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Updated about 4 years ago, 10/14/2020
What do you drive to your rental properties?
I drive a very old sedan. Most of my tenants drive nicer cars than I do. Now that I am considering purchasing a new(er) car that probably will be nicer than theirs, I am wondering whether to keep the old one to commute to rental properties or sell it. I heard and it makes sense that it's better to avoid driving a flashy car to rental properties, otherwise tenants may feel they are the ones who are paying for landlord's fancy car, therefore feeling less obligated to pay rent on time etc. It's better to appear broke! So my question to my fellow landlords, what do you think should be done here? If you drive a nice car, do you maintain another not-so-nice one for rental properties? I would love to hear your take on this. Thanks.
@Eric M.
https://gfycat.com/shinysparklingherring-saturday-night-live-dodge-stratus-will-ferrell
Couldn't help myself 🤣
@Kazi R.
Don’t think it makes a difference here in the Bay Area. Tenants own Lexus etc. and I drive a Porsche Cayenne.
I feel like it should not matter which car your driving, because your tenants are still going to judge you, irrespective of which car you use. By keeping the second car just to drive to your properties, I think you'd be spending more money on it's upkeep, unless you wish to keep both cars anyway.
I don't manage my own, but I do house hack, so I've got tenants in my other unit. They've got the front, and I'm in the converted detached garage out back. They definitely have the nicer building. They may or may not know I'm the owner yet, but the neighbors know, so it'll come out. I've been out of town for my W2 since they moved in, so I haven't met them yet. My 2013 F-150 isn't flashy or modified. I like it and want to keep it as long as possible, but I know I'll always have a truck. Even the nicest trucks out there, in stock form, aren't flashy in my opinion. Don't lift them 6 feet in the air and put chrome monster truck wheels on them, and even the top trim level ones blend in pretty well.
But my "uniform" when I'm at home is cargo shorts, an old t-shirt, flip flops and a dingy ball cap.
When I'm doing business, i.e. looking at properties, attending inspections, etc, I arrive in the F-150 wearing khaki work pants, a collared shirt, and boots. I carry a clipboard and look like I'm there to work, or at least supervise people who work.
If I'm going to a meeting, investor event, somewhere I want to look respectable, it's a nice pressed button down, dress pants, jacket depending on weather, fresh haircut, beard trim. I can clean up nice and look like a million bucks. The tenants will see me for 30 sec, if that, as I'm walking in and out.
If they see you driving a old crappy car, maybe they will think “my landlord will surely understand that I can’t pay rent, I think he is broke like me”.
If you arrive in a luxury car then they know that you’re serious and successful. It will intimidate them. They know that the rich guy will not be sympathetic with the poor broke renter.
@Kazi R. I drive a 2018 Chevy Traverse. I house hack a duplex so my tenants see my vehicle all the time. My tenants drive an older Mitsubishi. I don't think my vehicle is too flashy and I work as a travel nurse so having something reliable is important.
@Kazi R. Drive whatever you want. If they feel less obligated to pay rent on time you get to feel less obligated to renew their lease and not file eviction papers
@Jim K. Your posts crack me up sometimes, but I appreciate honest feelings on here lol!
With that said, I agree in principal with what you drive in C class matters. I have large C portfolio and some D’s. However, I also think it’s more about you treat your tenants. If you respect them and treat them right that overcomes a lot of issues.
To answer the question my situation is unique as I am VP for a security officer firm, so my daily driver is a Dodge Durango wrapped like a security cruiser. In our city, people see our cruisers everywhere, so it’s fairly normal. However pulling up to C and D’s in a security vehicle tends to do wonders on those unaware I am the owner, lol. We also specialize in apartment complex security and the areas we are in people are aware of that and those that are not my tenants usually skirt off quickly
All these answers must be local. In Chicago my tenants all see me in a nice car no big deal. Most of my clients that drive pull up in nice cars usually more expensive then mine no big deal. Maybe if you are doing C class rentals and scared of getting sob stories but around here the tenants all make 60k+ no one cares what you drive.
