your contractor drives a Ferrari, what do you think?

I never drive the Ferrari to customer appointments. Only a few of my customers even know I have it - only diehard car-guys that understand that an '88 Mondial is worth less than most new SUV's.

My daily driver is a '95 S320 and I get enough crap over that car as it is. Nevermind that it is worth only about $13K in today's market. I know some of my customers are thinking "sure, I'm paying for a big Mercedes for him", but when I explain that I bought it used and it's nine years old, then they start thinking somewhat nicer thoughts.

Sad thing is: Perception IS reality when it comes to your customers' image of you.

 

Hey Guys,

Listen as a guy with first hand experience, does it matter what yr Contractor drives, hey what about his home, I know guys who drive a bucket of s..t around from day to day ...these are contractors they live in 750k - 1.5m pound houses.

I dont think you should judge a guy by what he drives...its his companies performance and the QUALITY of the job he provides.

Im all for competitivness, but you only get what you pay for in the end.

Pay...Peanuts...get ...Monkeys or Cowboys call them what you will, I took my Car to a good Client of mine because he insisted.... I have already seen a small change in his attitude towards his costs for future projects.....this is the way of the world im afraid......

Oh well..the beat goes on.................

 

It's better to be understated imo. This guy has just risked lessening his chances of getting your business. That'sa no gooda!

 

You are obviously doing well enough to say "Who gives a f***"...there are plenty more fish to fry! (Like my dad tought me)

 

Abarre has it right. Perception is reality. Period. Remember we are all car nuts. Not so the typical customer. Sure i have an advertising vendor ive used for years an he invited me to look at some proofs on his 40' boat over drinks. Diffrence is ive worked with him for some years now.
Flip side i had to move my Mondial out of the garage when my driveway was being replaced. Never heard the end of that from the contracter.

 

Hire the architect who drives a Porsche or Mercedes. If an architect pull up in a Chevy Chevette, his plans are probably cr@p (and they WERE cr@p).

Ferrari-driving architect would be fine because it probably shows he's passionate about design.

 

I'm only a small-scale (one at a time) spec home contractor. I have found that it isn't a good idea to drive the Ferrari to the job site unless just my partner and myself are there. Subcontractors resent it, realtors resent it, lookers resent it, neighbors probably resent it. It's fine to say "Screw 'em" in a lot of cases, but this is business. I drive the p/u to work.

 

you can be sucessful in any business pretty much, there is a lot of $ in contracting, what people do with their money should be no one elses business. I would do business with someone with a ferrari, then i would go out driving afterwards. I would also be happy knowing he KNOWS what i want from a driveway and a garage

 

What if the client showed up driving a Ferrari? I'm sure the average contractor would raise his price. It's a double standard, but that's the way business goes. High end residential contracting yields some of the highest profit margins in the industry, and I'm sure before a client chooses the right contractor for themselves, they will realize the better one probably has a little higher fee for his higher professional standard, and will live a more expensive lifestyle as a result if he chooses.

 

Willis,

You're my man. You are an exeption though. I have a big developer client with several Ferraris, but I never told him that I own one. It would be OK to tell him, but the story will get out and you never know where it will show up again. It makes no diference (in the second hand story) if you drive a Daytona or a 308gtb4 once the F-word is out.

I also have a friend that is a furniture manufacturer that owns several Ferraris. He knows about my Daytona (he also has one), but he will never tell anyone else (I hope)

Rijk

 

As a contractor, who drives a Ferrari, most of the above is true.

While a smaller contract may fear what the car represents, I deal in multi million dollar contracts which cover only the electrical system.
When you deal with clients at that level, the car does signify your expertise, success in business, and of course, good taste!

I do receive a lot of good natured ribbing about it, but the critical nature of my work leads them to hire people who know what they are doing, not always at the cheapest price.

The big trucks those guys drive have exceeded the price I paid for my car. But I have LOTS more fun!

I like to remind 'em: "If you think this type of work is expensive using professionals, try it using amateurs!"

 

I do have a truck to haul the conduit.

 

I've always kept a very low profile with the F-car and clients. The general public, for the most part, is very ignorant to the value and price of Ferrari's. Once they see the prancing horse, most automatically assume that the car was 100K+. Unfortunately, in a competitive market and a climate where companies are laying off people, the last thing would be to pull up in an Ferrari. Some may get the message that they are dealing with a successful person, others may be jealous, and others may feel as though you are rubbing it in their nose.

 

Wow, this is too funny. I've got to share my story.

A few months ago we had our client (an attorney) come in to do a meet/greet with prospective contractors for his 3 story urban infill we were doing.

Three contractors came in, and midway through each session, our client would excuse himself for a couple minutes.
In discussion after the meeting, he revealed that he was going outside to check out what kind of cars these prospective contractors were driving, and that ended up making a big factor in his decision.
1st guy drove a new Maxima, 2nd guy drove 3 year old Tahoe.

