Buying outside of the dealer network in the UK?
Discussion
I've been looking at a GTC4 Lusso for my next car and have started to narrow it down to a few choices. Due to the nature of these cars and the market, there's quite a few outside of the dealer network.
Most are under Ferrari warranty of some sort and have FFSH... comparing similar specs to approved used maybe see 10K savings.
Presumably any approved used Ferrari is going to have had some sort of pre-sale check with any issues/wear items of a certain level being fixed which is where some of the increased price is going to go.
The cars I'm looking at don't have a big mileage on them, but I guess that can be good/bad depending on how they've been treated/stored when not being driven.
Is that extra money to the dealer buying anything other than a bit of peace of mind? I've not bought a Ferrari before so have no experience of the dealer network, aftersales, service etc so was just looking for any first hand info or advice.
Thanks!
Most are under Ferrari warranty of some sort and have FFSH... comparing similar specs to approved used maybe see 10K savings.
Presumably any approved used Ferrari is going to have had some sort of pre-sale check with any issues/wear items of a certain level being fixed which is where some of the increased price is going to go.
The cars I'm looking at don't have a big mileage on them, but I guess that can be good/bad depending on how they've been treated/stored when not being driven.
Is that extra money to the dealer buying anything other than a bit of peace of mind? I've not bought a Ferrari before so have no experience of the dealer network, aftersales, service etc so was just looking for any first hand info or advice.
Thanks!
Bought two Ferraris and neither were from main dealers.
To my mind you are buying the car, but you don’t want to be buying from a scammer. So it depends on the dealer and the deal.
So far DK Engineering and Premier GT. happy with both processes although DK felt like more effort, probably because I wasn’t spending billions
A very nice tour and collection though.
To my mind you are buying the car, but you don’t want to be buying from a scammer. So it depends on the dealer and the deal.
So far DK Engineering and Premier GT. happy with both processes although DK felt like more effort, probably because I wasn’t spending billions
A very nice tour and collection though. In the past I would have agreed that the cheapest car ( all things being equal) is the best deal. I kept my last Ferrari twelve years, by that time any value the dealer added had long since dissolved. I sold that car privately last year, probably the cheapest genuinely decent car at the time but still a good deal for me as well as the new happy owner.
I bought two 488 spiders last year, one from Sevenoaks one from Maranello. The Sevenoaks one was a cracker and as good a deal as any out there at the time, unfortunately, shortly after taking delivery the car broke down. It turned out to be nothing serious and not something anyone could have predicted but it took the excitement out of the purchase, they bent over backwards to make good and offered a full refund or a replacement at a discounted price.
I took the refund and thought I’d maybe lost the love for the brand, that feeling didn’t last long though and on one of the last warm days of last year I buckled and phoned three main dealers who had spiders I liked, gave them all similar offers and Maranello took the deal. It was an incredible car and a fantastic deal. I bought it with around 6k miles, six month, now 12k miles and an Italian road trip later, I sold it back to the main dealer for an acceptable loss.
I’ve had the father and son experience everyone would dream of thanks to that car. Thanks to the main dealers, there was very little risk to me and cash wise, it was an absolute bargain.
I will buy again one day but at that price level, I’d only consider main dealers, Edinburgh, Newcastle, Maranello and Sevenoaks have all been superb, they’ll be my first call.
I bought two 488 spiders last year, one from Sevenoaks one from Maranello. The Sevenoaks one was a cracker and as good a deal as any out there at the time, unfortunately, shortly after taking delivery the car broke down. It turned out to be nothing serious and not something anyone could have predicted but it took the excitement out of the purchase, they bent over backwards to make good and offered a full refund or a replacement at a discounted price.
I took the refund and thought I’d maybe lost the love for the brand, that feeling didn’t last long though and on one of the last warm days of last year I buckled and phoned three main dealers who had spiders I liked, gave them all similar offers and Maranello took the deal. It was an incredible car and a fantastic deal. I bought it with around 6k miles, six month, now 12k miles and an Italian road trip later, I sold it back to the main dealer for an acceptable loss.
I’ve had the father and son experience everyone would dream of thanks to that car. Thanks to the main dealers, there was very little risk to me and cash wise, it was an absolute bargain.
I will buy again one day but at that price level, I’d only consider main dealers, Edinburgh, Newcastle, Maranello and Sevenoaks have all been superb, they’ll be my first call.
the nice side-benefit of buying from a Ferrari dealer is that you usually then get invited to events / test drives from time to time (at least I did). I did attend the Lusso test drive in the Alps when it was launched and it was an amazing event (also one of the most memorable drives in my FF, going up to Chamonix on a completely white road without another car in the middle of the night). I also did a few of the Ferrari track events (I think I paid for those, can't remember). Overall I think Ferrari and Ferrari dealers are among the best in terms of customer engagement etc - to me that was worth something too. Having said that, the FF and Scuderia I bought were among the cheapest cars on the market at the time, main dealer or not - so it did not feel like I paid more by going main dealer. While the Ferrari warranty is not great imo, it still gave some peace of mind - especially when I bought the FF.
When I bought my 355 a decade plus ago, I bought it from an independent dealer. I spent a lot of time and money fixing the car over the first 6 months (not the dealer's fault, but still annoying to buy a car and then spend a large percentage of the purchase price replacing crap shortly after I bought - in fairness 355 is from a very different era in terms of quality etc though).
I looked at a few 296s a few months ago and I would have likely bought outside the network as the cars were quite a bit cheaper like-for-like and still under manufacturer warranty.
