I drive a ford truck and I don't iron my clothes. Many times I wear shorts or jeans. I always tuck in my shirt and wear a belt though and my shirts button down. I think image people attract image clients. Not everyone cares about image. Some people look for substance. Substance agents attract substance clients. Image and substance are not exclusive, so I am not trying to insult anyone.
Eons ago Plato and Socrates had this same debate, form versus function.
I know people judge me by the way I look and by what I drive. I don't think about that or dwell on it. I know people judge me based on what I do for them. I care about that. These folks keep me busy and I don't have to iron. Woohoo!

Who cares! It's the work that you do that matters.
The only thing I agree with is that you do have to look presentable! No excuse.

I've never seen myself as a shuttle service for clients. they are adults with their own vehicles.

I'm shopping for a Mercedes SL63 convertible. It'll hold ONE passenger, so clients can forget about a caravan. LOL

I lease a new one every 4 years. You gotta look successful in order to be successful in Real Estate. I would rather live in a mini home and drive something expensive cuz your clients don't see where you live.

Hey guys,

Would clients see a big expensive car as a bad thing? I realize having a nice car shows success but when is nice too nice?

That's a good point. You impress some and irk others. I guess you have to establish your target market.

I agree some buyers can be intimidated by too much flash, just as some buyers are impressed by a fancy ride.

I've visited St. Frances Xavier College!! Lovely area. I walked on the frozen waves there. An experience I will NEVER Forget.

Sorry though, I totally disagree. I would rather ride a bicycle than live in a mini home. You have clients may come by or check up on you and you live there for goodness sake. Enjoy it, and Sleep well. Driving around in a box of metal on wheels is only transportation, not a habitat. Just my 2 cents

Here is my opinion, I have seen Realtor who do great business in jeans and old car. There are different kind of people, people that want to see shiny Realtor with luxury car and people that look what this Realtor has in the had. i am from the second group people. However if the car is clean and you wear yourself clean and nice it is OK. I hate dirty cloths and cars.

Does it matter what I drive to a former on lock-out day or an investor buyer of my reo? After 20 years and spending thousands of dollars on vehicles the answer I learned is no, not really. So I buy used and drive a 10 year old car with a couple hundred thousand miles for now.

I think I'm going to leave the office now and give my car a thorough cleaning. It's pretty bad right now...darn kids!

That's one cool car!

I referred my brother-in-law (and sister-in-law) to an agent in L.A. when they were looking to buy a home in the area. A few weeks later they were in escrow with a house in Burbank. I thought, great, that referral worked out. But then my brother-in-law told me that they had used a different agent. I asked why the agent I had referred him to hadn't worked out. He said it was because she picked them up in a crappy car. So there you have it. Some people definitely care about the car you drive. I'd call that a pretty significant example.

Did you choose the 1st referral agent randomly or did you screen the agent?

Brian Buffini used to drive a pretty crappy car when he first started out.

Oh well. If people don't like my van, that's fine...I probably wouldn't like them either, anyway...it would be a strained relationship. I don't get along well with snooty patooties.

How does one determine "crappy" anyway? That's such a subjective term.

Someone could look at my car and call it "crappy" because it's 5 years old, has a small dent in the side...it could be considered "crappy" because it's more than two years old and is an obvious Soccer Mom car....

I'm with you 100% Dean. I'm in a 1999 Nissan that's at 155k, with no signs of slowing down. I hate car payments and will never make one again.

I don't buy the theory an old car hurts your business.

Imagine a client saying "He was well prepared, friendly, knowledgeable, and I think he would do a great job for us. But I don't like that car so lets use the other guy."

That's a problem client you don't want anyway.