Unbelievable tales from over 50 years of classic car ownership!

We’ve focused this winter’s blog series on one of our clients whose passion for cars has led to almost 50 years of classic car ownership. Having started out owning a 1950 Nash Metropolitan back in the early 1960’s, our client has owned a plethora of classic and prestige cars including stunning Jaguar E Types and iconic Aston Martin DB4 and DB5s. However, although our client has a very large (and expensive) collection of classic and prestige cars, there are a few that have slipped through his fingers, for a variety of reasons. Our client has told Fast Car Finance managing director Andy Wise about some of his hilarious and almost unbelievable stories. Read on to find out more!

 

First Car Caught Fire!

Our client’s first ever car ended up catching fire whilst taking out a new girlfriend. He was showing her how the push button radio worked, and it started sparking. Luckily, they had left the car when it caught fire at the traffic lights, so walked away unscathed, unlike the car which was a shell! Find out more here in Investment tips from a professional classic car collector.

The Ones That Got Away

Although he likes his classic and prestige cars, our client has owned a number of super cars, including a Lamborghini Miura SV, which he wishes he had never sold. It was a gold Lamborghini although his preference is for black or silver cars because of the peacocks on his estate. However, the yellow/flash colours are very popular and definitely suit the Lamborghini marque.

Sometimes, you end up with a car that you WANT to get away. If you don’t buy well, such as a car without a full-service history and good provenance, you can then experience a number of problems, which was the case when our client bought a Ferrari Testarossa. This car gave our client a lot of problems during the two weeks that he owned it, so he was pleased to move it on. And we both agree that a red Ferrari must have cream upholstery.

 

Classic Cars That Hold Their Value

We both agree that Porsche 911s are great cars and they hold their value more than many other cars on the market. I sold my own 2006 Porsche 911 five years ago and was amazed at how much it was still worth despite being a daily driver. Our client also agrees; he had an RS 2.6 lightweight and still has an early 1970’s Porsche ‘somewhere’ in his collection.

Porsche is a brilliant marque because you can pick up a daily driver for somewhere between £30 – 40,000. They are great fun to drive and if you can get an older manual gearbox model then better still. The newer models are nearly all spec’d with a semi-automatic PDK gear box. Although the gear change is undoubtedly faster and smoother, we both agree that the driving experience with an old-fashioned stick shift simply cannot be beaten!

 

Cars in Death-Defying Stunts

Our client has literally the most incredible story involving an accident in a car – a 427 Chevrolet Camaro SS  that he’d bought from Ringo Star. Yes, the Beatle. They were all friends and our client had bought the car from him a month earlier. Whilst out in the car and putting it through its paces, our client was driving at about 100 miles per hour up a long, straight but hilly road. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a Tanker was coming in front of him. With a split second to choose what to do, our client decided to hit the bank instead of the tanker at 100 mph. When the car hit the bank, it went into the air, over the house and took the top of the chimney off the house and landed upside down in a fish pond. Seconds later, our client could hear the sound of fluid and had to kick the windscreen in because the doors were crushed. Luckily, the sound of fluid wasn’t petrol – as the car had landed in a fishpond the sound of trickling water was the pond’s fountain!

As our client exited the car, he kicked the button on the radio and a track started playing, it was Yellow Submarine (Un-real!). Ringo came to see our client in the hospital. Incredible doesn’t quite describe it!

This is a photograph of our client’s 427 Chevrolet Camaro SS in a pond after colliding with a tanker.

 

Another Classic Car Story Featuring a Beatle

Not only did our client buy a car from Ringo Star, he also had a very trendy Mini Cooper S but he wanted to make the exterior really smooth. So, he took it to Wood & Picket, Park Royal – home of the Margrave Mini. They took the entire interior out, welded a flat plate & lead filled onto the inside and took the seams out so that the exterior was really smooth.  Whilst our client was having his done at Park Royal in London, Paul McCartney was next to him having his done at the same time – coolest car in London during the 1960’s.

Sadly, this car was stolen. Whilst it isn’t worth a fortune now (£150,000), for memorabilia, our client would love to have it back. And we can see why. What a story!

 

Combining His Greatest Passions – Cars and Films

Our client is an avid film fanatic and has bought a number of cars that have featured in movies! He also has a motorbike from the Batman movie, bought an Aston Martin from the 1971 crime film Get Carter starring Michael Caine and now owns the Lincoln Continental with the suicide doors from the TV series Entourage.

He once bought an E Type Jaguar over the phone from Monte Carlos and it turned out that it was owned by Alain Delon. When the car arrived, it contained a picture of Alain with Bridget Bardot in the passenger seat. This gave the car incredible provenance! For that reason, our client still owns that car today.

However, it’s not just nostalgic value that makes cars from movies an incredible buy! If you can demonstrate that you own a genuine car from a movie, the value of it will never go down. So they are a brilliant investment.

If you see a car at auction that’s from a movie and it’s got good service history then we’d recommend you jump in quickly! Getting car finance agreed “in principle” in a similar way that you would with a mortgage on a property means you can act quickly when the car of your dreams becomes available.

 

Get Classic Car Financing

You can find out more about how we set up car finance “in principle for this customer’s Ferrari California here, or contact our team on 01635 785 400 or Contact Us via our website.