Buying a Classic Car Sight Unseen

Classic car internet auction purchase tips

Pete Evanow / autoMedia.com

Worst-Case Restoration

The buyer is prepared for the worst because he intends to do a full restoration of the vehicle in any event. This is where "rolling the dice" becomes the norm and, while it's still chance, the odds are better because the buyer knows the outcome—it all rests on just how much he wants to spend. Naturally, the buyer still wants to get a restorable car; anything less becomes a parts car or gets taken to the dump, and the new owner only has himself to blame. The kind of car that gets purchased this way is either something extremely rare and all new components will likely have to be hand-crafted, or else it's a model where the parts are easily available (e.g., Mustang, VW Beetle). In this case, the buyer has likely already done a lot of research and is prepared to face the rust.

Modern Society

Digital photos and email are relied upon (or conventional pictures and snail mail, if one doesn't abide by modern technology). Using the most convenient form of communication, especially when time (and that overriding passion) is of the essence—which tends to be the case when one is looking for a new ride or collectible—a seller and potential buyer use email to "talk" back and forth about the vehicle while the latter can scrutinize all digital photos sent. Such negotiations and considerations generally occur as a result of a vehicle's listing in a specialized publication—Robb Report or DuPont Registry, as well as within AutoWeek and similar "auto buff books."

Perhaps most reliable are vehicles listed within car club publications, such as Porsche Panorama and BMWCCA's Roundel. Sellers placing cars within these classified pages all share the same zeal and respect for their marque, and one would hope their information and vehicle are exactly as described.

Some aggressive dealerships also will provide a variety of photos of a particular car, but it is the true collector who will make the extra effort to supply either digital pictures or photographs to a potential buyer in the hope of satisfying the latter's concerns and hesitations. Further conversations can include faxes of service records and the like. All these sources are generally at everyone's disposal.

Web-"Sights"

> One shops on eBay.com, autotrader.com or any other web-based auction house, bidding service or vehicle classified site. These have been quite successful, especially the market leader, eBay, with its eBay Motors section. Buyers are more likely to purchase a vehicle sight unseen via eBay for several reasons: