The vehicle was a very desirable 1969 Mustang model and listed on ‘American Listed.’ The owner was working overseas for a world wide major commercial brand. She was a real person with a high profile career, visible on the internet. As she didn’t have time to meet a potential buyer, the car was being stored with a storage facility in Washington State.

An interested buyer could send the $60K USD asking price to the storage company and then you can go and inspect the car. At this point you’d have 7 days to decide whether to buy it. If you don’t buy, you’d get your money back.

That was the story, anyway.

The reality was that thieves had completely assumed her identity and the car was a complete fabrication designed to perpetrate this crime. The storage company was non-existent and was used to make the buyer’s money disappear.

When the lady was contacted, she explained that her identity has been falsely used for the last 3 years in the scam.

This story highlights the importance in working with an experienced, trusted professional to handle your classic car transaction (buying or selling). We have ‘seen it all’ and know all the scams to watch out for and act on your behalf to protect your funds and classic car investment.

LIPSTICK ON A PIG
Avoiding Life’s Lemons

Lipstick on a Pig features excerpts from the vast library of Maurice Bramhall’s experiences.

When you advertise on Kijiji or similar sites, one expects occasional bad mannered responses — this is a mild one.

As we all know, the Internet gives some people the chance to vent. When selling a classic vehicle, expect to hear from this sort of person.

As experienced professionals, Bramhall Classic Auto is prepared for these people and we insulate you and your vehicle from them. These people are mostly just an annoyance and an unpleasant part of doing business. Other responders may have more nefarious intentions.

Furthermore, we do take great care to qualify potential buyers so that as few people as possible get to see the vehicle being sold. This protects your vehicle as well as the transaction from one of the many potential pitfalls that can be experienced while selling your classic car.

Update: The vehicle cited by this Kijiji keyboard warrior has recently sold to a qualified buyer at a fair price in a smooth transaction brokered by Bramhall Classic Auto.

LIPSTICK ON A PIG
Avoiding Life’s Lemons

Lipstick on a Pig features excerpts from the vast library of Maurice Bramhall’s experiences.

One of the biggest myths in the classic car world is that “rare cars are valuable.”

Here are some of the rules:

A rare car is worth nothing if no one wants it (see many rare cars that went out of production from 1900-WWII).

1960s Mustangs were made in large numbers, demand for all models remains very high.

Ultra rare editions are more valuable, special dealer editions often attract little extra value.

LIPSTICK ON A PIG
Avoiding Life’s Lemons

Lipstick on a Pig features excerpts from the vast library of Maurice Bramhall’s experiences.

A number of years ago I received a call about a Rolls-Royce Phantom V advertised on my website. A Phantom V is the model that HRH The Queen used for years for public parades. In her case it often had a glass roof for better visibility, this one was a normal limousine. They wanted to buy it for their father-in-law. A price was finalized and the car was delivered. My salesman went to get the cheque from the intended user, it turned out he was 92 yrs old and wanted it so he could sit in the rear and have his breakfast served in it. He had previously had one but had sold it to the Middle East and regretted it.

Who buys these cars now? Who will buy them in 2060 when they are around 100 yrs old? Will there always be an exemption for “Classic Cars” when all normal cars are running on electricity or hydrogen? Will gas stations disappear like phone booths have? Will there be Safari Parks where you will take your gas powered car and drive it around for a couple of hours and have an exhaust recycling pipe fitted that stops the CO2 from escaping?

When I’m asked what a “classic car” is, I always say “a car built before 1975”. Is this valid anymore? Maybe any car or bike that is over 15 yrs old that is NOT a daily driver qualifies. We will see, if we are around to see!

LIPSTICK ON A PIG
Avoiding Life’s Lemons

Lipstick on a Pig features excerpts from the vast library of Maurice Bramhall’s experiences.

When the media write articles and do interviews in regards the investment aspect of classic cars, I find myself shouting at the TV. When I’m with a client and they ask me what I think the next great classic car investment is, I normally tell them a story about the last classic car recession or the one about the Honda S600.

I was at a house in Brampton and I was doing an MOT appraisal report for tax purposes. The car in question was a Honda S600 convertible sports car that was very much down in the dumps, body-wise, so bad it had to be carried around on a trailer. To say it needed restoration was only the beginning. After doing my report, I asked him what he wanted for the car, he said he wanted $2,700.00, an amount I thought was at least one thousand too much. I didn’t think again about the car until I read an article about the S600 involving Jay Leno. Now that Jay Leno had anointed this little car among the pantheon of collector vehicles, it was suddenly hot with a capital H. There are some universal truths about collector vehicles:

1) Never buy a 4 door car unless it is one of the Major Marques;
2) Think about demographics, is this car I’m about to buy an old man’s car?;
3) Taking into consideration 1 & 2, buying a convertible is always better;
4) Have a pre-purchase inspection done by someone who recognizes corrosion and the signs of the repair of previous corrosion;
5) If the service and restoration history isn’t available, think long and hard.

Back to the myth of investment, when there are so many aspects of classic car ownership that are hard to control, it’s hard to believe that investment and classic car ownership deserve to be in the same sentence.
 

LIPSTICK ON A PIG
Avoiding Life’s Lemons

Lipstick on a Pig features excerpts from the vast library of Maurice Bramhall’s experiences.

Originality often has a religious connotation in respect to classic cars. There is now a fashion where totally original “barn find” cars are being venerated with very high auction values. But in real life most of us want a car that offers enjoyment, some level of comfort and the ability to share the experience with our family, friends and collector community.

