Finding Nemo

As Malaysia is half-assed when it comes to the types of cars it wants to have on its roads, you will never find a worthy American Muscle (or any other type of muscle) project available in the daily classifieds. You will hence need to scout around a bit over yonder in lands afar, either in the United States, Australia, or Europe. Where specifically? Well, that totally depends on the ride of your choice. Different markets would yield different pricing, given the unique and dynamic landscapes dictated by logistics, taxes and foreign exchange. You've got to do your own math.

Generally, the markets you want to look at would be;

1. The United States - for (duh!) the 3 classes of American Classics & Muscle (i.e. Ford, Chevrolet, and Mopar (which are made up of makes such as Dodge, Chrysler, Plymouth, Oldsmobile, AMC, & Jeep));

2. Europe - for classic Jaguars, Alfa Romeos, Fiats, Aston Martins, Rolls Royces, etc. ;

3. Australia - for Holdens, and right-hand drive conversions of American & European rides.

If it doesn't make sense getting the services of a broker in these markets, you can just carry out your own searches over the internet. I did. And it worked for me. The sources that helped me with my search were:

1. ebay (motoring sections) - for the United States (www.ebay.com), United Kingdom (www.ebay.co.uk), and Australian (www.ebay.com.au) markets;

2. unique cars - in the Australian market

(http://uniquecars.carpoint.ninemsn.com.au);

and a host of other websites that you would need to invest some time researching for you to understand the pricing of your project make. Trust me, research is invaluable, and will save you a shit load of time and from costly errors later down the purchasing and even shipping stages.

Buying over ebay

If you have, like me, identified your car via ebay (after having done some serious research, I hope), you would then need to ensure that you are equipped with the necessary resources and information to carry out the trade.

First of all, make sure you've paid off your credit card bills and are ready to roll with at least a RM30,000 (~US$8,000) credit balance. This however really depends on the base price that you would be willing to pay for your car, after considering its condition and general market pricing. For my C3 Corvette, prices ranged between US$3,000 (for bad shaped ones) to US$20,000 (for nicely done up ones, especially for the earlier non-collision front bumper versions circa 1968-1972). The Australian market priced the C3 between AU$18,000 (for a running but not in great shape unit) to about AU$50,000 (for a show unit).

Obviously, you would need to:-

1. compute what your costs are in local currency;
2. consider what the transportation costs are for shipping the car from that specific location;
3. consider the amount of local taxes that Customs would charge you - this varies depending on year of make and condition; and
4. measure the risk that you are willing to take if the trade goes bust - no point having sleepless nights over something fun like this.

On the issue of risk, you would need to establish the legitimacy of the seller and his/her offer. ebay (and payment gateways such as PayPal) provides some validation tools (like the feedback system) which are not perfect, but enough to provide you with an adequate enough level of assurance. Make sure you understand how they work, and take the necessary precautions.

The world is full of degenerate cons who have no qualms scamming even their own grandmothers. There WILL be scum who will somehow obtain your correspondonce details and email address from ebay (or from other sources) and will send you details of their non-existent so-called rides. My experience included solicitations from Russia and Eastern Block countries such as Croatia, the Czech Republic, and Poland. Pictures, history and specs of the car, whatever you want, they are ready with it and will provide it to you in a split second. They will also normally try to sell below market price, and fake sympathy and lie that they are forced to because of some tragic circumstance. When you do bite, they will then ask for a deposit. If you do proceed with the deal, that is when you walk down the yellow carpet for your initiation into the League of Extraordinary Suckers-Born-Every-Minute. Like everything else in life, if it appears too good to be true, have the common sense (and strength) to walk away from it. Chances are, its a scam.

So be wary and do not be fooled!