Frequently asked questions: restoration of classic cars and classic luxury limousines
If you are considering restoring a classic car or classic luxury limousine, the following frequently asked questions may be helpful.
What is a classic car or a limousine?
There is no universally accepted definition.
Some people trying to sell a 10-year-old car in bad shape might describe it as “classic.” That will be more for trying to increase the sale price than for anything else.
In very general terms, most people would consider “classic” to mean:
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A highly acclaimed, rarer, limited age vehicle, even those that are only 5-10 years old;
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any vehicle over 25 to 30 years old;
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Any vehicle older than 25 to 30 years old but after 1920. Most vehicles before 1920 are called “antiques.”
Be careful not to be fooled into paying more than something is worth because the vendor has unilaterally decided that it is “classic” or “classic.”
Can a car be restored?
In theory, you could take, say, a single screw from a Ford Model ‘T’ and build a car around it. Clever! You have restored a model ‘T’!
The real question should be: “can any car be restored economically and sensibly”? The answer is no, you can’t.
There are three aspects to this;
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Don’t think you have any chance of restoring a car and making a profit from reselling it. About 99.9% of people who try to do it end up losing a LOT of money trying;
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If your vehicle’s chassis and subframes are gone, it can still be restored, but you can also build a reproduction from scratch in terms of cost. Restoration costs are likely to be astronomical;
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Remember that if most of the vehicle is gone, the finished product of your labor of love is likely to be heavily criticized or even criticized by insiders as “inauthentic,” a “composite,” or a “sad marriage of disparate parts. “.
Bottom line: be sensible about what you assume.
What is the value of a restored vehicle?
Sadly, many people make the mistake of trying to evaluate this based on a review of what others ask for restored examples on EBAY or similar forums.
That method is often completely useless.
Many online sites are full of refurbished vehicles that simply cannot be sold. This is because their owners paid too much for them to begin with, spent a small fortune on restoration, and then added 50% as a profit margin. Then they are surprised when the car doesn’t sell.
If you use that as a guide, you will suffer.
The only way to verify the market value of a vehicle is to try to find examples of restored models that have actually sold and for how much, and not get hypnotized by looking at what other people are unrealistically asking for.
Can you find classic luxury limousines for sale?
If they exist. Some luxury limousine providers, Sydney and elsewhere, sell their old vehicles, if they own them.
There are other specialized sites that can help as well.
