Let's get to the bottom of our UK Dealers! | Page 2 | FerrariChat

Let's get to the bottom of our UK Dealers!

Discussion in 'United Kingdom' started by angelboy, Dec 18, 2004.

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  1. tommo

    tommo Formula 3
    Lifetime Rossa

    Nov 29, 2004
    1,245
    Gloucestershire
    Full Name:
    Julian
    Tom

    I purchased mine from NC's and have been very pleased. I would add that if its possible, try to find your ideal car from a dealer close to you - which I guess NC is. Its all very well having found the car & happy with the garage & terms, but once you've established that relationship, you don't want to be sending your car off for hundreds of miles for maintenance (warranty & general work). I think that's an important part of the whole experience - ie who's going to maintain it rather than the initial purchase. Since my purchase, I've used Bob Houghtons in Glos (local to me) & now establish a good relationship/understanding
     
  2. Azzuro

    Azzuro Karting

    Nov 18, 2004
    219
    Merseyside
    Full Name:
    Andrew
    I too have been looking for a 355, but I would not spend £60K on one unless you are prepared to get back £45k in a trade in in 1-2 years time. With £60K I would be hunting for a 360.

    As for buying the car from a dealer for the warranty - dont waste your time or your money. From my experience everything that goes wrong (and much does & is very expensive to fix) is never covered anyway. And the money you will save you can put towards your Repair Fund.

    Example: I came across a car sold by Rossa Corsa (on commission) for £50K which I could have bought from the owner at £40K.
     
  3. simon355

    simon355 Formula Junior

    Nov 23, 2003
    650
    W.Yorkshire, UK.
    Full Name:
    Simon George
    Do not go near Hendon Way Motors. In my 'youth' I bought an Esprit Turbo from them. It fell apart on the way home, they (actually 'he' some ***** called Anthony the owner) promised to pay for all repairs if I sent him the bill. Of course it did'nt happen, I took him to court and won. I have many many similar stories from Ferrari owners especially.
    If he's reading this then sue me you ****.
     
  4. murph7355

    murph7355 Formula 3

    Nov 30, 2002
    1,691
    SE England Yorkie
    Full Name:
    Andy
    Yes, but with a 60k budget you have pretty much every 355 available to you. Whether you get 45k for it in a year is debatable, but typically we should all avoid buying from a dealer and selling back to them, unless there's a particularly special deal being made.

    You'd be pushed to find a RHD 360 at this money at all right now, though give it a month or two and that will inevitably change.

    And either way, 355s and 360s are different cars in so many ways. Even if they can be bought at comparable price points, many would simply *want* one or the other...
     
  5. f328nvl

    f328nvl Formula Junior

    Nov 10, 2004
    851
    Herts
    Full Name:
    John
    Bought my 328 from KHPC. Very happy with every aspect of dealing with them and have looked at some of their other cars periodically. Would recommend them without hesitation.

    Guy at Talacrest deserves a mention for NOT selling me a car. I looked at a 365 boxer a few years back. Beautiful history, etc etc. Had a drive, loved it. Came back and sat down to talk Turkey and he said to me that I shouldn't buy it because I drive too often, too far and the car wasn't going to be reliable enough for what I use it for. Honest and right.

    Have the car serviced by DK Engineering as it's nearer to me than KHPC and Arthur (rather grudgingly) told me that David knows about Ferraris. As I've said here before, his sons are a bit cranky (If you are not talking about cars they pretty much don't talk!) but my God they know what they're doing. They're predominantly positioned in the high end vintage race car prep and maintainence business and price accordingly. Go there after Goodwood Revival when the transporter brings the cars for a service. 3 x F275gtb, one of the 19 DB4 Zagato's in the world, a daytona cpe etc etc. Probably wouldn't buy a normal car Fcar from David simply because they price at the very top. Would (if I had the cash) buy a vintage or racecar without hesitation.

    Finally Maranello. Egham sales were great. Didn't buy a 456 because I didn't like the car (sorry if you own one) a few years ago, but they were fine.

    St Albans were arrogant and ignorant before Maranello took over, tried to sell me a horribly tracked 328 that they clearly knew nothing about either as an individual specimen or generically. The sales force appear to be resprayed Ford Focus salesmen.

    Maranello routine service was poor. I had mine done when they advertised the permanently reduced service price last year. (The idea was to rotate, small service at Maranello for the stamp, big ones at DK for the workmanship). They over-charged me by £300 (on a £400 service!), refunded promptly when I complained, and didn't do two minor things that I'd asked them to do. More importantly they forgot to stamp the service book!


    jg
     
  6. BERTONE

    BERTONE Formula Junior

    Aug 20, 2004
    662
    THE NORTH
    Full Name:
    ENZO
    Obviously ive read the previous posts but can anyone tell me what Nick Cartwright's are really like other than being expensive as im going to see them on Tuesday?
     
