Im from Australia and I am going to be out visiting LA and other parts of California for the first few weeks of June, maybe longer if need be. I am wanting to find a 49 or 50 chevy coupe, and plan to search high and low for the right vehicle. I am already planning to go to the Pomona Swap, and I will be keeping in eye on eBay, craigslist and the cl***ifieds on the H.A.M.B. while we are out. But I am wanting to find out what other options there are for finding a vehicle when actually on the ground in Southern California ? Obviously I should also pick a monthly used car type of magazine, like we have here, what is a good magazine to buy ? This post isn't so much a "wanting to buy" post but more of a question if you were looking for what I am in the time frame I am what would you be doing ?
When I was looking for a car; I carried a picture of something close and showed it to everyone I saw including used car dealers. Finally one day, a guy looked at my pic and said I sold one of those to a guy recently. I called the new owner and found that he had 83 cars and bought one.
ON-line is best before you get to LA. Any printed books will just be out of date after shipping. Buy the Old Car Trader or whatever once you get here. Realistically the HAMB cl***ifieds, ebay and craigslist are probably better sources. Not sure your intent is to buy, drive it while here and then ship it back?
In addition to Pamona on the 6th (www.pomonaswapmeet.com), you should hit the Long Beach Swap meet (smaller but worth the stop if you are in town) on the 13th (www.toppingevents.com), and the LA roadster show Jun 19th & 20th(www.laroadsters.com). You might consider investing in a tee shirt with a "Wanted " poster on it. Charlie Stephens
Oh yeah, bring as much cash as you want to spend on a car. Any other options could slow you down and miss the car you decide on. Word of mouth, and posting such as you did right here in this thread are additional methods to find out about cars for sale.
Word of mouth is a bit overrated (I once spent about two months chasing after bad leads) but sometimes it'll get you exactly what you want. Don't overlook local newspaper cl***ified ads. And just drive around. You'll be amazed at what you see sitting in people's driveways, garages, and back yards. But the swap meets and Craigslist will probably get you what you need. Cash is king. Carry enough to put down at least 20% of the purchase price, and be able to come back with the rest within 24 hours.
Try Hemmings Motor News before you head to Cali. When you get there try Auto Trader & Old Cars Weekly for starts.Also check any convenience store or auto parts store for local sales papers.Hope this helps.
You can also try the Recycler. It's a magazine/cl***ified ads. You can pick it up at most convenience stores. And Pomona is a great choice. Just get there early.
You can also try recycler.com and autotraderantiques.com. I ***ume you are also checking out the Chevy Club websites (don't ask me what they are, I am a Ford man). Charlie Stephens
http://www.jaxed.com/cgi-bin/mash.c...ys=1949&ye=1950&ps=&pe=&pgs=100&submit=++++go++++ Will let you search multi citys in Craigslist. Like mentioned the internet is the best bet. www.traderonline.com is good for looking to. www.racingjunk.com fun to look at. Hit LA get you a rental car with a navagation and have fun.
hey guys, thanks a bunch for getting back to me I really appreciate it. 38Chevy454, I am looking to buy and take back with me to Australia. Atomickustom, thanks for the tip, I dont aont to carry around the full amount but a deposit amount to show Im serious is a good idea. Thanks for all the additional links too guys
Look at everything that has ads. Here we even get a free paper called the Pennysaver that has a couple local interest articles and is mostly ads, including cl***ifieds.
I always use search tempest. Found my car that way. Good luck and happy hunting http://www.searchtempest.com/result...950)+Chevrolet&keytype=all&search_string_neg=
Good idea you don't want to travel over here with a ton of cash, wire it all me on the East Coast and then when you arrive in Cali try to find me.
There have a lot of posts about where to look but how about being proactive? Place a few ads (recycler, autotrader, club newsletters) that you are looking for a car, have cash, and when you will be in LA. Charlie Stephens
i've had luck with www.ownster.com you can search multiple locales and multiples sources with pictures.
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