While used and new car sales may be testing at the moment, the story could not be more different when it comes to the vintage and classic car market says Ben Finnis who runs Collectible Classic Cars in South Australia.
First established in 1988 by his father Michael Finnis, the business soon established itself as Adelaide’s leading seller of all types of sports / classic and unique motor vehicles.
Michael has since gone on to open the Goolwa Car Museum, which has more than 45 cars on display.
New owner of Collectible Classic Cars Ben Finnis has more than 20 years-experience in the car industry and he spoke to AutoTalk about how the business has evolved since he took over in 2009.
“When my dad first started the business, we had a lot of US left-hand drive cars. We were the instigators of the classic car market in the early 80’s – cheap left hand drive cars from the US were our specialisation when we began.
“In the eighties, we were bringing over hundreds of cars yearly so it was a great business, but things changed when dad retired in 2009. The market changed and the cars from the US dried up.
“We maintained our level of business but switched to predominantly right-hand drive cars. The business organically grew without us needing to do much to it after going dormant for about three years.
Finnis notes, “When I took over there were only a handful, four or five dealers in Australia, that were doing the classic car market well. I was looking for a new challenge, and I saw an opportunity to grow the business, especially online, considering that 80% of our stock goes interstate or overseas.
“Despite the recent doom and gloom in the local car market, what we are finding at the moment is that business has never been stronger, mainly due to baby boomers – particularly 50-70 year olds – becoming despondent with banks and with shares.
“Baby boomers are looking to own something they have always wanted – it’s all well and good to see your super doing well, but if you go to the shed and see an E-type or an Austin Healey, it’s a special feeling, and that’s where the market is doing so well.”
Finnis notes that business is booming at the moment, especially with the Jaguar E-types, their best seller. “We have 30 cars on sale at the moment, our major market for cars is models spanning from the 60’s to 80’s, with the top four being Jaguar E-types, Porsche 356 and the early 911 models and the Mini Cooper. While prices range all the way from $15,000 to more than $100,000.”
Currently the business sells between 100-150 classic cars a year, depending on stock availability. Then there is the vast amount of time used to locate the cars.
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“Once we find the car – we have buyers overseas waiting for particular cars – for example, an early model Mercedes Benz was sold literally within 5 minutes one week ago.
“One particular buyer in Tasmania, as soon as a Holden model comes in, I ring them and give them the lowdown of the car and nine times out of ten we will deliver it to Hobart for them,” explains Finnis
“Most cars are locally sourced, and from SA, which is due to more relaxed inspections compared to the Eastern states, which have yearly inspections. We don’t have that in SA, so it means there are a lot more classic cars on the market in SA because they haven’t been taken off the road.
“There are pros and cons to this, as sometimes some cars should not be on the road. However, Finnis points out: “We do all the checks in terms of the mechanical condition before we sell it.”
“A classic car is an investment which can add to its value rather than take away from it, as is the case of new cars. If you buy the right car the investment scenario is fantastic. Also you can keep it for a period of time and then sell it and make a few bucks, as long as you keep it in good condition”.
Finnis notes that most of the overseas buyers are from the UK and Asia, around 20% of the company’s total sales.
“We are seeing growth in the Chinese and Japanese markets – for them to invest $100,000 in a car is not a huge amount. Also what we are finding – because supply is drying up in the US and other countries – Asian buyers are looking at Australia to buy these vintage cars, also our dry weather helps with car maintenance as we tend to have rust free cars.”
Amongst some of the classic and vintage cars that Collectible Classic Cars has in stock are:
- 1969 Rolls Royce Silver Shadow
- 1978 LX SLR Torana V8
- 1973 Chev Corvette Stringray Convertible
- 1960 Austin Healey 3000 MK 1 BN7
- 1974 Porsche 911 (930 Turbo Replica)
For more info on Collectible Classic Cars click here
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