gullwing motors

i just came back from gullwing motors in astoria, queens to check out some xke jaguars. its a pretty nice dealership with about 100 vintage cars from show quality to barn finds. salesman seemed nice and knowledgeable.

anyone have experience with them?

thanks

 

They were known to have cars which one would not consider anything more than a driver at best. They may be taking a different direction. I have not been there in 10 years.

 

Been there. Tons of cool cars. Checked out a Testarossa. No service records and needed a ton of work. I think many of their cars are bought through auctions with little knowledge of any history.

 

I know there are many varied opinions on this dealership. My experience has been good with no surprises.

 

I have been there a few times, and am still kicking myself for not picking up the Maserati 3500 GT they had asking about 16K about 8 years ago. It needed work, but was complete and quite solid. I have never seen anything resembling a show car when I have been there. The last time there I was there 2 300 SL gullwings that were very rough, a Maserati Merak beyond repair and plenty of Britsh cars as well. I think most of their cars are consigned, and they seem like true barn finds as you see some interesting cars in un cared for condition

Carl

 

I have never purchased anything from them as most everything is a basket case. However I was recently there to inspect a Maserati Bora for a friend which was in pretty decent shape. I was once interested in a Black Testarossa they had a while back but that was it. I stop by regularly to see what is there as I am in the area routinely.

 

.............................................I have a similar story , i have been kicking myself too because i was going to purchase a Aston Martin DB5 for $ 18,000 , it was about 15 years ago , OH Well , nobodys perfect . its all in the timing .

 

I secretly want this:

http://www.gullwingmotorcars.com/detail-1960-alfa_romeo-giulietta-convertible-used-6324716.html

 

If I only knew you then. I sold my DB5 (1659R) for $9000...

 

I think they fill a niche - they definitely promote a lot of rough rides, but it's sort of WYSIWYG.

I do think in some cases their prices are slightly inflated, but they do serve a purpose for those that want a fixer-upper.

 

Ah..."WYSIWYG" I remember those days as an engineer...

Ace

 

I openly want that.

 

I'm not sure the word "rough" is descriptive enough to describe some of the cars i saw there last Summer- Known for selling the worst condition exotics- but of course as with anything in short supply- probably some bargains to be found.

On my visit I think almost every car there was in need of a $100K restoration, except for a rough but usable 348.

 

+1 but I will admit I haven't bothered to go back there in 10 years. If the above assessment is accurate, they haven't . I like to tell people that Gullwing Motors sells dream cars. (If you want one of their cars you must be dreaming)

 

And Visicalc!

My impression is that Gullwing Motors' cars are not so much WYSIWYG as they are WYGIWYCF: What you get is what you can find.

Thorough Due Diligence and the ability to uncover the defects in their cars is even more important than ever.

 

They always seem to have some very low priced bently's. I was thinking about flying up to look. Ar the cars really that rough??? Don't look so bad in the pics...

 

I have not heard much about them in the past few years, but I know that in the past, the XKEs they offered were not up to par, especially for the prices. I would suggest, just as with any old car, that if you are considering an E-type, you have it checked out thoroughly by someone who really knows them. They are extremely prone to rust, especially in the rocker panels. Since these cars do not have frames, they are a monocoque body where the entire weight if supported by the rocker panels, you want to be very sure that they are not rusted out. And if the car had rust (virtually all of them have it to one degree or another), that any repairs were done properly and not simply patched with Bondo and painted over. A cheap paint job can hide a lot of sins on these cars.

If you are serious about an E-type and need some recommendations on someone to do a PPI, PM me. I'm a national Board member of the Jaguar Clubs of North America, and know several really good, knowledgable people in the NYC area. And if you get one and need work, I can recommend some good people and some to avoid.

Hope that helps.

Steve

p.s. Check my avatar -- my first XKE (a '72 coupe, V-12). I've owned and restored a few, my current one that I've had for 10 years and restored, is a '70 coupe, straight 6.

 

thanks steve. im going to pass on the ones now at gullwing. i did find a nice series 2 light blue convert in ventura, california on ebay. it has a 5 speed trans swap. it didnt sell thru auction but im speaking to the sales person directly about buying it. i am thinking of using wellwood restorations in ventura to do a ppi. i just joined jcna and jag-lovers.org.

 

tons of decent xkes out there nowadays - no need to go slummin' at gullwing....

 

When I lived in a ghetto apartment in Astoria queens I was 3 blocks from this place. I wasn't much of a car guy at the time, driving a Taurus I bought from my Mom.


There's so many cars there. It's amazing. Pretty funny to see 75 vintage sports cars sitting in a warehouse in blue-collar Queens.

The cars are beat to ****. But I don't think they are claiming to have show cars. Are they overcharging? Hard to say. Ya gotta go on a case by case basis. They want to make some profit of course like anyone else. Some people like fixer uppers. Not me. I wouldn't buy one because the restoration costs are sky high. But some people are DIYers. I think if you're a DIY guy this could be a good place to find a car. I don't think they are moving much inventory, so they may come down on the prices. Their warehouse is pretty huge. Somehow they are staying in business selling beaters. They've been there forever so there must be something to it.

 

I have been looking at their website for years.
I too think they buy what they are offered, maybe sight unseen.Maybe they have scouts that check out cars far distant, buy them and put them into a trailer truck bound for NY. They have some treasures on occasion, like I saw a Phantom V James Young limo on their website for $26K, restored versions of those go for 100K up. But it might take 100K to restore it. I don't think they are all that keen on ferraris but you never know what else they are about to buy but don't have the jack so you go there and make them a cash offer and they might sell what they don't want to buy what they do want.

 

I think most of the cars there may be consigned. The prics are usually quite high for what they are, but there are plenty of people who do not know what they ar getting into and likely purchase something thinking they can get it running or fixed up on the cheap. Most of the cars there are basket cases or not much above it, but like anything else, you occassionally find something worthwhile.

Carl