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