Fractional Ownership program

there is a similar program in NYC, it was featured on Supercars Exposed on Speed Channel..dont remember the details

 

http://www.exoticcarshare.com/

From what I hear, business hasn't been that great.

 

I think it's a great idea. I've even thought about it myself. I was a member in a sailing club with a similar operation (harborsailboats.com) and couldn't see why it wouldn't work with cars. My family didn't share my interest, though, which led to my leaving the club.

 

I had a friend that did that in Dallas neat business plan he closed it down a few years back

Expect your cars to get the snot beat out of them...most of the people that joined (at least in his case) just beat the hell out of the cars, lots of clutches and tires.

 

Funny, I knew what people would say before I opened the thread.

Fractional ownership of cars would have to be approached in the same way it is with aircraft. People have been sharing aircraft ownership forever, and in most cases it doesnt work out very well for all the same reasons. If they dont have enough investment into it, if they dont have a decent maintainance account and slush fund, the concept falls apart after the first major calamity.

But aircraft are different from an exotic car in other ways. Pilots fly airplanes within very tight rules, and most are very proficient. Its pretty hard to "beat the crap" out of an airplane. You cant really overspeed the engine except in a dive that would overspeed the aircraft (red line airspeed that could rip it apart), so other than hard landings or poor engine managment in flight (working it hard, or flash cooling it on decent) its not going to break. Well, not usually

But a car? Why, I could drop the clutch and do burnouts, spin the car endlessly burning the tires off it in a parking lot. I could race it against everything, speed shift it by jamming the gear shift into gears, drive it to redline and beyond. I could take it to a track and push it to race limits and burn up the brakes and tires. Or I could simply ignore all the gauges and idiot lights and drive on in ignorant bliss until it quits. No, I would never do those things, especially not to a Ferrari, but others arent so nice. So unless you have a high hourly rate to use it, above and beyond the share of membership, plus a maintainance fund, a damage deposit, etc., its going to end in defeat.

 

WHY?????


Seriously... WHY???


The capital required not including the liability and headache... WHY???

Invest the same $$ into a proven business model, not some pipe dream of owning a fleet of exotics that a bunch of "Rock Star" wannabes will end up thrashing!


Not worth it IMHO

 

A few of these companies in the UK, they seem to do very well, suits the professionals who do not want to lay out 200k for one supercar that they barely use.

Personally I prefer to have my own cars.

But I can see the attraction of having a selection of 10-20 cars...

 

If you do go forward I'd recomend the GPS system I use for my fleet. It's from fleetmatics and tells you route, speed, rpms, even down to idleing time. It keeps the info for 60 days. You can flag locations, such as tracks and it will notify you via text as soon as they get there.

 

The way you are describing it, sounds like this is going to be VERY expensive.

For the individual who wants to drive the car, he can go to a exotic rental and get a much larger selection and not have to worry about maintaining the vehicle or locked up cash in security deposits. Plus if I go the rental approach I am not locked into a geographic area...if I'm in FL, I rent one...next vacation in CA, rent one there...

I don't see how you can make it work and make any money on it.....its like a timeshare, I don't want to be locked into week 32 for the car, I'll just rent it when and where I want!

 

Sure sounds like one.

Are you trying to convince people who are telling you "this is a bad idea" that it is a good idea based on "sources"?

Best of luck.

 

I thought there already was a program to give wannabees an entry level ownership: it's called a kit car.

 

+1
Works for aircraft - tough to translate to exotic cars

CSELS,MEL

 

I was actually wondering if such a thing existed the other day. I don't know how well it would work, but in theory, it makes sense. A lot of us can't afford a Ferrari but could afford a portion of one. Most of us won't drive it that regularly, so why not share one? Don't ask me how insurance and all that stuff would work though.

 

There are a number of these operating now, so it can't be all that terrible an idea...

The one I can remember off the top of my head is www.vanhorssengroup.com ... but they're in SoCal and AZ, a mecca of people trying to impress with their "stuff"... and IMHO these are most likely the types you'll get to buy into this... you gotta figure the true enthusiasts with the kind of money you're talking about will prefer to buy their own cars, n'est-ce pas?

I only know the SW, but I don't see an idea like this working all that well outside Southern CA... hopefully you know your possible clientele well... are there really enough people a) with money b) in CO c) that would be willing to do this type of thing?

 

For me, the joy comes from owning a Ferrari, not simply driving one. It's the fact that I can go to down to my garage and spend an evening enjoying its lines. I imagine that many of the member/owners on this board, were looking for the day when they could make a Ferrari a part of their lives, and have bonded with THEIR Ferrari. I can't imagine someone "renting" or owning a fractional interest would approach any one car with same respect and care. Nor can I imagine someone being remotely forthright if something expensive breaks on their watch. When you approach someone who can only afford a $40K stake about a 15K repair bill that you insist occured on their watch. You are going to end up in court. Every time. Trust me on that. At the next table will be some ***** attorney arguing latent defects, failure to properly inspect at the last service, wear item caused by cumulative effect of operation and not the driver's fault, etc. So, your contract is either going to have to be draconian in order to protect the cars---which will turn off many prospects, or you will have the most expensive Hertz "Fun collection" on earth.

If I were to do this program, I would do it with straight up luxury cars, like Maybach, Rolls, & Bentley. Their are many executives that NEED constant access to these cars to impress their clients, but do not want to waste money on owning one. Also their are many small companys that might sign up for the program rather than own their own fleet.

People might torture these cars too, but really what fun would it be! In short, you would be attracting a different client base with a different motive for operation.
Just my .02

 

Interesting concept to focus on the luxury sedans as they are less likely to be driven hard, reducing the risk of a catastrophic damaging incident because of mechanical abuse or overly exuberant driving.

Throw in chauffeurs and then you could have even more control over the driving.

 

True, and I have another idea...we could rent the cars out for proms etc

In all seriousness though, there may be a market for this type of thing- how big I don't know. I can rattle off a list of at least 5 local small firms and companies that rent their employees top drawer cars for the sole purpose of impressing clients and the public...and I don't live in Miami Personally, I rather allocate resources to a program like this and give my employees access to exceptional vehicles when necessary for client/public interaction and functions than commit to X amount of monthly leases of mid-high end cars.

In addition, Rolls and Bentley are not lacking for a strong fan base...I just don't want to hang out with them. I imagine these people would love to have access to these cars to the same degree as some italian car lovers. For example, a retired couple taking the bentley convertible to the beach on the weekends. If it would work with Ferrari, it should work with Rolls and Bentley. The only difference would be, its not to much fun to try and thrash a 6000lb luxury sedan...so people wouldn't

Of course, maybe I am just plain wrong and an A$$ to boot!