by Wallace Wyss
I had a dear friend once, named Al, who retired, moved to Colorado and even while in his ’70s, was enjoying a new girlfriend, new and old friends, and driving in turn his five cars, which varied from a hot rod to sports cars.
When he suddenly went into a hospice, the red flag went up. My experience is that hospices, unlike hospitals, are when further operations are deemed fruitless. He had pancreatic cancer which I know is a fast moving disease. He told me on the phone “When I get outa here I’m gonna buy a 427 Cobra,..”
I was a little surprised, first in his planning on surviving and then on acquiring such a loud and bold car statement, no bones about it.
He had sold his mechanic’s business in West Hollywood and had the money. More than anyone I knew, he rightfully deserved to have his dream car. He never lived long enough to achieve that dream. He was gone in weeks.
I am a similar age, but after owning and prematurely letting go of numerous collector cars (including a couple gullwings, a Porsche Convertible D, and a Ferrari 365GTC/4, etc…, I am trying to finalize my own plan for what could be That Last Acquisition. Like my friend I want to own something interesting to drive those last few miles.
Maybe you’re reaching those last few laps–already past the expected longevity for your age group and maybe some medical issues complicating that projection. Maybe you too are zeroing in on what could be your final choice. I’ve thought up some rough guidelines, rules y’might say. See if you can think of more…
NO PROJECT CARS No cars missing major parts, sitting in a garage for several years. Those parts could be harder to find than you think. If you can’t drive it at the owner’s house or the dealer’s lot you can’t find out that it’s not just a broken gearbox but maybe a broken engine, broken rear end, broken supercharger, and on and on. No, you will only consider running and driving cars. If they will let you take it to your mechanic for inspection, so much the better.
NO RUST I live in California so it’s not ordinarily a concern. But in my native Michigan I’d bought rusty cars–some so bad you could see the road going by through the holes on the floorboard. No time for rust!
NO UNCERTAIN TITLES Unbelievably of all the collector cars I bought, from Rolls Royce to Bizzarrini, all had current titles except for the Mercedes gullwing where a mistake in typing gave me a title with a different number but in those days of doing things by hand I solved that. It was a street economy car bought later that had a title but unknown to me it was an old title superseded by a newer owner. I should have checked who the AAA says was the real owner.
NO SUPER RARE CARS As tempting as it is to buy ‘One of twelve’ etc…, think of how rarity narrows down parts availability. Lately I am thinking Plymouth Prowler–over 10,000 made, a common engine made in bigger numbers. Think if you buy a car where under 1,000 were made you got problems in parts availability–might have to look for years just for a windscreen. Another example is a ’70 1/2 Pontiac Trans Am. Based on a regular Firebird there’s plenty of fenders, windshields and back windows available and plenty of repro parts for the pieces that make it a Trans-Am like the hood scoop. Best of both worlds–rare model of a common car.
NO HAND BUILT SPECIALS As much as this one off appeals to you if it’s an unknown brand, no insurance company will insure it beyond some collector car insurance company. A variation on a mass produced car makes parts sourcing easier, say ’65 Shelby fastback, can use almost all body parts from those made for ’65 Mustang fastbacks except for hood with scoop and side scoops plus special instrument pod and Shelby wheels..
MAKE SURE YOUR FINAL COLLECTOR CAR CONSTITUTES ONLY 10% OF YOUR TOTAL WORTH You owe it to your beneficiaries, who may not be able to sell it for what you think it’s worth. What happens if you live longer than your expected check-out date and all your retirement money is in this one car? I’m saying to keep your dream car purchase down to ten percent of your net worth. So if your net worth is $260,000 that means you’ve got a $26,000 “ceiling”.
There’s other considerations too, like how is your physical health? How much longer will you be driving? No sense buying it if the State won’t let you drive anymore.
And so it is–this is just my first exploration of this subject–I want, like my late friend Al, to have a fun car to drive off into the sunset in, but in the estimated longevity for my age group, (despite being my high school weight) there’s not enough room to make expensive mistakes. No room for a wrong choice. No time left to start a new career to make up financially what’s been lost due to a bad choice.
I want to be like Al, dreaming of driving off into the horizon in a lusty car I’ve craved for decades….I want to start a little earlier though, when there’s still a chance of achieving that dream.
Your thoughts?
Let us know what you think in the Comments.
THE AUTHOR: Our frequently contributing fine artist Wallace Wyss paints portraits of classic cars. Those interested in a canvas giclee print can reach him at mendoart7@gmail.com
Image by ChatGPT.
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