getting into the FCar / exotic car business

I don't know. But I'll give you Kudo's for posing a well thought out question, without an unrealistic goal.

Not the usual: "How do I get a F-Car Franchize. Money's not an issue 4 me cuz IB loaded" thread.

Good luck.

 

I think the best idea would be to land a job in one of these dealerships, learn a little about the business i.e how they run there business - very quickly you will be able to spot faults and areas of improvement, as well as areas they excel at.

It takes a MASSIVE amount of capital to set up such a dealership, getting investment may prove difficult.

Have a chat with Roy Cats, he's your man

Si

 

Use the search function Luke........been asked many a time with varying responses.

 

Interesting in the same day we have 2 college students (me being the other one) posting about entering the car business (me wanting to make cars, you wanting to sell them).
In a perfect world about 100 years ago we could have said sweet lets make a deal, i build em you sell em!
Of course as some have pointed out in my post down in general off-topic car stuff, It's a little late in the game to start up the way Rolls Royce and most of the other now-major manufacturers did... (If you don't know the history, basically Henry Royce was a talented engineer who built top-notch stuff, and Charles Rolls was a car dealer in London who happened to stumble accross Henry Royce and decided to market cars built by him... and the legend was born). From my standpoint the BIGGEST barrier to market is all the government regulations surrounding making new cars and especially selling them in the US. Sure it can be done, but it's going to pose a lot of problems. My other thought is aftermarket, but there's such a glut of aftermarket tuners for pretty much every brand worth working on that it would be hard to create something truly unique and valuable.

As far as going into the sales side of the business, I would agree with the other who said you're probably best off to try getting a job within a respected shop/dealer that's a little like what you want to do. Observe, learn take LOTS of notes. Think about what they are doing well, and what they could be doing better. Try to get to know the manager/owner and let them know you have a passion for the business, it's not "just a job", share some ideas with them. More importantly, as much as possible try to get to know the customers, learn what they look for, what they want. In the Ferrari/exotic world it would seem that at least a reasonable percentage of both dealers and customers would share your passion, and help you along.

 

Getting into the biz is a great way of ruining a wonderful obsession.

Make your money and use what is left over to buy whatever toys you want. This way you get to have fun driving them without having to worry about how you're gonna pay next month's floor plan nut.

Dale

 

Get experiance with any dealership should help. AND it might be better to go for it earlier when you are willing to risk everything, since everything is not that much. Later in life, when you have the wife and kids it is much harder to make the leap because you might have the personal assets, but that means you have more to lose and more folks dependent on you.

Good luck

 

I don't think your plan/dream/hope is impossibile, it will just take a lot more time than it would in the past. With the show rod exemptions being passed in many state legislatures, it is getting easier for a low volume producer to make a high performance vehicle that you can make profits from. Start there and show your stuff and you might be able to get the financial backing to go on to the next stage of building real production cars. there might just be a new window opening for a new golden era of automobiles.

 

Yes, it is not an opportune time, but at the same time it is a PASSION that eats away at me. I LOVE working on/playing with/fiddling with old cars, and some newer ones, but it's always someone elses design... it was some other engineers baby (or in this day and age some committee of engineers baby). Plus it makes me sad that America's carmakers are considered largely irrelevant these days. GM is finally making some cars that are decent, but still nothing to really worry the europeans or japanese. What happened to the days of Dusenburg, or Packard when we were making the best cars in the world (or at least up in the very upper crust). I remember reading how back in the 50's and 60's the wealthy in America bought either a Caddy or Lincoln... European cars were largely irrelevent then, though I'm sure some of that had to do with availability people like Elvis and movie stars were driving Cadillacs. In the 50's Cadillac had a car that sold for more than the competing Rolls Royce. I know we can do better... but I feel GM/Ford/Chryco are more or less beyond saving. Not that I'm saying they're doomed, just that they are such huge companies with momentum going a certain direction... It will take a LOT to get them going in the right direction and I honestly think at this point it will be easier to just do my own thing and see what happens.

The biggest problem is deciding the timing... Do I go full tilt and try to "live the dream" and throw everything into it all at once.... or... find another way to make my fortune, then spinoff a car company sort of as a hobby (thinking Briggs Cunningham/David Brown here).