  7. ZYMOL348

    ZYMOL348 Karting

    May 1, 2004
    167
    Minehead Somerset
    Full Name:
    Anthony Rea
    YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWN


    zymol348
     
  8. Albert V8

    Albert V8 Formula Junior

    Jun 3, 2004
    427
    Full Name:
    Albert
    Bought 2 Maserati Spyders, 1 360, 1 Dino from Maranello Egham. Have nothing bad to say about them at all.

    Bought a 328GTS from Verdi, again i found Carl to be a man of his word.

    Have no experience of the others mentioned.
     
  9. dmaci38293

    dmaci38293 Rookie

    Feb 28, 2004
    29
    Kent
    Full Name:
    Duncan MacInnes
    I would not hesitate in recommending KHPC. I popped in today to have a look around as I am in the market for a 355/360 in the new year. Arthur talked me through and showed me around and made me feel very welcome! Something that is a breath of fresh air after going to other garages especially as I am so young.

    They have some lovely cars there and who cares that they do not own them? They are all pdi'd and in tip top condition!

    Take a look and you will not be dissapointed!
     
  10. johnish

    johnish Karting

    Jun 21, 2004
    71
    Hertfordshire, UK
    Full Name:
    John Isherwood
    Of the list, I've used Talacrest, Hendon Way, and Verdi. Off the list, my first F car was bought from Rosso Corsa. I have just sold that 348 ts (it leaked too much) and bought a 355 F1 Berlinetta from Talacrest. The treatment when buying any car was, as is universally expected, excellent. The key is how you are treated after the sale. I have no regrets after buying the 355 from Talacrest. I also had no regrets after buying the Porsche from Hendon Way.

    Over the last 20 years I have probably owned about 30 cars, and have rather expensively reached the conclusion that it is rarely the dealer that affects the quality of the car. The dealer affects the price. The quality of the car is affected by the previous owners, so the golden rule must be History, History and more History.

    Good luck with your first F car. You'll be spoilt for choice after you have owned one!
     
  11. dpsuk999

    dpsuk999 Formula Junior

    Feb 12, 2004
    264
    Leeds UK
    Full Name:
    Dave
    i bought my 348ts from KHPC in April this year and they we excellent..couldnt fault them at all....and yes they did own the car, it wasnt on SOR.

    I would recommend them to anyone, excellent showroom, courteous, helpfull and willing to spend time with you....which is more than can be said for main dealers
     
  12. 328Matt

    328Matt Karting

    Dec 3, 2003
    222
    Lymm,Cheshire
    Full Name:
    Matt
    Bought my ex dubai 328 from Guy at Talacrest.He did everything he said he would, my car was immaculate, and the couple of teething problems i had after purchase were paid for in full with specialised cars of knutsford doing the work as he was 200 miles away.He will be at the top of the list when the time comes for replacement.He even arranged a tour of Maranello's service area to pass time until the mot was completed-top marks!.I know specialised cars have ceased to exist but Martin took a lot of time explaining pitfalls to me without once giving me the hard sell......where he is now i have no idea.
     
  13. Malfark

    Malfark F1 Veteran

    Oct 31, 2002
    5,307
    Mud Island, Europe
    Full Name:
    Markem
    Bought mine in Germany - private sale - and drove it here.

    A broker put me in touch with the seller and flew in fron Denmark on the day I viewed the car: http://www.dennigcars.org/default.htm Flawless transaction.

    Maranello in Egham serviced the car this year and did a fairly good job. Otherwise I don't know much else about them.

    CHeers, MARK
     
  14. murph7355

    murph7355 Formula 3

    Nov 30, 2002
    1,691
    SE England Yorkie
    Full Name:
    Andy
    Nice honest guys who know their onions.

    I think you'l be staggered at how well prepared his cars are, and if you get to look round his place staggered at what sort of kit he has up there.

    Nice chap, and if the car's right for you (incl. price) buy it.
     
  15. murph7355

    murph7355 Formula 3

    Nov 30, 2002
    1,691
    SE England Yorkie
    Full Name:
    Andy
    Ignoring that I think the 355 is way overpriced, and could even be a typo (check out the other cars they have on their stock list - this one's 10k over the others and there's no obvious reason why on the description), you have:

    1) One car is a private sale, one from main dealer (do a search for them on here).

    2) One is probably one of the very earliest 360s and you have one of the latest 355s.

