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Building Relationships and Overcoming Dealership Intimidation

1637 Views 33 Replies 17 Participants Last post by  Lee T
Howdy everybody!

As a 25 year old, I'm not currently in a position to purchase a supercar, but I would love to in the future. Money is obviously an important factor, but I hear that relationships with dealerships is also important, especially for special edition and low production allocations. The thing is, I always feel scared and low-class/unqualified in supercar dealerships.

I visit them from time to time just to see the cars up close, but I just feel so out of my depth. Partially it's because I know I can't buy, so I feel like I'd be wasting their time to talk with anyone. But even if I did have enough money, I would still feel a lot of intimidation making a large purchase like that - I've never even bought a normal car from a dealership on my own!

So, my questions (mostly for people with buying experience and well-established relationships with dealerships) are:
  • How did you become comfortable navigating and negotiating a supercar purchase, especially if you didn't grow up in that kind of environment?
  • Is there a way I can begin building relationships with dealerships as a dreamer, or does that become more important once I actually have the money? Would they see me as a waste of time?
  • How do you build relationships with dealerships? Do you get invited to events after becoming a customer, or do you just socialize a lot when you're there for maintenance? :LOL:
  • I'd appreciate any other comments or suggestions you have for someone my age looking to overcome the intimidation of supercar acquisition and ownership.

Thanks!
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I should mention, I'm relatively close to Dallas, so Lamborghini Dallas and Avondale Group Dallas (Aston Martin, Mclaren, Bentley, Rolls Royce, Koenigsegg) are two potential dealerships near me. I've heard good things about Lamborghini Dallas, and haven't heard much about Avondale Group. But, if possible, I'd love to hear about your experience with these specific dealerships and what I can do to start building relationships with them.
Personally I think the kind of dealer “relationships” you think of are for people with a lot of money who will frequently buy cars. So unless you’re buying new lambos all the time, I don’t think it’s a big deal. When I bought my first Lambo I just picked up the phone and went with the dealer that could give me an allocation right away. Handled everything by phone and text and never even stepped into the dealership until the day it was time to pick up my new car. Haven’t been back since. I haven’t been invited to events either. But it was all a smooth efficient transaction, no real drama. I’m sure if I had deep pockets and expressed interest in getting the latest and greatest I’d probably be invited to check out some of the unveilings for new models.

Where I have found relationships to be more valuable is with service departments. When you come back again and again for all your service needs they will value your business and as they gain familiarity with you you might get better treatment, or they will pull strings to make things happen for you that they probably wouldn’t for some random customer.
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Work your way up and don't look at this money sinker hobby until you are ready and filled with cash flows. There is no need to build any relationships. Go in with enough cash and credit to get one. Avoid stupid salesman. Pick dealer by your guts feeling. It's simple as that.
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check out other posts in the dreamers section, as there are many others who dream of owning such an exotic but few follow thru.
these two threads have tons of advice in them:

Also which Lamborghini is your goal specifically? Use that as a goal to work towards and give you an idea how much income you will need to purchase it outright. No sense financing exotics unless you can handle the risk of rising rates and pay it off FAST (as the longer the term, the more money the financier makes). Be aware of taxes... and luckily you aren't were I am as Lux taxes in BC, Canada can get as high as 35% (20% Provincial, 5% GST, 10% Federal) on a 2018 and newer luxury car over 150k.
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I’ve purchased 2 Lambos from the Dallas dealership, both site unseen from Ohio. Both seamless. Never met the SA. All business done via phone/text/fedex. Don’t overthink it.
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Also sadly I think in this day and age you’ll find it easier to build a relationship if you’re some kind of influencer with a lot of followers. I’ve seen guys go to pick up a HURACAN, and the dealer will practically roll out the red carpet and have their car waiting on a spinning pedestal. A Huracan is a nice car but not like some rare SVJ or Sian or something… when I picked up my Huracan the tone was congratulatory but more or less another day at the office for the salesman. It’d be nice to be the kind of owner everyone wants to invite out to events and give top allocations of the newest cars but you’ll quickly see those guys are a whole different league. For now I’ll just settle with being a typical Lambo owner. :alien:

I think a smooth transaction with no games played is probably all you’d really need anyway when buying these cars.
I appreciate everyone's responses so far!

