Exotic Economics
Exotic car share clubs make economic sense. They also eliminate the non-economic pains of ownership.
First, unless you are among a select few who can get your hands on some of the very, very limited new Ferrari’s at sticker, owning one super premium exotic just doesn’t make any economic sense. Owning more than one makes even less sense. You buy exotic cars and then restrict your driving because of practical use issues and the high depreciation rate on super premium cars. It costs the owner of a super premium exotic in the range of $50,000 or higher per year to own a car driven less than 1,500 miles per year. You do it because you can and want to and there is nothing wrong with that. Read more »
Even $200,000 Plus Cars Have Issues!
I have the pleasure of driving some amazing cars as the Operations Manager for Van Horssen Group. One of my all around favorites is the Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder. I love it due to its looks, performance, comfort and all around great driving experience. Most people tend to think with such a great car that nothing goes wrong, that is not the case! The main issue I have run into with the Lamborghini is a little phrase on the dash that reads, “SOFT TOP CANNOT BE USED” it may happen when you push the button to put the top down or up, or it will happen half way through the process and leave the vehicle looking like the picture below.
This has happened a few times and enough for me to know how to deal with it manually. A lot of people do not realize there is a manual option for this type of problem. The problems have been stemming from bad latches that don’t latch completely which will not allow the top to be used. In most cases with the latches the dealers have had the problem resolved in under thirty minutes and back on the road within an hour or two. There is a section in the owner’s manual that explains how to manually put the top up and down. Ideally this is a two person job but it can be done with one person if necessary. If you pay close attention to the movements of the roof and engine cover while the top is being put up or down you will have a good feel for how to do it manually should the need arise.
Jarrod Freehan
Operations Manager