Jay Leno mentioned once that he doesn’t own a Ferrari because they prefer that you have had one or currently own one. True?
Yes and No. For the most part to get a real special car like a 812 Competition you need to be part of the club and pretty much buy everything. Regular cars like a 296 or SF90 you need to have a good relationship with the dealer.
Why don’t they sell cars to whoever wants to buy one and can pay the market value?
Because we are a top Ferrari store and we get only 80 new cars a year. You cant just give them away to anybody. We need to make sure they stay local and we get them back so we can resell them. Hence why a relationship is important.
Is that’s similar to what Rolex and Hermes does?
You are correct
Say a new customer walks in and asks you what it would take to start getting selected for the speciality models (pistas, la Ferraris, Monzas, etc) what would you tell them?
Happens all the time. You start with a used car. Then order a couple entry level cars and move your way up.
What would be considered as entry level? How many entry levels would be required to be put on the radar for the next level?
As of right now you cant order anything but an example is a Ferrari Roma or a Portofino.
How long would that take, with an unlimited budget theoretically?
2-3 years.
Are there any instances where say someone is not only wealthy but a high profile celebrity that tests the rules, breaks them, or toes the line of Ferrari ownership? Are they treated any differently than the standard client?
Ferrari banned plenty of rich people and celebrities. They don’t care. Even if you owned 30 of them. Justin Bieber and Kim Khardashian for example are banned
Why are they banned?
Corporate does not call me to tell me, but it could be anything from selling the car for a profit before a given time or not representing the brand the right way. Justin Bieber was rumored to modify his cars and shown them off. Ferrari did not like that.
Do you have any idea what’s the average income of an entry Ferrari buyer like the Portofino?
500k annual salary is reasonable for a Portofino buyer.
Obviously with most of your models being $200k+, it’s not like you sell a Ferrari every day. How often do you sell brand new ones? Are used Ferraris what people buy more of?
We sell other cars then Ferraris. We have your Average BMW and Mercedes as well. We do sell other exotics too.
What qualifications do you look for from a salesman for your store?
Customer service is easy. You need to have balls when talking to rich people and be on the same playing field. That you cant learn. Either you have that swagger or you don’t.
Same playing field? Salesman don’t earn as much as Ferrari buyers. How do your best salesman level the playing field?
Because attitude, confidence, dressing ability and as much i hate to admit it looks have nothing to do with income. Plenty of rich people who have no confidence, social anxiety or just generally awkward.
What are the requirements for the sales people you hire?
Previous experience long term in a High line store. Thats the beginning. I look for people who seem confident and eager to work. Of course you don’t really know until you give someone a chance.
What’s the quota for your salespeople?
We have 5 sales guys. The average month the worst sales person sells about 7 cars and the top sales guy about 15.
How much on average does your sales team clear yearly?
We had sales guys who made 80 to100k a year and sales guys that made 400-500k. Just like any sales job. You get what you put in. Average salary is about 200k a year.
What are you going to make this year?
Our top sales guy is going to make 450k this year. I would be making more then that.
What kind of mark up does Ferrari have?
We can not discount them or mark them up.
That’s fascinating. Ferrari says what they cost and that’s it?
Thats it. No negotiations or mark up.
What’s the schedule look like for your team? More laidback than a typical dealer would you say?
Dress code is casual. No need for ties. Hours are OK. We close at 7 during the week. 5 PM on Saturday.
What’s roughly your cash to finance ratio?
80 percent finance with Ferrari Financial because they don’t report and no one knows the car is in your name.
What does not reporting mean?
Other creditors would not be able to locate it on your credit report.
That’s actually pretty interesting. You would think Ferrari would want it to report considering how serious they take their brand.
Its the opposite. It does not matter and they can also charge a way higher interest rate because if you want a bank that does not report you don’t have much choice.
Is it customary/acceptable to negotiate on an exotic car the same way you would negotiate on, for lack of a better descriptor, a normal car?
Yes. Negotiations are very common. No one wants to feel they overpaid and got taken advantage of. Some clients even negotiate the Doc fee.
What’s the highest mileage Ferrari you’ve seen?
38k on a Ferrari 458 that was a rental.
Can you speak to the state of the market for high end cars? What are you seeing on the new and used side as far as demand, impact of interest rates, wholesale numbers, etc.)?
Exotics are in bad shape. Rolls Royce. Bentley. McLaren. Aston Martin. These cars tanked 25-30 percent in 2 months. G wagon and Urus is like having Aids now. Older cars like a 458 and a F430 held OK.
Can you elaborate on the g wagon and Urus? What’s the problem there, no demand?
Put it this way. There are More Urus trucks on Ebay for sale then all Honda makes and models and all years. Thats crazy for a truck thats 250k plus.
What kind of Ferrari do you own?
I myself own a 2013 Ferrari 458 Italia. I bought it before the boom and it was nowhere near the price it is now. My favorite daily car is a Porsche 911.
What do you drive? To work or otherwise?
On the weekend i rarely would take a Ferrari. Usually it would be a nice Pre Owned car we have in inventory like a 911 or a Mercedes S Class