#3 Investor Mindset Contributor
- Handyman
- Pittsburgh, PA
Originally posted by @Todd Pultz:
@Jim K. Your posts crack me up sometimes, but I appreciate honest feelings on here lol!
With that said, I agree in principal with what you drive in C class matters. I have large C portfolio and some D’s. However, I also think it’s more about you treat your tenants. If you respect them and treat them right that overcomes a lot of issues.
To answer the question my situation is unique as I am VP for a security officer firm, so my daily driver is a Dodge Durango wrapped like a security cruiser. In our city, people see our cruisers everywhere, so it’s fairly normal. However pulling up to C and D’s in a security vehicle tends to do wonders on those unaware I am the owner, lol. We also specialize in apartment complex security and the areas we are in people are aware of that and those that are not my tenants usually skirt off quickly
That's exactly why cop landlords do so well in D'class and Section 8 housing.
- Rock Star Extraordinaire
- Northeast, TN
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If I'm pulling up to one of my rentals it generally means that I am working on it for some reason. My business vehicle is a 2019 Ram Crew Cab 4WD with a truck cap on the back and a trailer hitch. For most things LL'ing vans are most practical but I live in the mountains and a lot of properties you are either looking at or getting to are difficult/impossible without 4WD and 4WD vans are either non-existent or special order and more than a truck. It is a nice truck but bought just after the new year in 2019 when the tax benefits were great and the truck prices were small, and I didn't have to finance. Before the Ram, I drove a Nissan Titan Crew Cab 4WD for 10+ years and closing in on 200k miles when I traded it on the Ram. Barring unforeseen circumstances like an accident or a meteor, it's likely I'll have the Ram for 10-15 years, by which time I won't be doing any of my own work any more and won't care.
Cap on the back is essential for being able to carry a lot of tools and equipment that can then be locked up instead of carried in and out of the truck each night at home, and keeps them out of the rain. The crew cab part gives you more interior storage. The hitch lets you drag a bobcat or a load of drywall to a job site. I have a hitch extender that lets me carry 16' lumber in the back of the truck safely. If you clean it up and put the back seats down you can carry 5 people somewhere comfortably. And it gets almost 20 MPG tooting around town so it's not terribly inefficient with fuel either.
Most times if the tenants see me I probably look homeless, since my construction "uniform" is a Carhart shirt with pocket, loose drawstring shorts, black work socks and heavy duty steel-toe boots. Sometimes I'm embarrassed how bad I look when I am going out to do something on a jobsite, but there's no point in being uncomfortable or in good clothes that are going to get grimed up.
If I lived in a flat area and did my own work, I would own an older Econoline extended box van with a trailer hitch. That's about as practical as you can get.
- JD Martin
- Podcast Guest on Show #243
I drive a Honda 2000 CRV and 1989 international flat bed if I need to do truck work. Have to look broke.
@Mike Lee thanks for resurfacing this! I really love this thread. What a interesting conversation.
Have you seen this video? https://youtu.be/iJQdj9EhQoQ
My thoughts are that if Jeff Bazo’s is OK with an old Honda than so am I. hahaha! (I know he has a bunch of fancy cars now, but I still think the video is cool.)
I do not think it matters on the car. In terms of tenants perception I think it is most important that they are getting a good value for the amount of rent being paid. I try to take the approach that the tenants are my customers and I want to offer them the best value possible. I believe that this makes all aspects of management easier when it comes to enforcing the lease contract, rental increases, repair issues... And then I am not concerned on what a tenant thinks I have or do not have.
@Kazi R. Our properties are not local so this is a non issue for us. Besides, our vehicles are 15+ years old. No one is impressed when we pull up. Someday my wife will drive a nicer vehicle. I personally like vehicles Toyotas/Hondas in the $4k-$5k range that I can drive 200k+ miles until they fall apart. They cost very little to insure and somehow it feels like an accomplishment.
2016 Mini Cooper, bright orange. No joke.
I've always loved Mini Coopers, and this thing was sitting for so long (probably because of the color) and the price couldn't be beat, I had to snap it up. It reminds me of the (Philadelphia) Flyers orange and black, and I'm a big fan, so its perfect. I have street parking only, and having a smaller car with some of the bull$&!$ spots people leave on the street has made parking far easier for me.
