Five years ago I had this British couple in their mid forties buy a listing of mine for $1,256.000, it was a "Grand Old Dame" but in need of major work. They had contractors work on it full time for two years. They are still driving the same car they had five years ago, a green Chevy Cavalier four door. (One of the
cheaper cars made buy Chevy or GM, not sure which)

You double ended your million dollar listing, eh? Wow! Tell us more. I think GM makes the Chevy Cavalier.

Yikes, I'm not good with a pen. It was my listing that this couple bought through another agent. Yes my biggest check ever in 20 or so years. I worked on securing it for about a year. The old lady who passed away put instructions in her will that I had to be the agent to handle it. I didn't know this so I wine and dined the executor of the estate her son for one year.
Spent a fair amount of money and late eveings, he knew the whole time that they were forced to use me but played with me.
He told me at the end and had a big laugh, the son is poor and
has kids so I didn't mind too much, they don't get to go out much.

I met the mother while cold calling, the neighbor had died and had given her home to my client.(she could not get insurance due to the age of wiring, roof..,so I arranged everything for her. I sold it for her and that was
the beginning of our relationship. She was an amazing lady and we stayed in
touch for year.

The family invited me to her funeral, we had become good friends.

What an amazing tale that is.

Come to think of it...it reminds me...I saw Froy today at the farmers' market of all places. He was teaching the produce crew (and anyone else who wanted to participate) how to juggle apples. It was spectacular. I think he did a dozen. Mike Ferry was there rooting him on jotting down the phne numbers of the would-be jugglers. By the end of the whole thing, they had cracked into the gallon sized cider jugs and were playing their favorite college football fight songs by using the scales as bongo drums. It was a sight to behold. I bet he gets some business out of that episode.

A year later one of the sons used his inheritance to buy a bungalow through me for $320.000.00, His name is Ed and he
has a very small mortgage, he owns a beautiful 8mm Mauser rifle with original
German markings that he wont sell. I thought if I found him a great house
he might part with it.

From age sixteen my mother used to drop me of at different homes to do here open houses on the weekends, she had too many. She was a big producer who worked all the time seven days a week. When I started in the business age 25 or 27 cant remember she bought me a set of Mike Ferry's Tapes and told me to door knock for 3 hours a day.

Are you calling me a liar?

No, liar is your choice of words. The thought crossed my mind you might be floating some Bravo Sierra though.

The point of the original post was these people drive a modest
car and live in a grand home. It had nothing to do with my pay check. Many people live beyong their means and drive cars they
cannot afford. It's all an illusion.

I'm perfectly happy with my Nissan Versa. Functional and just not-lame enough.

I've always disliked this part of the business, but it's a necessary one. Having a nice car is important when making a first impression. For that reason, I've always leased so that I can constantly trade up to the latest and greatest. Not something I'm a big fan of, but it's much cheaper (and easier) than buying and selling every year.

I tend to get a new car every couple or several years, but only because I'm an autophile and like having different toys.

However...I still disagree that having the "latest and greatest" is a must. The correct car will leave an impression of success for many years. My friend drives a well-maintained, 20-year-old Mercedes S-class when he's on the clock. His theory is that it's reassuring to clients because it exclaims "old money," which in turn implies he's enjoyed success in real estate for a long time.

The reality is he's only been in the field for a few years, and he bought the car used...but I actually like that approach. Certainly saves you having to continually pay for the depreciation on a brand-new car.

From a business perspective, consider your return on investment: A $500 monthly payment for a new luxury car would mean I need to close an extra sale every year just to make that payment. How many of us can be certain that we score one sale per year as a direct result of our having that brand-new car? I can think of much better ways to spend that money if your intent is to build your business.

I'm on board with your buddy, bought my car new in 1992, currently have 356,000 km, still love it to bits, women have come and gone but not by car, we still get along brilliantly.

Clients comments, your car is immaculate, you drive a classic,
some are speechless. green people say good for you. My office
parking lot is full of high end leased European cars, mine was
paid of in 1995.

Engine blew up at 302,000 km so I had it rebuilt, has only
let me down once, paint is original. The thought of giving up
on it was not an option. Average monthy maintenance is $80/month.

Next car will be a used Smart Fortwo with GSXR 1000 engine conversion or I'll put a Honda Civic engine in it, the latter will be better for a daily driver, my mechanic can get illegal emmisions test done so I'm good to go, plus the Honda transmission has a reverse gear which makes life easier than the Suzuki engine. I've owned many motorcycles so this car with hopefully fill my need for a bike and the necessity of a car, it will be a a very fast Go-Cart. (a guy in
England put a Toyota MR11 engine in his Smart, the conversion was a success, not cheap though but friggen fast.


It will be very hard to part with my current car and may never happen.

i have been doing this since 1989 and probably could have bought quite a few mercedes with the money i lost because i didnt have a fancy car. the public expects successful agents to have expensive cars.

My next car will probably be another Honda van. Once the kids are out of the house I will get something fun and cute. But for the next 8 years or so I am stuck w/ being practical.

In my neck of the woods, the public expects agents to know what they're doing. I've sold expensive homes to people in cars worth 5 of mine - they didn't care. What they cared about was that I knew what I was doing and was able to help them get their house purchased without stress or incident.

If you need a fancy car to score clients, perhaps it's time to work on your sales pitch.

Wonder how Earl Nightingale's theory of look at what other agents
are doing and do the 180 degree opposit would apply when dealing
with what car to drive.