The
purpose of this website is to educate those who want to get into the
fascinating hobby of collecting or investing in classic automobiles. It is based upon more than 40 years of my direct
involvement and experience in buying, maintaining and even selling what
I consider classic automobiles and trucks. It all started when I was a
kid and just became fascinated on what I considered were just really
cool cars. My first car was a 4 year old 1964 Chevelle Malibu
SS convertible with a 283 4bbl. It just needed to be cleaned up
and I added a brake job and new set of sporty Goodyear tires. It cost me $650 and 3 years later I sold
it for twice that to get a 4 year old Chevelle Malibu SS396 in nearly
mint condition. From then on I kept looking for good deals on cars
that I thought had potential. Once in California I found inexpensive
garages and warehouses to store them and detail them out. I met others
with an interest in old cars and soon learned much about making very
small investments in what I considered really cool cars. The most
fun was just driving them around Northern and Southern California.
When I got tired of them I would park them in a high visibility site
(like Union Square or Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco) with a For Sale sign and
would start getting offers within days if not
hours. Hunting down cool classics was fun too. I would never
buy a car that needed too much work. Usually I could find one that
was already either mostly restored or in original well cared for
condition. Brakes, tires, belts, hoses, and routine maintenance
and some detailing would be all that was needed.
My focus was primarily on mid 1960's GM
muscle cars, and late 1960's to early 1970's Mercedes Benz with an occasional look for
an early Ford Mustang convertible. Once what looked like a too good of a
deal on a Porsche 912 came along. I learned many things.
First and foremost know everything about the car you are expecting to
purchase. I mean everything. Very closely examine for body
flaws to see if it had been in an accident. Demand to see all of
the repair orders. Learn who to trust. And most importantly
drive it to make sure it runs ok. I only repainted a car once and
that was a mistake. It was a Porsche 912. Painting a car can
be a very expensive task and once it is done it will need all of the
trim and the wheels and even the interior brought up to match the new
paint job. That gets terribly expensive quickly.
When buying cars like Mercedes, Porsche, or BMW
repairs and parts can be very costly. As a rule only buy a German
car when you really know the mechanical needs and costs before agreeing
on price. Even routine maintenance can be costly.
It is most important have a good
place for indoor storage. Never leave your investment to the
elements. And that brings up one other thing for you people who
live in harsh Northeastern or Midwestern climates. Look for rust
on any car from that region. If a car has rust I say stay away
from it. It's not worth trying to repair it unless you are a
serious expert. To me condition is everything. If you try and only
stick to cars in very good or excellent condition you should do ok as an
investor; especially in the long run. Trying to restore an old car
and making a profit is most difficult even for the very experienced
restorer. Even experts face too many unknowns. Normally a
well restored car will sell for less than the restorer's investment.
|
Examples
of Cars I Owned
Examples
of Cars That Got Away
|