Buying your First Classic Car

For most people, owning classic or vintage cars is a dream-come true. Owning classic cars are considered a luxury. It is very expensive and most people cannot afford to buy one, much more to restore one.

If you are considering buying a classic car, you should first think about your budget, how much are you willing to spend on these antique machines? There are some people who spend their saving just to own one.

Vintage cars can also be an investment. After you restore one, the market value of the car would be better than you imagined. Depending on its model and condition, classic cars can be a potential profit maker.

These classics are usually sold in auctions and there are many classic car enthusiasts out there willing to spend a fortune on these cars.

However, before buying one you should consider the following:

Keep in mind that what you want to buy would be described as a collector car.

Decide what car fits your budget. This will probably eliminate those vintages you drool about in major car shows, unless you are very rich. Just one of those cars you see in major car shows can cost you at least hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Researching on where to buy classic cars is not easy. You have to spend a lot of time and effort just by searching one of these cars. Remember that these cars are not manufactured anymore and you do not often see these on your regular used car dealership.

You would probably find one on junk yards or on old people’s houses that do sell or throw these classics away. You can even get them with a bargain price. However, these cars are probably covered with rust already and have engines that are in bad shape.

Another good way to look for a classic car is by going to auctions. If you can afford to travel, take time to go to car auctions in different places.

This will give you a chance to offer a bargain for it. You can also opt for a classic car that is in good condition and less restoration will be required.

If you found what you were looking for, compare them. If you are a mechanic you can probably do the comparison yourself, if not, try to bring your trusted mechanic along to help you decide which one to buy. Always remember that the less restoration required the better.

After purchasing the car, the next step would be restoring it. Be prepared to spend a lot of time and money on this phase, since good car parts for classic cars are hard to come by and are usually very expensive to manufacture.

Obtaining the car parts necessary for restoration will be very time consuming and will require you to make many calls in shops that sells antique car parts. One way of easily obtaining classic car parts is by searching in the Internet.

Here, you can obtain hard-to-find parts for the model of your car.

If you do not find one, you can ask a machine shop to manufacture one for you. All you have to do is bring the old part to the shop and they will do the rest.

If you don’t know much about repairing cars, much more restoring it, it is probably best if you hire a mechanic to do the restoration or go to one of those classic car restoration shops. These kinds of shops are usually very expensive and not recommended if you bought the car for investment purposes.

This is because some classic cars restored are valued less than what it costs to do the restoration.

After the restoration and paying huge bills for the mechanic or restoration shops, you can now fully enjoy your vintage car for years to come.

Article Source: http://www.articledashboard.com


Tony Brings is the editor of Auto Auction Abakus. Get current news about government auctions, police auctions, and car auctions around the country.

Classic Pontiacs

So, you think you know your cars now, do you? Well, consider this to be a test of your knowledge of Pontiac history. 21 Pontiacs are featured here: some are current models while others are truly classic in every sense of the word, dating back to the early 1960s.

6000 – Full sized [or almost] front wheel drive sedan of the 1980s.

Aztec – Ugly is as ugly does. This crossover vehicle ashamed the Pontiac fleet for two years during the early 00s.

Bonneville – Full sized Pontiac sedan excitement retired in 2005 after more than 40 years of service. Part of GM’s massive restructuring and retiring of top model names.

Catalina – This model hearkens back to the mid 60s when two door hard tops ruled the day. Discontinued during the late 70s during GM’s “down sizing” shell game days.

Fiero – Mid-engine sport two-seater built for Pontiac during the go-go 80s. GM reached into their parts bin and took out Chevette and other components to create this little roadster.

Firebird – It goes without saying that this “pony” car is sorely missed. The good news is that it may be back by the time the 2009 model year rolls around.

Firefly – Twin to the Geo Metro, the Firefly was Pontiac’s 3 cylinder captive import of the late eighties to mid nineties.

G6 – Current compact model in Pontiac’s arsenal available in rakish coupe or sporty sedan.

