LA Times on David Lee's collection...

He owns a dozen Ferraris and has loads of cash. Why can't he buy the elusive $2.2-million LaFerrari Aperta? - LA Times

Well, at least he didn't sue.

 

I'm surprised by this. My sense from following his IG is that he's pretty humble, loves the brand and represents it well.

Good for him on not changing. I completely agree with his approach of sharing the joy rather than hiding the cars in a garage.

 

Well that article certainly isn't going to help his cause....I like his IG feed, the fact that he is passionate about the marque, and drives his collection, but like it or not it's their prerogative to sell to whomever they choose. Supporting an article questioning why he's not on the list is just sour grapes. He could've politely told the LA Times that he didn't want to support the article.....now he's the only one getting positive press out of this and Ferrari comes off looking like the bad guy. Good luck getting on that list now.

 

I was waiting.. waiting with my breath held to read about the "rich people problems" comments in the end of the article but in general people were supportive. I actually like his enthusiasm. I think it works well for the Ferrari brand personally, rather than against it. The other exposure is what.. Blac Chyna and the Kardashians showing the cars like an accessory versus the collectable art approach.

I think it's such a stupid game. Tell a rich guy "NO" so he wants your car even more. Then, buy they buy it used at a markup anyway. Stupid. If I want a Ferrari.. I don't care if I buy it new or used and I wouldn't have a problem telling a dealer off if I found a way around their stupid game. It's just a matter of time until the Aperta is in his arms.

 

On what grounds?

 

I think this comment is what sums it up

 

I think his friendship with Jay Leno works against him, Petty in my opinion "Hate the singer
love the song".
D.

 

+1

 

Wow, this guy must be selling a lot of watches. I didn't realize one can make that much money selling watches retail.

 

If being friends with a car guy like Leno is wrong, I wouldn't want to be right!

 

I thought it was fairly common knowledge that Challenge/Corsa Clienti involvement was a requirement for LaFa/LaFaAp status? If so, then it's not like it's a mystery why he wasn't chosen.

 

I only heard of him recently since I am in the market for a Ferrari. From a cursory glance it seems he might be more in the real estate business than the watch business at this point.

I think he has two locations? Each location, his watch store is the anchor for the plaza. He probably owns the plaza too. He has car meets at the plaza to drive traffic and promote.

So the watch business, real estate, and cars to promote both (directly and indirectly) are his circle jerk of monetization is my guess.

 

People say the guy is humble and passionate about the cars but I'm not too sure about that. Every time I see this guy it seems like he's flaunting money or promoting himself. Which is good for business I guess but I can see how it would rub people the wrong way. My biggest issue is every time he shows off a car, he always manages to sneak in how much its worth. The only people I have ever seen do that are young athletes who just signed a major contract and rappers. Every other collector will dance around the question and direct the conversation back to the merits of the car. I'm not surprised Ferrari won't sell him their limited run cars.

 

I know of two people in Switzerland who both got a LF and who are NOT involved at all in the Challenge/Corse Clienti programs.

Marcel Massini

 

Gordon Ramsey also has both, according to the man himself when on Top Gear.

 

David Lee seems like a positive force in the car world. I think it's great that he makes his cars accessible at car shows and shares them on shows like Jay Leno or on IG.

He does talk a lot about how much money he has, which to the old money crowd is like nails on a chalk board. I don't know who runs Ferrari these days but I personally find it a bit distasteful sometimes. He obviously has a lot of money and a lot of Ferrari's, no need to remind us of that fact at every opportunity. But he's likely proud of his success and it may be partly cultural. He also discusses personal issues like his faith a lot, which can turn some people off, or make PR people at corporations wary sometimes.

On the other hand, David Lee has hardly been left out in the cold by Ferrari. They gave him the commission for the 70th anniversary "McQueen spec" F12 that was based on SM's iconic brown Lusso. I think they also gave him a couple of other special builds. He's not the only super rich guy in line for a special car. And honestly, I don't think this makes Ferrari look bad. This was probably a conscious decision on their part to make them seem even more ultra exclusive, like "even our best customers can't get every car they want from us."

Lee will likely buy a barely used version of this car at auction in the near future for well above what it's worth new. Then he'll have his car and Ferrari will have boosted their brand image. Win win.

 

I don't know the guy personally but never liked him from his social media persona. I don't know if he's purposely doing it or it's just coming across that way, but he's trying too hard. You can see many signs of that and the LA Times article does a good job of mentioning many of them.

There was also a spat a year or two ago between him and Salomondrin, stupid childish **** which I didn't expect at this level. I stopped following them both shortly after. Most of these social media guys aren't car guys to me. Maybe they once were but then they get sucked into the likes and views contest and they detract from what initially made them popular with car guys.

 

Sounds to me like they are setting him up to get the next supercar. This was a test to see how he reacted.

 

Yes that is puzzling

 

Apparently they really are huge retailers of new watches, with strong online sales as well.

But also, I think DL took a lot of the early money he made in watches and jewelry and reinvested it in real estate. I'd wager a lot of his cash comes from there as well.

 

It doesn't seem like he orders a lot of cars from the factory. It looks like buys at auction, or used from dealers (with the exception of the LaF that he said tried to order.)
I thought a history of factory orders was the primary requirement.

 

Can confirm it's not a requirement, but especially in the XX series you do get priority

 

It was a reference to Preston Henn...

 

I read it and it seems like he has been ordering pretty much everything they make direct from the factory.

 

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