How to Find and Buy Your First Classic Car

It can be a real hard job to locate your first classic car, or muscle car. The first thing is to know what you want because this will be something that will be with you for a long time to come. You should always plan to be doing some type of restoration work on the car; no matter how good it looks.

The internet is a great tool for locating classic cars, or muscle cars, as there are a lot of sites out there that sell nothing but old cars. You should always look into the reputation of the companies that you deal with when looking for a classic car, or muscle car.

You should check out Auto Trader although it's not the only place to look on the net, they do have a great reputation in the industry. Also you should never rule out Hemmings Motor News, they have been around for a long time.

You can also look in local publications for classic cars for sale, you should guard yourself if your going to goo look at the cars, some people will try to rip you off. Go in to the hunt with a grain of salt, don't act like this is the only car out there, tell the owner that it's one of a few that your looking at.

You also need to pay attention to what you want to do with the car, it it to be a daily driver, or a show car? There is a lot of difference between the two types of cars, a daily driver you could just slap a quick paint job to it, do a little interior work, and your ready to go.

A show car you will without a doubt do a complete frame off restoration, and most people want to take a place in a show or two. If you drive the car every day, it will get parking lot door dings, and a lot of other things that happen during daily driving.

If you have these small imperfections in the body and paint work, you will never take a place in a car show. If your aware of these facts, you will always get what you want when you buy a classic car. This should be a car that you can be proud to drive, and be seen in.

I don't want to scare anybody from buying a classic car, but I would like to see you get just the car your looking for. Don't get disappointed if you don't find the right car quickly, it usually takes time to locate them, especially if your a picky person about these things.

It could take week, if not months of searching to locate just the right classic car for you. Make sure that you have the money together to purchase the car when you find it. There is no such a things as a $2,500 classic car that is in good shape, so get that idea out of your head now.

You should plan on no less then $10,000 to start with, at this price you can usually locate a real nice starter classic car. This is not the 1980's any more, classic cars get worth more every year, they don't get worth less like the new cars, so be prepared for that.

When your looking at the car, you should be able to take it for a test drive. Don't expect the car to be perfect for $10,000, you should expect it to run pretty good. It may need a tune up, maybe some new tires, or a new tank of gas, it will not be perfect though.

An average Camaro, or Mustang will go for about $10,000, and this is nothing special. It would be just a standard Camaro, or Mustang with a straight six, or the lowest end V8 you can possibly get. This is what you should expect for these prices.

If you have a good idea of what you should get for the money that you have to spend, it will be hard for the person selling the car to rip you off. Don't expect any special car, like a Camaro SS, or Z/28, or a GT series Mustang for $10,000 expect the most base models for these prices.

You should also think about the condition of the car, are you going to restore it before you drive it? Or do you want to be able to drive it faster then that? Make sure that you look at the condition of the body on the car, this can, and will make a big difference in the time it take to get the car on the road.

If the car is full of rust; dents, and other body damage, it will take some time to fix it before you can drive it. The more time you spend looking at the cars, the less work you'll have to do to put the car on the road, this doesn't matter as much if you plan to do a frame off restoration.

If you be careful, and take it easy while you do your classic car search, you will be a lot happier in the end. Don't let anybody talk you in to buying a car that you don't want, and they will try so you should be ready to say no a few times.

The seller may try to convince you that his car is a rare special car, this is where it comes in handy to know how to decode vins; RPO codes, and casting numbers on engines, the more that you know about the car your looking for, the less chance you have of being taken for a ride.

This is truly the only way that you can know if the person selling the car is telling you the truth. Knowledge is power, and it will be this knowledge that will save you in the end. I only wish the best up on you, and if you get just the right car I have done my job here.