This Ferrari F430 Spider will set you back $3,000 a day from Beverly Hills Rent A Car, but it’s a dream come true for any enthusiast.
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These days, there are literally hundreds of companies catering for the dreamers, the birthday boys, the mid-life crisis sufferers and the anniversary celebrators, by offering exotics for rent.
You name it, you can rent it. Ferraris, Porsches, Lamborghinis, Maseratis, Rolls-Royces, Bentleys and Jags. Heck, for just $100 a day,
Hertz will rent you a 325-horsepower Mustang Shelby GT-H – one of only 500 built specially for Hertz – that will get more adoring looks than any Porsche.
"We're in the business of making dreams come true," says Sam Silverman, owner and founder of New York-based Image Rent-A-Car
(www.imagerentacar.com), one of the world's biggest exotic car renters with 10 East Coast locations, from the Hamptons to Miami Beach.
Most of his rentals are for 24 hours. A lot of birthday gifts from wives to hubbies. A lot of wedding gifts. Plenty of graduation rewards. Image's most popular rent? A Porsche 911 Carrera Cabriolet. Perfect for a weekend
in the Hamptons.
For a mid-week rental in East Hampton, you'll pay just $375 a day for the aforementioned 911 Cab. Or if you prefer more home-grown muscle, a new C6 Corvette ragtop can be yours for 24 hours for $275.
No Ferraris? "We sold them. Too much trouble. You have to charge at least $1,000 a day to make them worthwhile. Then you get a dent and it costs a fortune to repair," says Silverman.
But over in Washington D.C., 35-year old Eugene Kim will happily rent you his flame red Ferrari F360 for $1,450 a day. Back in March, he set up Capital Dream Cars
(www.capitaldreamcars.com) because when he went looking to rent a Ferrari for a special occasion, he couldn't find one.
In addition to the Ferrari, he offers a Bentley Continental GT ($1,250 a day) and currently has an F430 Ferrari on order. Kim plans to add a Lamborghini Gallardo before the end of the year.
"Over 65 percent of our bookings are from women wanting to surprise husbands or boyfriends with the chance to drive the car of their dreams," explains Kim.
