TCG Stories

As part of my therapy around the enormously crappy Saab 9000 Aero that I bought last year (and managed to make a few bucks on when it came time to dump it), I pillaged everything I could from it to flip on craigslist and Facebook Marketplace short of stripping off parts that actually made it run. 

Thinking back to my days as a teenager when big subwoofers and amplifiers with clever names like "Sound Storm" and "Desert Thunder" reigned supreme, I was delighted to see a custom enclosure with two 12" Infinity subs in the hatch area. I thought this would be an easy $200 for the subs plus another $200 for the amp. Did anyone tell you that today's kids no longer share this same enthusiasm for putting bass in your face?

I was a pretty nerdy white guy living in the suburbs when high school rolled around, but loud stereos with bass that rattled trunk lids were both must-haves when trolling the student parking lot. For some reason, my parents went along with this and even paid for some of the stereo equipment, seemingly unmoved by the fact that I was blasting gangster rap in places where actual gangsters lived. Recalling how much of my meager earnings were spent at stereo shops made me convinced that someone would jump at the chance to own this setup, especially since Infinity was the high-end option compared to the Sony Xplod and Kicker crap I had. 

Well, news flash: no one wants this stuff. I finally got so sick of tripping over this huge, heavy box in the garage that I sold it AND the amp to a middle-aged guy for $100. He was cool, turns out one of the subs didn't work so I gave him the amp for free. He told me the box alone was worth my asking price (which I knew), but he was the only guy to appreciate the unmatched value I was offering him. 

I still think big stereos are cool, but I'm guessing they now have Bluetooth-enabled sub boxes that fit under the driver's seat and pump out as much bass as my two 12s did back in the day - and likely for half the price. But no matter what, I'm now at the age where I'm just grateful to have an extra 12 inches back in the doorway from the garage to the house. 

The thing I keep learning about myself is I get way more excited about a basketcase project car than I do a completely turnkey, ready-to-go example. Case in point: this week, I was offered first bite at two desirable enthusiast vehicles: a 1979 Porsche 928, gray-market car that supposedly runs and drives well. And a 1990 Audi Coupe Quattro that is partially disassembled and full of mold.

The Porsche is $7,500 and about 20 minutes away; the Audi is - well, I'm guessing a $3,000 sale price and in New Jersey. It will need to be picked up and transported to RI. 

While the price difference is one thing, I'm also just turned off by the prospect of basically paying more for the 928 and seeing no way to improve it myself. It won't look any better; it won't' be any faster; and honestly, it's going to be more expensive to fix when it does break (which it will).

The Audi needs lots of cosmetic love but it has no rust. The interior, yeah, it's gross - but it needs a new headliner anyway, so just rip out the moldy stuff. The real risk with the Audi is that it has some electrical faults due to a water leak, which is what caused the mold. It's a potentially big-ass can of worms that will cause the Audi to surpass the Porsche, quickly, in terms of cost.

But it will be better when I'm done with it. It will go from being a hunk of moldy, early 90s sport compact metal with zero factory parts support to a driver that loves to let its five-cylinder engine sing (possibly). And given the risks I've taken on some cars, the rough projects that actually still ran usually ended up being mild success stories - so I feel like I'm ahead of the curve with a car like this Audi. 

We'll see where I end up, but no matter what I do, it won't make any sense. 

The other day, a fairly prominent dealer - Duncan Imports, which has an arsenal of imported Japanese classics - got caught pumping up the bids on its supposedly super clean S14 chassis Nissan 240SX on Bring A Trailer. While the collective car community lost its ever-loving mind over this, the bigger fault that was exposed is how BaT really doesn't screen anything that they approve for auction, which violates a key aspect of the supposed relationship BaT has with the enthusiast community. 

While the outrage was largely directed at Duncan as there was sufficient evidence that it wasn't the first time he pumped his own listing, some commenters also called into question why BaT has missed so many red flags on a car that had very clearly been in a significant front-end collision. Duncan shared emails with the community showing how he alerted BaT to these flaws, as well as emails showing BaT's refusal to pull the listing down. It's all very weird but also confirms how hell-bent BaT is to complete every auction with a win, regardless of whether the buyer gets a car that's not nearly as nice as advertised. 

I've felt for a while now that BaT is just another version of the stock market, and this seems to reinforce that notion. It's like the middle America farmer finding out the $40,000 he sent to some hotshot in New York was for stock in a company that doesn't exist, or at least has no shot at returning anything close to that investment. There was a time when many of us would trust BaT without hesitating because we felt like we were a part of a community that looked out for one another. And while that community may have been pivotal in pulling a shoddy 240SX off the auction block and banning a disreputable seller, why were either of those things on the platform in the first place?  

