A supercar dealership; it’s one of those exhilarating and special places on earth where most cars look like they're going a million miles an hour while sitting still. From the moment you step into one of these spaces, these machines stimulate your senses and get your pulses racing, giving you that proper ‘Kid in a candy shop' feeling’. Tactical Fleet based out of Dallas, Texas takes that feeling and turns it up to 11 because few supercar dealerships can match the sheer scale and variety of evocative cars that it offers. As one of the fastest-growing multi-brand pre-owned luxury and exotic car dealerships in the United States, they specialize in sourcing extremely rare and highly sought-after automobiles.
Starting out in 2018, Tactical Fleet may be a relatively new player in the supercar and luxury car space, but having said that, founders Jason Putnam and Christopher Barta have decades of experience behind them in shifting top-dollar metal from high-end luxury marques. Going from strength to strength, the dealership has garnered a lot of praise over the past few years. I recently had the chance to speak with Jason Putnam to find out more about Tactical Fleet’s phenomenal growth in what is considered an extremely volatile market.
The Birth Of Tactical Fleet
I began by asking Jason about what led to the creation of Tactical Fleet. Here’s a quick back story. So Jason and Chris go way back and have known each other since late 2009. Jason worked at Porsche in sales and management positions for the better part of five years and subsequently went on to run a portfolio of 12 car dealerships across 18 brands, in six states. Meanwhile, Chris too had made great strides and had been working with brands like Bentley, Bugatti, and Rolls Royce, facilitating over $100 million in transactions, he was one of the top salesmen in the country.
The whole car business in general is transactional, but what we wanted to do is bring back that personal touch and connection and really develop an atmosphere where our clients felt comfortable buying a car. It didn’t feel like we were trying to sell them anything, but it was more about providing them with opportunities. - Jason Putnam, Co-Founder & Managing Partner at Tactical Fleet
Eventually, Chris reached out to Jason and suggested that they should try something of their own, especially since they now knew some of the inefficiencies in the system. Having built out a niche clientele over the years and along with some solid experience under their belt, the two men dreamed up Tactical Fleet back in 2017. Their primary objective? To be a one-stop shop for all things luxury cars and supercars. That dream finally became a reality in early 2019.
The Evolution Of The Brand
Starting out as two dudes in a warehouse, Tactical Fleet chose Dallas as its home base, which Jason adds is one of the strongest markets in the U.S. if not the world. Being located in the heart of the country also acts as a great springboard for them. By October 2020, there were 100 cars in their inventory, and soon enough, space was at a premium, and construction for an even bigger building began.
After growing at a staggering rate in Texas, there was an opportunity to acquire a small store near Charlotte, North Carolina in September 2021. The next logical step was of course Los Angeles, as it is the biggest sports car market in the United States. The opportunity of Wiltshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills came about and it became Tactical Fleet’s third location in March of last year. Backing all this up is a team of experienced professionals across all three locations, helping Tactical Fleet serve customers along the length and breadth of the country.
But beyond the process of buying and selling high-end cars, Tactical Fleet also has a dedicated team who can further customize your ride to truly make it your own. Whether it's custom rims, high-quality custom wraps, paint protection films, or ceramic coatings to protect your investment from the elements or performance-tuning and aero upgrades for your supercar; the sky is pretty much the limit with what's possible. Aside from this, they also offer on-site storage facilities.
The Road To Success
When asked about what’s been Tactical Fleet’s key to success, Jason’s answer was simple. Transparency. A lot of Tactical Fleet’s rapid growth has to do with being super transparent in the way that they operate. They recognize that their clients have discretionary income and time; letting them choose where they spend their money.
So Tactical Fleet strives to provide customers with an experience that is second to none in the industry, and it really comes down to the quality of cars that they have on offer. Given the volumes at which Tactical Fleet operates today, they have clearly demonstrated the ability to satisfy even the most demanding clients. As a result, they have several repeat clients as well. Timing was also a key aspect as Jason explains below
I think it’s being at the right place at the right time. A little bit of luck was on our side as well. Chris and I have always had a very customer-centric focus. Our goal is to take care of people and it's not just to transact or sell you one car, but to be your go-to place for the rest of your life, whenever you need a vehicle. We’re really honest with our clients and try to take a long-term approach
Their process includes hand-picking each car based on specs, and mileage. It’s mainly about trying to find the nicest example of a particular model. According to Jason, some Clients are also willing to travel or seek out cars outside of their own local market because most of the cars in Tactical Fleet’s inventory are pretty unique, limited edition, or low-volume models.
