Chris - 97C2

Hello all!

Anyone do any business with Premiere Sportscars ( <a href="http://www.premierecars.com" target="_blank">www.premierecars.com</a> )? I am looking for both the good and the bad. Also, might need a local PPI done in Springfield, MO so references are appreciated.

Thanks!

JRW

I just cancelled a deal with them on a 98 C2S that was owned by their sister company, Willhoit Enterprises . I would consider them "fairly" honest and forthcoming but I'll let you judge the facts of my experience: They represented a clean 23k mile car and disclosed that there had been minor repair work done on the rear fender due to a supposed "falling object in the garage accident". Several days later, before my scheduled PPI, they indicated that the minor repair work involved replacement of the entire rear quarter panel and that it was the result of a car accident. Apparently there was some early miscommunication between the two companies, but Premier volunteered this info. I thanked them for their honesty and cancelled the deal.

On your other question, based on my research, Motorsports International appears to be the place for PPIs.

vjd3

Premiere will likely resist a PPI by Motorsports, because they are competitors. You also would have to ask how objective that inspection would be.

Premiere and Willhoit share showroom and storage space, but they are separately licensed.

I bought an 87 930 from Willhoit in 1999. I lived in Wichita KS at the time. Mike Willhoit described the car as mint and perfect. I drove down to see it; it was very nice, indeed, but not perfect; both rear 9X16 Fuchs were scuffed, there was battery acid under the front lid and the second gear synchro was shot. The rear tires were 75 percent gone and the front tires were the original Dunlops and had to be replaced due to age. The wheel wells had been painted black, too.

I bought the car anyway ... it was nice and straight and drove very well, and I was happy with it. But had I bought it sight unseen, I would have been pissed when it came off the truck. But Willhoit did what he said he would do regarding the title and delivery of the car. He was straight with me, but merciless on the money. But when you're looking for a clean Turbo, you take what you find.

Generally, all those guys down there in Springfield -- Premiere, Willhoit, Motorsports, April Miller, Team Motorsports -- are sharks. They get some nice cars, but they charge big bucks for them. You're not gonna get a bargain, and you'd better know what you're looking at or you will be at their mercy.

There is a Porsche dealer in Joplin, which is close by. That's where I would do the pre-purchase on the car. Willhoit was pretty good about shipping sight unseen and being willing to take the car back if you didn't like it; that's because he uses his own guy to ship. But after I bought my Turbo, I would say fly down there and put your eyes on the car.

Of course, YMMV ... but don't think because Springfield is some little burg on the way to Branson that those guys don't play hardball -- they do.

Vic
95 C4

Chris - 97C2

Do you guys have contact numbers for Motorsports International (I couldn't find them on the web) or the Porsche dealer?

Also, I followed a car that they got out of FL and are presenting as a pristine 19k mile '97 C2. It's a low option car and they are asking $51500. I think this is a little high, but if it's as perfect as they say it is, I was thinking of asking $48k. Reasonable?

privates8

JChanson,

The dealer which you are speaking of is "Motorcars International" and they are on the web. Their site is <a href="http://www.motorcars-intl.com" target="_blank">www.motorcars-intl.com</a>

I had a bad experience with them in December when I was negotiating on the purchase of a 993tt.

I was greatly assisted by the Ozarks Region PCA President who went to look at the car and took about 30 digital photos which revealed numerous problems which contradicted the representation of the vehicle as a pristine, perfect car(7800 miles)at a premium price. They were also resistant to the concept of an independent PPI!

Steve
'97 993tt

STLPCA

Chris
All I will say is when I was looking for my 993 I neither shopped nor considered any Springfield, MO dealers even though it's about 200 miles away. I ended up with a car from Costa Mesa, CA.

Vic's suggestion of a personal inspection is mandatory with those dealers and, btw, it's a lousy trip to Springfield from almost anywhere!

Fens

<img src="graemlins/nono.gif" border="0" alt="[nono]" /> Ever read the book "Don't Get Taken Every Time"? I suggest you do before dealing with Priemer. I started a deal on a trade deal on a 98 Cab for a 97 C4S with them about 6 months ago. It was like they were reading the book and applying the "dirty tricks" instruction guide step by step. My Cab was bought from a dealership just 6 months prior to the negotiations and was certified and in outstanding condition but was my first tiptronic and I wanted to go back to a manual 6 speed trans as well as a C4S. They didn't want to see it to put a price on my vehicle and said they were going to "shop" it around to get the best price (which I finally got the gal to admit that she meant they were going to dump it wholesale on any dealer they could find that would take it). There price on their C4S was above book retail and had some "issues" with the paint and an auction carfax history rather than an "original one owner" as advertised. In my opinion, these folks should be selling Yugos to folks with "bad credit, no credit", but since the profit margins are higher on the P-cars, that is what they are dealing.

