Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Tourists, Straw Buyers and exotic cars...

What do tourists, straw buyers and exotic cars have in common? Bit of a stretch isn't it? South Florida's economy is heavily dependent on tourism, one aspect of the tourist economy is the car rental business. We experienced a new twist in the car rental business down here in Miami a few years back, rather than offering the regular cast off General Motors, Dodge or Ford product new companies popped up around town that offered Exotic cars for rent. Sounds like the perfect compliment to the Miami vacation, why not cruise around South Beach in Ferrari...


Run around Coral Gables in a Lamborghini...


Pull up to the nightspots in a Rolls Royce...


Perfect, come down to Miami, rent an exotic car and look like a big shot for a few days. Check out the rates, Ferrari Spider for $1400 per day, Lamborghini spider for $1395 per day or a Rolls Royce for $2,900 per day. Not bad considering you got the use of a $200k+ car for a day.

There is a problem though, very few of the "entrepreneurs" behind these exotic car rental companies had the financial wherewithal to purchase the vehicles needed for these ventures. More often than not people renting these cars would find out (usually the hard way after they'd been pulled over by a cop) that the exotic cars that they had rented weren't in the name of the company that they rented it from but instead were titled to individuals. Can you imagine renting a car from say Hertz then pulling out the registration and finding out the car belonged to say Juan Martinez? Out of all the so called exotic car rental companies down here in Miami, only a handful were operating legally, that is only a handful were actually purchasing cars in their company name and renting them out as a normal car rental company would. The rest were resorting to all manner of methods to acquire their rental fleet, anything from getting cars in their personal names, using Straw Buyers or at worse, taking over payments from people who could no longer afford the cars. Think about it, rather than purchase the cars outright and lay out a ton of money, if you could use someone elses credit to lease a car, it's a win, win situation. Say the lease payment is $3,000 per month, you rent the car out two days per month to cover the expense and the rest is gravy. Perfect.


This exotic car rental business became a haven for fraudsters towards the end of the real estate bubble. The same tricks of the trade they employed in defrauding banks on bogus real estate deals, transitioned nicely into this car rental scam, straw buyers, bogus loan applications, bank and insurance fraud, etc. What makes no sense to me is how the cops never put two and two together and realized that the guys running these businesses had an extensive history in other types of financial fraud. We'll take a closer look at one such exotic car rental operation tomorrow.

27 comments:

  1. That exotic rental car on US1 was a front for Bryan Guarch. He had some idiot girl name Alyssa from Hialeah acting as if she owned the place. I mean this girl did not know what 2x2 was?? Bryan has always been a shaddy mofo trying to make a fast buck the illegal way. I hope all that vip tables at space, nice cars, clothes, boats got you thrown in jail. His buddy Jason Cuza was fired from Countrywide in its hay day and obviously got in the mortgage scam with Bryan. Bryan will never get a good job and will probably be in and out of jail the rest of his scum bag life.

    ReplyDelete
  2. It’s amazing to see that someone who cannot buy expensive cars like Ferrari, Rolls Royce, etc. can get a chance to drive these cars. Such expensive and high speed cars can be rented to further fulfil the desire of driving them. As I have learned through this blog that prevention is better than cure, so while renting cars people should be careful. The urge for luxury can put you behind bars. luxury car rent miami

    ReplyDelete
  3. Cabs India is a car rental company in premium and high-end car sector. After seeing the car rental industry lacking of excellence in service, we seek to improve this and delight customers with a smile.read moer

    Luxury Car Rentals In Bangalore

    ReplyDelete
  4. Amazing collection. Exotic cars are so much fun. You cannot afford them but renting is a great option

    ReplyDelete
  5. Miami is a lovely city last time I went and enjoyed with my friends. The beaches are amazing and hotels are also very good. We rented a car to explore the city.
    Click here to proceed
    when you need to admire the beauty of Miami. The city is extremely stunning and attracts the tourist throughout the year.

    ReplyDelete
  6. When I visited this blog, I was really amazed to find such wonderful piece of information in this.

