I want a new 458 in the Gulf!

Hiper,

I hear ya, brother...

For those who don't know... the local dealer is...well..can be...uhhh.... very difficult and VERY expensive to deal with...

I've heard good things about the dealer in Dubai, but don't have any personal experience...

Mike

 

Try BRN perhaps? The one in DXB sucks.

 

Pav,

Really?

I know a couple of guys who wouldn't deal with anyone else...

May be family members, though, or otherwise 'connected'.

Mike

 

The dealer in Bahrain I believe is Nial's brother or is it their father who controls it overall? not sure but same deal.

So in a nutshell:

Kuwait, Bahrain and from what Pav told us Dubai as well are not the best dealers and should be avoided.

I hope other members can tell us about the Saudi and Qatari dealers.

But from what I know alot of Qatari guys flatbed their cars to Dubai to be serviced but who knows what their motivation and reasons are but certainly its an indication things are not so rosy with the Qatari dealer as well.

Which brings us to the final issue at hand. Lets say that you source a 458 and all is good. Regardless of how far F-cars have come they still need to be serviced and maintained.

From my limited knowledge you're going to face quite a challenge again. Besides Zayani there is Koko at G-Force in the Free-Zone who is a certified Ferrari and Lamborghini mechanic BUT has none of the diagnostic equipment (are we on SD-3s or 4s or 5s now?) or tools so again you've hit a brick wall not to mention sourcing parts and by the time they get here and so on if you procure them from elsewhere, or there is the legendary Vascain who taught Koko alot about what he knows but haven't heard or seen him in a long time provided he is still in Kuwait.

Or are you going to do what Iranian, Pakistani and Indian exotic car owners do or did when they don't or didn't have access to maintenance and service facilities by shipping their cars around (in a lot of cases to Dubai but since Dubai sucks as Pav says you're back to square one) or bringing in people and parts to do the work everytime you need it?

So unless you play ball with your local dealer I guess having a F-car or any exotic for that matter is pretty useless as it'll take all the fun out of owning one.

I've consistently heard about Lexus having excellent service globally, and Kuwait is no exception, so maybe an LFA instead ?

S

 

Just quickly to get it straight: servicing Ferraris in DXB is good. Actually except for some weird things they were doing before (four to five years ago), now they are good.

But when it comes to buy a Ferrari from them, they are not easy (related from a few friends of mine interested in 599/California when they were just out).

 

Thanks for clearing that up, I was sure there was some family link between the Kuwait Zayani and Bahrain, I remember he introduced us to a guy when we went with our cars to the track in 2005, I didn't remember if he was Nial's brother or uncle.

Anyhoo he has the Kuwaiti janseya now or so I heard, so no way thats going to happen

Koko's cool, look out for a guy named Khaled Al Mudaf unless you know him already at G-Force, cool guy and a complete gear-head.

S

 

I would avoid Saudi Arabia and go to Abu Dhabi instead. that's my plan when I go to buy the 458(God willing I'll get mine in four years from now). Saudi prices are higher in general for cars, specially exotics.

 

You guys forgot about garage montana, and gamballa, sathis, he has some diagnostic tools! and also repairs a lot of ferraris. Not tried him though!!

 

I can recomend Alain Class in Dubai, no personal affiliation or interest but good experiences with exports via a customer.

Best TOB

 

sounds like there is a lot of rotten apples in middle eastern Ferrari dealers? - What's with the family thing? How did an entire family manage to get so many licenses in different countries?

 

$$$$$

 

Hmm Ferrari seems to care a lot about the people getting the licenses, I highly doubt that they would appreciate this family running so many dealers, if what is being said here is just close to being true.

 

Ferrari also care about $$$$$$$

 

for what it is worth... I was just in Jebel Ali, docked on my ship, and went to the Al Thayer motors... here is a photo of the 20th new 458 they have delivered.... for them it was just another car....

As we went downtown and back, I saw two other dealers with a 458 in their windows... one named Exotica and another that I didn't get the name....

I had planned to go to Al Ain motors just to see their cars, but ran out of time.... we only have a few hours in port... and now in Pakistan....

there is one in the Gulf Newspaper - white with red leather, Daytona seats, GCC specs....
04-3393309 / 0552446000.....

hey Mike !
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so Hiper, any luck yet?
unfortunately my wife's uncle is out of the country, he got his 612 Sessanta from the KSA dealer and i believe they are close.

as for Alzayani, yes, they are indeed bad in the sense that they are only interested in your money. zero customer service + way WAY overpriced and i have no idea how Ferrari are okay with it?

i took my 355 to Gemballa garage (called Kuwait Performance nowadays) and met Satesh (sp?), the Indian mechanic, he checked my car and diagnosed the problem; and i ordered the parts from Ricambi (waiting on them).
i called Alzayani (local dealer for those who are not following, sorry) and asked them if they would install the parts and i pay them the labour obviously - knowing they would charge me at least 2x what any independent would, and they said no

well, **** you too
i only was willing to make sure that after installation i hook the car to a computer which would show everything, but if they do not "need" my "lowly" needs, then fine by me

but as arezzo said, you are going to hit a wall eventually and will need them at some point. i am thinking that after installing my parts and testing it out, i would take it for a 100KD "check-up"

 

Here's one in Dubai:

http://www.alainclass.com/gallerys.php?gal_id=1026

Mike

 

Nice looking car you found there Mike, did you see the red/tan 458 rental parked in Salmiya on Qatar Street? was a bit taken a back when I saw that.

S

 

I haven't seen it... wonder what it rents for.....?

Mike

 

Zayani Ferrari KWT is trash. It is the main reason I chose a Bentley over an Fcar.

I just buy my own parts and head over to VW, whenever I need an oil change or brake replacement, or any other issue.

Dealers REALLY rip people off here. Unfortunate.

One last point I would like to point out. An FCAR is tough to drive in Kuwait. Too much traffic, bad roads and many speed bumps.

I say, buy used ship to Europe, service there, and enjoy the summer

 

Just last week seen 2 458's at our dealership (Euro Motors Bahrain), 1 red with black interior, and the other is gray with red interior..
check them out if you wish.. +973 17750750