The Luxury And Exotic Cars Space Pre And Post-Pandemic
With both Jason and Chris starting out in the industry back in ‘09 and early 2010, they were coming out of a down market and had the opportunity to ride the wave of a really strong economy, which saw a high level of interest in luxury and exotic cars.
Fast forward to more recent times when Covid hit, it was an uncertain time for the industry as a whole, and after things settled down a bit, contrary to most analysts initially anticipating a drop in demand for cars, the strong rebound was not something that was expected. While the damage was done and the chip crisis was certainly real, once the lockdowns began to ease, the auto industry witnessed a demand for cars like never before.
But this strong demand wasn’t just limited to mass-market new cars or used cars. It was a crazy time where even regular cars were selling for well over sticker and a high demand and low supply meant that most cars went up in value. Nowhere was this trend more apparent than in the sale of high-end exotics, because with all the lockdowns going on at the time, all people could really think of was to get out and drive exotic automobiles.
We really just saw incredible demand and a lack of supply, through much of Covid, and through the middle of last year is when we started to see some correction
Jason gave me an example of the market for the Mercedes G-Wagen. Due to high demand and a lack of supply, at the height of the pandemic, people were paying mid-200 to $300,000 for them, which really wasn’t sustainable. And sure enough, with, Mercedes eventually meeting the short supply, in the past few quarters, the market has seen a correction. Jason sees this as a net positive, as it's a win for the consumer.
What Sets Tactical Fleet Apart From The Competition
Tactical Fleet deals with several high-end makes including the likes of Bentley, Rolls Royce, Porsche, Aston Martin, McLaren, Mercedes-Benz, Maybach, Lamborghini, and in a major way, Ferrari. According to Jason, their sweet spot in the market is cars costing somewhere between $100,000 and $1,000,000.
Finding a way to provide effortless finance and leasing options is what sets us apart in the industry. We also have a wide variety of choice in the inventory that we carry. We had close to 315 exotic cars on the ground, which is far greater than any of our competitors
Unlike a traditional multi-brand supercar dealership, what really sets Tactical Fleet apart from the competition is the variety. You have an endless collection of cars to try, and there’s enough to start a private auto show in Tactical Fleet's state-of-the-art airconditioned 100,000-square-foot Dallas facility. So whether you’re looking to swap a car in your collection or looking for the very first sportscar for your daughter who just turned 16, Tactical Fleet makes the process of buying or trading in your high-end exotic, an effortless process.
What’s Next For Tactical Fleet
With a strong foothold established in the U.S., I wanted to know if the brand was considering expanding operations overseas. While Tactical Fleet is currently working on further refining the experience at all three of its locations, they certainly have talked about and contemplated doing a potential overseas location as well, when the time is right. Also, while their inventory is predominantly made up of modern luxury and exotic cars. I was curious to find out if tapping into other markets like vintage or classic cars was a possibility and here’s what Jason had to say about it.
You know we’re car people and we really appreciate muscle cars and any cars that qualify as vintage European cars. I’ve played with some 70s and 80s Ferrari products and Porsches. I think, when we do expand into that area, it will be less domestic and it will be more in our wheelhouse of vintage Ferraris, Lamborghinis, and Porsches
A good example of this would be the recent sale of an extremely low-mileage 1995 Ferrari F50 (just 650 miles on the clock) to a lucky customer in Miami. So to summarize, if you're in the market for a pre-owned exotic car; looking to take the luxury route with a Rolls Royce Cullinan, a Bentley Flying Spur, or choose to go with something sporty like a V-12 powered Ferrari 812 Superfast, or my personal favorite, a Mercedes-Benz SLR Mclaren; at Tactical Fleet, you can really walk in and experience a competitive set in the market at a particular price point or the style of car that you want, and be rest assured that you're buying from the very best.