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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!