Jose M. Perez wanted to be a kamikaze in a Maserati, so he threw down $64,000 for a 2008 Grand Turismo from H Greg Auto Auction in Doral. He works as a real estate agent to the stars, a job in which it's important to provide comfort to clients. His business investment backfired, though, he claims, because the dealership sold him a car with an unusual problem they refuse to fix.
So now there's a Maserati in Miami that croaks like a frog.
"You can hear it outside the car when I'm at a stoplight like, ribbit, ribbit, ribbit," says Perez, who was hopping around Brickell when he contacted Riptide to gripe. The noise in question was audible in the background. "They make you fall in love with the car, they promise you the world, and then they don't honor it."
According to Perez, the noise existed when he purchased the car, but the dealership provided a written agreement and verbally promised to fix the car over the Fourth of July weekend. Like a person who stops feeling sick as soon as they get to the doctor's office -- or the WB frog that won't perform in front of an audience -- the car stopped making the obnoxious sound for a few hours after the long weekend. But then it came right back.
Independent mechanics think repairing the suspension -- the suspected origin of the frog noise -- will cost about $5,000, Perez says. He wants H Greg to fix the car as promised. Not only does having a Maserati that sounds like a frog defeat the purpose of driving a Maserati, but also the entire suspension could fall off the car as Perez is driving, he says.
Charlie Maroun, sales manager of H Greg, says he's ordered the parts to fix the car. He thinks he's being more than generous because the Mercedes S550 Perez traded in wouldn't even start days after the transaction. Plus, luxury cars tend to be finnicky and require expensive repairs. Maroun thinks Perez should get over Frog Car.
"You're buying a Maserati, bro. You wanna live that lifestyle, you gotta understand that they're handmade," Maroun says. "It's not like a Honda or Toyota."
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