American The Dream

Alex Manos, founder of Beverly Hills Car Club, offers his opinion on what makes the US Porsche market so unique

It’s always a joy to chase classic Porsche cars to buy. My love and passion for the cars is what drives me, and makes it so much easier to explain why I work seven days a week. I’m always excited to pass on a new purchase to whoever buys them. When I go to check out a new Porsche, I’m always buzzing. When people ask me what’s my favourite car, I reply, as the famous Carroll Shelby always answered, “The next car!”

At Beverly Hills Car Club I have many clients worldwide: dealers, enthusiasts, and collectors who primarily purchase cars from me to have an advantage in their local markets.

I always have over 100 Porsche cars in stock, from early Porsche 356s to Porsche 993s. I always do my utmost to find the most attractive pricing for them and to have the most competitive pricing worldwide. Our pricing is extremely competitive in order to keep Porsches driving across the globe.

We have a client who purchased his first Porsche from us as an enthusiast about 11 years ago. Once his car arrived in the UK he wasn’t able to hold on to it without making a 30 per cent net profit on his investment. So he sold it. Then he quickly came back to Beverly Hills Car Club to purchase a replacement. But this time he bought two Porsches from us. This collector-enthusiast-hobbyist now purchases about 30 cars a year from Beverly Hills Car Club and has turned his passion into a business for himself.

He is not the only one. Many car dealers purchase multiple cars from Beverly Hills Car Club and turn them around in their local markets without doing any work to the car. There are people who make a living by buying cars in the USA – from me, for instance – and then taking them to the UK, where they add on a bit to the price.

Most of the Porsches I have bought have been

911s. So many of these have been stored away, and so provide excellent opportunities to acquire ready-todrive, rust-free cars. Most Porsches manufactured were sold into the United States. Hence there are so many 911s in the USA, and their owners tend to take good care of them: most of the Porsches that are in the United States are in better condition than in Europe, which is largely because they have more clement weather.

But even if they are in a condition for restoration there remain many options and possibilities. Also, shipping to the UK is not too expensive. Felixstowe or Southampton are the ports that they go into, which is at a cost of $1,850. Then there are taxes and import duties. But it’s a pretty easy process, literally door-todoor – just like an Amazon delivery, but involving a larger item.

If you want a unique colour combination most of these are in the USA. In America, Porsche 911s are cheaper than in Europe and the UK and most are in good shape, regularly serviced and cared for. There are excellent opportunities to get the car you’re looking for, to get the car colour combination, or to get a better price. Also, you have the advantage of the Euro and Pound both being strong. If you buy a Porsche here from Beverly Hills Car Club, for example, and you ship it to the UK or Europe, you’ve already made a profit.

I suspect a lot of people are scared of buying from the USA: worries about shipping costs are often predominant. But part of this is also connected to the excitement of buying a vehicle like a 911. People go to a car show on a weekend and are so turned on by what they have seen that they want to buy one on the coming Monday, and are even willing to pay more, to get the car on the spot. But if they are prepared to wait a few weeks and buy their 911 from me or one of my rivals, they’ll get a much better price. That’s if they are prepared to wait three or so weeks to get the car shipped over.

Either way, if you purchase the car from us directly or from a dealer in the UK, it is most likely that Beverly Hills Car Club has had our hands on the car.