Ten checkpoints before you buy.
The most expensive mistakes happen before the signature. This checklist prevents them. Free, no sign-up, print-ready.
Check the price against transactions
Listings are asking prices. What counts is what comparable cars actually sold for: auction results, documented sales, a price band.
Demand a complete history
Service records, previous owners, downtime, accidents. For classics: matching numbers and restoration history. Gaps are leverage, or warnings.
Request documents before the viewing
Registration, import and customs papers, maintenance receipts, appraisals. Sellers who hold back paperwork usually have a reason.
Condition is more than shine
Panel gaps, paint thickness, rust in hidden places, traces of repainting. Detailing conceals, documentation proves.
Start it cold, drive it long
A cold start reveals what a warm engine hides. A test drive under 30 minutes is not a test drive.
Assess originality
Non-original parts, modifications and wrong colours reduce collector value, even when they look good.
Read the seller
Why the sale, since when, on whose behalf? Time pressure on the seller's side is your leverage. Your own time pressure is theirs.
Budget the total cost, not the price
Transport, customs and VAT on import, homologation, the first major service, insurance. The right budget knows every position.
Pay only with a contract and escrow
Written contract, handover protocol, payment via an escrow account instead of prepayment. No exceptions, not even among collectors.
Get a second opinion before signing
Emotion buys, data negotiates. An independent check costs little compared to a six-figure mistake.