Car buyer Scott Linton Tracks down hard-to-find automobiles for well heeled clients. His fee? Five percent of the car's cost. Photo by Mark Rhodes

The Priceless Club
Wealthy Virginians have never been quicker to dispose of their disposable income. That's helping retailers who specialize in ultra-luxury items.

By MIKE ASHLEY

Scott Linton makes dreams come true. If you've got the cash, he can bring you the car. You name it: Ferrari, Pantera, Lamborghini. If it has four wheels and there's one in the continental United States, Linton can probably procure it.

The 33-year-old Clifton native got his start selling used cars in Northern Virginia, but now he owns Linton Motorsports in Manassas, a wholesaler to big, local dealerships and a retailer to wealthy customers who can afford exotic cars.

"We've got a pretty good customer base," Linton says of the retail side of his operation. "There are a lot of people who can afford to buy whatever they want."

Linton recently returned from a quick jaunt to Orlando, Fla., to pick up a 1995 BMW 540 six-speed, a rare model. That's how his business works: Clients come to him with a car in mind; he tracks it down and brings it back for 5 percent of the cost. That kind of deal can be pretty lucrative when you're talking about a $125,000, 2-year-old Lamborghini Diablo.

"It's not easy to find cars like that," he says. "They don't fall out of trees. It's not like going out and looking for Corsicas and Cavaliers. I wrap a lot of money up into these cars on speculation, sometimes with nothing more than a handshake.

"The retail side of my business is just like buying and selling stock," he continues. "Only we're doing it with cars. And I've noticed it goes hand-in-hand with the stock market. When the economy is going good, people buy a lot of toys."

Right now the commonwealth's economy is booming, and there are a fair number of Virginians filling up high-dollar toy boxes. So put on your Cole-Haan tassel loafers ($145 at Nordstrom) and let's do a little Tiffany window shopping. Let's sniff out some big-ticket items in the Old Dominion, and I'm not just talking about a $230, 1.6-ounce bottle of Santos de Cartier.

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You wanna run with the big boys? First, realize that big boys don't run. Some don't even drive. They fly.

Maybe you can't yet afford your own plane, but that shouldn't stop you from joining the jet set. Companies like Piedmont Hawthorne Aviation of Norfolk are around to help, and they're certainly no fly-by-night operation.

The company branched out from the old Piedmont Airlines when USAir bought the Carolina carrier. Since then Piedmont Hawthorne has grown from eight fixed-base operations to 24 facilities at airports from Rhode Island to Florida. The company has planes to rent and charter from single engines that begin at $300 an hour all the way up to jets for $1,800 per hour. And the airline can help your business take wing in more ways than one.

"Whatever [our clients] need — whether it be food ... exotic wines, hotel reservations, limos, car rentals — we can handle it all," says Janis Buchwald, charter manager for Piedmont Hawthorne's base at Norfolk International Airport. For many clients, money isn't a problem. "Time is the problem. They've got to get where they're going, and the cost of a plane doesn't compare with the cost of the time they're saving by flying."

Corporate jets may seem expensive, but mile-for-mile they are a lot cheaper than traveling on yachts. The biggest and best Viking Sport Cruisers will dock you about $3 million, says Jud Black, a vice president at Bluewater Yacht Sales in Hampton. These 82-foot boats are "the Mercedes of what's available," says Black, whose company specializes in the Viking line.

"Five years ago the average boat was between 45 and 50 feet long, and now our average sale is between 55 and 65 feet long," Black says. "Right now the market is extremely good, and it's difficult for us to have much inventory. We keep all the models on order, but it seems they never actually come, and by the time they do, they belong to somebody."

Most customers have boats built to their own specifications. The largest Vikings have four staterooms that sleep a total of eight passengers. Add custom cabinets, televisions, stereos and wet bars, and you're ready to take Thurston Howell III on a three-hour tour.

The 43-foot fishing yachts start at $600,000, and the smallest Viking Sports Cruiser, a 40-footer, costs $450,000. Don't forget to figure in the monthly cost of storage, electricity, insurance, gas and maintenance.

If you want to hire Skipper and Gilligan to handle all the offshore chores, that can run another $150,000 per year, but most multimillionaires are self-made sailors. "Even the bigger boats above 50 feet, I'd say 70 percent of the owners run it themselves," Black says. Most boat-owners are very hands-on. "You go fishing with somebody and the guy may be a CEO of a big corporation, and you know that he probably owns a big home and he wouldn't be caught dead with a vacuum cleaner in his hand. But you come back from fishing and this guy has got the Windex and a vacuum and he's cleaning everything up. It has to be a labor of love."

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Can't picture yourself on your own yacht or plane? How about picturing yourself in front of a picture? They're worth a thousand words, and depending on who the artist is, a whole lot of money.

"The most important thing is to buy what you like," says Sue Hogan, owner of The Principle Gallery in Alexandria. "Nineteenth century and early 20th century American paintings are becoming very rare because everyone, including the Europeans, want them all of the sudden. A few years ago, it was all European, but now everyone has discovered the Americans."

