Jay Leno is the world’s most famous car collector and owns around 181 cars (in addition to 160 motorcycles). So why doesn’t he own a single Ferrari? In a recent interview, Jay Leno finally reveals that he admires Ferrari’s cars, but finds its dealership customer service abysmal.

Does Jay Leno have Ferraris?

No. Though Jay Leno owns almost 200 cars, including multiple modern exotics, he owns zero Ferraris.

Last August, I reported on the conspicuous absence of Ferraris in Jay Leno’s stable. The collector owns exotics made by McLaren and Bugatti. But it appears that he has never owned a Ferrari. Many car enthusiasts, especially Ferrari fans, wonder why.

Why doesn’t Jay Leno own a Ferrari?

Jay Leno certainly could afford a Ferrari, and he respects Ferrari’s cars. But the retired Tonight Show host simply does not like the way Ferrari dealerships have treated him.

Because Jay Leno had never publicly discussed a grudge or boycott of Scuderia Ferrari, I had to do some digging for my 2021 article. I found a Ferrari owner named Ernie on a forum who claimed he had run into Leno in Manhattan and asked him about his lack of Ferraris.

Jay supposedly told Ernie, “Cause they are a pain in the a–!” He then added, “Every time I go into a dealership they automatically slap more money on the price. That’s just b—s—.”

These Leno quotes were just hearsay on a forum, and thus impossible to corroborate. Luckily, when Leno went on the Cars and Culture podcast host Jason Stein asked him about the absence of Ferraris in his garage. But no one expected Leno’s response to be even blunter than his rumored Manhattan conversation.

Leno compared Ferrari service to visiting a ‘dominatrix’

Jason Stein asked Jay Leno, “You have no Ferraris, why?”

Leno responded with a riff on the Ferrari dealership experience worthy of a standup bit. “I just never liked dealing with the dealers. I don’t wanna give a guy 25 grand in an envelope, y’know. I don’t wanna have to buy two Mondials…”

According to The Drive, Leno’s gripes may be rooted in two standard dealership practices: Firstly, some exotic car dealerships charge above MSRP whenever dealing with a celebrity. Secondly, some brands prioritize potential buyers with a deep collection of older models.

Then Jay Leno admits, “They’re excellent cars. This is not an indictment of the car, it’s just that you’re spending a tremendous amount of money. You should be made to feel like a customer.”

Finally, Jay Leno compares Ferrari fans to pain-seeking masochists, “It’s like rich guys that go to a dominatrix. ‘Oh, she kicked the crap out of me, it was fantastic.’ That’s great, I mean, some guys like that. I don’t.”

Jay Leno glows about McLaren’s service

Some people gripe about all dealerships. But not Jay Leno. He actually cites McLaren as an example of excellent dealer service. Here’s what he said:

“The smart thing about McLaren is the dealer service. I bought my McLaren, I paid exactly the sticker, buying it was a terrific process. I had the car six or seven months, my MP4-12C. And they called me one day and said, ‘Oh, there’s an upgrade from 592 horsepower to 617. You want the upgrade?’ I said, ‘Well, how much is it?’ and they said ‘It’s free.'”

Jay Leno even revealed that it was a McLaren salesman who told him he didn’t need to spend $20,000 on carbon fiber brake rotors for street driving. That salesman may have ended up with a smaller cut, but Leno ended up with the best car for him. And that sort of experience does a lot to build brand loyalty with guys like Leno.

Check out the new Ferrari-caliber Corvette that Leno loves or see Jay Leno’s Ferrari-bashing interview for yourself in the video below: