More than a little Beverly Hills flash is coming to Thousand Oaks. A Bentley and Rolls Royce dealership operated by O’Gara Coach Co. LLC is opening this month in the former space of Courtesy Chevrolet at the Thousand Oaks Auto Mall. And the service will match the prices of the cars, which range from $180,000 for a two-door 2013 Bentley Continental GT to $358,000 for a 2013 four-door 2012 Rolls Royce Ghost sedan. Shoppers are greeted by a concierge instead of a receptionist and even if they don’t purchase a car they can visit the boutique for some branded apparel. And at 8,000 square feet, the showroom is larger than O’Gara’s flagship in Beverly Hills. “The experience is similar to the luxury lifestyle centers typical of upscale shopping,” said General Manager Mitch Anderson. The dealership adds ultra-luxury vehicles to an auto mall of 27 franchises that sells entry-level vehicles from domestic car makers to mid-tier cars from Audi and Lexus to upper-end sports cars from Jaguar. The arrival of O’Gara says a lot about the area. The Conejo Valley location will be the only Bentley and Rolls Royce dealership between Los Angeles and greater San Francisco. In initial talks between O’Gara and the city, the car seller had indicated the Conejo Valley demographically fit with its customer base, said John Prescott, the community development director for Thousand Oaks. “These are affluent areas, like Lake Sherwood and the west San Fernando Valley,” Prescott said. “For those in Malibu, Thousand Oaks and Westlake Village is more accessible than Los Angeles.” The latest statistics from the Census Bureau bear that out. Nearly a quarter of Agoura Hills and Westlake Village households have incomes of $200,000 or more, while 20 percent of Thousand Oaks households approached that figure. The dealership expects sales of 20 to 30 cars a month, including used vehicles, and a higher number of leases. Many customers are affluent business, entertainment and sports figures. “They are low production vehicles, meaning everybody does not have it,” Anderson said. – Mark R. Madler
Luxury Gets Behind Wheel In T.O.