Having spent some years in the restoration world I got to meet Concours fanatics. One of my clients had his fascia from his Thunderbird on the dining room table for 6 months for the purposes of detailing, the family ate somewhere else. The quest for 99.9 points can be a real burden, but a burden that some of us enjoy. I always suggest to my clients that they enjoy their classic car in the manner that they like.

Originality can get in the way of safety and comfort for no great purpose. My standard advice for improvements for classic cars are, power steering, power brakes and electronic ignition. I also ad to that, if the driver is used to driving only modern cars, getting in a Classic (pre 1974) demands recognition that it can’t stop and steer in any way close to that of the most basic modern car. Letting a family member drive a Classic car without this up front advice can be dangerous to the car and the driver.

One last thought, I drove a white 1974 MGB for many years, I discovered early on that vans and trucks with high mirrors couldn’t see me on their passenger side, so I learnt to keep a safe distance.

LIPSTICK ON A PIG
Avoiding Life’s Lemons

Lipstick on a Pig features excerpts from the vast library of Maurice Bramhall’s experiences.

In the ‘80s I was involved in a company that restored classic cars. One day a prospective client phoned up and sent a Porsche down on a flatbed for restoration. The car consisted of the disassembled body on wheels and a bunch of parts thrown in. After several months passed by without any communication, we tried to find the owner. His business address had no one at it, the only phone number we had didn’t work anymore. We took possession of the car by means of a bailiff managed auction. It was only when we started the process of selling the car that we learned that it was one of the rare 1959 356 Convertible D models. A local collector purchased it and had it restored for Vintage racing.

LIPSTICK ON A PIG
Avoiding Life’s Lemons

Lipstick on a Pig features excerpts from the vast library of Maurice Bramhall’s experiences.

In the early ‘90s we got a call to go and see a collection of cars and memorabilia that was uncovered in a barn at Victoria and Eglinton. As any Torontonian would know, there are no barns in that area. As it turned out there was a small barn behind a house. In the barn was a Pierce Arrow that fitted with about 6” inches to spare at each end, how they got it in there was a real mystery. Along with the car were numerous old gas pumps and hood mascots. Along with the contents of the barn there were other cars from the ‘30s stored in Paris, ON.

The background to the cars was that the deceased owner had been a restorer for the Craven Collection. The Craven Collection sent classic car exhibitions to shopping centre malls all around Ontario to promote Craven cigarettes. As friends and family members arrived, the scene got quite hectic, items disappeared with little control.

LIPSTICK ON A PIG
Avoiding Life’s Lemons

Lipstick on a Pig features excerpts from the vast library of Maurice Bramhall’s experiences.

As published in the March 2018 Issue of Northern Prancer Ferrari Magazine.

The first car deal we brokered was a 1973 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow long wheel base. The car was a dark blue with a red interior. A mature couple purchased the car and seemed very happy with it. Three months later, the husband called me to tell me that they liked the car but they needed to re-sell it. The problem was that the lady kept being stopped by the police because no one could see that there was someone driving the car.

Another Rolls-Royce story involves a very nice Corniche hardtop with low mileage in a pretty blue colour. The new owner had trouble adjusting the power seat. He called and asked me to demonstrate how it works so that a tall person could get comfortable. I got to his house and he insisted that I watch a video of him trying to adjust the seat instead of going to the vehicle that was parked right in front of us. It still remains a mystery to me.

When I was in the RR restoration business, I dealt with the RR head office in Dorval. The service manager told me the story of this hippy that came in one day and wanted his Silver Shadow restored, the company president refused to deal with him as he had a pony tail and obviously no money for the project. It turned out that the hippy was the TV personality Don Francks, they restored the car completely without incident. A few years ago I was offered the car for a tiny fraction of the cost of restoration, I see the car occasionally in Woodbridge at a very ordinary garage. One of his other RR’s was the Phantom V previously owned by Engelbert Humperdinck, painted in Royal colours. His last collection was of Model T racing cars.

LIPSTICK ON A PIG
Avoiding Life’s Lemons

Lipstick on a Pig features excerpts from the vast library of Maurice Bramhall’s experiences.

One of my favorite stories about mileage is the one where the owner was sure that a 1957 car had 2,500 miles on it, original. I asked him how that could be and he explained that the car had been raced when it was new and had subsequently been disassembled and remained that way for many years until it was restored. The car had gone through a messy divorce and ended up with a house trailer dealer.

The car was a beautifully restored example. While inspecting the car I located a label with the name of the restorer. I gave him a call. Yes he did remember the car, he had restored several vehicles for the same owner. The owner had one instruction that was unusual, all the cars he did had to have the odometer set to 1956. This was the year he got his driving license.

Many actions can lead to errors in mileage showing on the odometer. Many people drive while the drive cable is broken. Occasionally you will see a vehicle where the service dealer affixes a label to the left “B” post indicating an odometer change (I see this on Rolls-Royce cars in particular). This really is the rule, but it is rarely followed. Often odometers are set to zero when the car is restored, or the engine is rebuilt. One of the most well known odometer tampering cases was of the major dealer in Toronto who wanted to improve its used car values, amazingly they did not lose their franchise. I once had a case where my RR client accused me of using his car for my personal transport. He reported me to the Ontario Consumer Protection dept. who sent an investigator to interview us. It turned out that the mechanic who had the car before I did had mistakenly transposed numbers on his work order which appeared to make it look like I had put all sorts of mileage on the car while it was in my care.

LIPSTICK ON A PIG
Avoiding Life’s Lemons

Lipstick on a Pig features excerpts from the vast library of Maurice Bramhall’s experiences.