It's increasingly often that we can see super-sport cars on Polish roads. How does the process of buying a top-shelf car look like? How much do these elite machines cost? Who are their Polish buyers? We have asked these questions to experts of the motor market, including Krzysztof Hołowczyc and Zachar Zawadzki.
The market observers, as well as luxury cars salesmen, agree that the amount of Ferrari or Lamborghini cars in Poland is increasing. However, this is not snowballing. - I think that the amount of cars from the G+ segment is not spectacular. When it comes to new cars, it's less than 100-200 per year – estimates Konrad Stopa, vice-chief editor of the Motopodprad.pl website. What determines the shallowness of the Polish market? It definitely is not for a lack of wealthy customers. One of the reasons indicated by experts is pragmatism. - Poles prefer to drive practical cars. Thus, even more wealthy customers buy the SUV worth more than 500.000 PLN for daily purposes. It's often that potential buyers of super-cars have very specific demands. They're looking for a proper color, as well as proper equipment. Due to a small selection of such cars in Poland, they often need to buy them from abroad – notices Zachar Zawadzki, chief editor of Autocentrum.pl. However, he adds that some of the super-cars enthusiasts buy and registers them abroad, but uses them in Poland. Konrad Stopka also points out poor offers from the Polish market. - In my opinion, potential G+ customers have a huge problem to fulfill their dreams in Poland. When it comes to the secondary market, the foreign offers are definitely more attractive than those from Poland – he concludes.
In Poland or abroad?
Before we know the opinion from the super-car salesmen from Poland, let's check whether the price differences are as significant as journalists suggest. We checked the secondary market price of a Lamborghini Aventador. The cult TV magazine, Top Gear, considered it the car of the year in 2011. We found the least expensive Aventador model on the Otomoto.pl website. The car was sold by an owner from Warsaw. It was produced in 2015 and its price is 1.4 million PLN. It's worth mentioning that at the moment of writing this article, there were only twenty-five offers regarding this model. Now, let's check a popular German website, mobile.de. We found fifty-seven offers for this model. The least expensive is available for 299.000 euro (slightly more than 1.27 million PLN, according to an exchange rate from 11.08.2016, as given by Cinkciarz.pl). Looks tempting, but in order to register a car like that in Poland, you would have to pay an excise fee. If you add the government excise tax of 18.6% to the price of the car, it will appear that the purchase of an Aventador in Germany won't bring you any savings at all (estimated price would be more than 1.5 million PLN). The United Kingdom would also be a wonderful market for Lamborghini fans, because you can buy an Aventador there from 2015 for 309.000 pounds (1.31 million PLN according to exchange rate from 11.08.2016, as given by Cinkciarz.pl). Unfortunately, there is a necessity of paying an excise fee there as well.
Buy from a dealer?
Why is it worth buying a car from a dealer in Poland? Mostly because of safety, as well as credibility. - In the case of buying a used car from an authorized point, we will get full access to its history. In the case of a new car, we will get access to many benefits, such as a long-term service package – emphasizes Karolina Szulęcka, marketing manager of Ferrari Katowice. What's interesting is that the prices on the showroom's website are in euro. - First of all, it's in euro so that the customer may compare it with international prices. Secondly, changes in exchange rates can significantly impact the final price. Therefore, we use one currency in all of Europe. The company gives a certain type of stability by doing this – explains Szulęcka.
Is it possible to save?
Is it worth thinking of savings when you have luxury inclinations like this? Krzysztof Hołowczyc promotes an alternative access to elite vehicles. The former European Rally Champion is a founder of Super Car Club, that adapted the idea of time-sharing in Poland. - You don't have to buy a super-car in order to drive it. Members of our club are allowed to use the fleet of many super-cars for decent money – said Hołowczyc.
The club members have access to approximately thirty top-shelf cars, including the Ferrari 458 Italia or the Lamborghini Huracan. They can book and then use selected cars. They only are charged per hour. Apart from the fun of driving, it’s worth considering the club’s offer as an opportunity to gain experience in driving a super-sport car. - You need to learn to drive this kind of car and get used to its abilities, as well as its reactions. I’d suggest fresh owners of these cars to start driving them at, for example, empty airports, or going to a driving skills academy. That way, they can safely check out the behaviors of their car, which is very important – emphasizes Hołowczyc.
What else, apart from time-sharing, can get you become closer to owning the car of your dreams? In the case of transactions in other currency than the zloty, you should find the most profitable exchange rate. Let’s get back to the example of Lamborghini Aventador, which costs 299.000 euro. - If you buy this amount of euro at Cinkciarz.pl, you may even save up to 79.000 PLN, in comparison to the currency exchange rates offered by banks – encourages Piotr Kiciński, Cinkciarz.pl vice-chairman of the Board.
Don’t forget the fees!
What else should you focus on before buying a super-car? As a matter of fact, you should do the same things as in the case of buying something as valuable. For example, if the car is used, you should carefully analyze its history. - A car that has been at the track every weekend, is bound to require large repair expenses sooner or later. It’s worth making sure that the seller doesn’t want to avoid these expenses after another racing season – advises Zachar Zawadzki. In the matters related to excise, as well as the VAT are also important. - An owner of a car, which is registered in Poland, has to pay two taxes. Therefore, it’s worth making sure that these matters have been taken care of properly – adds chief editor of Autocentrum.pl.