Chris - 97C2

All the Carfax checks come back negative and here is the title records...

09/01/1997 Florida
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Miami, FL
Registered as
private vehicle

----------------------------------------

10/06/1997 Florida
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Miami, FL
Title #74011146
Title issued
First owner reported

----------------------------------------

11/24/1998 5,000 Florida
Inspection Station
Miami, FL
Passed emissions inspection

----------------------------------------

08/31/2000 33 Florida
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Key Biscayne, FL
Title #0074011146
Title issued
Odometer reading recorded on 09/22/1997

----------------------------------------

03/20/2002 16,434 Florida
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Pompano Beach, FL
Title #0074011146
Title issued
Odometer reading recorded on 02/28/2002

I don't see any red flags although the last owner only had it for 3k miles...

MikeO

Do NOT... I repeat, do NOT, buy a car from Premier Sportscars.

To make a terribly long story short...I purchased a Speed Yellow '98 C2S from them last year, and the car was not at all as represented. Turns out the car had 3 bent rims, and the entire left rear suspension had been replaced due to an accident the car previously had. None of these things were disclosed to me. In fact, I was told the car was perfect, and had never had any damage history at all. When I brought this to their attention after owning the car for only one week, their reply to my request to them to take back the car and refund my money was "you'll have to sue us".

Not the kind of folks I ever want to deal with again.

Chris - 97C2

Wow, I'm starting to see a trend emerge

STLPCA

[quote]Originally posted by MikeO:
<strong>When I brought this to their attention after owning the car for only one week, their reply to my request to them to take back the car and refund my money was "you'll have to sue us".</strong><hr></blockquote>

Mike
Assuming it's still timely & that clean a case, I'll be happy to find you a lawyer in Springfield. Missouri has a pretty nice consumer fraud statute which includes recovery of attorney fees. It also may be of interest to our Atty General, especially if there are several complainants.

B-Line

I had an experience with Premiere cars and all I can say is, DON'T BUY ANYTHING FROM THAT BASTARD..

As many of you may remember, I was in the market for a C2S around January. I was very aggressively negotiating and calling every one who had a S for sale. I noticed that the price Premier cars was asking was way over market value. When I emailed Chris the owner to mention that his cars were overpriced but I wanted to negotiate, he sent me an obnixous email which I will paraphrase. He said, I am not looking for customers like you, lose my number.
That really irked me. Then, his company kept sending me emails regarding cars they had. I got an email once a week from them. Finally I emailed Chris back and said again, I'm interested in your cars but your way overpriced. This is when Chris started to get nasty. Me being a New Yorker did not take this sitting down. I got nasty back to him.
Without going into further detail, Chris "THE OWNER" wrote me back and said, "Seth, is that a Jewish name?"
I responded, YES.
He responded, "THAT EXPLAINS IT."

So, unless you want to buy a car from an Anti Semitic, overpriced, obnixous, untrustworthy, sleaze bag, I would highly recommend you find another car and another dealer.

Good luck.

tangram

Unless a raft of POSITIVE reports come back SATISFIED Premier customers, I suggest we lobby Rennlist to revoke its privelages regarding posting cars in the Rennlist classifieds. Why should Rennlist support such a cretinous (but unfortunately all too common) dealer?

What do people think?

john#6

Seems that sometimes we might get carried away with this stuff...
Score so far indicates 3 neg. for Premier, 1 neg. for Motorcars, 1 neg. for Willhoit.
Considering just how many fine vehicles these companies have sold over the past twenty or so years, I would suggest that there's a good chance that these unfortunate occasions mentioned above are not the norm at all.
All three of these companies have been very supportive of the Ozarks Lakes Region of the PCA and have a very good reputation in this part of the country.
I personally know of no one in this area who would not recommend trading with any or all of these companies.

DC from Cape Cod

John,

Your email is johnatpsco@aol.com and your are from Springfield, MO....are you affiliated with Premier Sportscars Co.?

When I emailed them about their pricing they responded by saying that perhaps I was not the type of buyer that appreciated quality...perhaps I was really a price buyer (i.e. I couldn't afford a 911). Their tone was rude and insulting and I would buy a Camaro before I bought a car from them.