With respect to visiting properties, I'd like to maintain that I am an investor. I drive by frequently for any visible issues and I report to my property manager. If I have to enter, well, I'm not sure what to say. If someone sees my car (and given the color, they probably will), and they think a certain way about me...that's on them. It's not a sports car, it was used, and probably cost less than their car. I don't care about what tenants think for the most part, and they shouldn't care about what I think. We enter into a lease agreement and both sides have to maintain the specifics of that document. That's it.
Most of my tenants and their daughters drive nicer cars than me (2008 Subaru Forester)...and that includes my Section 8 tenants. One of my tenants, who lives in a $1,800/month condo unit, drives a new Maserati Ghibli. All of my tenants in Koreatown Los Angeles drive Lexus/BMW/MBZ across the board...and they all seem to respect me and pay their rent on time and take very good care of their units.
I've been getting the strong itch to get back to driving a manual transmission though. Been looking to get a used Fiat Abarth or VW GTI. In all honesty though, an old civic with a manual transmission would probably make me happy for a long time.
I've been driving a 23 year old Toyota SUV for a few years now. I've drove very nice euro cars & suv's in the past with no negative feedback. As mentioned above, I am only known to the residents as the property manager and/or the realtor for the landlord [see "Landlording on Autopilot" by Mike Butler]. I also haven't shown a property for over 5 years - I always just have the potential resident send a copy of their drivers license and then I text them back the lock box combo. With 2020, I've rented several properties without ever meeting face to face. So, overall, my residents hardly ever see what I drive.
@Jennifer T.the renters see everyday how you treat their spaces over your own. If you don’t care or inquire about the properties, they will feel it . Not by what you drive.
I drive my plain Jeep Wrangler to properties and to the surrounding comps to secret shop them. I never want something that will draw a lot of attention. A lot of times, the current property management isn't aware of a potential sale taking place (especially deals that aren't being toured), so you need to be aware of that and respect the current employees. Nobody wants the rude awakening that they may be out of a job soon if there is a switch in management after a sale.
@Shawn Holsapple. I agree with everyone too fancy of a car is not a good idea. I like to drive nicer cars but traded my Benz for a Ford F150. A decent truck is an acceptable vehicle in my experience. I once got into a situation with a neighbor of one of my tenants and she did say that I was nothing more than a big money guy taking advantage of people. Not a good feeling. Never kind that the car Benz had 100k miles and its worth $13k, (well kept) but it's just the perception. I've never had an issue with my $30k truck. People are funny.
My 2007 Toyota Tacoma with 310k miles. Usually pulling my tool trailer.
@Kazi R.
I have a white horse that takes me to my work. I just go and ride by, observing and greeting my tenants. I don’t do any work, all work is performed by my handymen, etc.
@Kazi R. Great post I was just thinking this. I’m looking online at three mobile homes on three lots in an industrial area near me...but I don’t want to go looking at them. I only have one car and it’s a full size, six figure Range Rover. Its obnoxious but I like cars and make a good living, so I’d never buy something else to pretend I’m someone other than who I am. However driving a car that literally costs more than the tenants house is just offensive. I’ve never thought about it until today since I’ve always dealt with people who frankly are a lot more successful than I am, but if I get into rentals I can’t pull up on something like this.
I’ve got a 2012 Acura MDX that was my mother’s hand me down when she got a new car with 100k+ miles on it. It’s got dings and scratches but hauls most things I need to move or else my partner has a 2012 Toyota Tacoma to haul bigger stuff in. Either way our tenants don’t seem to care about our vehicles. I plan on driving the Acura for another 10 years at least and if I don’t get another hand me down will likely look for some type of SUV and make sure I still have access to a truck too.
I live in Northern New England and have had a “summer car” before, a little sports car, and if I can find one I would buy one again if I can get one cheap enough but I wouldn’t use it for rental properties. Personal use only! Not something that would depreciate a lot, like a $4,000 purchase.
Alecia