Barry Zekelman is not short of a bob or two. Canada.com reports that the Windsor industrialist recently sold his steel tube-making business to Russia’s OAO Novolipetsk Steel for a cool $1.5b billion. Baz worked hard for the money; he helped build-up the family biz from its $2 million dollar roots. So it’s no surprise, really, that Zekelman isn’t a patient man when it comes to plunking down $1,553,354.47 for a Veyron-shaped plaything and getting bupkis in return. Earlier this month, Mr. Zekelman filed a lawsuit against VW’s luxury brand in Michigan court [pdf here]. After pointing out that “although it conducts business in Troy, Michigan, it has not registered with the Michigan Department of Energy, Labor and Economic Growth as required,” Zekelman’s briefs accuse Bugatti salesman Ross Dressel of ye olde bait and switch routine . . . .
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“On December 23 [Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence], 2008, at 9:22 a.m., Mr. Dressel informed Mr. Zekelman via email that Bugatti Troy would not be delivering Mr. Zekelman an Italian Red 2009 Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Coupe. Instead, Mr. Dessel offered to deliver a 2008 Bugatti.”
And for good reason; according to the lawsuit, Bugatti isn’t building any 2009 Veyrons. Anyway, Zekelman declined Dressel’s kind offer of last year’s model—for the same money as an ’09—and asked for a full refund. Dressel agreed.
By August, Zekelman gave up, accusing Bugatti et al. of “unjust enrichment” (a charge of note for New GM’s shareholders). He’s now demanding treble damages, costs, interest on the payment and attorneys’ fees. That’s $4,660,063.41, and the rest.
We’re a little late to this story, but we’ll keep an eye on it, so our Best and Brightest don’t fall into the same trap. [thanks to polishdon for the link]
“Zekelman accuses Bugatti salesman Ross Dressel of trying the old bait and switch routine”
Doesn’t sound like anything much different than what the local D/FW VW dealers do.
If VW had defaulted on 91 $17k Rabbits instead, we’d never hear about it.
Hey VW: You picked the wrong customer to give the old runaround. Those extra sales profits you gained via CFC just evaporated in this lawsuit.
I’ll have to reconsider my Veyron purchase plans.
So, will VW hang their dealer out to dry? Or will they deign to offer legal assistance?
I’d love to see the phalanx(es?) of lawyers in that courtroom.
I wish I had access to that workshop!
Oh, how much money is on the hood for the 2008 they can’t sell?
I wonder if he’s ordered a 2010 Volt as a replacement?
Funny that it mentions Troy, MI and that this guy is from Windsor Ontario. Bentley Troy has had several Veyrons in stock over the past couple of years. I don’t know if they still have one, but he should have been able to buy one if he wanted to.
“Anyway, Dressel agreed to provide Mr. Z with a full refund.”
Which, I suspect, is all he is entitled to. I would be surprised if his contract with Bugatti didn’t stipulate that any contractual damages would be limited to the amount of money actually paid by the customer. Such language is pretty standard in commercial contracts.
In days of old, the company would have simply slapped a 2009 label on the old 2008 models. Its been done!
Your missing the point about a guy who has everything…..almost. How tragic for him.
If I had a Billion dollars and could fit into a Veyron, you’d damn sure bet I’d have one.
I’d part it on the lawn next to my VIPERJET.
I think this is the second time Bugatti skipped a model year, too. I have never seen a MY2007 Veyron advertised anywhere in the States. There are ’06s, and there are ’08s, but no ’07s. If anyone knows differently, I’d sure like to hear about it.
I’d love to see the purchase agreement, too, with the listed options. Should make for some fun reading. Apparently, though, even Veyrons get discounted, b/c the destination charge for an ’08 Veyron was $34,866, on top of the EU1.1M purchase price, according to the window sticker, and then the $7700 GGT goes on top of that. Who’d have thought?
What is the easiest way to make a small fortune? Start with a large one and buy German cars (or even worse in this case, designed in Germany and built in France).
Hopefully this guy will get treble damages from the Nazis for all of us that din’t have the money to sue (with a good enough laywer to win).
And then he can get a Nissan GT-R, which, for all of its issues, will put the Veyron to shame in reliability.
What did he trade in as a “clunker”?
I might put down a 10% deposit on some bitchin’ sweet ass ride if I suddenly became rich, but the whole amount on an unseen car? That’s just me though.
Tosh :
August 29th, 2009 at 4:30 am
I might put down a 10% deposit on some bitchin’ sweet ass ride if I suddenly became rich, but the whole amount on an unseen car? That’s just me though.
Each one is custom-built, so the up-front payment requirement is not surprising.
It might just be my reading comprehension, but the editing of this story seems to lose a key point from other versions of this story, and the root cause of the law suit. The base of his law suit is not that they couldn’t deliver his car, it’s that 8 months later they still haven’t come through with his refund and have been sitting on his $1.5M dollars.
If they are still sitting on his 1.5 million, then yes, they need to start paying interest.
He could claim that he’s changed his mind and decided to invest that money. He’s now losing out the time-value of that money.
Whadda dummy. This thing will drag out so long that he should have ordered a 2010 or 2011 model.
# CyCarConsulting :
August 28th, 2009 at 10:12 pm
Your missing the point about a guy who has everything…..almost. How tragic for him.
By all accounts, Barry’s a good guy.
Zekelman took a relatively small family owned company with 5 employees, started by his father, a Holocaust survivor, and made it a billion dollar enterprise.
He, along with his family are very philanthropic and have given many millions of dollars to charitable causes. They sold Atlas Tube to a Russian company for $3.5 billion.
If he wants to buy some nice toys with the money he earned, gezunterhei.