"We don't do much with the cutting-edge abstract or avant-garde because it's just not what the people who come here are looking for," she says.

What are they looking for? The Principle Gallery's most expensive painting now available is a $20,000 landscape by "emerging star" Kevin Fitzgerald of Maryland.

If we can't dress you up and take you to an art gallery, maybe we can just dress you up.

Franco's Fine Clothier has been outfitting the well-dressed Richmonder for more than 20 years. The retailer's top-of-the-line Oxford suit runs around $2,000 off the rack. And if you want custom tailoring with the finest cashmere blends, you're looking at a $4,000 suit, says Franco's Kent Slonaker. The trend, he says, is more and more toward the casual, as dress-down Fridays become more popular. Sport coat sales are up, and you can pick up an Oxford or go to the hand-stitched Brioni sport coat for between $1,400 and $2,000.

Luxury ladies' apparel is a bit more pricey. Expect to pay $5,000 to $8,500 for the finest mink coats at Hertzberg Furs in downtown Roanoke. But that's not so extravagant, says manager Carl Rosen, when you can count on 25 to 30 years of wear.

Most furriers don't just sell mink coats, Rosen adds. They also specialize in fine cloth and leather, and he says fur accessories like ponytail scrunchies, earmuffs, headbands, fur-trimmed handbags, scarves and gloves are also popular items.

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Forget the Y2K problem: Roanoke wine distributor Gordon Kendall says the biggest New Year's headache may be finding that perfect bottle of champagne.

"By December, you'll have to fight someone for a bottle of Dom Perignon," says Kendall, manager of Roanoke's Lee & Edwards Wine Merchants. "Right now, Dom is 135 to 150 dollars in New York." If you can't find the Dom, consider a '90 bottle of LaGrande Dame Veuve Clicquot for $170.

Want to make more of an impression? Try the '96 Domaine Dela Romane'E-Conti at $1,295, or the '82 Chateau Cheval Blanc for $695. A better bargain may be the Far Niente Cabernet Sauvignon for $760. It's a huge, three-liter bottle from California that comes in a wooden, hinged box that will impress your neighbors if they happen to see it on the curb with your trash.

If you want top-drawer cheese to serve with that wine, think Parmigiano Reggiano. You can be a big wheel if you buy a big wheel of it for $12.95 a pound.

Now you have everything you need for that Y2K party — with the possible exception of a hot tub. Frank O'Connor Jr. of Hawaiian Pool & Spas in Alexandria says you can forget your worries in a state-of-the-art spa for around $7,000. That's the price for the 8-foot by 8-foot model, complete with 58 jets that spin, rotate and power massage you from head to toe.

The hot tubs aren't moving like they did during the housing boom of the 1980s, O'Connor says, but business has not gone down the drain, either.

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What do you get the CEO who has everything? Nothing says absolute power quite like a gun. Sporting models are more popular than ever, say gun shop managers.

Green Top Sporting Goods in Glen Allen has been selling weapons since 1947. The top of the line there is the Beretta Sporting Clay Shotgun for $4,200. A fine American-made shotgun can run around $3,000, but you might have to head to David Condon & Co. in Middleburg to find that really fabulous firearm.

The top British and Italian customized, handmade shotguns cost $20,000 to $50,000, according to Britton Condon of the family-owned specialty gun shop. Off the shelf, you might find British Holland & Holland, Rigby or Purdey & Sons guns for between $10,000 and $20,000. Adding gold and your initials on a custom-made piece, however, can turn a $35,000 shotgun into a $50,000 purchase, Condon says.

He and his family know something about expensive weapons. The 40-year-old company also specializes in collectible antique guns. They sold one of Gen. George Custer's side arms for $350,000 a few years ago, and they have a pistol once owned by Buffalo Bill priced at $37,000. A .22-caliber target pistol from Annie Oakley's personal collection will run you $65,000.

Need directions to Condon & Co.? Well, if you were driving a brand new Cadillac — a fully loaded, $56,000 Seville STS — you'd have the On-Star system that tracks your car through a geo-positioning satellite. Can't find your car at the airport parking lot? A quick call to the system will make the car toot its horn and flash its lights until you find it.

The "average" Cadillac also comes with a voice-activated telephone, rain-sensor windshield wipers and a two-driver personalization package that automatically adjusts seats and mirrors, not to mention radio stations.

"The baby boomers are in their mid to late 40s or early 50s now," says Jacques Moore, who owns Moore Cadillac of Richmond. "There was a time when they didn't want to drive the same car as their parents, but I think now they want that symbol of success."

Maya Wood, operations manager at Pegasus Motorcar Co., a BMW, Porsche and Audi dealer in Charlottesville, sees that trait and something even more important in his customers. After spending several years working at lower-end dealerships, Wood moved to Pegasus. One of the things he most values in his customers is that they can actually afford the cars.

"At a lot of dealerships, 30 to 50 percent of your customers are somewhat challenged in the credit department," he says. "That can be very frustrating. You spend that much time showing and demonstrating your product, getting to know them, and then they can't purchase it. Here, there's a much more relaxed atmosphere because there isn't as much pressure in terms of our customers being able to purchase the product."