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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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