When I bought my 355 a decade plus ago, I bought it from an independent dealer. I spent a lot of time and money fixing the car over the first 6 months (not the dealer's fault, but still annoying to buy a car and then spend a large percentage of the purchase price replacing crap shortly after I bought - in fairness 355 is from a very different era in terms of quality etc though).
I looked at a few 296s a few months ago and I would have likely bought outside the network as the cars were quite a bit cheaper like-for-like and still under manufacturer warranty.
Really depends if you want to start a relationship with a Ferrari dealer after this purchase. For example if you to buy a car at £185k from Main Dealef, they will offer you £160k for it a week later. That’s the Ferrari Showroom Tax, or buy a car from a great independent with Ferrari Warranty unexpired and you will be paying £165k to £169k, or you should be! Some independents do charge too much. For me paying the Ferrari Showroom Tax for the allocations and invites is the way I go. As for the Ferrari Warranty Power 15, it’s not as good as the Mclaren or Porsche almost bumper to bumper, but I’ve never had an issue with it and the supplying dealer have always gone far & above to sort out, maybe that’s because I’m a serial buyer but the Power 15 Warranty I would want if buying from a good independent. Welcome to the club..
I guess I’ve been very lucky then, on both purchases the cars I bought were the same price as their equals outwith the dealer network. On the one I sold back, the main dealer gave me a little bit more in cash than a respected supercar dealer was offering on SOR..
My cost of ownership was a mere fraction of the figures above but that’s by the by and more as a result of buying at the start of winter in a falling market and selling at the start of summer when prices were high again.
You’ll lose money wherever you buy, but on both those 488s, I’ve done considerably better by dealing with main dealers, especially when unforeseen problems arose.
My cost of ownership was a mere fraction of the figures above but that’s by the by and more as a result of buying at the start of winter in a falling market and selling at the start of summer when prices were high again.
You’ll lose money wherever you buy, but on both those 488s, I’ve done considerably better by dealing with main dealers, especially when unforeseen problems arose.
Thanks everyone, that's really useful info.
The non-car related positives about building a relationship with a dealer and the opportunity of Ferrari events do appeal. I didn't realise the used cars have a 2 year warranty so that's also something in their favour. One of the cars is at Graypaul in Edinburgh so that's also good to see some first-hand feedback about them.
I've no concerns about the dealer selling the other car as they've been around for ages and have a good reputation, but it also so happens that the car I prefer the colour-of (I know...) is at the main dealer. From what I've read, there's not much or any room for haggling over the price, but I'll hopefully get to that point and their finance options this week.
The non-car related positives about building a relationship with a dealer and the opportunity of Ferrari events do appeal. I didn't realise the used cars have a 2 year warranty so that's also something in their favour. One of the cars is at Graypaul in Edinburgh so that's also good to see some first-hand feedback about them.
I've no concerns about the dealer selling the other car as they've been around for ages and have a good reputation, but it also so happens that the car I prefer the colour-of (I know...) is at the main dealer. From what I've read, there's not much or any room for haggling over the price, but I'll hopefully get to that point and their finance options this week.
If you’re planning to finance the car then that will have a big impact on the sticker price as, I’m sure you know, they make money on it and are bonused on finance sales as a result.
In which case it’s going to boil down to the monthlies rather than the £10k gap between the independent vs the franchised car. From what you’ve said, it sounds like the franchised car is the better bet for you.
In which case it’s going to boil down to the monthlies rather than the £10k gap between the independent vs the franchised car. From what you’ve said, it sounds like the franchised car is the better bet for you.
I bought from independents in the past, and from a main dealer for my latest car. The standard of prep was very very high, the deal was good, and the 2 year warranty worth having. Everything I asked to be sorted before committing to a deal was handled (including replacing all 4 tyres because they were a few years old Pirelli’s and I wanted Michelins). I live 200 miles away from the dealer I bought it from and soon after I took delivery, there was an issue that needed sorting (not a warranty issue). They were happy for me to take it to my local Ferrari main dealer (about 5 miles away from me) and got they car sorted out with them with no quibbles.
So yes, you pay a premium to buy for a main dealer, but in my ooonion it’s worth it when you are committing this much cash. Plus in my case, I now have 2 Ferrari main dealer relationships which have proven very useful (in addition to getting invited to events).
So yes, you pay a premium to buy for a main dealer, but in my ooonion it’s worth it when you are committing this much cash. Plus in my case, I now have 2 Ferrari main dealer relationships which have proven very useful (in addition to getting invited to events).
k all from my dealer, so don’t hold your breath on any events. supersport said:
Bought two Ferraris and neither were from main dealers.
To my mind you are buying the car, but you don’t want to be buying from a scammer. So it depends on the dealer and the deal.
So far DK Engineering and Premier GT. happy with both processes although DK felt like more effort, probably because I wasn’t spending billions A very nice tour and collection though.
DK are great, they don't seem to have much lower end cars in stock than they used to thoughTo my mind you are buying the car, but you don’t want to be buying from a scammer. So it depends on the dealer and the deal.
So far DK Engineering and Premier GT. happy with both processes although DK felt like more effort, probably because I wasn’t spending billions
A very nice tour and collection though. WCZ said:
DK are great, they don't seem to have much lower end cars in stock than they used to though
DK are great - pick up the phone any time of the day (I called at midnight once) on pretty much any day when you have a question. Once had a question about the air jacks and they walked me through it on a weekend when I was at a track day. Great people imo Gassing Station | Ferrari V12 | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff