It doesn't matter that former Penguins goalie Tom Barrasso now plays with the St. Louis Blues and makes his year-round home in greater Boston. When Barrasso needs a new Ferrari, he comes to Pittsburgh.
"He's one of my best customers," said Dennis "Fuzzy" Spernak, sales manager at Exotic Cars of Pittsburgh on West Liberty Avenue. "I probably sell 20 or 25 cars to him each year."
Exotic Cars of Pittsburgh, part of the Bill Gray Automotive group, is not a typical auto dealership. The showroom is more of an automotive museum, with rare and not-so-rare Lamborghinis, Ferraris, Porsches and Hummers.
"When we come in each morning, there are breath marks on the windows from people looking at the cars," Spernak said. "You can drive by here a lot of nights at 11 o'clock and see five or 10 people outside the window looking at the cars."
The dealership deals exclusively in used cars. Not only does that help buyers avoid the five-year waiting lists for many of the new, high-end models, but they also avoid luxury taxes. In addition to selling cars, the dealership provides a full range of maintenance services, which, when it comes to cars with six-figure values, is a bit trickier than changing the oil on a Honda in the back yard.
"In this business, if you can't service what you sell, you're not in business," Spernak said.
Spernak said the dealership is the only place within a 200 mile radius of Pittsburgh where car enthusiasts can pick up a Ferrari. The closest dealership is in the suburbs of Philadelphia to the east and Dublin, Ohio, to the west.
Exotic Cars of Pittsburgh is one of just 30 Ferrari dealerships in the country that are spread out across 19 states. At the only other dealership in Pennsylvania, Algar Ferrari in Rosemont — a suburb of Philadelphia — owner Bob Segal said he has customers in every corner of the state — including southwestern Pennsylvania.
"A very important reason for the limited number of dealerships that we all forget about is that world production is less than 4,000 cars per year," Segal said. "We're working to build a customer base across the state. We have a nice one, but we could stand to add some out Pittsburgh's way."
Another dealer, Ascot Imported Cars in Sewickley, sells Rolls Royces, Bentleys, Range Rovers and Lotus sports cars. Like Exotic Cars of Pittsburgh, there are no other dealerships specializing in those types of cars in the region, according to Ascot's sales manager Curt Brown.
Spernak and six other former employees of Auto Palace on Baum Boulevard in Shadyside approached Bill Gray Jr. six months ago about setting up the business when Auto Palace opted to sell only Porsches.
"It's a niche market, but the demand has been bigger than I would have ever expected," Gray said. "We've been busy since the day we opened."
Among the current offerings at Exotic Cars of Pittsburgh are a $60,000, 1931 Auburn Speedster — the first car to break the 100 mph mark — and one of just 100 Ferrari Dinos that were built in 1974. One can also purchase a 1972 Daytona Coup previously owned by Bill Marriott of Marriott Hotels and, with his penchant for buying and trading-in cars, there's a good chance one can buy a car previously owned by Barrasso.
In addition to Barrasso, Spernak sells cars to other professional athletes, doctors, lawyers and business executives.
"People don't buy this stuff because they need it — they buy it because they want it," Gray said. "It also acts as a form of advertising for our other dealerships. People come here to see these cars, then they go over and look at what they can afford."
The slow economy and October, the traditional end of the busy season for luxury car sellers, have hit Exotic Cars of Pittsburgh's business, Spernak said. The dealership, however, has averaged 20 to 30 sales per month since opening six months ago and is tapping into a national market via the Internet.
"These can be seen as investments, because they do hold their value," Spernak said as he watched mechanics perform a belt service on a 1998 Ferrari. "These days, would you rather put your money in the stock market or a car like that?"
