A Public Service Announcement For The Owners Of High Performance And Specialist Cars!,,,,, 

Those of you who follow my Used Car Business Development Blog will be aware that apart from discussing used car business development strategies, (the articles designed for my manufacturer and franchised dealer audiences), I endeavour to keep the owners of high performance specialist cars abreast of market developments. 

In this article I wanted to help that audience by asking and exploring two very important questions (especially in the current market), those below; 

What Is Wrong With The Image Above?,,,,, 

and 

What Is The Point Of Autotrader?,,,,, 

Now within this article I want to explore these important questions from the perspective of a private seller (one with a specialist high performance car to sell), not the trade; although the question is still relevant it is a different subject to explore, so not for this article. 

Firstly though the screenshot above and some context. The screenshot was taken from an advert on Autotrader on 23rd March; one for a private seller. Now it is important to stress that the purpose of this article is not to explore the advertised price, and I will be offering no advice as to the accuracy of the price when aligned to the vehicle concerned; a picture of which I have taken the decision not to include. 

So back to the first question, the answer to which is “Everything!” And the reasons behind “Everything” are very important for private sellers, especially those trying to sell their car via platforms like Autotrader; one that is probably not explored when Autotrader are in the process of taking your money. Nevertheless it is a question the owners of high performance specialist cars should be asking themselves because in this specialised market, I don’t think Autotrader is fit for purpose. In fact the process of listing any car could actually be detrimental to the price you will receive. So let’s explore why. 

In order to do so let’s look at the screenshot in close detail and to bring some clarity of market understanding to owners of specialist high performance cars, like the Lamborghini Urus above. Although in truth it could have easily been a screenshot taken from an advert for a Porsche, McLaren, Masertai, BMW M Power Model, Aston Martin, Ferrari, Nissan GTR etc. etc. 

To aid in this process and in the interests of clarity, I am going to imagine that the owner of the car concerned did the right thing; contacted me for a consultation call before throwing their money at Autotrader. If they had this is what I would have advised. 

At inception I would have pointed out respectfully that it is their car and they are free to proceed as they feel best, but that the decisions they make will have ramifications for the value of the car. So let’s begin by looking at the market place you are entering and the competition you are going toe to toe with; before then trying to read the mind-set of the target audience, an audience pretty similar to themselves. 

The first question in this process would be; “Did you purchase the car originally from someone’s driveway? Or did you purchase the car from a Lamborghini franchised dealer/reputable well known independent specialist? In all my years working in this market, no one has ever said from someone’s driveway. 

With this in mind my next question would be why not? To which the stock answers usually include some or all of the answers below; 

• I wanted the security of buying from a franchised dealer. 

• The thought of handing such a large sum of money over to a private individual is ridiculous. 

• I wouldn’t know how to purchase a car privately; checking for accident damage, undeclared    finance etc. 

• There is no protection when buying privately. 

• I wanted dealer warranty protection. 

• I’m too busy to be driving round the country looking at cars. 

• I need finance. 

• I needed to part exchange my current car. 

At this point I would then explore what the market looks like, how it operates in practice and what it is they are actually trying to achieve. The easiest way to do this? Start by exploring the mind-set of someone looking to purchase a Lamborghini Urus, (or any other specialist high performance car for that matter), identify the type of individual they likely to be and how they are likely to proceed. 

Well firstly they are an educated and successful purchaser. A purchaser who will demand a certain level of service from the business they are dealing with; as indeed you did when you purchased the car. Importantly though you will be both too busy and lack the will and experience required, in order to deliver on their purchasing expectations! The Lamborghini franchised dealer will drive the car a customer has an interest in to their office or home by 9:00 AM the following morning. This is the minimum level of attentive service expected by customers spending in excess of £200,000; will you be able to and/or prepared to do this? 

Secondly, and this in very important; somebody looking to purchase a Lamborghini will first contact Lamborghini, or search on line. When within 5 minutes they can find a selection of over 15 used Urus’ to explore, (at the first 3 Lamborghini dealers listed – there will no doubt be more), the majority of which were cheaper than the one above. Not that price is the first consideration; this is not how this profile of customer thinks. 

They want personal service, attention to detail, peace of mind and everything that that encompasses. They want a purchasing experience that fits around their busy professional schedule; they are purchasing Lamborghini with all that that entails. Purchasing one is a milestone purchase for many and a very special occasion. In effect they want to be loved to death; made to feel special! 

They will also probably require access to competitive finance, they will probably have another specialist high performance car to part exchange. All of which is way beyond you as a private seller; somebody similar to them and someone who will not enjoy what you will be required to do to, in order to try and gain the sale; even if that was possible? 