The last guy, tsk tsk, oh this guy is a piece of work (we work with his company often). Late 30's, 6'-0" 300+lbs. Size 34 pants (when we all know he should be wearing a pair a 46's) stroll's on in driving his yellow C5 convertible...license plate reads 'VETZILLA'. Proceeds to park perpendicular across 4 spots right outside our door, top down, wraparound Nascar sunglasses dangling from the mirror.

Of course the guy in the Tahoe got the job. My principal clued Vetzilla in on his shennanigans and the last couple times he's come by, he's been driving a beat up Silverado.

Rijk, I must tell you I find it so uplifting that there's hope for this lowly designer to someday get HIS dream car.....a silver daytona.
My complements on your work, I'm drawn to the Short Stay Facility project of yours. Any completed pictures yet????

 

If your client knows about the car up-front, I haven't found it to be a problem. The time when I ran into an issue was when a client found out about my TR from an acquaintance while I was doing the project. When I called the client after they hadn't paid my invoice in 3 months (BTW, they were completely satisfied with the work), I was told "You have a Ferrari - you don't need the money". The client had a multi-million dollar home, several times the value of my TR in art, Benz's, Bentley, yacht, etc....

I got paid eventually, but I don't mix business and Ferrari anymore.

 

Interesting. I too agree that it depends on your line of work. When I'm meeting a professional client, they shouldn't be put off by a nice (or even REALLY nice) car. The example used above was an architect. If you're in a creative, design related field, heck yeah drive a Ferrari up there. If you're in the contracting business, a truck would be appropriate - for the first meeting anyway. I pulled up in my Acura Legend to a factory the other day when I was visiting a client. Most of the workers there that saw me pull up scowled at me. However if I pulled up to visit a professional office, there has never been an issue.

Personally, being a car guy, the one who pulls up in a Ferrari gets the job

 

The issue is that the best you can hope for is a neutral -- that it doesn't adversely affect your chances/relationship. The downsides are significant. You could lose the current opportunity, and the "word on the street" might become negative (he's that Ferrari owner) and impact future opportunities. There's no matching upside relating to your business.

If you _really_ want to drive it down, arrange for a rental car at your destination. Show up in it to the meeting, and then have fun again in the Fcar on the way home.

 

I bought my Ferrari with the money I made working for Newman/Haas
on the CART Texaco GP of Houston, while driving a Trans Am with
AJ Foyt Racing bumper stickers!

I guess they called me 'cause I'm WORTH it! LOL

Of course, the CUSTOMER is always right.

 

I have my own small Hardwood flooring business and I would never consider driving my car to do an estimate. It's bad enough that I charge on the high end of the scale. I've never placed an ad, 99% of my work comes from referrals.

I drive a new pickup truck with a cap. Since I've gotten the new truck my business has been booming. Before the new truck I had a 91 Astro cargo. The ad on the old Cargo van never got any calls, the new pickup gets two or three a week. Appearance is everything.

 

THIS IS A TRUE STORY.

A few years ago, I was negotiating to purchase a house that was recently developed by a builder who was becoming "increasingly interested" in selling the house. Over the course of a few weeks, he became irritated that my "low ball offer" and subsequent increases were "just not what he was looking for". Then, during one of our final negotiating sessions, I met with both he and his partner, both of whom drove up in late-model 911 Turbo's.

Our negotiations that evening quickly became heated, and I finally told them (pointing to the cars) that "I am not here to buy this house so that you can add to your collection of fine automobiles, but rather I am here to do a deal so that you are able to purchase a full tank of gas for the cars that you already own."

They both flipped out for a while....then accepted my offer.

Perhaps I would not have been so "generous" if they had been driving an "F"!!!

 

I just took delivery on a 550 Maranello and am also a landlord. However, I don't think I am yours, unless you live in a trailer park!!!

 

I don't think it is a great idea. Ed P. has the right perspective on this. I would never even take my Ferrari to work.

 

Ferraris bring out emotions in people. I live in an affluent community wher most people drive MBs and Beemers. I recently drove my 355 to a Realtor MLS (Multiple Listing Service) meeting . Every Real Estate Broker has a brand new 100K Benz. I park my 355 outside with the top down and go into the meeting. After about 5 minutes the MC says that there is a Red Ferrari in the 15 minute parking zone and if ANYBODY in the room of 300 people owns the Ferrari that they should probably move it.

The next 15 minutes was spent with people joking saying it was their car, they won the lottery, their wife bought it for them, etc. It was all in good fun. There was soo much attention drawn to it that I was a bit embarrassed. After 20 minutes I turned to the guy next to me and said "I am going to the bathroom. " I quikly moved my car and came back...when I entered the room they were still talking about it...Go figure