DO YOU THINK THAT HAVING A NICE CAR IS IMPORTANT?

I hope not....or I may have to trade in my 92 corolla

In my market it would. Lots of millionaires down here.

To a point, if you pull up in a bently to show homes in the $100,000 dollar range, it might be a huge turn off.

Just have a nice, clean car. I don't believe it has to be worth more then the house your trying to sell.

What's classified as nice? I think practical might be a better word for a vehicle. I mean I'm not going to drive buyers around in my Big Beast of a Dodge Ram, nor when I'm rich enough to get one will I drive them around in my Jag. My Sable is just fine for what I do. And I won't mind if their kids get car sick in the back, cuz it's easy to clean up. =]

It's not so much that having a nice car helps you, but rather having a not-so-nice car can hurt you, especially in the luxury market. Buyers have commented about other agents "gee, he drove up on a Honda Accord, I just don't see how he's going to share our tastes and appreciate the finer things."

I happen to already like nice cars so I drive them anyways, in fact just got a new one a couple weeks ago. But since I work the high end market, if I didn't already have a nice car I'd definitely have one on the shopping list. And by "nice" I don't mean a new Honda or Ford, I mean something that could be considered a luxury car and I think we all know what that means.

By the way luxury cars don't have to be expensive. You can get a great used Lexus, Mercedes, Jaguar, etc for under twenty grand including a comprehensive extended warranty.

Is this fair? Is it how things should be? Would Budda approve? I don't know, but I can guarantee you that if you're selling penthouses and your client sees you pull up in a Toyota Avalon you've just shot yourself in the foot.

Here's a list of some nice cars from the $20Ks and lower:
http://tinyurl.com/drw3d

Check this one out, almost a hundred grand when new:
http://tinyurl.com/cmmam

Those things are built like tanks. Run 100mph like it's nothing. Doors when closed sound like bank vault doors. Run forever. This one's just a hair over twenty grand.

I'll take the 2002 Aston Martin DB7!

I'll take a free luxury car also.

Please and Thank YOU!

I'd even "settle" for the blue jag XK8 convertible-LOL!

There was a huge thread about this a couple months ago maybe it can be found in the search. I believe I started that old thread myself!

Why would *new* Avalon shoot you in the foot?

It rides like a dream, and being 6'2 I can personally vouche that it by far has more leg and head room in the backseat and front seat than any lexus, Saab, or beamer that's priced 10 to 15k higher.

The Avalon is for drivers that care about having a nice car because *they* like it and *they* genuinely appreciate it, not because they want to impress someone else with false bravado by craming their buyers/sellers into the back seat of an M5 for 20, 30k or god knows who cares how much more.


A Taurus, Camry, or Accord may be interpretted by some as another story in the so called "penthouse" market, but noone that really knows would make that statement about an Avalon.

I like the new, re-designed Avalon very much. Have you seen what the new body style looks like?:

http://toyota.com/avalon/index.html

lol! Funny you mention that. Currently, My daily driver is a Dodge Ram regular cab. Not exactly a buyer agent friendly vehicle. I think when I start making some decent money, I'll look into getting either a Dodge Magnum, Dodge Charger, or Chrysler 300C.

The new Avalon is gorgeous! I was beginning to wonder if Toyota was ever going to change the body style. I traded in a Toyota for my current car.

I drive a Nissan Maxima and I love it. It's sporty, hauls butt and looks great. Plus, it's nice to know that I can deposit my commission checks without knowing that a huge chunk was going to be going toward its monthly payment.

The day I buy a car to impress anyone, is the day that I realize that I'm in the wrong career if I have to change anything for them.

At the end of the day, nobody remembers what you drove. They remember your character.