Park Place LTD: caveat emptor

[f1reverb]

Full piece at . . .

http://parkplaceproblems.com/

"It turned out to be a $158,000 gamble. I lost.As a business owner, car aficionado, and track maven, I’ve known Park Place LTD exotic car dealer co-owner David Bingham for a number of years. I thought him to be an upstanding person who really enjoys fine cars and the people who are infatuated with them. So, when I decided to realize a long-standing dream by purchasing a Lamborghini Gallardo, Park Place LTD (13710 Northup Way, Bellevue WA 98005 +1.425.562.1000) seemed like the right place to go." . . .

"The Lamborghini service manager (Mr. James Maddux at (425) 455-9601), the Lamborghini factory trained technician (Mr. Josh Orr), and I went over the car and discovered a number of things that were shockingly inconsistent with the description of the car that had induced me to buy it. First, the windows were tinted so dark you couldn’t see inside the car (Is this legal?). The oil level was low and the oil was dirty. Many of the factory recalls had not been done (6). The clutch was failing and was not upgraded as allowed under the factory warranty. There were surface scratches in the paint and a number of small body dents. The driver’s door had been damaged and repaired, the quality of which was laughable (the Bondo looked like peanut butter spread on bread). Two of the wheels had been curbed. One of the tires had been slashed. The upholstery on the driver’s seat was torn. We discovered a broken mirror, a broken glovebox, and a broken seat adjustment switch. The horn was inoperable as were the windshield wipers. Neither the ABS system nor the electronic stabilization system worked. The factory exhaust system had been entirely removed. There were no mufflers, only straight exhaust pipes (LOUD!). The car had not had its 3,000 mile service (a 2,000 mile overage). And lest you think such shortfalls as a failed horn or faulty windshield wipers are trivial you should know that the windshield wiper repair was $1,800. You get the picture.Mr. Maddux and Mr. Orr estimated that putting the car right would cost $20,000+. All of these faults were discovered in our initial inspection." . . .

[robspeed]

Full piece at . . .

http://parkplaceproblems.com/

"It turned out to be a $158,000 gamble. I lost.As a business owner, car aficionado, and track maven, I’ve known Park Place LTD exotic car dealer co-owner David Bingham for a number of years. I thought him to be an upstanding person who really enjoys fine cars and the people who are infatuated with them. So, when I decided to realize a long-standing dream by purchasing a Lamborghini Gallardo, Park Place LTD (13710 Northup Way, Bellevue WA 98005 +1.425.562.1000) seemed like the right place to go." . . .

"The Lamborghini service manager (Mr. James Maddux at (425) 455-9601), the Lamborghini factory trained technician (Mr. Josh Orr), and I went over the car and discovered a number of things that were shockingly inconsistent with the description of the car that had induced me to buy it. First, the windows were tinted so dark you couldn’t see inside the car (Is this legal?). The oil level was low and the oil was dirty. Many of the factory recalls had not been done (6). The clutch was failing and was not upgraded as allowed under the factory warranty. There were surface scratches in the paint and a number of small body dents. The driver’s door had been damaged and repaired, the quality of which was laughable (the Bondo looked like peanut butter spread on bread). Two of the wheels had been curbed. One of the tires had been slashed. The upholstery on the driver’s seat was torn. We discovered a broken mirror, a broken glovebox, and a broken seat adjustment switch. The horn was inoperable as were the windshield wipers. Neither the ABS system nor the electronic stabilization system worked. The factory exhaust system had been entirely removed. There were no mufflers, only straight exhaust pipes (LOUD!). The car had not had its 3,000 mile service (a 2,000 mile overage). And lest you think such shortfalls as a failed horn or faulty windshield wipers are trivial you should know that the windshield wiper repair was $1,800. You get the picture.Mr. Maddux and Mr. Orr estimated that putting the car right would cost $20,000+. All of these faults were discovered in our initial inspection." . . .

let me get this straight. homeboy writes a check for $160K before writing one for $400 for a plane ticket to check the car out in person?

my dimshit brother did the same thing with an e39 M5, also from floriduh. bought the car sight unseen, found about $3k in defects and sued in california for the damages, spending as much as the car cost on legal fees. when the california case was thrown out for lack of jurisdiction he was told he would have to start over in florida. I dont talk to him anymore so I dont know what happened next.

one cant say it enough: never buy any car from anybody, ever, without checking the car out yourself, in person.

[roadhog0]

These guys are directly across from the BMW dealership I go to for parts...

This guy was stupid not to go look at the car, what a moron!

[scottt]

I guess I had some time on my hands, I read his web page and said hmmmm. So I read the article he authored for the Harvard Business Review on customer service, I thought it interesting that he is referencing an article that he wrote 21 years ago. It made me wonder what he's up to now, well it looks like he owns several restaurants, one of which is called FX Mcrorys in Seattle. So I checked out reviews of the place.

Let's just say the experience of most reviewers doesn't seem to exactly match the values he espoused 21 years ago.

I think he should have checked out the car first.