Luxury cars: Easy to ride, hard to maintain

It’s boomtime for the Philippines. Analysts recently proclaimed the country as already an emerged economy, no longer the “Sick Man of Asia,” an archipelago with a sweet spot for investors.

It’s also vroom-time for the automotive sector, where the (re)emergence of ultra-luxury performance brands and high-end sports machines may be heralding what some motoring scribes have termed as the “sports car renaissance” in the country.

There are now reasons and means for Pinoys to buy luxury vehicles and sports cars. However, with the influx of these technologically endowed vehicles come new obstacles and challenges.

These questions must now be asked: For those who have the moolah, is it now a good time to buy luxury cars? What are the downsides to owning these seven- and eight-figure luxury and sports cars in the Philippines, and what should be the owners’ top considerations in buying luxury cars before they can roll them out on our roads?

Inquirer Motoring has asked sports car enthusiasts these questions. Though their answers have been a resounding yes to the first question, they still do have their ups and downs on what would come next for owners after the purchase:

1. Down. How to keep that sale clean, in the eyes of the public, and the BIR.

This was Automobile Association Philippines motorsports committee chairman Mandy Eduque’s most important consideration for ultra-luxury car owners.

Case in point: Two years ago, owners of Lamborghini in the Philippines were put on the spot when a pawnshop tycoon was put to tax, er, task, for not paying the proper duties on his P26-million sports car. It was during that time also when newly installed President Noynoy Aquino reminded the public of the seriousness of his administration’s drive to weed out tax evaders. Inquirer Motoring was able to talk to a Lamborghini owner (who refused to be named, for obvious reasons) who lamented about the bad (tax) rep the car, and its owners in the Philippines, was getting. “Not all high-end cars are smuggled. With regard to the proper amount (to be taxed), that is another topic. However, let’s not stereotype everyone that owns a luxury car as a tax cheat or a smuggler. These are not contraband items, yet they are drawing a lot of flak. It is unfortunate that since these are attention-grabbing items, they tend to draw negative opinions.” At that time the owner spoke out his mind, there were an estimated 18 Lamborghini owners in Manila alone, plus an undetermined number in Cebu.

2. Up. For public officials who have something to hide, buy a really expensive car.

Buy an ultra-luxury vehicle, and have less to worry about in your undisclosed bank accounts. “Buying a luxury car is a great way for public officials to launder their ill-gotten wealth. Buy a luxury car, register it under a friend’s or corporation’s name, and voila! You have less to include in your SALN or for AMLA to find in your undisclosed bank accounts,” Eduque quipped.

But there’s a down in that somewhere: “How to register it under a name other than yours,” he chuckled.

3. Down. Where to run it without getting a ticket for overspeeding, Eduque said. Sports car enthusiast Toti Turalba mentions other inconveniences: traffic, parking and lack of good roads.

These quandaries, however, are applicable only to those owners who intend to use their supercars for what they were really designed to do—to run fast and wild. These downers mean nothing, of course, when owners only want to show off their prized catch in their garages.

4. Up. Most ultra-luxury and sports car brands are now legally imported.

That means more choices for potential owners for good payment schemes and after-sales service. Still, Turalba lamented that taxes are too high for these imported items.

Eduque shares a word of caution for owners looking for luxury cars to buy (whether from authorized distributors or from the gray market): Make sure the importer has fully paid its taxes on the car you’re eyeing. Else, you will get an unwelcome vist from the Bureau of Customs.

5. Down. Brace yourself for maintenance costs.

Turalba is of the opinion that before buying, would-be owners of luxury and sports cars should think long and hard. Be prepared for the maintenance costs. An astronomically priced car demands parts (and services) that are similarly out of this world.

After the warranty expires, looking outside the casa is not recommended (unless the owner truly trusts a shop that claims to know the ins and outs of that particular luxury brand). Sourcing or purchasing parts outside the casa is also not recommended by most car manufacturers.

6. Up. Built solid, like it was meant to last longer than the owner.

Those astronomical prices have a reason to be. These cars are built solid, particularly the underchassis. Plus, their engines and bodies can literally take the heat. They are built to run at high speeds. The metallurgy and everything else are up to par, and the engines can withstand high RPMs for long stretches, even in hot, tropical climates.

But, as they say, to err is human, and supercars are still, in the end, made by fallible humans. Not everything about the car will last as long as you’d like them to. An expert reveals that roofliners could sag within several years, foam materials, as well as some rubbers and plastics, could also give way during hot weather. Nothing that an immensely financially endowed owner can’t handle, of course.

Oops, before you sign that check, Turalba advised that owners should make sure that the car is assigned the parking space it deserves—protected from the ill-intentioned and the elements. Also, the vehicle, if it is meant as a surprise for the spouse, must be of the pleasant kind. He added that buyers should get only the car options that he or she really wants, and they must build a good relationship with their dealer.

“If you have a driver, teach him all the controls, features, dos and don’ts, maintenance checks and proper driving,” he added.

Finally, before driving off into the sunset and into the neon lights of the buzzing cities, think long and hard which ultra-luxury sports car really fits your personality. Because, in the end, an admiring public will eventually ask: “Who owns who?”

Do you own a supercar? E-mail your Philippine driving experiences to the author at [email protected].