Taking Photos at Dealers

[WyleECoyote]

Hi all,

I recently had a experience at a car dealer, and I'm wondering if anyone out there has had similar experiences.

I was recently in Auckland, so decided to visit the Ferrari dealer at Continental Car services in Newmarket. I had a look around and took some photos and when I asked the salesperson about the 458 Italia it was then he said that normally they don't allow people to take photos of the cars. He let me keep the photos I'd taken but asked me to make a small donation to a local charity.

Has anyone else had this happen? Anyone know why some dealers do this?

Do Ferrari dealers in other countries allow you to take photos?

Or are the staff at CCS just being a little over protective of someones new Fezza?

Although I can't afford a new Ferrari, if I could this experience would almost put me off going back.

[csl177]

Whaaaaa?

[Roentgen]

I can understand that, and I know which Ferrari dealer you're talking about XD My friend was there when they had a Rolls Royce Phantom drophead, and they allowed him to sit inside and take pictures.

I was overseas once, and there was a Lamborghini dealer, which had some limited Editions lambos in them. I wanted to take some pictures, but the dealer just said no.

From what I understand, the reason is that those cars would later be owned by someone, and the owners might not want pictures of their cars taken, and shared over the web, especially with these rare cars.

[VOGUE_MAN]

From my experience of luxury dealerships (going with rich people, not being a rich person) if there's real customers in the showroom they'll get rid of you ASAP but only if they're 100% sure there's no way you could be a buyer.

As someone who has a background in property, short of coming straight from work the richest people never wear suits or particularly nice clothes as there's no difference between a $20 Bonds polo shirt and a $200 Ralph Lauren polo when you have millions upon million of dollars in the bank. This dilemma can make it hard to determine who's rich and who's not but nothing is worth a mistake when car sales worth hundreds of thousands are on the line.

[DesmoRob]

I used to snap tons of shots at dealerships when I was in school. I had two bad experiences with salesmen telling me off, and both of those were in BMW stores of all places. Needless to say it made a big impression on me as a youngster, and for the longest time (and still sort of) I thought BMW people were complete dicks.
BMW looks like an econo box maker compared to Ferrari, and yet it was always the Ferrari stores that were more than happy to have me take my sweet time getting as many photos as I wanted, along with Lambo and others as well. I've been in Ferrari dealerships in several countries now and have never had a bad experience. When I went to the one in Vancouver, I spoke with an awesome sales rep called Victor and told him of my love for the 360. Although they didn't have one in, he was nice enough to let me sit in AND start up an F430 spider!!! How's that for a good impression. I'm never going to forget that guy for it, and if I ever do get a Canadian 360 (unlikely with american prices), he will be the guy I talk to.

[csl177]

I would think most dealers would be happy to let you photograph if asked first. Especially if told it's for personal library,
or if you're young and sincere. Aspirational future customer and all that.

[RacingManiac]

Last time I went to a Ferrari dealership in Toronto, they said I was welcome to browse the shop, but no picture.

Last time I went to a Lamborghini dealership in Troy, MI, we chat up the sales person and he didn't mind us taking pic, and he took us to the back showroom and let us see the Veyron that was there...I think its heavily depending on the person you are dealing with. Same thing in Autoshow, normally the places like the Ferrari stand is roped off in Toronto, but if you actually ask the sales person there(nicely), they will usually let you in to take the pic up close, sometimes even let you in the car....

Most of the time at something like the Autoshow, BMW/Mercedes people are even more snobbish...

[LHamilton_w]

I suppose it all comes down to the staff and/or the particular dealership.

I went to a Mercedes dealership in Newport Beach, CA, a little over a year ago and the salespeople didn't seem to mind me taking pictures. Even sitting inside a Maybach 57 S and a SLR Roadster (both were unlocked believe it or not lol) didn't seem to bother them even a bit.

[Kitdy]

Last time I went to a Ferrari dealership in Toronto, they said I was welcome to browse the shop, but no picture.

Last time I went to a Lamborghini dealership in Troy, MI, we chat up the sales person and he didn't mind us taking pic, and he took us to the back showroom and let us see the Veyron that was there...I think its heavily depending on the person you are dealing with. Same thing in Autoshow, normally the places like the Ferrari stand is roped off in Toronto, but if you actually ask the sales person there(nicely), they will usually let you in to take the pic up close, sometimes even let you in the car....

Most of the time at something like the Autoshow, BMW/Mercedes people are even more snobbish...

Was that Ferrari of Ontario or of Toronto?

[WyleECoyote]

I can understand that, and I know which Ferrari dealer you're talking about XD My friend was there when they had a Rolls Royce Phantom drophead, and they allowed him to sit inside and take pictures.

I was overseas once, and there was a Lamborghini dealer, which had some limited Editions lambos in them. I wanted to take some pictures, but the dealer just said no.

From what I understand, the reason is that those cars would later be owned by someone, and the owners might not want pictures of their cars taken, and shared over the web, especially with these rare cars.

Fair call I suppose. Next time i go back, I'll be asking first before taking any pics. Due to this, i won't be posting any of the pics taken.

[DesmoRob]

Fair call I suppose. Next time i go back, I'll be asking first before taking any pics. Due to this, i won't be posting any of the pics taken.

just share the pictures of the red ones. Every other Ferrari is red, and therefore no potential owner can really feel that their privacy has been violated. I don't understand what the big deal is anyway. Its not like the car has a big sign on it saying who's about to buy it and what street they live on. As far as I'm concerned, if you're in the market for a Ferrari, you better be damn ready for some attention, whether it be on public roads or on the internet. If you can't deal with that, then go buy an Evo.

[pimento]

An Evo's no good, you'll just end up with whiteballz taking photos of it.

[daniel9ds]

I am a newbie here and just wanna say Hi to everyone. I am Daniel from Pennsylvania, US.

Edit: Although my country flag is Ajman, but that is where I have my spam company. Furthermore I just changed sex and no longer live in Argentina.
If I see your message about photoshop one more time you will have a perma-ban
__________________
photoshop-garden.com

[Matra et Alpine]

Think it was reasonable, especially asking for charity donation.
You got a benefit and they pass some on to someone needy.

One aspect on cars in delearships CAN be the issue of how long a car has sat "not sold". Pictures can prove that "new" Ferrari has been sitting there for 6 months

You have entered their private ground, so pretty much up to them whether they let you or not. I can also imagine why BMW and Ferrari salesmen act differently. A BMW guy hopes to sell 3-4 cars a week ( or used to ) so a good chance anyone hanging around a dealerhoip taking pics WILL interact with potential customers. Ferrari dealerships will be 1-2 a month and so most of the time they're an empty building

[TVRs4eva]

This sure beats most Japanese-brand motorcycle dealerships though, where you have the opposite problem:

The second any male between 18 and 30 walks through the door, they're shoving a cup of coffee in your hand, rubbing your shoulders, and leading you to a desk to "come talk the numbers." And they won't accept "just looking" as an acceptable reason to be there.