Where is Philippe Kahn?

I leased a 335i from Philippe in 2010, and it was the best car shopping experience I had. Last night, I emailed Philippe regarding a MINI that I am thinking of getting and got a reply from another Internet Sales Manager @ South Bay BMW saying Philippe is no longer with South Bay BMW. Anyone know where he is now?

TIA

He's at S. Bay Lexus.......................

Originally Posted by jenhao

I leased a 335i from Philippe in 2010, and it was the best car shopping experience I had. Last night, I emailed Philippe regarding a MINI that I am thinking of getting and got a reply from another Internet Sales Manager @ South Bay BMW saying Philippe is no longer with South Bay BMW. Anyone know where he is now?

TIA

Well, you could give Greg your business.... I purchased my 335d from Philippe at the end of 2009, and I just returned from a road trip after taking delivery of a 335is E93 from Greg. Greg is every bit as easy to work with as Philippe was. Come to think of it, Greg is better at post-sale follow-up than Philippe was.

Or you could just get a Lexus from Philippe at South Bay. The new RX series is in and it is interesting, as is the new turbo IS series. Not interested? Check out our founder and sponsor up the coast at Santa Barbara, Jon Shafer jshafer@sbautogroup.com as well as Greg Poland.

philippek@southbaylexus.com

Originally Posted by Greg@Pacific BMW

He's at S. Bay Lexus.......................

OMG, was thinking about the CT200h and Mini...now there is one more reason to take a look at that Lexus.

Greg, I am also looking at X3 and Q5 at the same time, I will give you a buzz when I know what I really want.

@ jenhao.. you know how to find me...........noooooo not Lexus......

Originally Posted by Greg@Pacific BMW

@ jenhao.. you know how to find me...........noooooo not Lexus......

+1....

No Lexus....

Originally Posted by Jon Shafer

+1....

No Lexus....

LOL, Just took delivery of a CT200h F-Sport Special Edition from Philippe today, this will be my daily driver replacing a beloved ex-carpool warrior Prius, and fuel economy is important. Again, excellent service from Philippe, no BS, straight to the point

Jon & Greg
I am not leaving the BMW family, 335i is still going to be the car I drive in weekends. And, X3 is still on my list of next car to get.

Originally Posted by jenhao

LOL, Just took delivery of a CT200h F-Sport Special Edition from Philippe today, this will be my daily driver replacing a beloved ex-carpool warrior Prius, and fuel economy is important. Again, excellent service from Philippe, no BS, straight to the point

Jon & Greg
I am not leaving the BMW family, 335i is still going to be the car I drive in weekends. And, X3 is still on my list of next car to get.

Excellent!

Now, you're in Torrance; are you coming to Bimmerfest at the Rose Bowl in May??

You gotta check it out!!

Originally Posted by Greg@Pacific BMW

He's at S. Bay Lexus.......................

WHAT?!?! Blasphemy!!! I just threw up a little in my mouth. What pray tell happened???? Do we all need to pitch in to send him to rehab??

Just got an IS350 F-sport from Philippe at South Bay Lexus! This guy is the epitome of the perfect car salesman! I emailed in, got a call within the hour from Philippe asking me what I all wanted on my IS. Come to find out its not available at there location, no worries though because by weeks-end Philippe managed to get it from another dealer AND gave me a price so good I couldn't say anything but YES to!

In addition every question I asked Philippe knew the answer to! He didn't just tell me I needed this option and that option, he actually told me WHY it would be beneficial to my everyday life and why I would miss out if I didn't get it. Best car sale i've had in a LONG time! To bad I cant opt for Euro Delivery with Lexus hahaha!

No worries 'festers ill be back very soon once the F30 //M comes out, til then i'm Lexus rollin!

I never bought a car from Philippe, but based on a couple of e-mail communications, I wasn't very impressed. Very impersonal IMHO. Now that he's selling Lexus, I have no business with him in the foreseeable future.

I have had much better luck up in Santa Barbara (Jon S) and another dealer in Camarillo, which will remain nameless ;-)

Unfortunately, I never met a BMW CA or Sales Manager I liked in LA or SD...

You must have caught Philippe in transition between Lexus and his old BMW store.

Originally Posted by UncleJ

You must have caught Philippe in transition between Lexus and his old BMW store.

Not really... It's been a while (before Philippe did his ED YouTube video). Again, I have nothing against him; his high reputation didn't translate to the experience I got. Maybe my expectations were unreasonably inflated?

For a Lexus salesman he is getting a lot of "ink" on a BMW board!

Deleted

Originally Posted by sammie

Sept of 2009 I met with Phillip and had the worst experience with him. Tried two more time and after a phone call with him that was it. I was a first time leases,but had done all my home work thanks to you guys here. He kept change numbers on me. I would point this out and he would say oh I was just not thinking, it's a really busy day sorry, simple money mistake towards his direction. Over and over. Steve Thomas BMW called win I had hung up from Philip, I was so mad when I picked up the phone the poor guy Ryan Amico on the other end I let him have it. I said I am buy the car at this price. I raddled off ever know hidden spot were he might make money off of me. It was Ryan's first week as the fleet manger. He had know idea what had hit him. It two hours on the phone. Him getting back to me, but we settled on $49,050.00 with tax. He made $300.00 off that sale, but I went to consumer affairs and I gave a blow by blow of that day. Three people read that post and bought and least from him. He even drove the car from Camrio to Torrance. All the sale men gave him **** for doing that. I signed every thing in my drive way. From a girl point of view Ryan is truly the most honest person up front tells where ever little transaction is for. Now if he can make money off of me with out me knowing it great for him. But two 1/2 years ago grilled him hard. It was so bad my husband almost gave me the money so I would stop. I made the mistake of sending out a mase e-mail to all of Souther California and parts of Arizona I was hit hard. I stuck with my guns and got the price I thought was far. Its on this board some were. I wanted the ED in America and I got it. I am a flight attendant and I speak fluent German. It's nothing for me to hope on the plane to get this car. So that's what I did. Ryan is a great guy, great father and has always been there to answer any question. That day. In his office on the board it reads the customer is family. I love that

That was painful to read

Originally Posted by extremeromance

That was painful to read

Yep....I did not know where to start when I read that. Saying nothing was all I could do since any comment I made would be an insult.

You guys piqued my interest. I started watching Phillipe's YouTube videos re European Delivery. Very well done, but Jeez, that dude can talk fast. He seems pretty precise and informed. Not sure I'd buy a car from someone that was trying to sell me something in that machine gun banter style.

I'm 2/3 of the way through his videos. He's growing on me. It's like watching a soap opera.

Well since he is now at a Lexus store you might think about changing brands.

I don't like him that much! It took me almost 60 years to get into a BMW. Why would I want to take a step down now?

I have to counter your stories with mine (see my previous posts). Two EDs, with email, phone, and in person contact as professional, courteous, informative, and efficient as possible. There are no machine-gun talks, #s-changing tricks, etc.

I was very sad that Philippe left BMW because I need him to handle my next ED. Great loss.

Maybe the issue with the German flight attendant was a fluke or a communication issue?

And the Phillipe saga continues to unfold.....BTW, personally I would not consider changing to a Lexus "stepping down" -- rather I would think of it as "stepping across".