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In 1975 I purchased a 1954 Aston
Martin DB2/4, Mark I. I had been looking for the
earlier DB2 model, but this car looked too good
to pass up so I bought it. Shortly afterwards
a restorer working on my 1939 SS Jaguar pointed
out that one of his customers had a 1952 DB2 he
might sell. Sure enough, it was exactly what I
wanted and cheaper! Nothing wrong with having
a spare, so I purchased it also. By 1989 I had
more interest in my 1925 Bentley and 1937 Cord
so the Astons were sold to a German dealer, both
for $100,000, who quickly sold them for a profit.
I had less than $5,000 in the two cars after 14
years of ownership. A $95,000 profit! Judging
by ads in "Classic & Sports Car"
magazine, they have obviously continued to appreciate
in price.
How's that for an investment? Sure, your house
and stocks have gone up tremendously, but not
that much. What other investments have gone up
that much?
Just prior to purchasing the Aston Martins, I
began collecting Aston Martin literature. Soon
I had brochures going back to the first 1924 production
model. I believe that at the time it was possibly
the best and most complete collection in the world.
Most of the brochures were acquired from collectors
and some from dealers. In 1979 I got very lucky
and found a Texas collector who had been filling
his garage with file cabinets full of brochures
since 1947! I bought all of his Aston Martin,
Lagonda, Ferrari, Maserati, Jaguar, Rolls-Royce
and Bentley literature for $5,000. Boxes and boxes
full of literature in great condition. Unbelievable!
But at the time he saw it as literature he had
gotten for free. At the most it cost him stamps
to send requests to Enzo Ferrari, William Lyons,
David Brown, etc., or a drive to the local auto
dealership. In 1990 I sold my Aston Martin collection
for $36,000 and the Ferrari collection for $50,000.
I had less than $10,000 invested in both. Later
I sold the other collections, doing just as well
or better.
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Ever since 1947, when I picked
up a Pontiac sales brochure as a child, I have
been collecting literature. By 1960 I had started
selling it as a hobbyist and just never stopped.
The point is, money can be made collecting literature
and selling it later. It just keeps growing in
value while sitting there. I continue to buy and
build collections, plus buy for re-sale. Meanwhile,
I enjoy the literature. It adds to my knowledge
and is helpful in buying and restoring old cars.
With over 125,000 items on our web site, you can
easily find something of interest and for investment.
We will continue to buy literature and add it
to the existing inventory, so there will always
be something new.
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