Cadillac style

OMG - I bought a car on ebay that I've never seen in person!

I mentioned yesterday that I've been shopping for quite a while for a 1959 Cadillac. I've been to several in-person car shows and vintage auto auctions, and I've been scanning the classifieds on the Hemmings website, all without finding the right car in the right condition at the right price. Very recently I began looking on ebay.

Initially I was concerned about vehicle misrepresentation on ebay and sellers who'd try and take my money without giving me the car. But with some investigating I came to find that ebay sellers establish a reputation for themselves in the form of positive feedback from past buyers. Also, using PayPal gives one an ally in case there is an discrepancy, in addition to securely transferring funds without revealing credit card or bank account numbers.

I was also concerned about purchasing something I'd never seen in person. I'm a person who rarely shops online because I want to see, touch, and feel the items I'm considering buying. But since all of the cars I liked in the Hemmings classifieds were too far away to see in person, I accepted the fact that I would be buying a car without having seen it in person regardless of whether it was on Hemmings or ebay. And the selection on ebay was very, very good.

Last Sat I bid on a 1959 Cadillac Coupe de Ville (2-door), in powder pink, located in FL. The current bid was a good price, but the auction reserve had not been met. I bid and became the high bidder, but the reserve was still not met. With about 10 minutes remaining in the auction, I upped my bid 2 more times, hoping to meet the reserve, but it didn't happen. Hence my comment yesterday about sellers with high reserves.

I'd also been watching another car for several days, and its auction was to end yesterday afternoon. Its a 1959 Cadillac Sedan de Ville (4-door), in 'Vegas Turquoise', located in MI. With about 20 minutes left in the auction I entered my bid, making me the high bidder, but the reserve had not yet been met. I knew the approximate value of the car, as well as my self-imposed spending limit, and decided to up my bid once in hopes of meeting the reserve, and it worked!

The reserve was met and I was the high bidder, with about 10 minutes left in the auction. I refreshed my page every other minute to make sure I was still on top until the auction ended. This is what I bought:

Isn't it gorgeous? I'm VERY excited!

I sent the seller a message through ebay, providing him with my email address and phone number. He called me later that evening. Then I went through the annoying task of trying to figure out my old PayPal info, which I hadn't used in several years. After getting that all straightened out I sent the seller my deposit and asked him for an auto shipping recommendation.

I also got auto shipping info from The Newlyweds who recently shipped one of their cars to Portland, OR. However, the price and terms of this shipper were not as favorable to my particular situation as they were to The Newlyweds, so I wound up going with the seller's auto shipping recommendation.

So my new beauty should be arriving Thur or Fri of next week!

Obviously a car like this is not purchased to be practical, its purchased because its so darned stylish. Really, its drivable art! It practically begs for personalized license plates.

So now comes a favor I will ask of you: What should the personalized license plates read??? I appreciate any and all recommendations.


Crush du Jour: Carmine Giovanazzo