 

For the young salesman I agree with you many of the exotic dealerships are lacking in the sales dept. ( Some sales guys are great like Levi at Ferrari of Atlanta and the guys at Algar and Ferrari of Washington) If that is you passion give it a try. You can always make $$ later in life now is the time for experiences.

As for making a super car go do it. It has never been cheaper to fabricate parts and buy tooling time. Read Lotus the Early Years, those guys basicaly started with only having an electric drill. You may not make any money but you will have some fun. There is always plenty of money out there looking for some thing interesting to do. Hang out with some old guys at a vinage event they may have some $$$ to spare for an adventure. Remember some one helped them out when they were young.

Most of the cars these days wieght too much and are not inspiring to drive there is a market out there for something interesting. Keep costs and over head low and take baby steps and you can get there.

 

I am in the car business and have been for years. I grew up in it. My father has owned and stills owns many dealerships. The first thing you have to have is the passion, and it sounds like you have it. However the reality of the auto business is that it is very difficult at times and you need to have patience and disipline in order to make it work. For example, In order to make money you have to sell, and when you first start you need to be extremely patient because it often feels as though you are working long hard hours for nothing, it takes years to build up a clientel that will return to you for there cars and send people they know to you. This is where most people that get into it bail out. You walk in these stores and look around at the exotic cars and the fancy clothing on the salespeople and it looks as though its cool and easy. Well the truth is that alot of those guys are making $40,000 a year or less and jump in there $2,500 cars that are sitting out back and drive home. Now Im not saying that you shouldnt give it a go, but I just want to hit you with the reality of the business. You can also make a great living in it, im 30 years old and a pre-owned manager for a big Mercedes Store in Ohio, and its not one of my dads for the record, and the business has been good to me. I started off washing cars in the back, then went into sales, then was a finance manager, then a used car manager. The best advice I can give you is to learn every aspect of it, you need to know how to treat the guys that wash the cars right, there job is more important than everyone thinks, you need to know how to sell, you need to know how the financing end of it works, and whether you decide to go with new car or used car management, by this time you should be able to run the ship. It has taken years and tons of patience to get where i am now, and i have no edjucation past 11th grade, it takes street smarts and the ability to think fast on your feet, as well as genuinly being honest and good with people and not being one of these typical used car salesman that lie cheat and steal to get fast money, trust me, thats where the old story of the tortise and the hare come into play. I hope that this will help and that it doesnt discourage you, It is pretty cool to get up every morning and go to a job that you love with a passion. Not many can say that. If you have any questions pm me and i would be happy to try to help.

 

How to make a small fortune in the exotic car business .... start with a large fortune.

 

This whole "exotic car dealership" has been intriguing me for a while as well especially the past couple of days.

I'm only 17 but I figured its better to learn and start early. I even asked an owner of a dealership. He told to me, "Really no real answer, just work hard and follow what you want to do...what ever it is enjoy it.." What he said was true, there's no easy answer. You're gonna need a lot of capital, connections, and as mentioned above, patience especially for the first couple of years since most of the owners already have their own dealership of choice where to get their exotic car.

Whatever obstacle that gets in my way though, I'm not gonna let it ruin my dream of owning an exotic car dealership of my own someday. Hopefully everything works out the way I want it to!

This is a very nice topic. I can't wait hear reactions and tips from other members especially the dealers!

Best,
Erik G.

 

I would think, in this modern age, a key aspect of any new exotic car dealership would be its website.
You'd be competing with Cars.com, eBay Motors, FerrariAds.com, FCA Classified Ads, FML, Hemmings, DupontRegistry, CraigsList, etc.

Some of the independent dealers that do well on their websites are:
http://www.sportscarcompany.com/
http://www.ferraris-online.com/pages/sell.php
http://www.fantasyjunction.com/used-cars.php
http://www.sportauto.cc/

It may actually be possible, with a strong enough web strategy, to launch a dealership without the usual "brick & mortar" costs of starting a traditional dealership. Something to ponder, anyway.

The other big challenge of course is how to make money on your car deals. Assuming you need a 10% or so markup in order to stay in business, you either have to buy them cheaper than they are advertised for elsewhere or you have to sell them for a premium. Or a bit of both.

