I see that Premier Cars (aka Premier Sportscars), in Springfield, Missouri has discovered NSX Prime and is now advertising some of their cars here.
I have had a personal buying experience with them that I want to share, so that other NSX owners here know all the facts about them BEFORE potentially doing any business with them. I may be the exception, and Premier may have many satisfied customers (which I'm sure if they respond will tell you about), but I must say that my buying experience with Premier turned into an absolute nightmare.
Here's what happened:
In July 2001 I agreed to purchase a Speed Yellow '98 Porsche C2S from Premier at the cost of $70,500. Like the vast majority of people who I'm told (by Premier) buy cars from them, I purchased it sight unseen based on their verbal/written description (I know, BIG mistake). I was told personally by the salesman, Dick Courtney (who's son, Chris Courtney owns the dealership), that the car was perfect. I am perhaps the most anal person known to man when it comes to my cars, so I really pressed him hard to explain EVERYTHING about the car from top to bottom, to make sure I was getting a top car (since I sure was paying top dollar). I asked VERY VERY detailed questions as to the books and service records, if it had had any paintwork, if it had ever had any sort of accident, the condition of the tires, etc.
Dick told me the car was like new, had never been in any sort of accident, the tires had 3000 miles on them, etc. I even had him write on the Bill of Sale what we discussed, and he used the exact words "Car is in Showroom, all original condition". I know it says that, because I'm looking at it right now as I type this post.
Well...the car is delivered (in a driving rain, no less), and I pull the car in my garage to look at it. Looks nice. I don't drive it because like I said, it's raining cats and dogs. My '91 NSX that just rolled 22,000 miles has NEVER been in the rain, and I sure didn't want to drive my new toy in the rain the first day I got it.
The next morning I get up and drive the car. Bad vibration above 45 mph...really bad. I call Dick to tell him, and he tells me that the car probably just needs the wheels and tires balanced. I tell him I'm leaving on vacation the next morning and when I get back in a week I'll take it into the dealership to have them check it out and fix it (and I tell him that I really think they should take care of the cost to do so).
When I return, I take the car first to a tire shop I use and then to my local Porsche dealership I've done business with for many years. They both tell me something rather startling...3 of the wheels are bent. The Porsche dealership goes on to tell me that the reason the 4th wheel isn't bent is that it has been replaced, and that the entire left rear suspension has also been replaced (left rear control arm, hub, drive axle, fwd. upper link, rwd. upper link). In other words, the car had been killed in the left rear, I believe was their exact statement to me. They go on to tell me that the lower part of the front bumper has been painted. Oh...and one more thing, the rear tires are worn down to the wear bars. Needless to say...I'm furious.
I call Dick and tell him everything, and tell him that I want them to buy back the car and refund my money, since the car was not as represented. Dick passes me on to his son, Chris Courtney (the owner of Premier Cars), and he says they'll replace the wheels and tires, but if I want to make them buy back the car, in his words, he says, "you'll have to sue me". I knew then I was in trouble.
I sure didn't like their response or attitude, but I decided that I needed to at least get a good unbent set of wheels and new tires for the car, so I tell them to send me some, and I will send the bent ones back upon receipt. I'm still very furious, because the car has been in an accident (obviously due to the replaced suspension) and the fact that it had some paintwork. If they were any kind of businessman at all, I felt, they should stand behind their car and should buy it back.
Fast forward...I got the wheels and tires and they were NOT the hollow spokes that originally come on the wide bodied C2S cars. They sent me solid spoke 18" wheels, which are not only far heavier and far less expensive than hollow spokes, but they are just not correct for the car. Period. I sent them back.
Now I'm really mad. I get in my car and drive over to Springfield, pay to spend the night in a hotel, and get up the next morning to speak face to face with Chris Courtney about buying the car back. He tells me right to my face they've done nothing wrong...and furthermore, that I'm just too damn hard to please. I ask him what in the world did I do wrong, except for being stupid enough to buy the car sight unseen from them. After all, I tell him, they sold me a car with bent wheels, worn out rear tires, a car that had paintwork when I was told it didn't have any, and a car that had been in a bad accident. (By the way, I did talk with the original owner's dealership to discuss the car with them after I got it, and the service advisor there mentioned he definitely knew the car, and he told me it had been in an accident, and that it took weeks to fix properly - great...
).
Our discussion did not go well, but Premier did offer to buy the car back, albeit offering me $67,500 to do so (remember, I paid $70,500). I called my lawyer from Springfield and she told me it would probably cost more than the $3000 I'd lose by taking their offer, to successfully sue and win vs. Premier (since we'd have to sue in Missouri vs. in Tennessee), so I took the money...always knowing that if anyone ever asked me about Premier Cars, I could at least relish in the fact that I could tell them this story.
Premier Cars sold me a car that they misrepresented. It was NOT "in Showroom, all original condition". It had been in an accident (I was told it hadn't been). It had paintwork on the front spoiler (I was told it had no paintwork). It had worn out rear tires (when I was specifically told they were good and only had 3000 miles on them). When confronted by the facts (and confirmed by my local Porsche dealership in writing, which I still have), the owner of Premier Cars told me to sue them. Now maybe I'm partially at fault here by not going to look at the car before shelling out over $70k, and I understand that. I'm an idiot. It'll never happen again, believe me. But, there's NO excuse for a dealership to do what they did. To misrepresent a car like that, and then not stand behind it, is inexcusable.
