Buyers Beware of Kip Sheward Motor Sports

DON'T BUY FROM KIP SHEWARD (DON’T TRUST HIS LIES. I WISH I HAD LISTENED TO ALL THE OTHER NEGATIVE REVIEWS. THERE ARE SO MANY OTHER PLACES TO BUY CARS – I’VE BOUGHT OVER 35 CARS IN MY LIFETIME AND THIS IS THE VERY FIRST TIME I’VE REGRETTED IT). BUYER BEWARE.

I paid $300K for a Ferrari I bought from Kip. On delivery, he promised he would fix a few things that were not working properly (Not knowing Kip, I asked for all these issues to be written in the bill of sale). Kip assured me over the phone that the "car was beautiful and everything was working as they should" before the car was delivered to me.

When I received the car from the transportation company, the doors could not lock, the vent window would not close, and worst of all, the car was leaking profusely from the water pump all over the truck. Brownish liquid was everywhere (on the floor and all over the engine compartment). The car was clearly not safe to drive. Oh, I forgot to mention that he even stiffed me by delivering the car with the gas tank nearly empty and gas tank warning light on (classy move on a $300k transaction).

I immediately called Kip to complain about the leak and issues and he sent the car to a mechanic in my area. Once the mechanic had repaired the car, Kip refused to pay for the bill. He was yelling at me over the phone basically saying “This is your problem. I’ve already lost $15k selling you this car. There’s nothing I can do for you. If you don’t pay the mechanic, then he’ll put a lien on your car and then GOOD LUCK to you buddy!” He then hung up and I haven’t been able to get a hold of him since (after several calls, messages and also emailing all his administration staff several times).

Wow. I was shocked. I’m still in shock. I was left with a $3,000 bill after he delivered me a car that was not in any condition to drive. So unprofessional and a such terrible person to buy a car from. There are so many places to buy the car you want and many car salesmen who are more reputable than Kip Sheward. If you decide to buy from Kip, then I might offer you a piece of advice: “GOOD LUCK to you buddy!”
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Hi Guys, yes, I did a detailed PPI by Terry Miur - an excellent Ferrari mechanic. A compression test and other tests were also done by a shop nearby Kip Sheward's shop separately.

Terry was the one who notified me of all the issues on the car as I clearly told Terry and Kip Sheward that my intention is to have a fully functional car as I intend to drive this car from time to time and not store it, like some other owners prefer to do.

The bill of sale included most of the main items (but excluded some other minor items - I guess I should have taken this as an initial sign of warning, however one of the items was that the car "function properly" so I thought that would cover everything). For the items not hand written in the bill of sale, I wrote an email to Kip Sheward's assistant (as Kip Sheward had never responded to a single email of mine) to say that I would pay him the full amount for the car if he agreed to pay for any outstanding items not addressed on the car or if it wasn't working properly upon me receiving the car. See email attached.

Really, really disappointed with the way I've been treated by Kip Sheward and for him delivering me a leaking car (I was afraid the transportation company was going to ask me to pay for the mess the leaking car caused in his truck). Kip Sheward delivered me a car, which the mechanic I spoke to in California, said would cause real damage to the car if I were to drive it.

After I received the car, I told Kip Sheward that I wouldn't have bought the car if I knew he wouldn't deliver me a car ready to drive with all items working as they should. And he just hung up on me as stated before. I've never engaged a lawyer (except for corporate lawyers) for this sort of thing and wouldn't know what to do first. It would be another avenue where I would have to sink my time and am open to suggestions.

Before buying from Kip Sheward, I searched FerrariChat for a couple hours and didn't come up with much as most of you had not heard of him; only links to where he sells his cars. I'm writing to the FerrariChat community to make other potential Kip Sheward buyers aware of how he does business. And possibly as some of you have mentioned, to come prepared with a multiple page bill of sale outlining every detail of the agreement and an attorney on-hand ready before making a transaction with him. In my mind, that's not a great buying situation and I would hope to just avoid this type of seller in future.

Thanks for the feedback and please let me know if you have any other suggestions for me or can share any past experiences I can learn from on how to deal with a situation like this.
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Yes, I had not known about the leak before I received the leaking car on the truck. The other unaddressed items were noted by Terry.

After receiving the leaking car, I immediately called Kip Sheward. He flat bedded the car to the mechanic and he was supposed to pick up the bill (as we had discussed, the car was supposed to be fully functional as my main intention is to drive the car . . . Not an unreasonable request for a $300k car, I personally don't think).

However, once the mechanic's bill of $3k was provided to kip and his company, the mechanic and I both could not reach Kip Sheward for payment after several calls a day and emails. When I finally did reach Kip, I saw a side of Kip I had never seen before. Refusing to pay, yelling at me over the phone, hanging up on me, and I haven't been able to reach him since.

I've bought several cars from other states in the past and would pay before receiving the car. Unfortunately, I wish I help onto that last $20k but let my guard down and trusted Kip Sheward. A costly mistake, but definitely one I will not make again. That's life and that's learning I guess.

Again, if anyone out there has suggestions on what I could do next, would much appreciate the feedback.

 

Yes a 246 GT.

 

I only drive classic cars so this is not my first rodeo (and these cars don't "break all the time" unless you buy a lemon but that's for PPIs are for).

If you buy a SOLID, fully restored car, nothing will need to be done to it for 10 years or longer because everything has been bright back to as close to new as possible (except for typical maintenance).

Kip Sheward and I had a clear agreement that the car would be a driver and delivering one which is not in condition to drive is not a fair agreement, particularly off the delivery truck before I received it. If it had leaked a week later, ok I'll take that. But not off the delivery truck. Think what you will.

Btw, yes, I did pay for new tires on my own dime as this was not included in the terms and was not something I expected Kip to pay for. I expected the bare minimum to at least be able to drive the car a block from the delivery truck to my home.

 

henryr and FUNRARI, totally agree with you.

Just wanted to share my experience and hope others can also take something away from it. Nothing worse than a dark cloud shadowing what should be such an incredible experience.

 

It was a local car (lived in California for a couple decades in the past) - but been mostly a garage queen since its ground up restoration.

 

Vent window noted. My mechanic said the vent window wasn't for a dino as it was too long, switched it for a correct one, and now the vent window closes beautifully. However, I don't want to go off track of the big picture.

I came to Ferrarichat as a resource to learn more about Kip Sheward before I bought my car. I found nothing after hours of searching this forum except for links where Kip was selling cars. If others had had similar experiences with Kip, I wish they had shared them.

My intention of posting to this community is to make everyone aware of my terrible experience with Kip Sheward. In the event a member of the community plans to purchase a vehicle from Kip, they can at least note a previous experience and potentially be better informed while going through the purchase process. I found some negative reviews on Google Reviews but ignored them . . .

I don't have time/can be bothered with filing a law suit and I have personally learned a lot from this process. I drive classic cars exclusively and am a collector. I'll be purchasing many more classics in future and will be more mindful of shady dealers like Kip.
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