Car collecting isn't just a millionaire's game!
Is car collecting a rich man's game? Usually, but that's not the other path to starting a car collection. According to one expert, Charles Palmer, chairman of Alyth-based Classic Restorations, the key is to car collecting, in order to get a valuable automobile, is working your way up and trading up.
The 81-year-old collector started as an apprentice at Fearns Garage in Kirriemuir in 1954, founded Classic Restorations Scotland in 1985. The business has since had a sizable scale, and he offers that “Despite the current economic climate and Covid-19, we are finding that more people are investing in classic cars," Palmer continues, “Since we reopened after lockdown, we have had around 15 new clients bring their classic car to us for work.”
Graeme Johnstone, who joined the Alyth business in 2018, noted tha the types of cars people are investing in are not the typical pre-1960s or 1970s cars as before, noting that Volkswagens and Fords from the 1980s and 1990s, or modern classics, are pulling interest more than ever before.
Johnstone offers, “It’s a generational thing, I think. People my age could only dream of having a Golf GTI or a Sierra Cosworth when we learned to drive. Now some of us have the funds to be able to own, restore and maintain them.”
The advice these experts have is to buy a solid car and build upon it. They're ultimate advice is “If you buy and sell carefully, then you can work up to the car of your dreams.”
Basically, the way to the top, without a ton of money, is to start with an inexpensive collectible without too many issues, fix it up, take the money from that car, and buy up. If you do that enough times, you're going to end up with a car worth some real money.
A good place to start is to check out this article about future collectibles, and stay ontop of what's expected to be the next hot car.
