News June 19 2006

The keys to your Gallardo, Sir for just $18K a year

It’s a common form of ownership of things like aeroplanes, gliders, even yachts and powerboats, but fractional ownership is something that has not really been applied to expensive cars, at least not in Australia. Other countries do have these sorts of ‘clubs’ and a number have tried to get off the ground here in Australia over the years – and when they have involved Italian cars we have always covered them.

Unfortunately – to date – they’ve all failed to get off the ground – witness the Queensland based Exotic Car Share which offered members the use of either a Ferrari 360 Coupe or Spider – as long as they drove it on the Gold Coast. More recently the 300 Club in NSW offered members use of a garage stacked full of posh cars for a mere $18K.

Enter ‘Limited Edition’, headed by AGSM MBA graduate Shane van den Barselaar, heralded as Australia’s first invitation-only luxury lifestyle club. Sydney based, it offers its members access to “a fleet of the world’s finest high performance cars and watercraft, a portfolio of holiday homes and a range of events and experiences all under one membership”.

Although we wouldn’t say no to the luxury boats and houses that also come with the deal. We’re only interested in the cars, and just the Italian ones at that. The good news is that a Ferrari F430 Spider, the obligatory Lamborghini Gallardo and a Maserati Gransport are all on offer. The bad news is that you have to be a Platinum member to get access to these which puts your annual fee up to $18K, up from the regular $12K Gold membership fee. The only other downside is that all of The Collection is based in and around Sydney, but if you have the spare cash and live elsewhere then it is all just a short plane ride away.

Total value of ‘The Collection’ – as all this finery is described - exceeds nine million dollars and the selection will be regularly updated to suit members’ tastes and desires. Managing Director, Shane van den Barselaar, says the club was formed for those time poor, but cash rich Australians who work hard but may not always have the time to enjoy the fruits of their labour.

“There are hundreds of cars and boats in Australia that are only being used sporadically and then sold with only a few thousand kilometres or a few hours on the clock for a lot less than the owner paid for it,”says Barselaar

“The demand for a more financially astute way to enjoy a luxury lifestyle has never been stronger.” Limited Edition members avoid the anxieties traditionally associated with ownership of a high performance vehicle or luxury boats such as depreciation, insurance, maintenance, taxes and storage. “The depreciation on any car or boat in ‘The Collection’ is considerably more than the cost of an annual membership fee,” says Barselaar. Limited Edition will invite only 300 members to join the club with applications opening on 1 July 2006.

There are two levels of membership, Platinum and Gold offering different degrees of access to ‘The Collection’. Gold members pay an initial joining fee of $500 and there is no joining fee for Platinum members. Limited Edition members are given annual points at the start of their membership year which may then be exchanged against usage of the Collection Items and the number of points deducted for the use of an item depends upon the Collection Item’s group number, the season and the day of the week the booking is made for.

Limited Edition is giving people a chance to scrutinise the deal in their prospectus which you can order online at http://www.limitededition.com.au