What buyers of this profile and in this market don’t do is think; I know I’ll ignore the Lamborghini specialist network and look at the Autotrader, because I don’t feel I need to purchase from an authorised Lamborghini franchise. No, I am going to find the time in my busy schedule to drive around the country with a suitcase full of cash and buy my car from a stranger’s driveway; and for the same price as cars are available for from Lamborghini franchised dealers. 

I would then point put one last very important consideration. Even if someone did, do you really want to hand your car over under these circumstances? Are you confident you have the skills required to complete this transaction? Think on that for a moment! 

Once the penny has dropped I would then move on to the solutions, albeit accepting that they have diminished their car via the process (above) they have undertaken. Very few professionals operate in the used car market for high performance and specialist cars and understanding how this market works, in practice, is critical during the liquidation process. 

In reality the market works in an “Off Market” basis, (involving discretion and excellence in execution), with cars that are not known and/or offered from multiple sources, being the cars that can be liquidated, and for the best prices. Those that have been mishandled via an advertising process on inappropriate portals (Autotrader etc.) get tarnished by this process and become difficult to liquidate. 

So in reality thanks to the process you have paid money to Autotrader for, you have achieved nothing other than wasting your money and reducing the value of your car. As someone operating in this market I am totally aware of all the cars available within the market, (especially those being prostituted on advertising portals - that is my job), along with the circumstances surrounding them. 

Many of you reading this article will have received approaches from me in the past and had discussions surrounding cars you have for sale. If you haven’t, the most important part of the liquidation process is to have the correct strategy for the process. The first consideration of which must always be availability within the market; this more than anything will dictate the strategy going forward. Unfortunately the Lamborghini Urus marketplace (like the majority of specialist high performance markets), is very small and one that appears to provide purchasers with plenty of choice at the moment. 

So despite the hubris in the press, that surrounding the rising values of used cars, I would counsel that the liquidation process will be challenging at the moment, one requiring expertise, discretion and excellence in execution. Anyone wanting to understand why this is the case can feel free to follow the link to my recent article below; written for my Used Car Business Development Blog. 

Wave Goodbye To Top Prices For Specialist And High Performance Cars! 

So with all the above now taken on board, where to turn now for the owners of specialist high performances cars, (the marques listed at the start of the article), those looking for the right expertise and experience; that required to facilitate in the immediate liquidation of their car? A process requiring skill, expertise, the utmost discretion and excellence in execution. 

Well with cash available for the immediate purchase of the best examples, unrivalled experience in liquidating specialist high performance cars and the contacts base within the professional community, (both franchised dealers and the most knowledgeable specialists), you could contact me for a market consultation. I am not going to promise you for one moment that I work with every car that is offered, or with every owner that contacts me. 

In truth I choose to advise and help everyone but only work actively with 10% of the owners who contact me; and their associated cars. Offering immediate cash purchase, (should circumstances dictate), or the facility to act as your trusted conduit to the market, returning the best prices, I am the ultimate solution provider for those looking to dispose of their specialist high performance car. 

Please feel free to reach out to me directly via LinkedIn should you wish to arrange a consultation call. 

Andrew.

The Last Place Specialist High Performance Cars Should Be?,,,,, Right Here! 

An interesting shop window into the specialist high performance used car market this and fascinating to see, in terms of where the specialist high performance used car market is heading; a market that I predict is becoming very volatile, as are prices. To those in “The Know” and working within this market, this image tells us a lot about where the market and therefore values are heading. 

Unfortunately and regrettably over the last 18-24 months there has been a lot of hubris surrounding used car values per se, most of it incorrect and mainly peddled by those with no real life experience of these markets; CAP HPI, Auction Houses, Autotrader etc. In reality their commentary and opinions are rendered of little value and/or expertise because the used car market is fragmenting into many individual highly specialised used car markets; the high performance specialist used car market being just one. 

The picture aside, (I’ll come back to this later), working in this market 24-7 I can advise everyone that the market is beginning to struggle for liquidity, with many retailers rueing previous purchasing decisions and still sitting on now loss making stock, purchased at far too much (in terms of pricing) during the latter part of 2021; and it is this lack of liquidity within the market that could be behind the image above. 

Now I can’t comment on the pedigree of the stock concerned, (specification, mileage, ownership and maintenance history – all critical to valuations in this market), but perhaps the fact that these cars are appearing at auction, (the last place some of this specialist high performance used car stock should be – in terms of maximising values), and with number plates on full display, is indicative of the volatility and challenges of volume (combined with a lack experience and expertise in the market), that are beginning to hit this market. All of which will not be helping discerning owners of vehicles like this dispose of (and maximise the value of) similar cars. 

So what did it tell me? Well as much as I don’t know the circumstances surrounding these individual cars, it reaffirms some market realities that I have been experiencing and is probably indicative of the perfect storm forming over all luxury commodities markets. Not just the specialist high performance used car market. 