I just looked at the filing pdf. It turns out that his attorney is an old friend of mine, who has also represented me in a legal matter. I think I’ll make some calls later to see if Mr. Zekelman is interested in being interviewed.
That VW agreed to refund his money and hasn’t done so after 8 months is pretty good grounds for a lawsuit, particularly because 8 months of interest on 1.5 million dollars is a non-trivial amount, enough to buy a more pedestrian BMW or Lexus.
twotone :
August 29th, 2009 at 2:42 am
What did he trade in as a “clunker”?
The Vector he got from Arsenio Hall
And then he can get a Nissan GT-R, which, for all of its issues, will put the Veyron to shame in reliability.
Don’t make me laugh.
no_slushbox :And then he can get a Nissan GT-R, which, for all of its issues, will put the Veyron to shame in reliability.
And then he can get the Corolla, which will put the Veyron to shame in reliability. Somehow, I don’t think a guy worth 1000 million dollars, and change, worries much about reliability.
I think all the fuss about this story misses the basic point. A customer paid for something, and didn’t receive it. Period. The retailer owes him a full refund, plus interest. The dollar amount or the silliness of the car are not important. He didn’t get what he purchased. They owe him the money.
Treble damages? HUH? How about “full refund”.
Or if we want to get really nasty, full refund plus reasonable interest — about 1-2%.
Evidently, Baz has billions but no Brains. He doesn’t seem to even understand what he is getting, and what it’s all about.
This is a car produced at a rate of 1 1/2 cars per decade (or so!), it ain’t no Ford Fusion or some mass-market car to which “model year” is relevant, applies or even means anything.
It is an ultra-exlusive hand-made rarity, the likes of which will probably never occur again (hybrids, alternative fuels, electric engines, no more ICE?).
Baz is a Bozo. Should James Glickenhaus have sued Pininfarina because his one-off, Enzo-derived P4/5 took so long to develop that it became a “year-old model”?
Baz is a Boob. His salesperson immediately accepted to refund him his full 1.6Mil and he’s somehow still upset? Cause it’s a “2008”? Does this have any meaning to him? See earlier paragraphs.
Baz is a Buffoon. Know how Ferrari and even Porsche have cars that you have to be invited to purchase (respectively, e.g.: 599FXX and ’97 911 Turbo S)? Which mainstream Camcordtima is sold like that? The Veryon is several notches above those models in exclusivity.
Baz is a Blockhead. Baz should get a Buick. We’ll call it a “2011”, so Baz can feel he’s Best.
I’ll bet the employees of Atlas Tube welcome their new Russian Overlords.
I have no sympathy for billionaires, apparently.
I, for one, will not be buying a Veryon until this sorted out.
(Sure, I probably won’t be buying one afterwards either, but…)
# Justin Berkowitz :
August 30th, 2009 at 12:35 am
Treble damages? HUH? How about “full refund”.
Or if we want to get really nasty, full refund plus reasonable interest — about 1-2%.
Michigan law permits asking for treble damages in certain torts. Nothing wrong with Zekelman asking for what the law permits him to ask for.
# Kman :
August 30th, 2009 at 2:25 am
Evidently, Baz has billions but no Brains. He doesn’t seem to even understand what he is getting, and what it’s all about.
Enough brains to make those billions.
He knows exactly what he was buying and before he put down his deposit for a 2009, he was offered a 2008 and declined.
This is a car produced at a rate of 1 1/2 cars per decade (or so!), it ain’t no Ford Fusion or some mass-market car to which “model year” is relevant, applies or even means anything.
They’ve built 215 Veyron coupes and about 20 Veyron Grand Sport targas since production started in 2006.
Baz is a Bozo. Should James Glickenhaus have sued Pininfarina because his one-off, Enzo-derived P4/5 took so long to develop that it became a “year-old model”?
Glickenhaus wasn’t promised a specific model year in the purchase agreement. Zekelman was.
Baz is a Boob. His salesperson immediately accepted to refund him his full 1.6Mil and he’s somehow still upset? Cause it’s a “2008″? Does this have any meaning to him? See earlier paragraphs.
While the dealer and their attorney have offered to refund the purchase price and have told Zekelman that the refund was in process, it’s already been 8 months and not a penny has been refunded. It’s not the dealer’s fault and they aren’t party to the suit.
Baz is a Buffoon. Know how Ferrari and even Porsche have cars that you have to be invited to purchase (respectively, e.g.: 599FXX and ‘97 911 Turbo S)? Which mainstream Camcordtima is sold like that? The Veryon is several notches above those models in exclusivity.
So, because Ferrari is run by a bunch of haughty douchebags who deign to sell you a car, VW gets to break contracts?
Zekelman is no automotive novice, nor is he unfamiliar with bespoke, high ticket items. He already owns an Enzo, Lambos and high zoot Porsches. He’s got a 163 foot yacht that cost many times more than a Veyron, Murcielago, and Enzo put together, that was built to custom specs. He’s got a 200 mph twin-turbine catamaran.
He made his money, he’s entitled to spend it and get what he paid for.
Baz is a Blockhead. Baz should get a Buick. We’ll call it a “2011″, so Baz can feel he’s Best.
He ordered a 2009. The dealer and Bugatti took his money under those conditions. Less than week after getting paid in full they told him they wouldn’t title the car as a 2009.
The car has since been sold to another buyer. So VW has gotten paid twice for the same car. And you have bad stuff to say about Zekelman just because he’s rich?
shaker :
August 30th, 2009 at 8:30 am
I’ll bet the employees of Atlas Tube welcome their new Russian Overlords.
I have no sympathy for billionaires, apparently.
The deal fell through during the financial meltdown last year.