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Hey everyone, Well I'm brand new to this forum and looking for any help finding my first decent used replica 356A speedster from a quality manufacturer. I think my mid-life crisis is beginning haha. Here's some details about me and what I'm looking for if anyone has any advice or a car in mind!

• I'm 41 and want a beautiful 356 replica to cruise around on the weekends. This is one of my all time favorites since I was a little boy.
• I live in Denver, CO if climate is an issue here? Obviously only be driven mainly in Spring, Summer, Fall.
• Heard great things (Thanks Troy from replicaspeedsters.com) about Vintage Motorcars of CA and Vintage Speedsters when they were in CA (before they were sold in 2018). Also heard Beck is great but might be out of my price range.
• Looking for a true-to-classic replica without the newer body mods. Just my preference.
• Open to engines but most likely 1600-1915cc would be fine for what I need unless someone thinks otherwise for CO driving.
• Love black, midnight blue, red, and slate gray for colors!

My price range is 30-35k. Is that doable?

Anyways that's a laundry list about me. If you want to help a newbie out with advice or if you might know a great car for me let's connect!

P.S. Love the look of the car I found pictured below. IMG_2995

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  • IMG_2995: Love this car...
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@Bobby Benton : Welcome to the madness. Newbie to newbie, four points to have in mind.

(1) Research exactly what your state requires for title transfer. I had to pass on an otherwise desirable car because it was titled as a Replica and my state said "Replica is not a make of car." Will your state accept another state's build sticker that doesn't match the VIN, or a frame that was built in 2013 but has no 2013 emissions and safety gear? See a copy of the title to know it fits what you need.

(2) Review your deal-breakers. You'll need to get lucky to avoid a builder, a seller, a color, a style, a feature-set, a mileage, a shipping distance, a price, that tests your deal-breakers, and the madness is strong.

(3) Be ready to pull the trigger. Sellers don't need to wait while you mull it over, and no one I was talking to wanted a deposit; they wanted the wire transfer. Practice on some recent Bring a Trailer auctions: Would you have gone higher to get one of those cars?

(4) Milk this site as you are already doing. The people are great and every topic, old and new, has information that bears on the decisions you are making. I have no idea what I would have done without it.

Prices have risen on new builds and used cars.  Are you mechanically inclined to take on a car that maybe was neglected?  Might need engine work, paint or interior?  If you find one a distance from you, often someone here will be willing to take a look and report back to you.  Now is probably a sellers market and they go fast.

Black, "resale red" and slate grey (and silver)  are popular Speedster colors.  Not many are dark/mid-night blue or even greens.

Last edited by WOLFGANG

@Bobby Benton : Welcome to the madness. Newbie to newbie, four points to have in mind.

(1) Research exactly what your state requires for title transfer. I had to pass on an otherwise desirable car because it was titled as a Replica and my state said "Replica is not a make of car." Will your state accept another state's build sticker that doesn't match the VIN, or a frame that was built in 2013 but has no 2013 emissions and safety gear? See a copy of the title to know it fits what you need.

(2) Review your deal-breakers. You'll need to get lucky to avoid a builder, a seller, a color, a style, a feature-set, a mileage, a shipping distance, a price, that tests your deal-breakers, and the madness is strong.

(3) Be ready to pull the trigger. Sellers don't need to wait while you mull it over, and no one I was talking to wanted a deposit; they wanted the wire transfer. Practice on some recent Bring a Trailer auctions: Would you have gone higher to get one of those cars?

(4) Milk this site as you are already doing. The people are great and every topic, old and new, has information that bears on the decisions you are making. I have no idea what I would have done without it.

Thanks man, this is great advice. I'm looking at Colorado and there is a law that allows for cars titled "Kit Car" to be able to get registered and skip emissions but I'm sure most cars are titled as VW's so I'll have to check on that here. As for deal breakers I don't have that many other than I want something that won't fall apart right away haha. I guess I'm a bit set on color (black is my ideal) but other stuff I'm pretty flexible with as long as it's a good quality build and adheres to the classic spec look. I do have enough to buy now and then get a used car loan if I want to get some of that cash back (less wallet shock) so I'll make sure to be decisive with a dealer. Most cars are not in Colorado so I'm thinking I'll have to ship it from wherever.

@WOLFGANG posted:

Prices have risen on new builds and used cars.  Are you mechanically inclined to take on a car that maybe was neglected?  Might need engine work, paint or interior?  If you find one a distance from you, often someone here will be willing to take a look and report back to you.  Now is probably a sellers market and the go fast.

Black, "resale red" and slate grey (and silver)  are popular Speedster colors.  Not many are dark/mid-night blue or even greens.

Thanks for the comment. Not so much unfortunately with the mechanically inclined thing. I'm willing to learn with the VW motor since I hear it's not crazy complicated like new engines but am hoping a used one in the 30-35k range will not have too many issues if it's from a quality builder but of course I'd have it checked out first like you say. I'm flexible on a lot of stuff with the car and looking for a long-term investment I can modify over the years if desired and possibly hand down to kiddos or something.

