Investment tips from a professional classic car collector

It’s incredibly rare that we are ever in a position to interview a Fast Car Finance client, however due to a very random set of circumstances, our social media manager met one of our customers through another client, so spoke to him him about his life-long passion for cars and incredible classic car collection.

We can’t reveal the identity of our client, however he is a company director with business interests in the UK and United States. His obsession for incredible cars started when he was pushing toy cars around as a young boy, and he has owned some of the world’s greatest cars. He also has some amazing stories to share. Here, our client tells us how he got started in the world of classic car ownership, his thoughts on how the market will go and his top tips for first-time classic car investors.

You’ve Always Been a Massive Car Lover. What Was Your First Car?

“It was a Nash Metropolitan (1960), 2 tone blue/white. It was a long time ago, so I doubt many people have heard of them. It was a strange looking car; very rounded and American, a combination of a Nash and the Austin. After the war, a lot of the components came from the US and we built them over here. It was a great car, 3 speed, column manual gear, two tone paint and a radio push button which was upscale in those days!”

Did You Sell It To Purchase a New Car?

“Typically, that is what I did in the early days, however not with this one. Unfortunately, I was in the car with a new girlfriend and turned on the radio. The radio started crackling and flames came out from under the dash along with dense smoke. We got out of the car and it burst into flames. It was my first car and I’ll never forget it; like your first wife! I really liked the car. It wasn’t worth a fortune, but it was very stylish, and they were always two-tone. They are now increasingly collectible; I paid £175 and now it would be worth circa £15-£20K.”

“NB: We did ask about the girlfriend; she was fine about the car bursting into flames but her mother would not let her daughter see me again!”

How Did You Start To Own Classic Cars?

“My second car was an MG Midget followed by an Austin Healey 3000 Mark 3 and a beautiful Jaguar E Type (white with red upholstery & chrome wire wheels. It looked perfect. I used to drive by shop windows to look at the chrome wire wheels. One Sunday morning I was driving through one of the major roads in town. The sun was shining and I did some window spotting; slowly – and BANG! I ran into the back of a police car – only bent my nudge bar. I was done for driving without care and attention. I pleaded innocent because of reflective sun in window and found NOT guilty.”

“I then started to look at owning more expensive cars. The first being an Aston Martin DB5 Vantage – bought from the factory in Newport Pagnell. This was around 1964/5 and they were struggling to sell them at the £5,000 price. As I was about to buy the car, David Brown set up a deal so you could either benefit from a £1,000 reduction in price or get a free Mini. So, I took the Mini and gave it to my girlfriend!”

NB: This was not the girlfriend who was in the car that caught fire.

“As cars go, the Aston Martin DB5 Vantage was one of my favourites with its Canadian pearl blue upholstery. It was very collectable as only 40 were made and it is probably worth about £2m now. Although I wish with hindsight that I’d kept it, in those days I had to sell a car to make the next investment.”

Is Now a Great Time To Buy a Classic Car?

“YES! Interest rates are incredibly low now and will continue to be low for a long time. I’d say that if you’ve got money in the bank, why not buy a car? In my opinion, you won’t lose money, unless you buy really badly, so make sure you make a considered purchase and you won’t lose money. You’ll have all the fun of the car and in most cases, the value will only go up. BUT DO YOUR RESEARCH.”

“I’ve got several cars in garages that I haven’t taken out for many years. It’s just as much fun having them in the garage, tinkering with them, cleaning them – it’s the ownership that’s the fun part. I go in the garage and rev them up and I still get as much pleasure out of them.”

What Advice Would You Give To Somebody Looking To Purchase Their First Classic Car?

“If you’re really serious about having a collection of cars and have made or came into a lot of money, I’d suggest you buy a garage first. Then, everything you buy should go in the garage. The value of the warehouse will be very high! This means you’ll be able to buy great cars when they come up for sale and not worry about room!”

“The newer cars won’t hold their value, so you would need to hold on to them for a long time before they become collectible.  The best thing to do is make sure you’ve got your finances in place and start to build up relationships with classic car dealers and brokers.”

We’ve got loads more stories from our client – check out How to buy a classic car – from a total expert!

Fast Car Finance managing director Andy Wise adds:

“It’s great to hear from a car enthusiast and I love hearing his stories about some of the earlier, British made cars that are becoming increasingly collectable. If this is something you’re interested in; we are able to arrange finance on a classic car in much the same way as you can with a much newer car. Look at specialist vehicles as investment pleasure.”

“If you have saved money this year that you’d normally spend on luxury holidays, fine dining or weekends away, you can use that cash as a deposit for an incredible classic car which you can own with low cost monthly repayments – we finance classic cars over a period of up to ten years.”

You can also check out the Aston Martin DB4 and Aston Martin V8 that Fast Car Finance has provided Aston Martin finance for.

If our client’s story has inspired you to think about classic car ownership and you need help arranging classic car finance, get in touch with our team on 01635 785 400 or Contact us.