    3) As noted, a lot of people will either *want* a 355 or a 360. Few will entertain the other model based purely on being able to source one at the same value. I fell into this boat - would only ever have been swayed had a CS been around the same price, but as we know they aren't!


    I also believe there were significantly more 360s made in RHD than 355s (of which I think there were 408 GTBs for example - I'd be able to confirm if Ferrari hadn't frigged about with the ferrari.co.uk website to the point where it's barely usable any more and finding info is a pain in the arse!). As somone else has mentioned elsewhere, I believe this will have a big impact on residuals moving forwards, especially for the better examples.
     
  16. Robertb

    Robertb Formula 3

    Nov 19, 2003
    1,331
    South Oxfordshire, U
    Full Name:
    Robert
    I traipsed 2 hrs down to KHPC on their invitation (and with an appointment) to look at some 308s/328s as I was undecided. Arrived, was shown around a few cars but told 'not able to take any out for a drive today; come and see us again' The chap took px details and said he'd get back to me. Never did.

    FWIW, stopped at Maranellos on the way home from KHPC to look at a 328. Offered a test drive on the spot, and bought that car...

    Always had v good experiences with MSL (apart from their decidedly mean px offers!) who always look after me very well.

    I like Talacrest and Verdis too.

    I suspect you'll find that everyone has good and bad stories to tell about everyone else, and you can't really judge until you've heard both sides to a story.
     
  17. rviant

    rviant Karting

    Jan 22, 2004
    229
    Bedfordshire
    Full Name:
    Richard

    I too would not touch Hendon Way with a barge pole. Bought my first ferrari from them and had no end of problems. One of the windows didn't even have the elecric window motor in it

    Been dealing with Verdi's with no problems for over 6 years
     
  18. AdamC

    AdamC Karting

    Oct 21, 2004
    55
    Manchester
    Full Name:
    Adam J Carlisle
    my late father always used to sell the best cars ( mint, low mialage low owner cars) and did a fair bit of business with nick cartwright, all I can say is that he may be overpriced, but the quaity of his cars speaks for itself, i dont think that anyone could dissagree with me on this one. I personally have no experience of dealing with anyone, so cant comment on the others, however, it wont be long before I have.

    forget about how they treat you, just go for the car that you want, I know that some people have princaples, but why have a car that is second best because the salesman was a nicer person, they all have to make money out of you, and you have to be the one smiling with the best car at the end of the day, Go for instinct about the car rather than where you are buying from.
     
  19. f328nvl

    f328nvl Formula Junior

    Nov 10, 2004
    851
    Herts
    Full Name:
    John
    Erm, don't want to be rude, but a lack of window motor? Did you not try and open them before you parted with the cash? Has anyone else got a better "Damn, I wish I'd pressed that button before I paid" story?

    jg
     
  20. Fezzaphil

    Fezzaphil Formula Junior

    Sep 14, 2004
    370
    UK
    Full Name:
    Philip
    Talacrest is top of my Christmas card list. I've always found them great to deal with when buying both of my cars.
     
  21. Ade

    Ade Formula 3

    Jan 31, 2004
    2,102
    UK

    Spider Prices are nicely low at moment, as with any convertible. You will end up paying MORE in April/May time than now for the same car - forget depreciation, just to summer effect.

    I'd say average prices for a RHD 355 spider right now is about 50-55K. It will be more like 55-59K come the spring, so buy now and enjoy is my advice!

    Ade
     
  22. Ade

    Ade Formula 3

    Jan 31, 2004
    2,102
    UK

    Absolutely! For 60K you can get a REALLY nice red/crema 355 spider at moment..... if you want a red/crema 360 spider your looking at nearly 100K!!!! No comparison!

    If you have a budget of 60K and want a soft-top , you don't have a choice between 355 and 360 thats ridiculous. However if your willing to go for a LHD 360 or a high mileage/unpopular colour RHD 360 then DO it. But its a mile away from the 355 spider. Completely polar opposite car.
     
  23. Ade

    Ade Formula 3

    Jan 31, 2004
    2,102
    UK
    Oh.... and back on topic! Joe Macari has some very experienced Ferrari / Lambo mechanics, I think the've done a very good job so far for me, so I stick with them. The've done a lot of work for me over past two years and everything the've done so far has stood up to my abuse!!
     
  24. RAY430RED

    RAY430RED Formula 3

    Nov 1, 2003
    1,112
    Marlborough Wilts
    Full Name:
    Ray F
    Bertone how did you get on at Nick Cartwrights on Tuesday ? Did you buy or are we still looking ?

    RAY360M
     

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