Are All 4x4 Vehicles Dangerous and Smelly?

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SUMMARY

The forum discussion centers around the value and condition of a collection of vintage cars, including models such as MGs, VWs, and Lotuses. Participants express differing opinions on the desirability of these vehicles, with some asserting that they are "junkers" while others argue they hold significant value, potentially worth millions at auction. The debate highlights the importance of originality and nostalgia in the classic car market, emphasizing that even seemingly common cars can become valuable treasures over time.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of classic car valuation and market trends
  • Familiarity with vintage car models and their historical significance
  • Knowledge of restoration processes for classic vehicles
  • Awareness of auction dynamics and collector market behaviors
NEXT STEPS
  • Research the current market value of specific vintage car models like the Lotus Elan and Porsche 356
  • Learn about classic car restoration techniques and best practices
  • Explore the legal implications of finding and selling vintage cars in different countries
  • Investigate auction houses specializing in classic cars, such as Barrett-Jackson and RM Sotheby's
USEFUL FOR

Classic car enthusiasts, collectors, restorers, and anyone interested in the vintage car market and its investment potential.

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Ewww, most of those cars should be in a dump!

Busted up trash. Nothing nice except that old porsche.

There all junkers like MG's, VW's, a datsun, an old mini cooper...its not even worth the money to tow them outa there.
 
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cyrusabdollahi said:
Ewww, most of those cars should be in a dump!

Busted up trash. Nothing nice except that old porsche.

There all junkers like MG's, VW's, a datsun, an old mini cooper...its not even worth the money to tow them outa there.

Are we looking at the same pics. Guess you can't see past the dust.

:rolleyes:
 
I see a lot of old cheap mercedes and fiats.

Trust me, stick with your mustang. :wink:

Now if this car were in the collection, that would be another story...wow-we-wa-wa!

GullWingMercedes2.jpg
 
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Are you kidding, cyrus?! This was already posted on the Ferrari board I frequent. There's some gold there - including lots of classic Alfas, a Lotus Elan and a Lotus Seven and more!

Fine, so it doesn't have a 300 SL gullwing. Big deal, can't have everything! :biggrin:
 
Wow, what a collection! The sheer number of cars there is shocking. I wonder how many of them will run (from the amount of dust, they probably all need at least some minor work to replace cracked hoses and such). If all they need is a good bath, and a bit of body work, what a find! Heck, even if there are only a handful that can be restored out of all those, and you sell the rest for parts to other collectors, it's still gold.
 
I am amazed by this treasure ! This guy is pretty lucky indeed. Do you know how much is actually his ? I am wondering, I know that, in France, when you find a treasure, half of the value goes to the person who discovers it, and half goes to the person who owns it. In that case, it would take a long time to estimate the actual value. And I do not know the laws in Portugal.
 
What a find! The biggest problem I would have is deciding which one to restore first. I know a guy who does full frame-up restorations, and when the car is looking and running like new, he sells it and starts on another one. He would go nuts with this bunch! As for the gull-wing Mercedes. I watched one slowly rot into a field when I was in college. A guy had one (amongst many junkers) and he wanted so much money for it that nobody would pay the price. He just left it out back in the tall grass - about the worst thing you can do to a car. Year after year, I would swing by to take a look at the car as it slowly deteriorated into scaly rust.
 
He bought the house, the land and everything that stands on it. Certainly under UK law he has the right to make the seller clear/pay to clear the junk off his land as it was not in the description of the property, or he can decide to clear the junk out himself.
 
  • #10
Panda said:
He bought the house, the land and everything that stands on it. Certainly under UK law he has the right to make the seller clear/pay to clear the junk off his land as it was not in the description of the property, or he can decide to clear the junk out himself.

Or he Could call the Lord at Beaulieu, I think it's Lord Montague, and ask if he's willing to take some old model cars of his hands, for say a pretty tidy sum :smile:

http://www.beaulieu.co.uk/
 
  • #11
Yes, there are few that would fetch close to 1/2 a million each. I wonder if there is a Barrett Jackson style auction house in Europe?
 
  • #12
Yeah, saw this a few weeks ago. Some of the stuff in there is incredible. Porsche Speedster, Lotus Elan, some original Austin Coopers, Lotus Seven, and some of those Alfas are gorgeous.
 