    Cheap Rental Car Singapore | Singapore Car Lease

    ReplyDelete
  7. Luxury and exotic cars are the best. Look here http://car-traveler.com/

    ReplyDelete
  8. Luxury and exotic cars are the best. Look here http://car-traveler.com/

    ReplyDelete
  9. Looking for a luxury car rental company in Miami? Here is the best one http://www.veluxityexoticcarrental.com/

    ReplyDelete
  10. First Class Cars Leasing is in business to provide our customer with the vehicle that they need to for their day to day personal or business activities. We offer a wide variety of different model cars car lease miami, miami car lease, lease a car miami, car lease in miami, car lease miami fl and lease a car in miami best car lease deals to choose from, all 2014/2015 models.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Can the author of this blog please contact me

    ReplyDelete
  12. URGENT and relavent information...

    ReplyDelete
  13. I am glad you take pride in what you write. This makes you stand way out from many other writers that push poorly written content.
    classic car rental service

    ReplyDelete
  14. Very joyful post. I just stumble upon your blog and wanted to say that I have really enjoyed browsing your blog posts.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Very useful post. This is my first time i visit here. I found so many interesting stuff in your blog especially its discussion. Really its great article. Keep it up. Exotic car rental fort Myers

    ReplyDelete
  16. Thanks for taking the time to discuss this, I feel strongly about it and love learning more on this topic. If possible, as you gain expertise, would you mind updating your blog with more information? It is extremely helpful for me. https://autoboutiquerental.com

    ReplyDelete
  17. As you can see, all these places are worth your attention. However, you should choose how to get to them. It’s obvious that when traveling within Miami, the cheapest way is public transport.

    But if you want to go a little further, then renting a car will have a comparative cost. Besides, the car will give you the flexibility of the route and autonomy from schedules, which is the key to a perfect trip.. More information read here: rent a car at 24 . car rental age 23

    ReplyDelete
  18. Hi! This is my first visit to your blog! We are a team of volunteers and new initiatives in the same niche. Blog gave us useful information to work. You have done an amazing job! best websites to buy cars online

    ReplyDelete
  19. It very well may be properly said that it's a man's pride to have a lavish vehicle. Vehicles are the quick, the incensed, the blast and the fixation. saving money when buying cars

    ReplyDelete
  20. Thanks, foг ones marvelous posting! I genuinely enjoyed reading it, you miggһt Ƅe a great author. I wiⅼl made certain to booҝmark your blog and ѡill often come back sometime soon. I want to encoᥙrage yourself to continue your great job, have a nice evening!
    Cars for Cash Sydney
    Cars for Cash Ipswich
    car disposal brisbane

    ReplyDelete
  21. awesome post, welldone. to be honest, i was looking around to find the best blog with automotive relevant posts. when i com across your blog and read the post. i found that yours stand out and was amazing. indeed, we also offer a great services to all used car owners. it would be kind of your if you look forward our services.
    the services we offer:
    cash for cars sydney
    car removal sydney
    kind regards
    RASOOLI

    ReplyDelete
  22. its very good and amazing article and i enjoy it, i appreciate the time and effort you put on this, i will share this with my friends thanks
    Heya i'm for the first time here. I found this board and I find It truly
    helpful & it helped me out a lot. I hope to offer something back and aid others
    like you helped me.
    junkcarremovals.com.au
    Cash For Cars Brisbane

    ReplyDelete
  23. You made such an interesting piece to read, giving every subject enlightenment for us to gain knowledge. Thanks for sharing the such information with us to read this... used vehicles calgary

    ReplyDelete
  24. I want to express my heartfelt appreciation and thanks to the author for sharing valuable information about "Tourists, Straw Buyers, and Exotic Cars" in their captivating blog. Your insights have shed light on an intriguing aspect of the tourism industry. In my business of rent a car in Jaipur, we offer a wide selection of vehicles, providing convenient and reliable transportation options for visitors to explore Jaipur's majestic attractions and make their journey truly memorable.

    ReplyDelete