Dealership betting on pricey pre-owned cars

BY TOM INCANTALUPO | tom.incantalupo@newsday.com

May 15, 2008

The Universal Auto Sports show room in Glen Cove. (Newsday / Michael E. Ach)

Name a growth industry for hard economic times. Pawn shops? Used clothing? All you-can-eat greasy spoon restaurants?

How about second-hand Ferraris?

In Glen Cove, two veteran businessmen are betting, despite difficult economic times, that they can sell pricey pre-owned exotics made by Ferrari as well as Lamborghini, Maserati and other automotive dream makers. For those who prefer a domestic model, the also-expensive 1967 Camaro Z28 is available.

If nothing less than new will do, direct your attention to the Swedish-built Koenigsegg CCX, an 806 hp., 245 mph low-volume sports car, whose price begins at $1.35 million and ranges up to $2.3 million for a 1,000-hp variant. The only other U.S. dealership for the car is, of course, in Las Vegas.

The closest thing to a "station car" in Universal Autosports' 10,000-square-foot, 15-car showroom is a $59,000 2003 Mercedes-Benz SL55 AMG, although a vintage 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle just prepped in the service shop will undercut it at $52,000.

The showroom and its five-bay service shop are on what might be hallowed ground to local motorheads -- the former home of Ferrari-Maserati of Long Island on Glen Street, which one of Universal's partners, Giacomo Ciaccia, managed for 10 years.

Ciaccia, 42, of the Bronx, and his childhood friend and partner, businessman Luke Vuksanaj, 40, of Westchester said they aren't worried about opening a business catering to luxury tastes in a time of economic uncertainty. "In this business, customers are at a different level," said Ciaccia, a native-born Italian who worked for Ferrari for 11 years.

And not likely to be concerned about $4-a-gallon gasoline but, just for the record, its manufacturer says the twin-supercharged V-8-powered Koenigsegg averages about 19 mpg, though it needs premium gas.

Nationally, sales of new Ferraris are down this year through March by 7.5 percent, to 405 cars, but sales of Lamborghinis are up by 2.4 percent, to 252 cars, according to the trade paper Automotive News.

Automotive analyst Rebecca Lindland of the economic forecasting firm Global Insight Inc. said some first-time buyers of exotic cars appear to be hesitating because of economic conditions.

"People new to the segment, ordering their first Ferrari, their aspirational vehicle -- these are the people we don't see coming into the market," she said. But partners Ciaccia and Vuksanaj said they expect to sell only six to 10 cars a month in their first year. Said Lindland, "I think there are still enough people who can swing a Ferrari. They should do just fine."

Ciaccia says he has two possible orders for Koenigseggs but, to protect their privacy, won't say much about the buyers. "They are billionaires and both of them not from Long Island," said Ciaccia. "I don't want to elaborate."

The Camaro, which was $3,800 new and is offered now, in restored condition, for $93,000, also shares the showroom with three Ferraris, a Lamborghini, a Maserati, a BMW Z8, a Dodge Viper and a Ford GT --all pre-owned. The inventory is to be displayed Sunday in the street in front of the showroom during a grand opening.

The Ferrari-Maserati store that formerly occupied the building has relocated to the Long Island Expressway south service road in Plainview. The Glen Street location is well off the beaten track for most Long Islanders, but Vuksanaj notes its proximity to Nassau County's toniest North Shore enclaves.

"Demographically, it's a good location," he said. "And it's close to the city."