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  • #13
At the least, there's a lot of cars (about 180) with something to start with. A few might be in good condition. The majority probably need quite a bit of work.

There's droppings on most of the cars from a leaking roof, so the best that can be said about the storage is that at least it's better than leaving them in an open field. I would think that most have some rust damage and mold problems with the interior. (At the least, they should all need new interiors, which should improve the world outlook for fabricated seat covers :smile: ).

The story on this seems pretty shaky. It's on a lot of forums, but there is no actual story to reference.
 
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  • #14
What exactly is so great about a bunch of old fiats, VW, lotus, MGs, and alpha romeos? :confused:

Even fully restored, those cars look like rubbish. I still have yet to see any 'rare' cars in that collection. I just see a bunch of 'old' cars, a lot of cars on ebay that would sell for 5k in much better condition.

No good mercedes, no old ferraris, no old lamborgini, no old bmw. Just poor man junkers. Its like finding a barn full of old honda civics and toyota carollas from the early 80s.
 
  • #15
cyrusabdollahi said:
Even fully restored, those cars look like rubbish.

Degustibus.
 
  • #16
A 356 a poor man junker? An original Elan? Or an original Seven? None of them touched for god knows how many years? Lancias, Bertones, a P6, and a few Guiliettas?

You obviously missed the old BMWs and Mercedes.

Don't know what you're talking about mate. That lot is worth millions at auction, let alone what each car would be worth to an enthusiast.

If these cars with in Class 2 condition when they were stored, I bet most of them would only need a really good clean, polish, and service to be treated as current classics, rather than restoration projects.
 
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  • #17
Yes, this is a gem of a time capsule. Man, this guy's going to be rich.
 
  • #18
brewnog said:
A 356 a poor man junker? An original Elan? Or an original Seven? None of them touched for god knows how many years? Lancias, Bertones, a P6, and a few Guiliettas?

You obviously missed the old BMWs and Mercedes.

Don't know what you're talking about mate. That lot is worth millions at auction, let alone what each car would be worth to an enthusiast.

If these cars with in Class 2 condition when they were stored, I bet most of them would only need a really good clean, polish, and service to be treated as current classics, rather than restoration projects.

Here is a nice lot of Lotus Elans for around 10-15k (and not junkers).

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/list.asp?p=1&s=10

Whats so great about the lotus?

Want a porsche? Here, buy one for 9k in roughly the same condition:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1960-Porsche-356B-Sunroof-Coupe-project_W0QQitemZ120084246165QQihZ002QQcategoryZ6428QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

How about a restored minicooper for only 4k.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/78-Austin-Mini-1000cc-4sp-NR_W0QQitemZ220083849447QQihZ012QQcategoryZ107007QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

FYI, those mercedes are nothing special.

Where are these 'special' cars you all see?

How about some real classic cars:

1950-Volkswagen-Beetle-Brown-eb-sb-2.jpg

VERY RARE split window VW bug.
astonmartin_db4_1962_14.jpg


http://www.artcenter.edu/carclassic/images/chairmanaward.jpg

sn65-ford-mustang-fastback-cobra-engine.jpg

miura1.jpg

Classic lambo.

The cars above, are worth millions. That lot, is fulla crap.
 
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  • #19
Another classic

Classic_Cars.jpg



http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2006/10/mbccc01.jpg

http://www.ritzsite.net/300SL/1955_Mercedes_300_SLR_coupe_r3q.JPG

http://z.about.com/d/hartford/1/0/L/3/ferrari250.jpg

Please point cars like these out in those pictures. I see a bunch of 'poor mans' cars. I don't see even half a million worth of cars there. Maybe 100k for the entire lot because some of them might be good.
 
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  • #20
cyrusabdollahi said:
Maybe 100k for the entire lot because some of them might be good.
$100K? Be sure to take wage-paying jobs and don't pursue speculation/investment as a career. I have organized auctions that grossed over $9M each selling militaria, firearms, etc, and I can tell you that the collector market is much healthier and stronger than you might believe, and that there are niche markets for items that were produced in small numbers, even if they are not "hot" or popular. There is tremendous potential in that barn, and I would be proud to bring it to market.
 
