Is "Euromasters" Porsche in Fountain Valley, CA still around?

[G50]

There must be an interesting story here.

I've lived in So Cal since the 60s, and been involved in one way or another in the auto biz for a lot of that.

I was very, very surprised when Euromasters first opened, 4-5 years ago, right off the 405 in Fountain Valley.

They are an independent reseller/consignment seller of mostly aircooled Porsches. They also had a repair shop, and I think did some restorations.

What surprised me was the incredible scale of their facility. This is/was a HUGE facility. For a non-franchise car dealer, really unprecedented. And, in a fairly prime location visible from the 405 freeway. I'm not good at estimating size, but the entire facility must have been 50,000+ square feet.

I was also surprised that this would be opened right after the financial collapse in the US, and the recession.

I went in there a few times out of curiosity, and that made me even more surprised. There was so much empty space. Giant empty banquet rooms, etc. I was also surprised by how much $$$$ went into the place. The tenant improvements (I assume they were leasing) were tremendous. It must have cost well into the 6 figures, or even 7, to set that place up.

They took out a fairly big ad in our local PCA monthly, I think hosted some events.

Frankly, I couldn't see how they could even come close to generate the revenue needed to run a monster like that, by selling used/consignment Porsches. There just isn't a huge margin in them.

Yes, they did some repair and restoration, too, but that's a tough biz, too.

I figured maybe it was some rich guy's folly? Or someone who was really, really good at convincing investors?

Being my cynical self, every time I drove by it on the freeway, I was waiting for it to be shut down, I'd look as I zoomed by. But, year after year, though 2008, 09, 10, I kept seeing cars parked out front. It amazed me, b/c to my biz mind, they just had to be bleeding money every month.

The last couple weeks I've driven by on the freeway, there's never any cars out front and it looks dark inside.

Anyone know the story? It has to be interesting!

[Zeke]

I too have seen that and wondered. Don't get down that way too often anymore so don't know the status.

We are still seeing businesses going belly up in LB every month as new ones seem to pop up. No shortage of commercial space.

[G50]

Yeah, I see a lot of commercial vacancy, too.

This was a big one, though. Here's some idea of what it looked like inside.

[Brando]

Indeed they are. Just drove past a couple weeks ago, on my way home from FRY'S

[G50]

Really?

This may have happened in the last week or so. This weekend, the place sure looked dark and empty.

They also of course had a massive website. Looks gone.

http://www.euromastersclassiccars.com/

[chocolatelab]

i thought the same thing the other day they looked a bit empty. i guess that means the warranty on the engine rebuild is gone. guess it really doesnt matter since the car went back home last year.

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by Brando

Indeed they are. Just drove past a couple weeks ago, on my way home from FRY'S

Indeed they are what? Helps to clarify what question you are answering.

[Brando]

Originally Posted by Zeke

Indeed they are what? Helps to clarify what question you are answering.

My bad. Indeed I believe they are still around.

[quicksix]

I picked up the phone and tried to call them. got a fast busy with no answering machine.
So they are indeed..not answering the phone.

[speedracer]

I was in LA in the summer and stopped in there. It was a weird event. I walked in, no staff around anywhere. I walked the showroom waiting around for about 10 minutes periodically selling "hello" and no one came around. I ended up leaving with a wtf look on my face.

[BE911SC]

I too stopped in there back in the spring. Big, almost empty showroom and a weird vibe compared to the fluff of the website. I walked over to the reception desk and the owner and receptionist didn't acknowledge me right away, which immediately told me they don't know how to greet a potential customer. Website was definitely nicer than the actual visit.

[ths911]

I drive past it on the 405 twice a day, it sure looks closed - been like this for a few months now. Not worth the effort to get off the freeway and get a closer look.

It had been for sale earlier this year.

[Busta Rib]

The site is back up with this message:

"Due to the recession, Euromasters Classic Cars sadly had to closed (sic) its doors. We gratefully thank all of our customers who supported us these past 4 years. We will notify you If any changes occur."

Our Staff

[tabs]

They probably got the Lease on the building for practically nothing...and when it ran out they ran out...

[G50]

Would love to see those "financials." Must be interesting.

My guess is what they were trying to do a year ago wasn't as much of a "sale" as it was trying to get someone else to take over at the helm (including taking a bunch of liabilities, take over on lease, etc) of a sinking ship.

[Surf40]

There are other reasons they closed. Just Google "Erumasters fraud" and see why they really closed.

[G50]

I guess we now know what was going on.

I figured it had to be something weird. There was just no way a business like that could make money.

Another P-car ripoff artist bites the dust..

[creaturecat]

shifty fucher