Rossa Subscribed

    Apr 28, 2003
    75,370
    Texas!
    Matt, when I was a kid growing up in Pensacola (yeah, yeah, I know, fire had not been invented yet), my buddies and I were into motorcycles in a big way. We used to ride a circuit where we would hit every motorcycle store in town, every night! There was a Triumph/Yamaha dealer on Navy Blvd named "Sams," where we stayed almost 24/7. (Before the rest of you start groaning, there's no much to do in Pensacola unless you are into fishing.) Sam knew that we didn't have any money. Moreover, the odds of us having any money during his lifetime were slim and next to none. But after a while, he must have got tried of chasing us out of his shop because he sort of adopted us. In a weak moment, we could even sometime talk him into taking a bike out for a spin. Hell, he even started taking us up in his airplane. All this for a couple of snot-nosed 14 year olds riding Honda 90s.

    Sam is gone now. Indeed, the old style of motorcycle or sport car shops are almost all gone. Lawsuits, insurance, taxes and so forth and so on have changed a lifestyle into a bidness. Too bad. You Gen Xers are just going to have to blaze your own paths here.

    Take Care, Dale
     
  16. notoboy

    notoboy F1 Rookie

    Jul 8, 2003
    2,531
    NYC
    Full Name:
    David
    I have actually considered selling both my F-cars out of frustration dealing with the NY area dealerships and their service departments (funny though, the parts departments are fine to deal with).

    The worst part is they assume you're ignorant and rich, when THEY can't diagnose problems correctly and/or fix them properly.

    My $0.02
     
  17. Jet-X

    Jet-X F1 Veteran

    Nov 2, 2003
    5,688
    Orange County
    Full Name:
    Brian
    Drop me a line when you decide to sell your TR...love that green
     
  18. Gilles27

    Gilles27 F1 World Champ

    Mar 16, 2002
    13,337
    Ex-Urbia
    Full Name:
    Jack
    I was watching Road & Track TV on Speed the other night and they were test-driving their candidates for car of the year. Leno was one of the guest drivers, and while driving the BMW 5-Series he made an interesting comment. He liked the performance but disliked its looks. He said that some cars you like to wash yourself, while others you just run through the local car wash. Some cars are just sexy and feel good in your hands, like a Ferrari. He didn't feel that way about the BMW. Funny that, for a guy who doesn't own any Ferraris, the first car that came to mind as being sexy was a Ferrari!
     
  19. Mickey

    Mickey Formula Junior

    Jan 20, 2004
    414
    Linnet Drive
    Full Name:
    Mike
    bluekawala,

    I can absolutely understand how you feel. Of all the dealers I been to, I had been given the worst treatment by this one guy from a Ferrari dealer. I went in to their showroon to take a look at a second-hand 355, I was curious to find out where they put the spare wheel in the 355 (NSX has its spare wheel in the front !!!). So I asked this one bloke, who had been standing at the other side of the showroom surfing the internet for more then 5 mins or so before he bothered to appreciate my intrusion to his (rather quiet!!!) place. When he finally made his effort to walk over, I asked for history on the 355 and asked if he could show me where the spare wheel was. He then said "This question is stupid and pointless."

    Nothing could have been more offensive than what he said. If I could, I would not hesitate to cut his balls off, deep-fry them and put them right back to his f###### mouth. But I didn't do that. I thought - this is one human garbage whose lack of education and proper upbringing is obvious even to Stevie Wonder, further communication would be a complete waste of time. So I just walked out !!!

    Eventually I bought my F-car from another dealer.

    Most people dream about and admire Ferrari, regardless of age. I been dreaming about the Ferraris for decades since I first saw its poster when I was 5. Buying a F-car was always my dream. A big dream. So I made my saving until I could afford one. Now I have got it !!!

    I am sure your dream F-car will be in your hands one day. Just don't let these ignorant sales people put you off. No one in this world can keep you from your future purchase. All the best to you.

    mickey
     
  20. 67GTC

    67GTC Karting

    Dec 30, 2003
    88
    Westchester, CA
    Check out this pic of the 1915 Hispano-Suisa that Jay drove on a fun run New Years Day. It's powered by a 12 liter H-S aircraft engine, and you can hear it coming for a mile!

    Chuck
     
  21. 67GTC

    67GTC Karting

    Dec 30, 2003
    88
    Westchester, CA
    Here's another pic...
     
  22. rudy

    rudy Formula Junior

    Jan 13, 2004
    363
    Los Angeles California
    Full Name:
    Rudy Hassen
    i would have told management immediately, and he would have been fired. It was a stupid question though. (kidding).

    What dealer was this?
     
  23. rudy

    rudy Formula Junior

    Jan 13, 2004
    363
    Los Angeles California
    Full Name:
    Rudy Hassen
    Those old cars are so silly looking. I could never see the attraction. I saw him driving that thing, and his Duesenburg on a TV show. To each his own. I'd rather drive an F50, or a '64 Split Window Corvette, or a 360, or a Diablo. But that's just me.
     
  24. davel

    davel Guest

    Those old and silly cars were in many cases the cutting edge of motoring. I salute Jay for owning, preserving and actually driving his cars. So many exciting cars are just drive-way-jewelry to other people.
    Jay also supports industries that support us car people.
    I read a very informative article he wrote in popular mechanics about getting parts made by machine shops. He said it was very difficult to find skilled shops and technicicans in this country. He supports a program to develop those diffucult skills through apprenticeships. He is a true car guy from buying to owning to truly understanding what his cars can and cannot due.
    If he doesnt own a Ferrari his world is not lost considering the other prestigious marques in his collection.
    I hope he stops by Fchat to see the passion the marque carries. Hopefully one day he will have a better experience in acquiring one. :)
     
  25. rob lay

    rob lay Administrator
    Staff Member Admin Miami 2018 Owner

    Dec 1, 2000
    59,402
    Southlake, TX
    Full Name:
    Rob Lay

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