Classic and Muscle Cars – Reports from the Field

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Chryslers at Carlisle – Buying Classic and Muscle Cars Online with Patrick Krook, CEO of Show Your Auto LLC

Show Your Auto’s goal is to provide a fun, safe buying experience for muscle car enthusiasts. (Sounds like us here at find-your-muscle-car, doesn’t it?) Their private purchase company protects both buyer and seller. For example, all cars they sell are 3rd party inspected. The initial deposit is fully refundable to the buyer if the car is discovered to be dramatically different from as-described. There are equally good services for sellers.

Their inventory consists of mostly Mopars and Mustangs but there are a few GMs and exotics in the mix, too. The majority of the cars are what we consider investment quality, very expensive cars that wouldn’t fit our budget. However, right now there is a 1972 Chevrolet Monte Carlo for sale in their virtual showroom at just over $13k.

Mr. Krook was an informative, friendly speaker. He shared many stories of online purchases gone bad. The audience backed up his recommendations by talking about their buying experiences, both good and bad, from online sites like eBay.

Most of his recommendations were similar to

Here are some points made in the seminar that added to our knowledge:

• A vehicle certification is only as good as the day it was completed. No one can tell what happened the day after the certification was given. So the Concours rating or Pontiac Historical Society certification that a buyer shows you when selling his car, is really only good if it is re-verified at your time of purchase.
• While values for completely original vehicles, including original motor, transmission, etc., are still high, there is less of an impact to value if some modifications have been made. As the total pool of original muscle cars in the market declines, a base Challenger cloned to an R/T is a great option for a muscle car buyer.
• Evidence of bodywork may not be a big concern. For instance, Mopars are known for rotting out in the wheel wells. Mr. Krook indicated that he wouldn’t be surprised or upset to see that these areas had been repaired or entire panels replaced, as long as the repair was done expertly and the seller didn’t represent the car as “all original, rust-free metal.”

We appreciated the entertaining and informative seminar led by Mr. Krook and suggest you check out the Show Your Auto website. Even if the muscle cars are out of your price range, they are fun to review. In addition, the whole site can give you ideas about what to look for when you find your muscle car!

Country Classic Cars Site Visit

Occasionally on our travels we’ll find a classic car dealer, see a handful of cool cars and that’s always a lot of fun. But what we found that day was a real treasure, a true toy store for grownups. At least for car-loving grownups!

When you approach Country Classic Cars, you first see the large circle drive lined on two sides with an unbelievable assortment of antique and classic cars and trucks. The day we were there, a lady at the entrance drive collected $1 from us to drive through. She rather apologetically said they charged the small fee to keep down the number of curiosity seekers on the weekends. Of course after we slowly drove the loop, checking out the diversity of vehicles, we had to stop and go into the facility. An even greater surprise was waiting inside.

Country Classic Cars is the evolution of one man’s love of cars. His hobby of finding, repairing and re-selling dream cars expanded until this unique retail outlet was born. The huge white building is literally wall-to-wall with every kind of classic car imaginable. Check out the photos. Is that a Moulin Rouge Duster? Look at that 70s Maverick! What year is that Pontiac? We squeezed and shimmied between hundreds of cars, having more fun than kids at a carnival.

There are no restored, trailer queen cars here and you probably won’t find the most in-demand classics. But there are hundreds of great project cars at reasonable prices in varying levels of condition. To make it even better, for folks living in the area, there is a full service garage on site. There’s even a gift shop/antique store filled with historic Route 66 souvenirs since Country Classic Cars sits right along side a remnant of one of America’s most famous highways.

There is a website for this toy store for grownups so you can see their inventory (www.countryclassiccars.com) , but as we always recommend, it is so much better to check out a potential car in person. This one of a kind dealership make a personal visit a must.

In case St. Louis is too far away for you to visit anytime soon, Here's a YouTube video created after our visit to Country Classic Cars. Enjoy!