Customers reactions /sports cars

[plotloss]

Drive a nice car, park around the corner from your customers...

Matt.

[phib]

Having now run my own business (consultancy/promotions/trouble shooting) reasonably for the last 3 years.
I am fed up with having to drive two cars i.e. new chimaera for when I don't see customers and Bmw coupe 318 when I do.
However when I did visit customers in a posh car (alpina 7 series bmw) I always had a bad reaction from them like I was doing too well and was going to rip them off so basically I sold it and bought two cars as above.
The problem is that as much as I like the BM (well actually I don't really )I would rather be driving something else like a older 911 (964) and chimaera but am worried I will have all the same issues all over again.
Now it may be an age / industry issue I am 29 and most of the people I deal with are 40+ with 2 kids and a company 5 series dulls ville been there. But when ever I used to deal with a conultant (when I worked for a company)and he turned up in a 911/TVR etc etc I just thought great maybe one day I can do that and never resented him or the flash car it was just aspirational.

So the question is what do you guys do about it there must be someone in the same sitauation as me!!!!

[phib]

Yeah done that just seems most of my customers are in the stix and have their own buildings / car parks, if I can hide the chiamera as I did for the last six months contract in london but it was a pain in the ar*e having to walk half a mile to the car every morning /evening but kind of worth it !!!!

[Bonce]

It works both ways: If someone turns up in a Rover, instant disrespect.

You're asking the wrong people. We're all very happy to see sports cars turn up in the car park. It's all to do with the person's attitude, not what they drive as far as I'm concerned. But I'm not a 40 something with 2 kids.

[Hughesie2]

Do what i used to do and say the Mrs was dead posh and rich, it was her car and yours is in the garage...

[alunr]

I've never had any problems with my customers and my cars. They all know I'm a complete petrolhead so they understand that I spend my money on cars rather than 2 weeks in Antigua or whatever.

I always try to be friends with my customers and so far it has'nt backfired...

[samn01]

You are right.

I used to have 40+ contractors working for a bank in Frankfurt and if I parked the Chimp outside when I went in people would make rude comments.
Problem is Frankfurt is so small that anyone living there driving a TVR/Lotus or anything none German is going to get spoted all around town all the time.
People did not like it the contactors were jeulous and so were the permie clients.
Happens to everyone, I had a contractor with a Z8 and he was not allowed to park his car outside said bank as the permie traders got all agro that an externall had a Z8 and they did not......!
I also had a candidate turn up for interview (company in the UK ) in a BMW 330i (New shape) and I have a feeling he did not get the job because of it. Green eyed monsters all over the place.

[clubsport]

Sad but true a good friend who has his own business treats himslf to a nice car every now & then.he normally ends up selling it a month or so later as he gets a few comments & reckons he genuinely loses some business.
i would be inclined to get a 330 or something 7 take the badges off,,even though a 964 may only be £15k it definitely gives a different impression.

[Don]

I drive my Porsche on business. I can do this only because I use it to travel to well established long standing clients who know me...and know perfectly well I've spent their money on my car.

To travel to a new client I don't know....I'd avoid them seeing it if at all possible. And if anyone is stupid enough to allow the fact I have a nice car to influence their buying decision (for or against) then they're too stupid to use my software!

Seriously though...I try NOT to rub people's noses in it that I can afford a nice car. They don't like it.

[raceboy]

I'm sure having a 'flash' motor has hindered me sometimes, I've know bosses look favourably down on hard up, crappy car, 2 kids, big mortgage, types and hold back me, due to the lifestyle I choose
And asking how secure the company car park is in interviews sometimes raises a few eyebrows
Luckily now I work for a bit of a petrolhead (he's just bought a new Merc AMG C36) and my car no longer stands out like a sore thumb in the company car park.
Problem is for you customers can see it 2 ways, you either charge too much, or your very good, I'm sure it's the latter you've just got to convince them.

