It’s that time of year when we reflect on the year that has just gone by, and how we want the year ahead to be different.
Here are five things to consider as you start a new year of buying, selling, collecting, restoring and driving.
1. Try out something new. It’s never been easier to slide in and out of cars, classic or modern. With the increasing sophistication of online sellers, you can bid with more assurance than ever before. Further, the selection of cars available has never been more diverse.
For instance, it took me 15 years to find a Citroën Mehari. Now, it seems like there is one for sale online every month.
If there is a car you have always been curious about, like a TVR or an MGA Deluxe, select the right search notification buttons and soon there will be a listing for one in your inbox.
For the past couple of months, I have had a hankering for an Alfa 164 automatic. So far, the only ones that have turned up have been fright pigs. But I know that time is on my side, and if I list my “wanted” in enough places and select enough online sale notifications, the right one will appear.
2. Every second of diligence you spend before you bid will be repaid with hours of avoided frustration. Let the online trolls be your best friends. Their anorak-nerdiness about a Jaguar E-Type will point out things you might never have seen, even with a physical inspection.
3. Don’t spend beyond your budget. But don’t be afraid to spend up to your budget limits either. When what seems like a great car comes along, it’s all well and fine to try to steal it. However, with sometimes thousands of other collectors watching an auction, chances are you will pay retail for good kit. Or maybe a little above retail, which now becomes the new retail.
I recently sold an automatic Volvo 122S online. It brought about $20,000 – which is what I had “invested” in it. I had trolls comment that, “No slushbox 122 is worth $20k.”
Well, they were wrong. This one was, because that’s what someone was willing to pay for it.
4. While finding a car is easier than ever before, selling one is easier too. There are a number of dealers, such as Fantasy Junction, who specialize in listing their inventory on online sites. This makes great sense as they know how to present and represent a car properly and advertise their inventory in print as well (in SCM, thank you very much), which augments the unmatched reach of the online auctions.
5. After you have closed the deal, don’t skimp on the transport. The difference in cost between using a licensed, regulated enclosed carrier and a gypsy with an open trailer can be measured in the hundreds, rather than thousands of dollars. If you’ve just spent $50,000 or more on a car, spend the couple of thousand more to get it delivered to your door, by people who know what they are doing.
Let’s make 2022 a year where we buy cars that have always interested us but have never found their way into our garages. And when we have scratched that itch, whether in three months or three years, know that we can make the car go away with a minimum of hassle.
With the proliferation of online opportunities to buy and sell, it has never been easier to let some of your collector car dreams come true.
Finding a Mehari or a Bugeye has never been easier 
A 122 slushbox brought $20,000 
If I wanted a Gallardo, it wouldn’t be hard to find one
Keith,
Happy New Years! Time to cut loose in the double deuce. I have to agree with the educational benefits of some of these on-line auctions. About 10 years ago I was looking a 62 Bubble Top Bel Air on Ebay with a buddy, in the back ground I saw a 61 Buick. We had never seen one and had no idea what it even was besides some trim stating it was a Buick. I went years with only finding one or two with a limited idea of the car.
Well, I have not only owned one, but now two. My first was brought and sold on-line and the experience of both was an enjoyable, unlike some of the online deals experience 10 years ago. So, let you fingers do the walking what they uncover could be life changing.
One last note, my buddy just got an amazing Porsche on-line last month. He was joking when we were admiring it that the trolls did him a favor and he spent over $50k less, by them picking it apart without knowing what they were really looking at. However, he was able to talk to the owner and builder of the car and realized what a true treasure of it was, and by the way this makes for number 6 in his collection of turbo beasts.
Thanks,
Jay
Hi Keith I enjoy your magazine and I enjoy your comments however I have a question is “fright pig” in official term in the Sports Car World?
Just wondering
Ken McDowell
I learned a new word today: Anorak “a studious or obsessive person with unfashionable and largely solitary interests”. Your usage of this word was spot-on!
‘Fright pig’ is indeed a term honorably featured in the SCM lexicon, albeit not as often as it ought to be. Everyone ought to own at least one of them, as it allows you to better appreciate the cars which are NOT Fright Pigs. Some cars were born to be Fright Pigs (Yugos, for example), some achieve Fright Pigness (my late unlamented ’57 Cadillac coupe) and some have Fright Pigness thrust upon them (the ’57 Corvette we rescued from an incredibly inept ‘restoration’ in Dallas, TX, which is no longer a FP but a fine little automobile) Not all Fright Pigs are terminally so. Happy New Year, everyone!!!
Spot-on observations, Keith. Being one of those anorak nerdy Jaguar E-Type trolls on BaT, I approve of this message!