Prestige Collector Car Appraisal

01/11/2024

Sorry for the long delay in posting here. Been swamped with work. Here is a recent appraisal on a stunning 1945 Willys high end custom. Stunning car fully detailed

02/06/2023

What an amazing video. My thoughts exactly. On my bucket list to do just once. This is what the hobby IS SUPPOSE to be about, not some stupid damn trophy!

"A race car that sits in a museum is a travesty," says Brian Blain, founder of the Blain Motorsports Foundation. Brian's obsession with pre-World War I race ...

01/03/2023

Recently appraised was this 1948 Buick Super Woody Wagon. Aside from the dark center hood accent the car was all original. Once cornerstones of a collection, woodies have seen a marked drop in values over the last couple of years as the collecting demographic changes and the cost of restoring the wood sections skyrockets to the point of not being financially prudent

11/27/2022

Appraised this beautiful 1940 Wilys pro street. A very impressive build. Well done!

08/19/2022

Excuse the laps in posting, I have been swamped with work. Here is a very nice 1969 Dodge Charger. This car is very original and correct in a not to often seen color combination. It was untouched except for a respray in its factory color.

05/31/2022

For a change of pace I thought I would post this actual photo of a boxer and a Corvette. Bad dog, BAD DOG!!

05/21/2022

Normally I only post cars I've appraised and I have a backlog of Mustangs that I need to put up but here is a car that will win you a Scrabble game. I have never heard of one of these before, never seen one and good luck on finding comps! The European micro cars were an interesting lot and this one definitely keeps that tradition alive. Yikes!

04/09/2022

OK, the second part of the topic on bidding on a vehicle is ensuring you make a wise decision. In the past I have had to make a quick decision on a car up for bidding without the ability to view it in person first and had to trust the poster. I got burnt once with a very deceitful lister. It was across country. I had to make the best of the deal, fix the car up, resell it and only lost about $6k which in the big picture was a good recovery. It was that bad of a car. Buying of off an auction like eBay without you personally seeing the car first anymore is a big gamble and I do not recommend it. If you find yourself in a position like that and have to make a quick decision then this is what you do. Buy the car, put the required amount down with the stipulation that you will fly out, view the car and if it passes your inspection you give the person the rest of the money. Try and use PayPal on the down payment, no more than $500. If the car is falsely advertised, complain to paypal and they will generally back you and get your money back. You can do the same thing with a major credit card as most will go after the receiver of the funds if they were fraudulent. You will only be out a plane ticket which will be a lot cheaper than a car that was not as advertised. I always recommend having time to hire a qualified person in the area check the vehicle out and give you a report. This is one of the services I provide. Make sure the person is knowledgeable. Or you can fly out yourself before bidding if you feel you would know what to look for. There are a lot of honest people out there, but there are some dishonest ones as well. This also goes for dealerships. Don't truest the person just because they are with a collector car dealership. Hope this helps. This could be a 5 hour lecture but these are some high points. Good luck!

03/24/2022

There was a very rare and desirable vehicle that just came up on Ebay for a 7 day auction and a "Buy it Now" price. That price was very very reasonable for what the vehicle was, the current market for that type of vehicle, and the expected continued rise in value over the upcoming years. The vehicle was 1967 Jeep SUPER Wagoneer. Very very rare model with all but the most knowledgeable people in the hobby having no idea what it is or confusing it with the wood sided Grand Wagoneer which is completely different.

In the auction it was stated that the seller has the right to end the auction early, which is a common notation anymore. I had more than one person complain to me that they were bidding on it and then it was gone before the auction ended. "What the hell happened?" What happened is someone contacted the seller, made an offer he couldn't refuse and the Jeep was sold before the auction ended.

Let me give you another example dealing with myself. I had just sold a rare Corvette that wasn't very Street friendly ( a Baldwin Motion 427 Corvette). I decided to just check ebay for grins and giggles for a replacement Corvette that had a better temperament. Just listed, literally 1 hr prior was my dream Corvette, an untouched survivor, very low mileage in like new condition, 1969 427, 4 speed 2 top convertible with factory AC, Daytona Yellow, black vinyl hard top, original white soft top. It already had starting bidding and had a "Buy it Now" price that was very VERY reasonable. I called the party up, asked a bunch of questions and bought the car right then for the Buy it Now price. Other phone lines were ringing while I was talking with people wanting to do the same but were just a bit too late. It, in 2 years has at least doubled in value ( though it will not be sold).

Two different outcomes showing a very important lesson. When looking at purchasing a rare collector car that is for sale, or especially if an auction with a reasonable Buy it Now price. You have to ask yourself, can I pay that price and be happy with the purchase or do I want to risk it and try and get a better deal. The rarer the car or the more it is your Dream Car, the more it becomes a gamble that can break your heart and may never come again. In other words, in this hobby, you have to act fast, and buy a sure thing, or risk it over a few dollars. The decision is yours, along with the end results.

My next post on this topic will be on how to properly secure the deal while protecting yourself.