Buying supercars is an addiction. Do we need therapy?

For some customers, the thrill of the chase and the pre-purchase pampering from salespeople have become more appealing than the pleasure of driving their new car. Darren Selig, Founder & Executive Director of high-end automotive finance provider JBR Capital believes it’s high time we reassessed our priorities.

Way back in the day, you were lucky if you got an insipid cup of lukewarm coffee when visiting a supercar showroom. By comparison, the levels salespeople will go to today to get you to part with substantial amounts of your hard-earned cash to take delivery of the latest supercar are off the scale.

First, there’s the whole ‘making you feel like the most important person in the whole world’ thing. Salespeople are absolute geniuses at this. During your visit and all subsequent follow-up engagements, they can turn on the charm and subtly elevate your ego to a level generally reserved for royalty, rockstars and sports heroes. You’ll leave that showroom floating on a cloud feeling more honoured than King Charles, more astute than Ursula von der Leyen and more adored than Tom Cruise.

And then there are all the little perks that, when you are shelling out for a high-end supercar or hypercar, aren’t actually so little. A passenger ride up the ‘hill’ at the Goodwood Festival of Speed seems a truly fabulous thing, which it is until you find out that one manufacturer takes a select handful of customers and potential customers to Italy to have dinner with the company CEO every year. Another OEM charters a private jet to fly customers to Scotland, host them in an especially fine hotel and let them loose on some of the world’s most incredible roads in a 1500hp hypercar.

Who wouldn’t get hooked on being treated like that? But the problem is, as with any addiction, going cold turkey can be very tough. And bizarrely, for some, that process begins at what should be the absolute emotional pinnacle of the supercar purchasing experience.

The wrap has been pulled off your new car for the grand unveiling. The flowers and the chocolates have been handed over. You’ve had the full pre-drive briefing from the salesperson, explaining what every button and control does. You’ve been given the customary: “This is the track mode that unleashes another 100hp and turns off all the electronic stability controls. We don’t recommend it for normal drivers, only for highly accomplished pilots with the reactions of Lewis Hamilton, such as yourself,” advice.

At long and at last, after a year and a half’s wait, the epic moment in time your very soul has ached for has finally arrived. Ever so gently, you engage first gear and ease off the brake pedal. As you glide the car out of the showroom, where the freedom of the open road and years of driving adventures await, you make a fatal mistake. You take one last glance back in the rear-view mirror.

To your abject horror, the salesperson has already turned their back on you, and that 1000-watt smile is being turned on the next customer who has just stepped in the door. You no longer feel like the centre of the universe. You feel utterly deflated, and your new car can do nothing to fill the aching void. Worse than that, by the time you’ve driven it home, you’ve already started thinking about your next car.

Why? Because you need something more powerful, faster and with sharper handling? Not at all. It’s not even another car you want. It’s just to recapture that feeling of being the most important person in the world again.

So, if buying supercars is an addiction, do we need therapy?

I would argue not. I don’t think it’s even necessary to buy a self-help book. There are lots of things you can do.

Start by setting the alarm extra early, get out there when the roads are quiet and empty, and just enjoy your new car. Drive it and remind yourself why you wanted it so much in the first place. Join a club like SuperCar Driver and get some dates in the diary. Meet up with fellow enthusiasts and try a track day or two.

And to be fair, not all retailers drop you like a stone the moment you drive off. Many organise driving days and events afterwards, even for those who buy used-approved and not just new cars. Sure, many are on a pay-to-play basis, but some are complimentary. So, when researching your car, research whom you are buying from too, and look at what they offer after you purchase.

Have faith. This addiction can be beaten.

And if it can’t, well, get in touch with the team at JBR Capital, and we can at least help you finance your next supercar!