I thought everyone here should know the facts before dealing with Premier Cars.
The END.
I have had a personal buying experience with them that I want to share, so that other NSX owners here know all the facts about them BEFORE potentially doing any business with them. I may be the exception, and Premier may have many satisfied customers (which I'm sure if they respond will tell you about), but I must say that my buying experience with Premier turned into an absolute nightmare.
Here's what happened:
In July 2001 I agreed to purchase a Speed Yellow '98 Porsche C2S from Premier at the cost of $70,500. Like the vast majority of people who I'm told (by Premier) buy cars from them, I purchased it sight unseen based on their verbal/written description (I know, BIG mistake). I was told personally by the salesman, Dick Courtney (who's son, Chris Courtney owns the dealership), that the car was perfect. I am perhaps the most anal person known to man when it comes to my cars, so I really pressed him hard to explain EVERYTHING about the car from top to bottom, to make sure I was getting a top car (since I sure was paying top dollar). I asked VERY VERY detailed questions as to the books and service records, if it had had any paintwork, if it had ever had any sort of accident, the condition of the tires, etc.
Dick told me the car was like new, had never been in any sort of accident, the tires had 3000 miles on them, etc. I even had him write on the Bill of Sale what we discussed, and he used the exact words "Car is in Showroom, all original condition". I know it says that, because I'm looking at it right now as I type this post.
Well...the car is delivered (in a driving rain, no less), and I pull the car in my garage to look at it. Looks nice. I don't drive it because like I said, it's raining cats and dogs. My '91 NSX that just rolled 22,000 miles has NEVER been in the rain, and I sure didn't want to drive my new toy in the rain the first day I got it.
The next morning I get up and drive the car. Bad vibration above 45 mph...really bad. I call Dick to tell him, and he tells me that the car probably just needs the wheels and tires balanced. I tell him I'm leaving on vacation the next morning and when I get back in a week I'll take it into the dealership to have them check it out and fix it (and I tell him that I really think they should take care of the cost to do so).
When I return, I take the car first to a tire shop I use and then to my local Porsche dealership I've done business with for many years. They both tell me something rather startling...3 of the wheels are bent. The Porsche dealership goes on to tell me that the reason the 4th wheel isn't bent is that it has been replaced, and that the entire left rear suspension has also been replaced (left rear control arm, hub, drive axle, fwd. upper link, rwd. upper link). In other words, the car had been killed in the left rear, I believe was their exact statement to me. They go on to tell me that the lower part of the front bumper has been painted. Oh...and one more thing, the rear tires are worn down to the wear bars. Needless to say...I'm furious.
I call Dick and tell him everything, and tell him that I want them to buy back the car and refund my money, since the car was not as represented. Dick passes me on to his son, Chris Courtney (the owner of Premier Cars), and he says they'll replace the wheels and tires, but if I want to make them buy back the car, in his words, he says, "you'll have to sue me". I knew then I was in trouble.
I sure didn't like their response or attitude, but I decided that I needed to at least get a good unbent set of wheels and new tires for the car, so I tell them to send me some, and I will send the bent ones back upon receipt. I'm still very furious, because the car has been in an accident (obviously due to the replaced suspension) and the fact that it had some paintwork. If they were any kind of businessman at all, I felt, they should stand behind their car and should buy it back.
Fast forward...I got the wheels and tires and they were NOT the hollow spokes that originally come on the wide bodied C2S cars. They sent me solid spoke 18" wheels, which are not only far heavier and far less expensive than hollow spokes, but they are just not correct for the car. Period. I sent them back.
Now I'm really mad. I get in my car and drive over to Springfield, pay to spend the night in a hotel, and get up the next morning to speak face to face with Chris Courtney about buying the car back. He tells me right to my face they've done nothing wrong...and furthermore, that I'm just too damn hard to please. I ask him what in the world did I do wrong, except for being stupid enough to buy the car sight unseen from them. After all, I tell him, they sold me a car with bent wheels, worn out rear tires, a car that had paintwork when I was told it didn't have any, and a car that had been in a bad accident. (By the way, I did talk with the original owner's dealership to discuss the car with them after I got it, and the service advisor there mentioned he definitely knew the car, and he told me it had been in an accident, and that it took weeks to fix properly - great...
Our discussion did not go well, but Premier did offer to buy the car back, albeit offering me $67,500 to do so (remember, I paid $70,500). I called my lawyer from Springfield and she told me it would probably cost more than the $3000 I'd lose by taking their offer, to successfully sue and win vs. Premier (since we'd have to sue in Missouri vs. in Tennessee), so I took the money...always knowing that if anyone ever asked me about Premier Cars, I could at least relish in the fact that I could tell them this story.
Premier Cars sold me a car that they misrepresented. It was NOT "in Showroom, all original condition". It had been in an accident (I was told it hadn't been). It had paintwork on the front spoiler (I was told it had no paintwork). It had worn out rear tires (when I was specifically told they were good and only had 3000 miles on them). When confronted by the facts (and confirmed by my local Porsche dealership in writing, which I still have), the owner of Premier Cars told me to sue them. Now maybe I'm partially at fault here by not going to look at the car before shelling out over $70k, and I understand that. I'm an idiot. It'll never happen again, believe me. But, there's NO excuse for a dealership to do what they did. To misrepresent a car like that, and then not stand behind it, is inexcusable.
I thought everyone here should know the facts before dealing with Premier Cars.
The END.
