New to all this - Looking for my first Speedster... advice helpful!

In your $30-35k price I think both Vintage Motorcars and Beck are out of range, but Troy and @Alan Merklin can provide thoroughly sorted used cars that look virtually new.

Oh, and Welcome to  the Madness!

Thanks @Lane Anderson! I appreciate your response especially helping me set expectations around my price range! I'll reach out to @Alan Merklin as well.

@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.

@wrkinprogress posted:

@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.

Also I'm realizing now that most used ones I like are 35-40k but maybe something will show up...

https://www.turismocar.com/195...he-speedster-replica

This is one of the cars that I looked at and passed on, still appearing in the dealer's inventory. If you search on speedsterowners.com for the word Denver, you'll see some of the online conversation about it.

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.

@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...

CMC or FF .. ...It has the usual overstuffed speedster seats and doesn't sound all that healthy.   Bondo filled and cracking gauge hole and the fuse panel is funky.  ...Certainly not worth any where near that inflated asking price.   https://www.turismocar.com/195...he-speedster-replica

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.

@Bobby Benton posted:

http://cloud9classics.com/pors...-speedster-replicas/

Unless this dealership is a bad choice...

Cloud9 has some sort of agreement with Vintage Motorcars (Greg Leach)
That green Speedster on his site is gorgeous, and it’s a brand new VM (without the wait.)

IIRC, Greg has another retailer that he works with. In FL or AZ (not vintage speedsters) IIRC.  

@Bobby Benton sounds like @Troy Sloan might have just what you’re looking for.
https://www.speedsterowners.co...=lastReply#lastReply

... but only one of the many who would take that triple black from Troy at his asking price is going to get it. What would you pay just for right of first refusal on Troy's next car after these three, not knowing anything about that fourth car? And if there is some kind of pause in the flow of new cars from VS ...

@Theron can you add a speedster futures market to the site?

I like the Intermeccanica-like door pockets they're using

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.

A sorted car is a car ready to enjoy. Just saying.

@JMM (Michael) posted:

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.

Interestingly I found this Colorado vehicle classifications document @Jack Crosby but I'm a bit confused which classification it would be under...

https://www.semasan.com/semaga/TagTitleToolbox_CO.pdf

if U go to the DMV you will get a different answer from each employee there

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.

Wanted to give an update to everyone who was so helpful responding! Got my first speedster.. 2011 build Vintage Speedster of CA and had it shipped to CO from CA. Checked out at my buddies Porche shop in LA and everything is sound. Runs great and a joy to drive!

Also had zero problems with registration. DMV was a bit confused with VIN verification but I pulled it off that it was a 1967 Ghia (CA title had it as a 67 VW convertible) since they required a model and “convertible” wasn’t gonna fly so I was able to get collectors plates and smog except here in CO. 🙌🏼

Congrats, 😊 enjoy the ride.

Congratulations, Bobby. I'm glad you found such a beautiful ride!

Congrats on your purchase @Bobby Benton.  Best of luck with it.  This forum is there for you if issues shall arise.  

WTTM.

Great story. I also ordered my Vintage Speedster when I was 40; identical 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!

Congrats Bobby....now drive that thing!!

Congrats! Looks great! Lived in Lakewood and Golden for 17 years. I miss the mountains and the green chili! Just got my Speedster as well.