Also which Lamborghini is your goal specifically?
Honestly, I have one million dream cars and I don't know where to start :LOL: but some of the more "attainable" choices include:
  • Viridian Green Aston Martin V12 Vantage S Manual (7-speed, or the older V12 Vantage with the 6-speed manual)
  • Jet Black Aston Martin DBS Superleggera
  • Grigio Titans or Nero Nemesis Aventador, Aventador S, Aventador SV
  • Grigio Titans or Nero Nemesis Huracan, Huracan Performante, Huracan EVO

Obviously the more premium models would take longer to save up for, but as far as Lamborghini goes I generally prefer the stealth look over skittles colors. Since 2010 the ultimate dream has been a Koenigsegg, but the list includes Zonda 760, Vulcan, One-77, SLR Stirling Moss, Singer DLS.... Yeah, I pretty much live with my head in the clouds :)

I've taken some time off of work for personal reasons, but pretty soon I'll be making the switch from Aerospace/Defense to the Automotive Industry. I'm also hoping to start a masters in Mechanical Engineering in the Fall. Parents have been happy to let me move back in with them, so I'm set up pretty well to just save a ton of money right now!
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off your list - the fastest way to get your foot in the door and driving one would be a Huracan as those are less expensive than a Aventador and you could in the future trade up to the V12 as you get more funds. Skipping the Aston Martins since they are not Lambo's :p

As for those more premium models - I hear ya - I would love to have a Koenigsegg or a Zevo. But million dollar hyper cars are a whole different ball game than 6 figure super cars. I am even questioning if those would be worth it now if their prices keep going opposite the market. Another factor is both of them have V8's which is a downgrade from a V12.
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I appreciate everyone's responses so far!



Honestly, I have one million dream cars and I don't know where to start :LOL: but some of the more "attainable" choices include:
  • Viridian Green Aston Martin V12 Vantage S Manual (7-speed, or the older V12 Vantage with the 6-speed manual)
  • Jet Black Aston Martin DBS Superleggera
  • Grigio Titans or Nero Nemesis Aventador, Aventador S, Aventador SV
  • Grigio Titans or Nero Nemesis Huracan, Huracan Performante, Huracan EVO

Obviously the more premium models would take longer to save up for, but as far as Lamborghini goes I generally prefer the stealth look over skittles colors. Since 2010 the ultimate dream has been a Koenigsegg, but the list includes Zonda 760, Vulcan, One-77, SLR Stirling Moss, Singer DLS.... Yeah, I pretty much live with my head in the clouds :)

I've taken some time off of work for personal reasons, but pretty soon I'll be making the switch from Aerospace/Defense to the Automotive Industry. I'm also hoping to start a masters in Mechanical Engineering in the Fall. Parents have been happy to let me move back in with them, so I'm set up pretty well to just save a ton of money right now!
So you're a student with good education that will live with your parents? No offense man, forget buying a supercar (for now). Get all As for your grades and buy your parents a big present to thank them. Not a Lambo but a nice present like luxuries fire watch.

Then after you can settle on your own with good jobs or maybe your own business, has your own house, then get a Lambo. A car is just a toy and a luxury.
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Car dealers are interesting, and most are horrible to deal with. But there are perks to building rapport, such as being invited to new release and driving events like track days. I bought a new Vanatge from this dealer and they have have treated me well and go above and beyond to answer my questions and send me invites to their events. When I bought my second car from them they did this unveiling, and put this video together. Nothing crazy, but it’s a nice touch. Ive put orders in on two other cars since and try to send business their way.
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@hman77 great questions! Currently, I do not own but have been shopping. From my experience, I was 25 a few years ago driving to local lambo dealerships, just to look. Previously was not in a position to buy but a true dreamer. Fast forward a few years, I've contacted three dealers thus far. The first, an Audi dealership and the SA provided an above and beyond experience. The second dealer, a lambo dealer was terrible. The third, great as well (inquired about getting an allocation)



Being in a position to purchase seems like forever but time flies. When the time comes, be yourself, confident, and have the means to pay cash, put a comfortable amount down, or have your own financing options in place as a back up (provides you with another option if the dealer comes back with a crazy rate)



Maybe others could Chime in here but in the early stages, perhaps it better to be transparent with dealers now where you stand.
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First, I wish you all the best. A lot has been covered but I just want to write you need to work on your confidence. Always act like you belong and believe it even if you don’t. Before you know it you will belong!!
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When I ordered my Tecnica I texted the owner of the dealership. He responded within an hour and met me the following Monday along with the sales manager.

