Dealer feedback: Phillip Haupt, Naples, Florida

[550Maranello]

Chaps,

This gentleman from Exquisite Investments, Inc, has quite a few 911s advertised in Excellence. The cars seem to be in excellent condition with plenty of service records.

There is a thread regarding Mr. Haupt but it is from 2010. Does anyone have had a recent experience with him or his company?

Best regards,

Orazio

[McLovin]

Here's a thread from 2012.

Off Topic - Philip Todd...Heard of him?

[bluebox88]

Here's a more recent thread from 2013 regarding Mr. Haupt:

Advice on car and PPI in Ft Myers, FL

Be Forewarned

[plumb4u2]

why would you even consider buying from this person with all the warning signs??

There are so many good cars on the market from GOOD people

Kinda like buying a motor that MM built and hoping it will last

[A'Nonymous]

In short form, he is a convicted crook. I know this for several reasons - not least of which is that I purchased a 911 from him.

Not to sound too cliche here but I like to know who I am doing business with when large amounts of cash are involved so I had some research performed on his background. A Google search will also confirm much of his public record (using his real full name from my posting title. One "L" in the first name). He has lived in a few places flipping cars for several years. Some of it was even legal for a while. Its mostly been exotics: Ferrari, Lotus (see this old, re-post from the Lotus forum) and Porsche for the last few years.

He does not have a dealers license anymore and due to the volume of cars he sells he has to work around this for the tax implications. So, he uses some shady methods to buy and sell and shift some of the cars out of country. He advertises on the same sites we all frequent but international users do as well.

I had a PPI done on the car I purchased from him, Carfax, DMV history, all of it. It was clean so I negotiated a deal and it was done. I did lots of homework and made sure it was a good trade. It was not easy though, the process was quite lengthy and it almost came to a legal battle in the end. I would not go this way again and would, as other users suggest, pick a reputable owner for my next purchase.

However, if it were not for the endless expert support from our host and its users here, I would not have the great car I now have. I have put a few more thousand into her in parts (the car, not the wife...) and countless in labor and time. The members here have saved many knuckles provided limitless guidance to improve what once was just a good runner into a real stunner.

Cheers and generous thanks. And buyer beware.
-A'Non