Fantasy garages. All car enthusiasts have them- 5, 10 maybe even 20 cars that if their Lotto numbers came up would be residing in a purpose built hermetically sealed garage.

Personally, I’ve even picked out a colour scheme for the building itself and a few choice items of equipment from the latest Snap-On catalogue. But then I’m obviously a little odd.

It’s not like I have gone as far as having printed and laminated the list though because, like many, my list in a constant state of flux. Particular cars are sometimes picked on their sheer desirability, their classic status or sometimes for a particular purpose- such as a hoon across Europe. Other times the garage is even revised to reflect a realistic budget, which is why it’s important that there is always the latest copy of Autotrader or Top Marques on the coffee table.

Thing is, even with the realistic budget the list would be financially crippling, or at the very least unjustifiable on economic grounds due to having to tax, insure and maintain more than a few cars at a time. Oh, and if your taste is more for the latest exotica rather than the established classics then you also have to factor in the hefty depreciation for a car that most probably would spend much of its time behind a garage door- that is if you have a garage…

Also, when you think about it- how many truly memorable journeys do you really make? Of course, it would be great to take a Ferrari to Waitrose but when you finish your weekly shop you have very little boot space in which to store your purchases and someone in an MPV will have left an expensive dent in both your door and your wallet.

So what one needs is a garage in which someone else has purchased all the cars and pays for their running and upkeep but you can select from their stable at any time and for the price of the fuel make your memorable trips all the more so. Obviously there would be an annual fee for this service but other than that and the aforementioned petrol you would be free of all the usual car owning drags as well as having access to not just one or two cars but as many as thirty or forty vehicles.

Car clubs generally adopt the asset sharing model so you are only paying for the use of the cars rather than getting the full fractional ownership experience- yet although joining one of these clubs is not a financial investment it is perhaps the most easily justifiable investment you can make: an investment in your personal enjoyment!

www.fractionallife.com

Aaron Weddell

2/26/08