Grand Am -- With its 1973 debut, the Grand Am quickly became the division’s mid-range performance car. Retired in 2005 with a host of other Pontiac model names.

Grand Prix – Hidden tail lights and a concave rear window marked the Grand Prix’s 1963 debut. The car has survived GM’s model name shake out and today’s car is a mid-sized, front wheel drive sports sedan.

GTO – Introduced in 1967, the GTO was a true coupe turned sports car. Eliminated in the 1970s, the GTO is back thanks to GM’s Australian division, Holden. Rear wheel drive and a big V8 too.

LeMans – Originally a Tempest model, the LeMans became its own model once the Tempest name was retired in the 1970s. Retired in the mid 1990s after a cheap Korean car was allowed to carry its name. Sheesh!

Montana -- A minivan for Pontiac, if not for the ages.

Parisienne – During the 1980s Pontiac needed a version of the Chevrolet Caprice. This full sized, rear wheel drive sedan filled the bill.

Phoenix – Part of GM’s “X cars” of compact import fighting vehicles introduced during 1979 as a 1980 model.

Sunbird – Nothing but a rebadged Chevy Cavalier.

Sunfire – Compact coupe retired in 2005 as part of, you guessed, GM’s model restructuring.

Sunrunner – Nothing but a rebadged Geo/Chevy Tracker.

Tempest – From the early sixties until the early seventies, the term “muscle car” befit this hot coupe. Especially nice as a convertible!

Trans Sport – Hideous looking minivan that debuted in the early 1990s. Mercifully replaced years later by the Montana.

Vibe – A currently produced compact five door sport wagon; cousin to the Toyota Matrix.

So, there you have it. At least another half dozen models were left out from this time period plus many models that dated back to the division’s founding as part of the Oakland Automobile Company in 1926. Pontiac excitement…have you caught it yet?

Article Source: http://www.articledashboard.com


Matt Keegan is an automotive buff and contributing writer for the Auto Parts Warehouse [APW]. At APW, we supply quality Pontiac accessories for your GTO, Montana, Sunbird, Firebird, or other fine Pontiac vehicle.

Buying a Calssic Car Online

It’s annoying, I know, but it certainly is effective. The time and energy doing the research might seem annoying but it’s always worth it in the end. Imagine being 3 clicks from the find of your life. That’s the way the classic car market works online. I must admit to being a little bit of a classic car enthusiast myself. Furthermore, I must admit to being a diligent researcher. So, when I’m looking to either buy or examine the collection of classic cars for sale, it’s not too tough. So, I’m going to give you a couple of hints of where to start looking (hint, it’s not the mighty Google. Though, Google is fantastic for a whole bunch of reasons- a high stock price not being last on the list!).

1) Forums. This tip is generally only known to people in the know. There are a ton of forums (basically online community discussion boards) for just about any hobby that you can think of. This certainly includes classic cars. There are probably dozens, if not hundreds, of classic car forums that you can find. And the best part is that a lot of these forums allow the forum members to post live links. The links can either link back to their own sites or interesting listings that they’ve found. Face it: if you search for ‘classic car’ on Google, a few sites will pop up in the top 10. And, from what I’ve seen, they don’t change much over time. But a forum allows a much greater user base to post links to places on the internet that probably aren’t the same as the top 10 listings.

2) Use Ebay. But not to shop. For research. Here’s trick. You don’t have to buy everything you see on Ebay. You can simply search Ebay for Classic Car and then look at the listings. Then, do a little extra effort. Visit the dealer’s website. Look at their selection. It could lead you deeper into the world of classic cars that you’d ever imagine. Ebay is way more than a shopper’s paradise: it’s a researcher’s secret weapon.

3) Learn how the pros buy classic cars online. Without the right knowledge, points #1 and #2 are almost worthless. Learn the ins and outs of classic car buying so you can score the best deal for you money.

Article Source: http://www.articledashboard.com


Tim Jeffries is author of Classic Car Buying 101. Grab your copy at www.classiccarclick.com.