@DannyP posted:

It's definitely a CMC. You can tell by the hibachi rear grille and the 4 non-standard gauges instead of the proper VDO three. Seats look a little ratty. But if it's solid, maybe 25k?

The days of picking up a well-used CMC for 10-15k are long past, unfortunately.

Yeah I'm inclined to just reach out to a company like this and buy one for 35-40k now that I'm seeing lower quality CMC/FiberFabs going for darn near close to 30k or in the 30's: http://cloud9classics.com/pors...-speedster-replicas/

Unless this dealership is a bad choice...

There are only three manufacturers that I’d recommend right now.  In the order of increasing price they are Vintage Motorcars (Greg Leach), Beck/Special Edition (Carey Hines), and Henry Reisner (Intermeccanica).  Folks here have great things to say about all of them, but I don’t know if you can get one from them in your price range - perhaps a used one.  Also, they all have backlogs right now.  Again, anything from Alan or Troy would work as well.  You’ll find something.  Better to buy from them then take a chance on an unknown, particularly if you don’t consider yourself mechanically inclined.

Good God, man, call Troy!  This black one (LINK) is right up your alley and it's sorted by Troy, which means you can enjoy it from day one.  Most of the speedies you see for sale with super low mileage are sold because the owner hadn't bargained on how much sorting the owners are expected to do on their own. That's why the Vintage Motorcars and Beck cars exact such premiums, they arrive sorted.  I don't know what he's asking, but his prices have always been very fair and reflective of the market.  You'll have to search a looong time to find one as nice that ticks all your boxes.

Good God, man, call Troy!  This black one (LINK) is right up your alley and it's sorted by Troy, which means you can enjoy it from day one.  Most of the speedies you see for sale with super low mileage are sold because the owner hadn't bargained on how much sorting the owners are expected to do on their own. That's why the Vintage Motorcars and Beck cars exact such premiums, they arrive sorted.  I don't know what he's asking, but his prices have always been very fair and reflective of the market.  You'll have to search a looong time to find one as nice that ticks all your boxes.

Yeah I actually spoke with @Troy Sloan on Friday. He was very cool and educated me on the cars and what to look for which he didn't have to do so I really appreciated that. I have told him I'm interested but he also has other interested parties so if I can't get that car maybe I can get another one in the future from him. We shall see!

Be sure that you are able to get your car registered in Colorado.  Some states are a pain, as you will read here.  If your state poses problems in registering a Speedster you should consider a pan based build ( A Speedster replica built on a shortened VW Bug pan).  That's what I have and I just registered it as a '67 VW.  I hope some Co owners will chime in.  Lanes advice about Troy or Alan was good as almost all the cars they sell are pan based plus are pre-sorted and ready to enjoy. In this game pre-sorting is a huge deal.   My car was more like re-building rather than pre-sorted but worth all the effort.  You have found the finest source of Speedster and Spyder replica info here at the SOC site.  Welcome aboard!

@Jack Crosby posted:

Be sure that you are able to get your car registered in Colorado.  Some states are a pain, as you will read here.  If your state poses problems in registering a Speedster you should consider a pan based build ( A Speedster replica built on a shortened VW Bug pan).  That's what I have and I just registered it as a '67 VW.  I hope some Co owners will chime in.  Lanes advice about Troy or Alan was good as almost all the cars they sell are pan based plus are pre-sorted and ready to enjoy. In this game pre-sorting is a huge deal.   My car was more like re-building rather than pre-sorted but worth all the effort.  You have found the finest source of Speedster and Spyder replica info here at the SOC site.  Welcome aboard!

Great advice Jack and thanks for the welcome to this forum. So many great comments so far and I can tell people are passionate about speedsters and welcoming. I think you are right that the VW pan is the safest bet but I'll do more research to make sure I don't get in a sticky situation.

Maybe I have the luck of the Irish with DMV but I make sure I dress neat, walk in with a smile and always ask;  " I was wondering if you, might be able to help me"?   They'll be in a position to to reply with some sort of positive lingo and right there is when you have the upper hand . It's how you proceed with that perpetual smile that will work in your favor  ...Get them to smile too and or laugh and at that point you're all in .:~)  I walked into the DMV twice with no appointment during their Covid lock down appointment only thing and got what I needed to get done there.

Last edited by Alan Merklin

Great story. I also ordered my Vintage Speedster when I was 40; 3A449A32-1C5E-4F06-BC2A-C0A47642AAEAidentical case as you. Always wanted one since I was a kid. I am 57 now and still have it and enjoy it as if it were the first day. I have done a lot of tinkering and sorting out through the years but the thrill never went away; in fact it probably got worse over the years! Very glad for you; stick around here. There is a brain trust here in this site!IMG_5419

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