For many, the prospect of owning a supercar outright is the dream. Drivers want to be able to enjoy their travel experience while cruising around in one of the fastest vehicles on the planet.
But, of course, it’s never quite the experience they expect. While driving a fast car might seem like a good idea and be fun, the issues of owning one can run deep.
According to the exotic car rental company MPH Club, that’s leading many individuals to hire. “People with cash don’t want to go all-out on high-end cars. Instead, they believe in using them when they need them and then allowing someone else to deal with the hassle associated with running and keeping them. It’s a sea-change we’re witnessing in the market and something long overdue in our opinion.”
So, what are the good, bad, and ugly aspects of owning a supercar outright? Let’s take a look.
The Good
Exclusivity
“One thing our clients are looking for is exclusivity,” says MPH Club. “The people we speak to want to own a supercar that sets them apart from everyone else around them. Owning a unique vehicle is a sign of status that’s hard to replicate.”
And when it comes to the top vehicles, there’s a lot of uniqueness on offer. Most are upgradable and customizable, giving drivers more opportunities to express themselves.
Street Appeal
On top of that is the street appeal. These vehicles are deliberately showy and attention-grabbing, causing everyone to look at them when they are on the road.
For this reason, you often see cars prowling through central areas of major cities posing or darting between restaurants. You also see them in the middle of nowhere (particularly among people who just want to drive them and aren’t that bothered by getting attention from other people.
Performance
Finally, supercars give you a level of performance you can’t achieve or match on most road-legal vehicles. Some manufacturers offer upgraded versions of their primary lines, but these rarely match or compete with the performance of specially-built vehicles.
“Some of the cars in the supercar category now have more than 1,000 brake horsepower,” MPH Club explains. “Previously, you only saw that level of performance in drag racing vehicles with the top on-road supercars up around the 600 BHP mark. But that’s all changing thanks to competition and there is a smattering of high-performing vehicles that exceed this threshold and can take drivers to speeds over 250 miles per hour.
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The Bad
Unfortunately, things aren’t perfect in the supercar world. These are some significant downsides people run into when trying to run and manage these vehicles.
High Prices
The downside of supercars is their high price tags (the price of exclusively). Many vehicles are literally one-offs, allowing manufacturers to charge whatever they want.
Then there’s the cost of maintaining them too. These vehicles are anything but cheap. Most will only accept manufacturer or bespoke parts, putting up the cost of servicing immensely.
Impracticality
On top of this is the impracticality of these vehicles. While they might look nice on the road and go fast, there are always issues to do with luggage and storing them in safe locations.
One main issue is the problem of speed humps. Most high-performance vehicles simply won’t drive over them without scraping the underside.
Another issue is the unexpected acceleration speed. These vehicles often “launch” instead of “set off,” making them challenging to control at the lights.
Too Much Attention
Then there’s the issue of getting too much attention. While drivers want some people to look at them, they don’t want other road users flagging them down and asking them to take them for a spin.
“There’s also the problem of jealousy,” explains MPH Club. “Some people don’t like the idea that other people can have something they can’t, and it can produce all sorts of strange behavior. But, of course, this issue disappears if you’re just hiring for the day.”
The risk of vandals on supercars is fairly low, but they can still target them.
Read more: Theft Prevention for Luxury Vehicles
The Ugly
Then there are the downright ugly problems with supercar ownership that are harder to solve.
Depreciation
The main issue financially is depreciation. Supercars simply don’t hold their value, making them a poor way to store wealth.
Most supercars lost 50% of their value or more in the first couple of years of use. That’s because second-hand owners worry about excessive maintenance costs and how the previous owner treated the vehicle.
“Most drivers who love the idea of owning a supercar can sidestep this issue by hiring,” MPH Club explains. “Let someone else deal with the depreciation while drivers can focus on the experience for however long they decide to hire.”
Thief Magnet
Finally, supercars are often a thief magnet, and protecting them is challenging. Despite their rapid depreciation, their parts and components can still be worth a fortune (and therefore, warrants the effort by thieves).
“The obvious solution to this problem is to put insurance in place,” says MPH Club. “People with proper cover can often recover their losses and get their insurance company to pay an equivalent amount for their vehicle.”
However, there are other ways to protect supercars and prevent them from falling victim to theft. The main tactic is to protect them in garages with immobilizers. Fitting a crook lock can also help prevent thieves from driving away and taking everything else with them.
Then there’s the final tactic of only using the supercar rarely and never leaving it parked in a public location. If that’s a risk, then adopting alternative methods to get around could be better.
Conclusion
So there you have it: the good, the bad, and the ugly of owning a supercar. While it might sound like a wonderful idea, it comes with all sorts of unexpected costs.
The best way to get around most of these is to shift the responsibility away from you and onto someone else. For this reason, many people hire these vehicles when they travel or just want something special for an occasion.
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