The most important thing images like this tell me is that those owning and/or responsible for the disposal of the cars concerned do not understand the market and how to maximise the return on investment for specialist high performance vehicles. Unfortunately this lack of expertise then resonates throughout the market because it creates a negative market and therefore pricing narrative. 

Let me expand upon this via one the cars in the image (the Lamborghini Urus) because it is representative of how the market has evolved over the last 10 years, and the challenges that this market evolution has created; the first being increased production volumes leading to more challenging “Supply and Demand” equations to navigate. Now increased volumes of production changes markets because it changes the pivotal “Supply and Demand” ratio – inextricably linked to residual values, and few manufacturers get the balance right. There are some but in the main they are the manufacturers that you wouldn’t expect; more on this in another article. 

Lamborghini are a pertinent example of this; 10 years ago the current model line-up and sales volumes could not have been imagined and they reflect what has happened in this sector as a whole. In reality you could say the same for many other marques that I work with; the likes of Porsche, McLaren, Bentley, Rolls Royce, Lotus, Maserati and Aston Martin, to name just a few. 

This has led to a market sector (both new and used) that is becoming over supplied for, something that you can get away with when the market in awash with money, cheap finance, lax lending criteria and high levels of consumer confidence; as we have had for over a decade now. This period though is ending and the market, (I predict), is about to find that 5 into 1 just does not go. 

Now there will be winners in the market that is coming, those owning the most desirable examples and who are prepared to be patient, whilst blessed with the knowledge and experience to achieve the best valuations. As markets evolve and “Supply and Demand” pivots to favour buyers and those with available funds, those buyers will be able to afford to take a relaxed stance, knowing full well that the sellers may need their money more than they need to rush out and buy the first car they see, as there are few disposal routes available to them. 

In these markets, this makes the publicising of the Lamborghini Urus in this way an inept decision and strategy; why? Well in specialist, niche used car markets, those inhabited by specialist high performance product like Lamborghinis, this car (whether it sold or not at the auction) has just become the cheapest car of its kind available within its market. This is a small world, inhabited by very few professionals, all of whom now know about the car; and worse than this, by publicising the car with number plates on, everyone who is minded to find out, now knows the full specification and history of the car. 

No one wants to buy the car the whole world knows about, unless it is so cheap that it becomes a false economy not to purchase. Not in specialist high performance and niche used car markets, and that goes for the customers, as well those professionals acting as market facilitators and conduits to the market. 

In truth, it could’ve all been so different, if handled correctly in the first place. Unfortunately now and for the foreseeable future, the car will come to market as the Lamborghini Urus that went through the auction; and few professionals operating within the associated market will get involved. So in effect this strategy has rendered the car nigh on unsellable within its specialist market; and to those offering the best prices for specialist high performance vehicles. 

With the market evolving and more owners looking to sell cars in this niche and specialist market, much thought must be given to how to go about this highly skilled liquidation process. The inconvenient truth is that anyone can achieve a below market value for your high performance specialist car, and if this is the route you are intending to use, then be quick; the money will run out pretty soon. But be warned, if you gamble on this process ill-advised, you could end up trying to liquidate your asset in similar circumstances to the Lamborghini Urus in image above, a process after which, those operating in this market, (professionals like me), will then not get involved in. 

That may sound harsh, but no one within this market wants to be acting as a market facilitator and conduit for cars that have been “Prostituted” to the market, because no discerning buyer wants to purchase and own the car that has been “Prostituted” to the market either. In truth in the coming market only the best cars handled with upmost expertise and discretion are going to be exchanging hands at prices likely to acceptable to those with a choice as to whether or not to sell. 

Unfortunately the coming market will almost certainly lead to more distress selling and repossessions, generating volumes of supply that will become a drag on the market as a whole; including prices. A negative trading environment further compounded by some cars being marketed within the market by the professionals without the prerequisite skills to do so. Sadly though I think this situation is unavoidable. 

So where to turn for the owners of specialist high performance cars looking for the right expertise and experience, that required to facilitate in the immediate liquidation of their car; a process requiring skill, expertise, the utmost discretion and excellence in execution. 

Well with unrivalled experience in liquidating specialist cars and the contacts base within the trading community, (both franchised dealers and the most knowledgeable independent specialists), you could contact me for a market consultation. However I am not going to promise you for one moment that I work with every car that is offered, or with every owner that contacts me. 

In truth I choose to advise and help everyone but only work actively with 10% of the owners who contact me; and their associated cars. Offering immediate cash purchase, (should circumstances dictate), or the facility to act as your trusted facilitator and conduit to the market, delivering the best return for your specialist high performance car; I am the ultimate solution provider for those looking to dispose of their vehicle. 

Please feel free to reach out to me directly via LinkedIn should you wish to arrange a consultation call.