Before I was close friends with the COO who helped me with my 610-4 but he moved to Florida to be close to his family. He got me a 488 Spider allocation real fast which I passed on for the 580-2.

Prolly more important than all of them is my Service Manager. I go straight to her when making a service appointment. She gives me a 10% discount and always a nice loaner like a new A5 or Q5. Since I keep my exotics for several years I believe the Service Manager is the most important to know since one deals with them at least annually.
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In my experience(though Porsche, no L dealerships), the best way to build a relationship is to walk in and order a spec and pay deposit same week or to buy a car on their lot. Ultimately, that's what the dealer relationship is about, you hand over money, they hand over cars.
I don't want to make it too dull, but the last thing they (understandably) want is people wasting their time by being nice, talking about the cars, going on test drives and re-speccing build sheets.

I don't want to discourage you in any way and I hope you don't see this post as hostile or gatekeeping, but there's generally not much that can be done to build a relationship until you are an existing client for them.

Lastly, to feel more confident I think it really helps to have a made a decision going in to it. If you know that you're buying the car today, that gives you all the confidence in the world.
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Let me make this simple: are you ready to buy?

YES - buy an existing car they have in inventory or spec out with ridiculous options on a new car. Do this once or twice and voila you got your relationship.

NO - focus on your career and/or building your net worth. No dealer is going to "build" a relationship unless you can benefit them. Dealership is not a charity and it's a pragmatic world. Unless you are dating the owner's family member you don't and won't have a relationship.

Hope this helps.
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@hman77: When I was your age I could afford what I wanted, a Ferrari(246 GTS), but I didn't buy it. Why? I felt it was better to invest in real estate which has paid of handsomely. You should be focused on building a career and how to make the money you have grow. If you have money it is easy to build relationship with dealerships :)
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@efg2014 ooh that's a pretty car :love:

I mentioned earlier in the thread that I'll be starting up work again as an engineer. I'm waiting on a few offers to hit my inbox, but I've been doing some calculations on what I'd need to save to buy a property. My current situation would allow me to put almost 100% towards saving a down payment. My tentative plan is to save as much as I can while at my parents', then buy a property closer to the university if/when I start my masters and rent out the other rooms to students (definitely need to screen tenants well, lol). Ideally I'd land a job nearby and I'd work there for 2-3 years until I finish my masters. Then I'd move and rent out the full property or 1031 into a better one. Depends on my needs at the time, what the market is doing, and if I meet a pretty girl :)

But 2-3 more years of experience + masters + RE equity would put me in a good spot to really start increasing my income.
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@hman77: When I was your age I could afford what I wanted, a Ferrari(246 GTS)
how long ago was this and how much was the 246 Dino at the time? I bought a 355 over a 246 in 2001 for around the same money…and I’m kicking myself everyday.
Howdy everybody!

As a 25 year old, I'm not currently in a position to purchase a supercar, but I would love to in the future. Money is obviously an important factor, but I hear that relationships with dealerships is also important, especially for special edition and low production allocations. The thing is, I always feel scared and low-class/unqualified in supercar dealerships.

I visit them from time to time just to see the cars up close, but I just feel so out of my depth. Partially it's because I know I can't buy, so I feel like I'd be wasting their time to talk with anyone. But even if I did have enough money, I would still feel a lot of intimidation making a large purchase like that - I've never even bought a normal car from a dealership on my own!

So, my questions (mostly for people with buying experience and well-established relationships with dealerships) are:
  • How did you become comfortable navigating and negotiating a supercar purchase, especially if you didn't grow up in that kind of environment?
  • Is there a way I can begin building relationships with dealerships as a dreamer, or does that become more important once I actually have the money? Would they see me as a waste of time?
  • How do you build relationships with dealerships? Do you get invited to events after becoming a customer, or do you just socialize a lot when you're there for maintenance? :LOL:
  • I'd appreciate any other comments or suggestions you have for someone my age looking to overcome the intimidation of supercar acquisition and ownership.

Thanks!
My vices do not buy a Lambo from a dealer they will get top dollar try to find a private owner or auction. Then down the road, you establish a relationship with the service people because you will be working on it. do not buy one until you can afford to fix one. Stick with low mileage cars.
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