Guy Bought Veyron; Wants Refund

Ilpav

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$1.5M car refund demanded


By Dalson Chen, The Windsor StarSeptember 1, 2009



Billionaire Windsor industrialist Barry Zekelman has found out money can't buy everything after he unsuccessfully tried to buy a Bugatti Veyron -- one of the most expensive and exclusive production cars in the world.

Now Zekelman is suing the car's dealers and makers for allegedly failing to refund the $1.5 million he paid in full.

"Bugatti Troy has breached its contract with Mr. Zekelman by failing to deliver the 2009 Italian Red Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Coupe, and by failing to refund Mr. Zekelman the $1,553,354.57 he paid for the vehicle," say court documents.

These allegations have yet to be proven in court.

The car Zekelman wanted has a 1,001 horsepower engine and a top speed in excess of 400 km/h. It can accelerate from zero to 100 km/h in 2.5 seconds.

There are only about 200 of the cars in the world.

Bugatti's promotional literature touts the 16.4 Coupe as a "super sports car."

It refers to the car as possibly "the most sophisticated production vehicle of all times."

Bugatti Veyron owners include oil tycoons and celebrities such as fashion designer Ralph Lauren and American Idol's Simon Cowell.

According to the lawsuit, Zekelman walked into a Bugatti dealership in Troy, Mich., in September 2008 and spoke to a salesman about buying a 2009 model of the 16.4 Coupe.

The lawsuit states that Zekelman made a $428,000 advance payment within days of visiting the dealership. On Dec. 15, Zekelman wired the remaining $1.1 million.

A week after the money was wired, Zekelman received e-mails from the dealership informing him that the 2009 model of the 16.4 Coupe would never be available as Bugatti had stopped making the cars in 2008.

A 2008 model was offered to Zekelman. He refused and demanded a full refund.

More than eight months later, court documents state that Bugatti has still not given back the money.

"Remarkable. That's how I viewed it when I first saw (the situation)," said Steve Cohen of Cohen, Lerner & Rabinovitz, the law firm representing Zekelman.

"Mr. Zekelman's position is fairly simple. He paid money for something he didn't get. He will get his money back, because that's the only fair thing to do."

Asked if the company has offered any explanations for why they are withholding a full refund, Cohen said their answers have been insubstantial.

"In their pleadings, they have made certain positions that claim they don't have to return all of it -- only parts of it," Cohen said. "There are disputes, and we really don't understand them."

Bugatti Automobiles SAS is owned by Volkswagen. Cohen said the fact that the company is based in Europe has posed problems to the progress of the lawsuit.

Staff at the Bugatti dealership in Troy refused to comment about the situation.

Ross Dressel, the salesman who dealt with Zekelman and is named in the lawsuit, said: "You'd have to speak to somebody else. I don't have an answer for you."

A man who identified himself as Dressel's sales manager said: "I don't know anything about it. You'll have to talk to our lawyers."

But the sales manager said he does not know who is representing Bugatti in the case. "You got to understand, we're so far down the food chain, we don't know these things."

Zekelman and his two brothers inherited the steel tube manufacturing company Atlas Tube from their father in 1984.

The Zekelman family has since sold the company for more than $3 billion.

Last summer, Barry Zekelman, 42, and his wife Stephanie bought a $14-million vacation home in Phoenix, Ariz.

The Zekelmans have also made numerous philanthropic contributions. In 2007, the family donated $10 million to the Holocaust Memorial Center in Farmington Hills.
? Copyright (c) The Windsor Star

http://www.windsorstar.com/cars/refund+demanded/1949304/story.html
 
Lol. 2008 model... 2009 model... How does it fucking matter? He should've known that they stopped making it in 2008 anyway.
 
Lol. 2008 model... 2009 model... How does it fucking matter? He should've known that they stopped making it in 2008 anyway.

It was probably the color rather than the model year. He specifically ordered a red one, but the one at the Troy dealership is black/silver.
 
I dont see the problem.. The dealer lied to the guy, and now he wants a refund. Yeah their is no difference between 08 or an "so-called" 09, but, seeing as he never took delivery of the car he should have the right to get his money back. Unless their is something missing in the article, I dont see any problem with the guys position.
 
Fuck red.
 
Just spray it red then

That would be a lot trouble to make up for a car he should have had by now. Also interior may not be the color scheme that he wanted, the one at that dealership is a bluish-black color.
 
The whole thing sounds terribly shady. I bet there's more behind this...
 
I dont see the problem.. The dealer lied to the guy, and now he wants a refund. Yeah their is no difference between 08 or an "so-called" 09, but, seeing as he never took delivery of the car he should have the right to get his money back. Unless their is something missing in the article, I dont see any problem with the guys position.

Yeah sounds like a sh!tty dealer trying to swindle money. The guy wouldn't have put down nearly half a million advance if he wasn't promised/lied to by the dealer because had the dealer been honest about it then he would've settled for an 08 car or not at all.
 
Really ?!

Bugatti stopped making the Veyron (Coupe) in 2008 ?!

Did I miss the news of the production stoppage ?
 
For $1,553,354.57 I would not only want the specific year and color that I'd like, but I would also expect my balls licked clean. This isn't some shady used car lot where you buy whatever is available or gtfo, this is the most expensive production car in the world. Bugatti should definitely refund the full sum and publicly apologize.
 
Really ?!

Bugatti stopped making the Veyron (Coupe) in 2008 ?!

Did I miss the news of the production stoppage ?

Production
2005-2008, 200 produced <------------ Coup?
2009-present (Grand Sport) <---------- Targa
 
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That's what you get for going with Volkswagen AG
 
For $1,553,354.57 I would not only want the specific year and color that I'd like, but I would also expect my balls licked clean. This isn't some shady used car lot where you buy whatever is available or gtfo, this is the most expensive production car in the world. Bugatti should definitely refund the full sum and publicly apologize.


Obviously Bugatti didn't have any problems selling that car for that price, so you can forget about the ball-licking thing. Actually every Bugatti owner should be glad that he got one. But I suppose that's too much expected from rich people. Maybe Bugatti made a mistake by allowing anyone to buy a Veyron. They probably should have gone the Ferrari way: "We decide who gets our cars."

Also we have no idea about the real background. For all we know, it could just be some dumbass billionaire again, who thinks reality has to bend to his likings. That whole article basically says "We have no idea what this is all about, but we write about it anyway, since the story contains a billionaire who bought an expensive toy". It sounds like he literally forced the money on them and now is stuck with the contract and his lawyer says "Let's go public, it may help".

Might as well be one more example of the "You can't buy yourself a good character" story. And it is so conveniently mentioned that he donated money for charity reasons... :rolleyes:

I also know people who donate money and do charity work but they refuse to make it public, because they don't want it to look like they have to compensate for being rich. I will never be able to understand, why U.S. millionaires and billionaires have to brag in public about how much they donate... It's like having sex and asking "Wasn't I good?" afterwards, while padding your own shoulder.

Btw., if I had billions and my name was Zekelman, first thing I'd do was changing my name :lol:
 
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I wouldn't give two shits whether its 08 or 09. A Veyron is a Veyron.
 
I know. It's funny. What he is saying is "Oh, I'd rather have no Veyron at all than some stupid 2008 model".
 
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