[phib]

All very true, my latest idea is to buy either a subaru (old shape) as they look like every other rep mobile or an e36 M3 and tell people (if they ask) that its a 318 with a body kit !!!!!
Most of my customers are new at this stage anyway
I don't want to rub peoples nose in at all. I probably do 20 k p.a. in my second car and about 7.5 in the Chimaera which this year has been 2.5 k
I think the answer is a)hide it and b dont buy anything with a posh badge
Having said all that my latest client was suprised I only drove a 318i if my business was as succesfull as I said it was !!!!!!!!!!!
You cant win roll on being 45 no not really !!!!!

[clubsport]

Er Mungo isn't it a fancy Seat with big wheels on it ?

I think that is a reasonable car to have for business,you can have some fun on your travels.It is new,but with respect to the leaps & bounds VW have made with Seat,I really don't think it is a brand that is gonna put customers off.

taking things to the other extreme, maybe worth trying an Octavia RS, you can have some fun & customers will have no problem with you charging more as you have cut things so tight ,you have to run a Skoda

[rich1231]

Blimey,

I am reluctant to tell people the cars I drive as their immediate assumptions are negative but I will freely admit to having used the cars to influence opinions of others of me in Business situations.

[gbgaffer]

I had a boss who was given a new 7 series BMW, which he secretly loved whilst publicly declaiming it as not his sort of car. I took him to meet our new agent in Singapore, who picked us up from the hotel in his top of the range Merc. My boss made admiring comments about the car, to be met with the reply that this was the car our agent used to impress his bankers or principals and that he had a 'reps' car which he used when calling on customers. When asked what that was he replied 'a 7 series BMW' - I laughed like a drain all the way to our first meeting.

On the subject of negative impressions, I once returned to the small electronics company of which I was a Director to find a horrible purple Rolls parked outside (In my parking spot ) When I enquired of the MD who's it was I learnt that it belonged to the guy who was trying to sell us a Corporate Pension Plan. Needless to say he didn't get the business

[mel]

It's always a risk and for that very reason I run a "workhorse" and a "plaything". A good friend of mine runs his own successfull business doing pub refurbs for most of the big breweries, he used and audi A4 diesal avant as his everyday work hack and never got a problem, however one weekend he went to a family wedding in what was at the time a new 966 that he'd treated himself to, by a querk of fate at the same wedding was one of the buyers for a brewery who clocked the car, asked "is that your car" and came to the conclusion he was making too much money from them. The following monday the work dried up from that client. Jealousy can be very dangerous.

[gbgaffer]

Having said all that, the old Jewish adage springs to mind - all you need to be successful is a good suit and a Roller!

[mattl]

Sadly I had to choose to be the "grey man" when we opted out of the company car scheme last year. Hence the Saab! It came from the top that there were to be no flashy sports cars!! I did think about the 2 car option but got married instead so the toys (Jetski and possibility of buying a sports car) had to go!!!!!!!

[Tony Hall]

Interesting question. "0 years ago when I worked as an Engineer for the Council, I hated turning up at a ratepayers house in a (then) flashy sports car. (7, Elan, Clan etc). Felt sort of embarrassed. Prefered ariving in a Mini or whatever I was renovating at the time in primer.
Now drive Chimaera with bike in garage, don't car, but get disparidging remarks from workmates when I say I am A bit skint. "skint, with a TVR and a big bike, huh".
What they forget is they spend £40 or £50 on beer clubs etc on a night out and I don't.
Rather drive a nice car than piss it up against a wall!

[SamN01]

I had an interview once where the UK MD and the Sales Director had flown out to meet me in Frankfurt and we got round to talking about sports cars. The UK MD told me he loved sports cars and asked me which car I had, to which I replied a Lotus 340R (at the time), he had not herard of it. So I then went into one about how great it was and why I thought the 340R was much quicker than a Ferrari for track day use and that I thought in real terms Ferraris were over priced and a bit slow etc. (I had, downed a few beers in the bar where the interview was taking place and I was mouthing off).
I then asked him what car he drove.
" A Ferarri " He said.

Oh well....Still got offered the job. Didn't take it though

>> Edited by SamN01 on Thursday 20th February 11:36

[pbrettle]

It's sad isnt it - what happens if someone was left some money from a will etc - they happen to spend that money on a nice car.... and then get picked on cos Granny Smith left £30K to them.... money brings out the worst in people...

Cheers,

Paul