There's the story of the rare Delehaye found scattered around Czechoslovakia that eventually won Best in Show at Pebble Beach. And the Ferrari racer found in a California woodchip pile. Oh, and don't forget the rare aluminum Jaguar E-Type discovered in a San Francisco garage 30 years after its last-ever race at Laguna Seca. With its odometer frozen at just 2,663 miles, the Jag sold for $867,000 more than its previous owner paid.
These are the tales that keep dedicated gearheads and casual car appreciators alike dreaming, fantasizing, salivating most of their adult lives.
"I think all of us have a dream from childhood of finding Captain Kidd's buried treasure," says Tom Cotter, author of The Cobra in the Barn: Great Stories of Automotive Archaeology, in a recent interview with MotorBooks.com. "For us car geeks, it's the search and discovery of old cars that makes it worthwhile to wake up early on Saturday mornings, have that cup of coffee and spend the day driving around the countryside."
In all likelihood, your chances of finding that long-lost Dusenberg in a Vermont barn are slim to none. But good deals do have a way of finding discriminating buyers with a definite model in mind, and a healthy dose of patience. Cotter tells the story of a car-crazy 12-year-old who discovered a rare '32 Ford roadster pickup in a neighbor's garage. "He continued to stop by the old farmer's house and ask if he could buy it, and was told over and over, 'Nope sonny, I'm going to fix it up one day.' But he never got discouraged, and son-of-a-gun, 47 years later, when the farmer died, he purchased the car as a 64-year-old man."
In other words, good things come to those who research... and wait.
So, whether you want a Sunday cruiser or an appreciable asset to supplement your retirement portfolio, the following tips can help you avoid some sizable car-collecting potholes. We'd call it a crash course, but that just sounds ominous...
Canvas the Field
Do a quick Google search for "collector car auction," and you'll see 20,300 reasons why every would-be car collector thinks he can find a steal on the Web these days. CarCollectorTraderOnline.com. KruseInternational.com. MecumAuction.com. These are the meat and potatoes of car auctioneers looking to snatch and flip classic cars to unsuspecting Baby Boomers who think the perfect "non-correlated asset" for their investment portfolio is either a condo in Miami or a 1965 Ford Mustang. Buyer beware.
In truth, these online auctioneers suck out most of a car's value before flipping it to the end buyer: you. So most experts warn the casual investor that they should expect to gain no more than a weekend thrill from this antique car-collecting "investment strategy." Once you take into consideration restoration, storage and upkeep costs, most collectors more or less break even as their assets appreciate a little each year. Of course, no one can put a price tag on the adrenaline rush of driving a '69 Camaro down the Pacific Coast Highway...
Still, to determine which makes and models carry the largest price tags today, you should begin your research at the National Automobile Dealers Association. Here, you'll find an exhaustive listing of vintage-car values. Search the listings here to gauge the average street value of various makes and models. You'll find that timeless icons -- like the Austin Healey or a classic Porsche -- hold their value best. Now the only challenge is finding that under-market-value find under a tarp in your neighbor's garage.
Cruise the Superhighway -- and Some Local Roads
Where to buy? Cars and trucks of all kinds are regularly bought and sold through eBay, so that's a good place to start. You can always try your hand at one of Google's "collector car auctions," but consider yourself warned: You will pay fair market value or more. Of course, if price is no consideration, you will find some gleaming specimens of automobile craftsmanship on these sites. But you will pay $52,000 for that '55 Chevy Bel-Air and $54,000 for that '67 Mustang Fastback.
Another resource: Hemmings Motor News is a monthly classified advertising publication that has been the bible of the old-car hobby for decades. Log on to place ads, buy parts, chat in forums with other enthusiasts and scan a list of upcoming car shows. Here, you'll find a wider range of options from intense project cars that may arrive in a half dozen cardboard boxes to fully restored gems that require little or no mechanical know-how.
Finally, tap into the various car clubs in your area. The members of these tapped-in communities often know who's looking to sell what car at what price -- and whether it's a fair deal. Make friends with the experts.
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