The original building is not there now. There was a gas station (I don't remember the brand) with a 3 or 4 level garage. Luigi was on the 2nd floor. On the south side of St Catherine, around Avenue Victoria, maybe the 4800 block. You would never imagine so many fabulous cars pulling into the same gas station!
When they moved to Vanden-Abeele, Nicola's initial reaction was "who the hell is going to find us here??" Luigi's reasoning was that people will always want Ferraris, no matter where you're located.
It worked for him, but for us out here in Vancouver, we're all glad they moved out of their previous location to their new place on Burrard St!
In a rough part of town... Plus, the building was really small, so not much room to display, park and work on the cars. New place is way better.
Three Classic Luigi stories that were forwarded to me from a friend. "If you had a car at Luigi's shop - you knew it would be secure. Story 1: My friend and fellow Ferraristi, Eric Lister, and I had occasion to drop into Vanden Abelee. There was a new 348 in the show room area. Eric (who once owned a 330 GTC and still has a 328 GTS and who was, at the relevant time, the person in charge of vehicle importation at Transport Canada) dared to open the driver's side door of the 348 without asking for permission to touch the car. OMG can you imagine! There was a another customer in the showroom at the time who appeared to have a relationship with Luigi and he intervened on behalf of Eric. Story 2: My son and I traveled to Luigi's to drop off my car for servicing. My son drove the family car which was our shuttle vehicle. My son (clean cut and conservative) sat in the show room for at least 30 minutes waiting for me while I was in Luigi's inner sanctum. Nicola dropped his tools and watched my son for the entire time! So the first time I took my car to Luigis he called me the day after I dropped off my car and gave me **** since my car had dripped a few drops of oil on his workshop floor. This did not bother me since I was prepared for and recognized the primitive behavior and assumed the submissive role with the proprietor of the closest Ferrari dealership."
I remember this garage. I met Luigi here in the mid 80's and I thought the place was fabulous. He was very nice to my friend and I who were two teenagers out on a road trip from Winnipeg one winter. We had a great visit. He will be missed. Sad to hear.
When i purchased my Ferrari in Montreal the dealership told me the car was a Luigi car (possibly one of the last of his cars September 98) and after reading these wonderful threads on the history of this man i can see why the dealer stated: a Luigi car is worth 10% more than any other Ferrari!
Indeed!! Back then, I saw people willingly pay hefty premiums (30%) for a Luigi car. Today, it's a different reality. Although a Luigi car was well cared for when he still had a hand in servicing them, you have to consider that he was no longer "actively" servicing cars for a few years prior to his passing. However, his philosophy was passed on to his close clientele. With that in mind, yes, Luigi cars generally are in better condition than most. But, these cars don't change hands too often. I was once sitting in his office and he pulled out a "Luigi" window decal and said that at one time, some unscrupulous people would offer him up to 5K per sticker to affix on their car. Obviously he refused. Some stickers did wind up on non-Luigi cars. But given how the F-Car community is small, in Montreal we KNOW which cars were REALLY maintained by Luigi. Image Unavailable, Please Login
BTW, just a quick edit/correction regarding dates. Luigi Della Grotta officially incorporated himself in 1960 and was the official dealer until December 31st, 1999. Sometimes dates vary depending on who you speak to.
B, just curious, what are the plans for his shop....is it still open, who has taken over the day to day.
At the moment, the shop is closed. During these last years, his shop was more of a clubhouse than a garage, so it doesn't affect the club members with regards to servicing. The day to day consisted of Luigi arriving at 12 and leaving at 6. People would go by to say hi and hang around. FYI, his mechanic had already set up shop not far away from there. The family is currently evaluating all of the inventory of parts, tools and memorabilia. And trust me, they know exactly what they are sitting on. They won't get taken for a ride when they'll sell. The 2 cars (92 Testarossa/3200 kms and 98 355 Berlinetta/87 kms....that's right!!!) that were in his showroom will also be sold. The items (swag, promo goodies, memorabilia) belonging to the club will go to the club directors, and they'll decide how to split it. It was confirmed to me that in short, the family wants NOTHING to remind them of Luigi's involvement with Ferrari. Their reasons for that are their own. But those of us close to that circle, sadly, aren't too surprised. In a nutshell, the shop will become part of Montreal's Ferrari history/folklore.
B is the 355b red/blk a six speed ?......if so I would be interested in it .... Pm me the details if you don't mind....thanks.
B- since Red is passing on the 355 due to the colour combo, please keep me posted when the family is ready to let it go.
My car is going to Ralph this friday for some final prep work including a new exhaust before I can call the restoration complete. I believe Ralph has purchased all the tools from Luigi's garage since he knows the inventory better than anyone else. I look forward to having Ralph work on my car...so far it's been a pleasure dealing with him.
