Tag Archives: classic

How to Buy an Antique BMW

BMW may not be one of the oldest companies in the world, but it has more than 100 years of experience in automotive engineering. That means that if you want to add an antique BMW to your collection, you’ve got decades of models to choose from. Here’s how to find one you can enjoy for years to come.

Set Your Budget

This is the first thing you should do before you buy a car — whether you’re bringing home a new BMW or looking for the perfect antique to add to your collection. Set a budget and stick to it. When you’re looking for a new-to-you car, it’s easy to spend an arm and a leg — and a couple of nonessential organs — trying to bring home the perfect one. Establishing a budget will keep you from breaking the bank. 

Choose Your Seller

When you’re looking for an antique car, you’ve got three potential seller types to choose from, each with its pros and cons. Auctions can be more affordable, but won’t give you the option to inspect or test-drive the vehicle before buying it. Dealerships might have a better selection, but they’ll be more expensive because of dealer fees. Private sellers can be hit-or-miss — you might find a treasure from a widow who just wants to get rid of her late husband’s collection, or you might find someone trying to scam you out of your antique car fund. Choose carefully. 

Have a Safe Place to Park 

Don’t bring home a piece of automotive history unless you have a safe place to store it. Parking an antique BMW in your driveway or on the street is like asking a car thief to take it off your hands. In addition to protecting your vehicle from unsavory elements, parking in an insulated garage can protect your new addition from anything Mother Nature might throw at it. Antique cars tend to not do as well in extreme temperatures, so the more you can do to make your garage climate-controlled, the better.

Learn Its History

Now that you have your new BMW safely stored in your garage, we can move on to the fun part. Take some time to learn about your car’s history. It might be something simple — maybe you purchased it from a private seller who bought it new and has maintained it carefully throughout its lifetime. It could be something exotic — maybe it belonged to a gangster in Chicago during Prohibition or showed up in the background of a classic black-and-white movie. Perhaps it’s just your favorite BMW model of all time. 

Any way you look at it, you’re bringing home a piece of BMW history, and it might have an incredible story to tell. 

Restore and Enjoy

You may find your favorite BMW, but unless its previous owner kept it in the garage, it will likely need some TLC to bring it back to its former glory. Take the time to restore it so you can enjoy it fully and show it off around town. If you care for it properly, it will serve you well for years to come. 

What to Do If You Inherit a Classic BMW

No one likes to think about inheritances. They can be a fantastic windfall for many people, but to get them, someone has to die. That’s why we often don’t prepare for them, and end up scrambling to sort through the will, probate and any related inheritance paperwork. One tricky thing to navigate is car inheritance. What should you do if you inherit a classic BMW?

First, Paperwork

The first thing you’ll have to do is navigate the paperwork — which can be a pain if your deceased relative didn’t leave a will, or you don’t have an inheritance lawyer to help you figure it out.

If they did leave a will, once the will has gone through probate, all you will need is the car title and a copy of the probated will to transfer the car title into your name. Once that’s done, the car is yours.

If they didn’t leave a will, you will still need the title, but in addition to that, you will also need a letter signed by all the heirs stating the car belongs to you. If the inheritance gets contested, will or no will, you will absolutely need a lawyer in your corner to help iron out the wrinkles.

Bring the Car Home

Step two is bringing your new car home. This can be tricky, depending on where the car is and whether it is running at the time. If it drives well, you can drive it home with you. If it won’t start, you’re left either paying for an auto shipper to bring the car home to you, or renting an A-frame trailer to tow it home yourself.

Towing it yourself is the cheaper of the two options — even if your car doesn’t have the kind of towing capacity you need, renting a truck and an A-frame to tow your new car home is still more cost-effective than paying for an auto shipper.

Storing the New Car

Storage is especially important with a classic BMW — they tend to be quite popular with car thieves, so the last thing you want is to bring your new BMW home and leave it in the driveway. Make sure you have somewhere safe to store your new car before you bring it home — this could be in your garage, in a local storage unit or in a family member’s garage until you can clean all the clutter that is currently in yours.

It becomes especially important if your deceased friend or relative was a collector and you inherited a bunch of different cars. Selling a few of them is an option, but if you want to keep the collection together, you will need a large garage to store them in. Make sure you invest in a good commercial garage door, so you can easily get your cars in and out, but can also ensure your inheritance is secure.

Inheriting a car or a collection of cars can be an excellent way to get your hands on some amazing classics. Just make sure you’re prepared to navigate the inheritance paperwork and have somewhere to store them when you finally get them home.