One of our community members is a fella named bonehed927 out of the great state of Pennsylvania. He actually contacted me a ways back for help finding the project we're talking about today, which is a delightfully yellow Audi 100 LS coupe. 

I actually knew about this car down in Georgia where it was parked on a farm as part of a sprawling private collection. The gentleman who owned it had a little bit of everything, and it was clear he liked makes and models of every stripe. I arrange for the purchase and gave him the all-clear to head down to GA and pick it up; since then, he's done quite a bit of work on this rare early Audi. 

Some of his recent work includes replacing the lighting; chasing a phantom brake light issue; sorting out the cold-start idle; and making some cosmetic enhancements, like shades in the rear window, which is a very period-correct modification for a European car of this vintage. 

It's a gorgeous color, too, and on an Audi model we don't see very often. Can't wait to see what other improvements he has in store for this rare two-door. 

A follower on our Instagram account took note of the fact that we love featuring potential project cars, so he tipped me off to a pretty unusual spotting: a Maserati convertible sitting in the weeds on a vacant lot in a fairly high-income zip code. The car in question is a GranSport Spyder, and it has the extremely rare manual gearbox. 

The GranSport was not a major hit when introduced, despite having a Ferrari-derived V8. The biggest flaw with these cars was the prevalence of the sequential automatic transmission, which was an unmitigated disaster. Most of these GranSports you find, in both hardtop and convertible form, have this two-pedal option, which has rendered the value of many of these cars to be that of a used Hyundai. 

Now, this car is peculiar not only for being abandoned on vacant land but also because it has a V12 and Biturbo badge on the trunk lid. Maybe I'm an idiot, but there is literally nothing out there that suggests this model ever came with a 12-cylinder option. I'm inclined to believe this is just a case of someone playing fast and loose with badges, but who knows? The bigger mystery is why it's here in the first place in seemingly decent (cosmetic) condition with a sought-after gearbox and no license plates. 

Today, the GranSport is one of the better-kept secrets on the exotic car marketplace, as you can find the coupe for sale for under $30,000 without trying too hard. Most will have the dreaded paddle-shift activated gearbox, so a manual-equipped convertible would quickly find a new owner if the current "caretaker" decides to set it free.

Recently, a TCG member reached out to me about finding a front bumper for his Suzuki Sidekick. I was surprised to hear he was having trouble finding one; after all, this was a mass-produced vehicle that was popular in regions like ours where it snowed. Turns out the member - who goes by "chuckster" - had a Sidekick Sport JLX, a model I vaguely remembered owing to its distinctive two-tone cladding. 

The JLX actually had a specific nose design that included a bumper cover that flared out to meet the wider stance provided by the fender flares. Needless to say, that's a hard bumper cover to find. Once we got through that, I learned that not only was this a rare model, but his was exceptionally mint inside and out. 

The Sidekick was actually used as an island truck on Prudence Island, which encompasses the town of Portsmouth, RI. It has just 54,000 miles on the odometer and features the preferred 5-speed manual gearbox. It never went out in the winter, left in the garage for the harsher New England months and only used as a summer vehicle. 

It's quite a find. Not the most valuable truck out there, but likely unrepeatable with those miles and that specific JLX Sport spec. 

I really don't think anything else needs to be said here, but riddle me this: a (historically) low-mileage Porsche 968 sits on the Hemmings classifieds for a few weeks at $75,000. No one buys it. 

It goes onto Bring A Trailer, and sells for $164,000. For a 968. You know, the car no one wanted. A front-engine, water-cooled Porsche that is basically a 944 with a revised front end. A car you could have had for nearly $100,000 less if you just scrolled through the Hemmings classifieds. I'd love to know if the buyer actually did see it listed beforehand and somehow came to the conclusion it was a smarter / safer buy on BaT for $100,000 more. 

But surely, no one is that stupid - right? And certainly not some titan of industry, who bought the 968 with zero photos of records or any documentation that established it as being the car it was represented to be. The words of the listing indicated a timing belt change was performed, but we don't get a shot of even a parts receipt? I'd welcome an explanation that isn't based in BaT marketing hyperbole as to why you'd pay more for less, which is exactly what buyers on BaT are getting in cases like these. 

Of course, this is ignoring the fact that the 968, objectively, does not deliver $164,000 worth of driving pleasure. And even I said this publicly, someone would be right there shouting that "The market has spoken!" And that I should shut up and earn more.

OK - but what if the market is wrong? That's never happened, right? 

One of our followers, a gent by the name of Thomas Smith, lives in a pretty cool place: Martha's Vineyard, an island off the coast of Massachusetts. Despite being reachable only by ferry, Tom made a very excellent find not too long ago in the form of a desirable project car: a BMW 325ix, of the E30 chassis family, in four-door form. This is the ultimate snow machine for a New Englander who doesn't want to buy into all that Quattro hype.

