Since living in LA, Alex Manos, Founder and CEO of Beverly Hills Car Club, has established his role as one of the world’s leading experts in European classic cars. With his deep love of automobiles, he can look at a classic car and identify the make, model and year with just one glance.
However, cars are not the only part of the LA lifestyle that Manos has embraced. “There’s a lot of nonsense talk about LA, but it is truly a great city,” says Alex.
Literally born in the back of a speeding ambulance, Alex has always had a fascination with speed, which as an entrepreneur has translated into a focus on efficiency. Born in London and spending some of his childhood in Australia before moving to Los Angeles as a teenager, Manos has always been exposed to European automobiles and had an understanding and appreciation for the classics. “Their smooth lines, incredible design, and their incredible craftsmanship made them fascinating to me.” he explains.
Having spent time on weekend trips in his father’s E-Type Jaguar, and his mother’s Volvo 1800S, Manos realized at a very young age a car’s profound ability to excite the senses and feed the soul, he became drawn to cars, “like moths to a flame”.
In the early 2000’s at the age of 17, Alex purchased his first classic car — a 1962 Lincoln Continental, complete with suicide doors. Although it was mechanically sound, it did need some cosmetic work, which Alex did himself. After being upgraded, Alex’s Continental drew attention everywhere he went, even being flagged down at stop lights with offers to buy it there and then. Eventually, he sold the Continental.
Alex had always wanted a convertible. He found one, and spent a year and all the profits from the Continental to restore his dream car. When it was finished and he was taking it for a victory lap, he was flagged down by one of Los Angeles’ most prominent businessmen, who offered Alex a check on the spot. Ever the entrepreneur, Alex threw out a price, telling the man he couldn’t possibly part with his dream car for less. After a 3-hour long roadside negotiation, the man made true on his word. He wrote Alex a check on the spot.
Alex quickly saw the potential for a new business – buying and selling classic cars. His true passion for finding and restoring classic cars, combined with his innate ability as a salesman, culminated in the official birth of his company, the Beverly Hills Car Club, in 2008. With a straight-forward manner, Hollywood good looks, and some serious charm, Alex has forged relationships with some of the world’s most elite collectors. He has created a company which caters not only to an exclusive clientele but places equal regard on the average car enthusiast.
Cars are, “not just a physical ride, but an emotion that connects you to a whole community of people who feel the same way you do,” says Manos.
Today, is one of the nation’s leading classic European car buyers, and Beverly Hills Car Club is one of the largest dealerships of classic European cars in the world. With over 40 full-time employees, Beverly Hill Car Club prides itself on impeccable care, attention to detail and the highest-quality customer service. “Owning a classic car is a lifestyle,” says Manos.
Manos understands the true happiness that comes from finding a dream car and is committed to making sure every single one of his customers leaves feeling that same way. Even outside of work Manos is drawn to everything about cars, “my whole world is about classic cars. It’s my life’s passion.”
In the future Manos hopes to, “take over the world and introduce everyone to classic cars”. The entrepreneur’s growing empire currently boasts over 135,000 square feet of showroom crammed full of jaw-dropping classic automobiles.