Garrett Turbo

William Perschke asked:


If you pay any attention to the major collector car auctions held every year, you probably think you cannot afford a collector car anymore. The prices seem to have shot through the roof to the point of being ridiculous.

Let me assure you that unless you are looking for a museum piece that you would not want to drive on any road today, there is clearly hope.

I have friends that have bought and sold many collector cars and trucks over the years and I have certainly bought and sold my share of them.

In the last couple of days I found some examples of great buys that collectors such as you and I would be pleased to own. These cars are not showroom pieces, but who cares? They are nice rides that you and I could enjoy for very reasonable cost.

Take this 1971 Chevy El Camino, found on “craigslist”. The car shows very clean and straight. It has a 350 V8 engine with a Turbo 350 automatic transmission, power steering,  power disc brakes, and custom wheels. They are asking $2800 OBO.

OBO means “or best offer”.

Any time someone advertises OBO, you know they will take less. It is up to your negotiation skills to determine just how much less they will take. Now this has a lot to do with just where the seller is at in their efforts to sell. If you catch them when they really want to unload the burden they have of owning that vehicle (for all kinds of reasons), you can usually get a substantial savings when you buy.

Here is a 1970 Mustang coupe, also found on “craigslist”. It shows a straight no rust body, has a 302 V8 engine, automatic transmission, power steering, power brakes, and chrome wheels. They are asking $2200 OBO. Here we go again with the OBO, although I would not expect to get too much off on this one, for it is pretty cheap already.

These are just a couple examples of what might interest you. I find an incredible variety of collector cars and trucks like these almost every day, using a number of sources I have accumulated over the years. This is a passion of mine so I am looking for them all the time.

Now these may not be your cup of tea but there are many more where these came from.

Keep in mind what I am telling you about here are very low cost vehicles that would get you into the collector car arena. There is almost an exponential increase in the number of cars you can buy with every $500 you add to your buying power.

You can buy a collector car today for a reasonable cost; all kinds of them. This is just the tip of the iceberg. In future articles I will share my years of experience and passion about these historical pieces of iron. We will cover topics such as where you can find them (there are many places), how to know what you are buying, tricks for when you do buy them, buying them long distance, etc.

Anthony Fontanelle asked:


Last month, at the North American International Auto Show, Japanese automaker Subaru unveiled the latest version of the Forester. On February 26, the company announced the pricing for the new Forester. Interestingly, after the improvements made to the Forester, it is priced more than a thousand dollars lower than the outgoing model.

The new Subaru Forester will soon be available at Subaru dealerships across the country starting this April. The automaker announced that the new Subaru Forester will have a starting price of $19,995.

The said crossover vehicle will be available with either a 2.5-liter naturally aspirated or a 2.5-liter turbocharged engine. The naturally aspirated powerplant is available with either a manual or automatic transmission. The turbocharged engine on the other hand is only available with an automatic transmission.

There are overall five variants of the new Subaru Forester. For the Forester with a naturally aspirated engine, there are three trim levels while for the turbocharged engine, there are two available trim packages.

For the Forester with the naturally aspirated engine, the three variants are X, 2.5X Premium Package and the 2.5X L.L. Bean. The third variant comes only with an automatic transmission while the first two can either be coupled with either a manual or an automatic transmission.

The turbocharged Forester meanwhile can be bought in either the standard X trim or the 2.5XT Limited Model. This Limited Model will have a starting price of $26,195 and it will come equipped with a 2.5-liter turbocharged engine which produces 224 horsepower. The package will also include 17-inch alloy wheels.

The naturally aspirated 2.5X trim will have a starting price of $22,495. For that, the Forester will be equipped with a power moonroof, roof rails, rear seat center tray, steering wheel audio controls, and reclining rear seat backs. On the outside, the package will also include 17-inch alloy wheels. The naturally aspirated engine will be mated to a manual transmission.

Tim Colbeck, vice president of sales, Subaru of America, Inc. proudly ticked off the selling point of the new Subaru Forester saying: “For 11 years, the Subaru Forester has been an icon of functionality, dependability and durability. The 2009 Forester now adds greater interior room, improved comfort and more amenities than before, yet with a starting price that is significantly lower than the outgoing model.”

Also, the fact that Subaru vehicles have been known to be equipped with auto parts as reliable as Acura CL auto body parts would attract buyers into Subaru dealerships.



T Harper