Flying Deutschman

First time poster, long time lurker.

I will soon be in the market for a P-car and am interested in probably a '99.

I am looking for opinions / thoughts / experiences from anyone on a local dealer, Custom Motors. I have seen them mentioned in many posts, but never really seen any feedback on them.

Any and all input is greatly appreciated,

FD

catnmouse

Hi FD, can you give me a little more infor on Custom Motors, address, inventory, web site, do they advertise in the papers, autotrator, if its close ill take a look or meet you for a look, always intersting.

Black Sea RD

I posted this same question in my thread about advice on buying a 996. They have a lot of good looking used 99 and up 996s, some with aero kits and nice wheels, for sale at reasonable prices. I called them a few days ago and talked to "Mike" of this dealership. He said they are the wholesalers for Champion and get their 996s that Champion feels are not right for their own inventory due to mileage or other factors. They also install aero kits in house and do a complete check of the cars to include a RMS change and replacing brake pads if they are worn more than 50%. Sounds like a promising place to shop for a 996 for those on a budget.

They can be found at www.custommotorsofsouthflorida.com. I called to ask about two silver aero packaged 99 996s and was told they were already delivered to their new owners. Their website shows their showroom which really looks nice. Will probably make a trip down there myself.

Constantine

jjker

I bought a car from Custom Motors last summer. While I'm fairly happy with the car, I am less than impressed with him. I had him install a full body kit, and some of those sweet wheels with the polished lip.

One of the wheels was defective and it took him almost 3 months to make it right for me. He finally did send me another one, but it took him forever, and I missed most of my summer with the car. Also, when I got the car to my shop, my mechanic noted that the rear wheel studs were way too short for the wheels he installed, and said I was lucky I made it home. Apparently they were only hanging on by 2 or 3 threads ?!?!? Scary.

Also, the tires that come on those wheels, unless you ask for something else, are garbage knock offs. They say on the side they are made by Hankook, but I contacted Hankook Canada and Hankook USA, and emailed them pictures of the sidewall and tread pattern, and they denied that they were their tires. Spooky.

The body kit I am sure is not OEM parts. While the parts appear to be high quality, his install job and the paint on them is not great. I've been working away at getting the little stuff fixed on the car, and it's coming along nicely, but all at an expense after the fact that wouldn't have been neccessary if he had been better.

As for RMS, and PPI and new brakes, etc, make sure you get all that in writing and copies of the work orders. He told me my car had a fresh service. When I got it home, it needed a service badly, and needed new front rotors. I did have it PPI'd at Champion, but I guess they aren't as fussy as we'd like them to be.

Anyway, I'm just writing to warn you. You get what you pay for. He is cheaper than other places, but I've spent more than I saved bringing the car to a reasonable standard.

Also, as far as I can tell, he has no where near the inventory as his webpage would indicate. That's why the car you called about was already sold. Most of them are. Heck, I bought my car from him 11 months ago and it's still on there. Talk about bait and switch...

For more details, you can email me at jjker@hotmail.com. Just put "Custom Motors" in the subject line.

Happy Hunting.

Jason

porschedog

Is there a compelling reason why they do not show the prices of the cars on the Web site?
I find that annoying, as you can't tell at a glance if the cars are reasonably-priced or way over the top. I know the dealer wants to make you call them, but that is exaclty the type of tactic that makes buying a car less than enjoyable. If they play the "you have to call us to get the price" game, what other games do they have in store?

catnmouse

Hey FD, pm me if you want to look at some cars at some time, I can meet up with you. cnm

porschedog

As a follow-up :

I e-mailed the dealer, asking where they posted the price of the cars. The reply was, "Call us, ask for Mike."

Paul 996

Glad that I found this thread, was very interested in two of Mike's cars. No Vins to do a carfax on ahead of time. Essentially, I have to fly to Florida and see what he has at the moment. Hard to get a clear answer from him on what he has and what the specific car has option wise. May be out there next week for business so I'll report back.

-Paul

porschedog

I don't think it's possible to get a "warm & fuzzy feeling" from these guys. If you come down, make a trip to Miami to see Walter at Gables Sportscars. They really do get the cars The Collection won't CPO. (A salesman at TC inadvertenlty told me this)

jjker

I've said this before, but here it is again. Be careful with Custom Motors. He didn't screw me, but the car could have been called more accurately. I think he acts more like a wholesaler than a retailer. He isn't as fussy with details as a Porsche seller ought to be. In my opinion.

Also, I don't think Champion is a good place for a PPI.

porschedog

Butch I-can't-recall-his-last-name is The Guy for PPIs in the Pompano area.

The guys at Champion have a HUGE attitude.

washington951

butch = butch stokes.
Butch Stokes Automotive Inc
2530 Southwest 30th Avenue, Hollywood, FL 33021
(954) 458-0044

good guy - low key.
just did the PPI for my recent buyer.