  • #21
turbo-1 said:
$100K? Be sure to take wage-paying jobs and don't pursue speculation/investment as a career. I have organized auctions that grossed over $9M each selling militaria, firearms, etc, and I can tell you that the collector market is much healthier and stronger than you might believe, and that there are niche markets for items that were produced in small numbers, even if they are not "hot" or popular. There is tremendous potential in that barn, and I would be proud to bring it to market.

Really? What is so great inside that barn though!? :confused: I just see a bunch of old common cars. What exactly in that barn, appart from quantity, is great?
 
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  • #22
The classic car market is about nostalgia. Those "common" cars aren't so common anymore. And, a lot of it is simply what strikes the fancy of the buyer. It may not be your taste in classic cars, but they are likely to strike someone's fancy. Sure, there are rusted out junkers in there too, but most of those look like they are still in good condition (they've been stored in a garage, not out in someone's yard). Even if most only sell for between $5000-$10,000, a couple for $15000-$20000, and the really rusted out ones for a few hundred in parts, that's a heck of a lot of money. Remember, this guy paid NOTHING for those cars, they just came with the property, so it's all profit.
 
  • #23
cyrusabdollahi said:
Really? What is so great inside that barn though!? :confused: I just see a bunch of old common cars. What exactly in that barn, appart from quantity, is great?
Originality, for one. Even the cars that are a really rough can have nice original parts that can be sold and rebuilt as opposed to using newly-fabricated copies. To collectors that are serious about keeping their restorations as true-to-life as possible, this is huge! You can part out a 10-year-old Camry for way more than what the car would bring as a whole. What do you think would happen to a 70-year-old car with low production levels in a market with collectors who are serious about originality? There is a nice comfortable retirement sitting in that barn.
 
  • #24
soooo many cars :bugeye:
 
  • #25
this time next week rodney we will be millionaires!
 
  • #26
cyrusabdollahi said:
What exactly is so great about a bunch of old fiats, VW, lotus, MGs, and alpha romeos? :confused:

Even fully restored, those cars look like rubbish. I still have yet to see any 'rare' cars in that collection. I just see a bunch of 'old' cars, a lot of cars on ebay that would sell for 5k in much better condition.

No good mercedes, no old ferraris, no old lamborgini, no old bmw. Just poor man junkers. Its like finding a barn full of old honda civics and toyota carollas from the early 80s.

As with so many things, one mans junk is another mans treasure. And oddly enough today's junk has a way of becoming tomorrow's treasure. 15 years ago the old Chey truck in the link below was junk.

http://auctions.yahoo.com/i:1950%20Chevrolet%203100%20!:225890231
 
  • #27
edward said:
As with so many things, one mans junk is another mans treasure. And oddly enough today's junk has a way of becoming tomorrow's treasure. 15 years ago the old Chey truck in the link below was junk.

http://auctions.yahoo.com/i:1950%20Chevrolet%203100%20!:225890231

No way. that era (through the '55s) of Chey PU has NEVER been junk.

(of course that is just my opinion) I learned to drive in one. My dad passed away while I was in the service so I had no say in what happened to our '55 Chevy PU or the '51 Willys Overland (with a chevy 265 V8). I often wonder where they got off to.
 
  • #28
Integral said:
No way. that era (through the '55s) of Chey PU has NEVER been junk.
You got me there, all of the early 50's trucks are very desired.

(of course that is just my opinion) I learned to drive in one. My dad passed away while I was in the service so I had no say in what happened to our '55 Chevy PU or the '51 Willys Overland (with a chevy 265 V8). I often wonder where they got off to.

I have had those feelings of nostalgia for vehicles I once owned, especially my 1940 Ford Coupe. I don't think the younger generation can appreciate this, I know I didn't when I was younger, all I wanted then was an XKE Jag.

At the rate cars are now being fed through the crushers, in a few years there may not be any vehicles left to feel nostalgic about.
 
  • #29
You know what Ford stands for, right? Fix it again, Tony.
 
  • #30
Manchot said:
You know what Ford stands for, right? Fix it again, Tony.


LOL no, that is FIAT. Ford is fix or repair daily.:wink: I have owned both.
 
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