One Corsa is a premium car dealership. The emphasis is on ‘premium’, not only in terms of its products—a walk through the showroom in Desa Sri Hartamas, Kuala Lumpur, will reveal a gamut of preowned Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Porsches and so on—but also its service and experience.
“I want them to feel special,” says Billy Ooi, founder of One Corsa, of his customers. “I don’t want them to only feel special when they buy a brand new car from an official dealership. You can come to us, and it will still feel like buying a brand new car. It’s an experience that we feel is very important. Every supercar purchase is a celebration.” For most of his customers, buying a supercar is an occasion. Whether it may be a gift or to mark a personal milestone, for example, Ooi listens to the customer’s needs and goes out of his way to make things special. Dropping by the showroom may suddenly turn into a catered meal, or perhaps a whisky tasting session.
“It’s important that they feel special,” Ooi adds. “It’s a used car, but one with a good service record.” The clear provenance of his cars means that despite their used nature, official dealerships are generally happy to honour factory warranties and the like—and that warranty can be extended through One Corsa, if so desired.
And when it comes time to let something go? With One Corsa, the days of being lowballed by a suspicious character in a dusty, overcrowded lot are gone. Instead, the spacious, air-conditioned showroom means that a car put up for sale will be well taken care of—and eventually, go to a like-minded driver. For regular clients, Ooi will even waive the storage fees; after all, some of these regulars entrust him with their entire automotive journey, happily trading up at One Corsa each time something catches their fancy. “We really have this personal relationship, me and my clients,” he says. “I respect them for who they are. We treat your pre-loved item, and we give them a proper seating in a proper gallery, where the next buyer will also feel like it’s buying new.”
“We always tell clients that buying a car is like buying art,” he adds. “We’ve got this community of like-minded people; they appreciate the confidentiality and the integrity that we have. I really feel that how you want others to treat you, you should treat others the same way. Here, everything is really transparent.” Ooi was once on the other side of the equation, after all. Born in Ipoh, he grew up surrounded by cars thanks to his parents’ automotive parts business. The passion for motoring came early, and after graduation from university, a side hustle of buying and selling cars turned into One Corsa. “Being a passionate car buyer myself, I know how to treat a first-time supercar owner. Because I was that guy, from a small town,” he explains.
And if someone has something special in mind, One Corsa’s specialty is also in procurement. His connections, which includes international contacts and teams, mean that sometimes he has even brought special models into Malaysia even before the official distributors. Ooi is thus quite receptive to hearing one’s wildest automotive dreams, as he might just be able to fulfil them.
Photos: Marcus Wong
