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A couple of years ago, David Cashion got an email from a client with a “problem” of sorts.

The client, a well-to-do OC car lover, was eyeing a trio of forthcoming hybrid supercars: the $1.4 million Ferrari LaFerrari, the $1.15 million McLaren P1, and the $845,000 Porsche 918 Spyder. The problem? He couldn’t decide which one to buy. “He wanted to get my opinion,” Cashion recalls.

From trading Hot Wheels on the playground to owning and operating a car detailing shop straight out of high school, Cashion is a lifelong “car guy.” He also spent many years in sales at some of OC’s most exclusive dealerships. However, several years ago, he left the large dealership world.

He is currently the co-owner of Shift Bespoke Automotive, a boutique dealership based in Laguna Hills. He has also branched out, applying his insider knowledge in a personalized consulting capacity he calls “luxury automotive lifestyle services.”

In a place like OC, where personalized services abound, Cashion identified a void: high-net-worth individuals who didn’t want to trust care of their precious cars to just anyone. And so, they turn to Cashion.

With confidentiality as the linchpin of his business (“I’m like a vault,” he laughs. “I never name drop”), he takes a no-job-too-big-or-too-small approach to concierge-like services. These range from the relatively mundane, such as arranging to fix flats, replace dead batteries and change oil, to the more complex, such as procuring the latest exotic sports cars or caring for an entire vintage collection.   

And so, when he received the email about the hybrid supercar conundrum, Cashion weighed in. He advised the client on the various pros and cons of the Ferrari, McLaren and Porsche. Ultimately, the client chose the Porsche 918 Spyder for its technological underpinnings and daily drivability. For the next year and a half, Cashion acted as the liaison between the client and Porsche, from the initial deposit through choosing the vehicle specifications, to taking a private jet to an owners preview event at the exclusive Thermal Club, a private motorsports racetrack outside Palm Springs.

When the car was finally delivered last December, Cashion was in the client’s driveway to see it safely off the flatbed. “I’m not the kind of guy who can write a check for one of those cars,” he says. “So getting to do that is pretty awesome.”

Even with many luxury manufacturers offering various concierge and roadside assistance options to high-end buyers, Cashion says his utility comes down to time. “Our lifestyles are hectic and for most people, time is money,” he says,.

Beyond that, there is this factor: Cashion has completed numerous driver training courses to learn how to safely operate some of the most complex, high-performance and expensive cars in the world. This ability – along with his care in protecting clients’ personal and financial privacy – goes a long way with affluent car lovers.

“One of my clients said, ‘David, I can’t ask my personal assistant to drive my Ferrari. I can’t ask my gardener. I can’t ask my maid.’”

:: shiftbespokeautomotive.com