Also, how do you do make that profit margin consistently when a lot of the cars that are available are going down somewhat steeply in value each month (examples being the 360, 575, 550, Gallardo, etc.). So, the only hope is to move every car through your inventory in 90 days or less time, hopefully averaging something closer to 45 days or less per car.

IMHO, that is where you have to come up with the innovative strategy. How can one use modern technology to re-invent the car dealership business model so that it offers compelling competitive advantages (while sustaining some barriers to competition)? Tough question, I know. But if you come up with an answer, the future is yours.

 

I was once a car salesman....I loved it, I sold 20 cars a month ran my ass off every day. I loved it so much that after I moved on, I would go back and work weekend LOT sales just to get the fix of slamming somone in a Chevy...I learned more about people selling cars than any job I have ever had. I recomend everyone try it if you want to be in sales. You meet someone in the parking lot, gain there trust, read there intentions and get them to make the second biggest buying desion of their life... All in a couple of hours. What a blast. If you are a control freak like I am, you will thrive on it.

That being said. If you are at all high energy you will go nuts at a high end dealer. I would suggest a Ford/Chevy store. A ton of traffic and they usually have a great training program. There is a reason why most of the high end salespeople are older...

Walk into any Ford/Chevy store with your degree in hand. Tell them you will sell more cars than anyone in the history of this dealership... Work every day but Tuesday, all day and sell 20+ cars a month. You will make over $100k and you will always have a job...

After a couple of years you will build your skill and if your good, you can work anywhere you want.

Keep in mind that you will work over 50 hours a week every week for the rest of your life. Don't plan on any kids or a great family life....Selling cars is like a drug. It you are good at it you will crave it for the rest of your life... At least I did...(Until I went to make way more $$ working 20 hours a week Rehab)

Good luck..

 

A successful owner of a very large Washington DC based dealership chain recently told me the secret, "sell to the masses, live with the classes." (or something like that)

 

Just as an additional note on the whole dealership thing. One of my mom's uncles was a big time dealer in Columbia Missouri many years back (he retired and sold his dealership many years ago, before I really remember). He was among the first "super center" type dealerships selling everything from Pontiacs to Mercedes to motorhomes. However what I always found as the most unique part of his business was how he took care of customers in for service. For instance he had a top-class beauty salon in the dealership so that women could get a makeover while their car was being serviced... also a tool/accessory shop for the men. I always thought it was an interesting model, not only keeping customers happy, but also bringing in MORE profit from unrelated business. Why drive them off to the mall when you can get them to spend more money at your site?

 

I heard it "sell to the classes; dine with the masses. Sell to the masses; dine with the classes."

People with money are not necessiarly quicker to part with it. When I was a lawyer I could be shameless negotiating for my client. If I were rich I would send my lawyer in to buy my F-car. I'll bet I would get net lower price even after adding his fee than if I bought it myself. The lawyer aint in love with the car and he can stop right before signing the check and ask for another year of extended warranty. He's paid to be a ****.

 

Great question.

I know that the Ferrari dealership in Las Gatos required you to be a top salesmen for like 5 years at a previous car dealership before they will consider you for a salesmen position at their shop. Not sure about the rest.

Continue to work hard in college, maybe even try and take up an intern at a car dealership to see how one goes about the financing side of the car business. That would get you a nice foot in the door then after you graduate perhaps you could take that to a BMW or Mercedes outfit. Then, perhaps Ferrari.

 

That might be it, although he told me this while I was admiring his $10M house.

 

My favorite told to me by one of the richest men in the US was " Son there is a goldmine in the getto"

 

I think the whole Ferrari Dealership fantasy is crap. It is a tiney merket.

Granted the original poster did not go the whole "open a dealership" route, it is the same.

Selling cars is a skill, one who can sell F-cars probably can sell BMW's and make much more money at that then they could ever make selling exotics - I don't see how the salesperson adds a lot of value to the transaction at all. Anyone who will spend the time in the showroom and treat visitors nice and know enough about the cars (much less difficult than mastering their school subjects) can do OK.

Ferrari salespersons rarely have income to legit drive their sales product. If you love cars look into car web pages, car vid games, car wagering, car movies, car parts, etc. Make your interest your job but car sales seems pretty basic and sure to leave you destitute.

 

Here's a video showing you what's life like at an exotic car dealership!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ly7OiFXoEkM