Tom found the E30 abandoned at a local mechanic's shop, where it had been sitting neglected for some time. Incredibly, it wasn't rusty underneath, or behind the IX-specific fender flares. In fact, it turned out to be a very solid car with loads of original paperwork inside going back to the original purchase order from a mainland dealership. Tom was pleased to find upon digging into the car that the engine had been previously rebuilt and upgraded with a Schrick performance camshaft! 

To date, he has it running off an external fuel source with a new gas tank waiting to go in. The driveshaft has to come out to do this, however, so he's paused for now until there's time to drop the shaft and install the rust-free tank. Can't wait to see how this one turns out! 

Today, Grassroots Motorsports announced that Hagerty purchased the rights to the Radwood car show. This is the latest in an increasingly long line of acquisitions Hagerty has made, and this is in the midst of the company deciding to go public. To say it's been a big year for what was once just an insurance company is an understatement. 

There's a few things to unpack here: for one, Hagerty is certainly in an acquisition mode and clearly looking at its next-generation of customers. Second, the Radwood show has done an incredible job of assigning real monetary value to what amounts to a car show - albeit a fantastic one - but a car show nonetheless. This tells us that there's perceived value that goes way deeper than what we see on the show field. Third and final, the landscape of vendors and retailers in the automotive marketplace continues to tighten and grow smaller by the day, which is bad news for those of us who like to shop around for the best price or at least feel like there's a need for service providers to compete on price. 

A company like Hagerty making numerous acquisitions indicates there is still plenty of value to be found in the enthusiast marketplace. The question is, what does it mean for the truly grassroots aspects of the hobby when even a car show can be put on the acquisition block? 

As we all know by now, the new car market is a hot mess, with automakers facing legitimate shortages that are driving up prices to batshit levels. I don't know who needs to hear this, but that new minivan you're financing for $50,000 will never be worth that much after two months of driving with your kids trashing the interior.

I get it, though: for some buyers, there's no choice. You need a car, you need it today, end of story. Persoanlly, I hope to not have to buy a replacement car anytime soon. Not only because I love my wagon, but because it's incredibly hard to find anything that comes close to it for replacement purposes that will offer the same combination of fun-to-drive and versatility. 

Still, if you have patience and time on your side, you can still find some very choice used vehicles with incredible reputations for durability that can be bought for reasonable money and will likely serve you faithfully for years to come. Here are some of my top choices from the current craigslist landscape: 

Toyota Land Cruiser: as well know by now, the Land Cruiser holds onto its value ridiculously well. Any truck on craigslist made in the last five years still sells for near MSRP, so you can forget about finding one for less than $50K. However, if you're wiling to live with higher miles and also trust that the truck's reputation for long-term reliability is as good as they say, you can find a 2001 model like this one here on craigslist with lots of recent maintenance for $16,995. 

VW Jetta SportWagon: The classifieds pages are littered with these things. The SportWagon got super cheap when the TDI scandal broke and VW had to sell these things for what seemed like pennies on the dollar. Still, I would skip over the TDI and find a gasoline model with the five-cylinder 2.5L mill, as nothing sounds like an I5 with an aftermarket exhaust. This one here on craigslist also looks to have some tasteful upgrades, like the OEM wheels.                 

Jeep Cherokee XJ: The final fling of the classic XJ Cherokee with its over-engineered inline-six is a desirable specimen, much like the Land Cruiser. It's far more affordable, however, at the expense of the two third-row jump seats the Toyota comes with. This example here on craigslist comes equipped with numerous factory options, including the desirable "Up Country" suspension kit that features a higher ride height and limited slip differential.  

Mini Cooper Clubman S: The wagon-ized version of the classic Mini Cooper was not as much of a home-run as the first generation model with its snorty supercharged powertrain. The Clubman also didn't add a ton of usable space - it was more like a longer rear hatch floor with barn doors to make it easier to load about the same amount of cargo. Still, the classifieds pages are littered with them, and this example here on craigslist is listed for just $10,995 with a hair under 100,000 miles. 

Volvo XC70: Full disclosure, I know nothing about Carvana, where this wagon is listed for sale. I've heard they are hemoraghing money and that they pay too much for used cars, but that could all be hearsay. The bottom line is, they have a lot of inventory when few dealers can say that. This 2010 Volvo XC70 has a meaty six-cylinder under the hood along with the rough-and-tough plastic body cladding that makes these waspy wagons a nice alternative to the Subaru Outback. It's listed here on craigslist with low miles for just $18,590.

If you're the kind of shopper that needs a new car every two years, there's not much I can offer for alternatives. But if you're OK with an older model that should be fairly cheap to own over the long-term, these craigslist finds are compelling options.