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A yellow Ferrari LaFerrari

Ferrari LaFerrari Flip Failure Cost Steve Wynn His Dealership

When you buy an exclusive hypercar like the Ferrari LaFerrari directly from the dealership, you have to agree that you won't sell the car within the first two years of ownership. But what happens if you hate the car? Well, Steve Wynn found out when he decided to sell his own Ferrari LaFerrari.

Buying one of the world’s most expensive hypercars, the Ferrari LaFerrari, isn’t just expensive; it’s nearly impossible. Like many exotic supercars and hypercars, a team at Ferrari vets potential buyers before extending the opportunity to purchase. Along with gaining the privilege of spending over $1 million on the Ferrari LaFerrari, owners of new models are required to sign contracts stating they will not sell the vehicle within the first two years of ownership. Well, one Ferrari collector and dealer did anyway.

Updated: 9/24

Can you really not sell certain Ferraris?

A vibrant red ferrari laferrari
The Ferrari LaFerrari | Martyn Lucy, Getty Images

While it may sound odd to people outside of the supercar and hypercar community to be contractually obligated to keep a car for two years, it isn’t unheard of. Like the Ferrari LaFerrari, when the new Ford GT was released for purchase, this was an agreement many buyers had to agree to. This is done for a number of reasons.

For one, there is an extensive vetting process that companies use when determining if someone is eligible to purchase these cars. Every company has a different structure for this, mostly consisting of brand loyalty, ability to purchase, and other factors that are kept more private. Obviously, the company doesn’t want to put in all of that effort just to have the cars flipped to new owners.

Flipping hypercars is another reason that these agreements exist. Because buyers must be vetted for the purchase, having this agreement prevents approved buyers from turning around and immediately selling the car for a price higher than MSRP because of the exclusivity. Really, the goal is to keep these cars, like the Ferrari LaFerrari, in the hands of the buyer selected by the company themselves for a reasonable amount of time.

Many sources, such as Autoevolution, have debated this controversial agreement between the manufacturer and buyer, but, at the end of the day, it is up to the buyer to decide.

What happens if you don’t like your LaFerrari?

A silver Ferrari NV LaFerrari Aperta on the red carpet
A Ferrari NV LaFerrari Aperta | Michael Nagle/Bloomberg, Getty Images

Hypercars like the Ferrari LaFerrari are often built to the customer’s specs, with any choices including exterior paint to add-on options. Because they are built for each driver, buyers don’t really get much of an opportunity to experience what the car will be like once it’s sitting in their garage. So, what happens if you don’t like the car once you’ve spent over a million dollars on it?

That just so happens to have been what happened to Steve Wynn. After purchasing such an expensive and exclusive hypercar, it’s hard to imagine just letting it sit until you’re able to sell it.

A $3 million dollar flip fail

A former employee of Steve Wynn explains how his choice to sell his Ferrari LaFerrari ended up costing him his Ferrari franchise, which sounds pretty unfortunate, especially for his business partner. Mr. Wynn himself was reportedly more of a businessman than a car enthusiast, and really, we can’t blame him for selling such an expensive car if he really didn’t like it — though, it seems Ferrari can.

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