Tru Speed

This place TruSpeed is buying cars from Vintage and then selling them for a tidy profit over on Rennlist. I luv it as he is getting real money out of them. Check out how he dressed this one and sold it immediately:

"...When we ordered this one we decided on a little more of an outlaw theme. The 1915 cc motor was given headers and a Stinger exhaust, liberating more power from an already competent set up. The standard mirror was shelved for the racier looking black clam shell style and the half moons were replaced with black painted wheels with drum shins. It also comes equipped with front disc brakes, the ultra cool louvered decklid, black Banjo steering wheel, Coco mats, driving lights, headlight grilles and the classic Bee Hive tail lights. All Vintage Speedsters come with a 1 year/12,000 mile drivetrain warranty. Asking $29,930..."

LUV it!

Lest we forget, most of the population seems to think these cars are Car-mine-gee-yaws. As long as that knowledge persists in the majority population, there will be the opportunity to mine them for their money. Remember, this country and free enterprise was founded by the rise of the merchant class. The merchant class neither designs nor manuactures the product, they simply buy wholesale and sell whatever the market will bear. The system has worked well for several hundred years now.

What IS scary, is the idea that at some point perhaps you CANNOT buy direct from Vintage, or any other manufacturer, because the ONLY source is one of these middle men. Think GM, Ford, etc.

That said, I think the ad writer did one hell of a good job to entice unknowing speedster buyers to "come to my house"!

There have been stock speedster replicas on the block at Barett Jackson netting a decent profit for doing... nothing.

On eBay at any given time there are half dozen Dealers all trying to sell new speedsters at rediculous prices.

Didn't P.T. Say it best?

So many stupid people who fail to do their homework makes these gougings possible. Sad to see.

That car in very sick. I mean in a phat kinda way!

I think its the American way. These guys offer a product to a group with more spending money and do pretty well for it. I have no problem with that.

TruSpeed is a local race/prep and consignment shop (Costa Mesa, SoCal). Its one of the shops we cruise/stop by on our SoCal cruises.

http://www.truspeedmotorcars.com/

They have some very cool cars in their inventory. A few years ago my neighbor bought Nicholas Cage's twin-turbo Porsche and is now re-selling it through this shop.

Peace - Out!

Taking advantage of the ignorant and stupid: the American Way?

True in practice, I think; not in creed.

That's silly.

You act like they are selling these cars to the nuns running the underfunded neighborhood clinic - and for twice their retail value.

Look, I have had a aluminum siding salesman sell my dearly departed Grandfather gutters for his 1500 square foot home for $8000. It was $700 worth of gutters. THAT was the equivalent of what your eluding to.

For TruSpeeed (or any other premium product dealer) to offer a brand new Vintage speedster dressed to kill for a few thousand more than a person could buy it for (if that person were to spend his time getting the details correct - and optioning it out correctly - and dealing with the wait time) and offer that product in a pleasant environment represented a professional way making the experience second to none... Then I cant fault them for making a profit.

Some people just want the car the way they like it, and they are not particularly interested in getting it for the absolute lowest price imaginable.

Think of it this way: I personally would much rather stay at the Hilton Vs the Motel 8. They are both still just rented rooms, but I am willing to pay Hilton for the upgrade. THAT IS the American way.

Hilton vs the Motel 8? Sure. But I believe we're talking about being ripped off for $1,000 for a $125 Hilton Room, not which one is more desirable.

I guess I have a bad taset about some resellers. Whatever happened to that wonderful outfit Automotive Legends?

Just because they asked 29 large doesn't mean they got it. I wouldn't pay it, I know Michael wouldn't pay it.

You would think that a buyer with at least average intelligence would do some research, maybe go to the Vintage website, check prices on e-bay and maybe even find us here. The internet has been the great leveler in knowledge if one takes the time to use it. However, you can't save everybody, particularly those that don't want to be saved.

Perhaps there exists the individual who takes one look at that car, wants it today, has stupid money and spends it. Really dumb, but that individual's prerogative.

Maybe that is a REALLY extra high quality mirror and Stinger exhaust! No probably not.

Price issues aside, the person that optioned out the examples on their site put together some really nice color combos.

Back in 03 when I bought my first tub, I didn't know about this site.
I found out shortly after the purchase, I did a little research and because I was buying used anyway, it came down to price of what was available at the time....
We have an advantage here on the SOC, we know all about these little jewels, the average guy on the street has no clue, you gotta give them a break, there was a time when you didn't have a clue....

I don't see a thing wrong with this. Isn't it a win-win for both Kirk and Truspeed? There are lots of people out there that can't imagine going through the detail of building a car and/or waiting for it to be built. If they see what they like, they buy it. Everybody is happy.

You can't compare Tru Speed to Automotive Legends. Tru Speed is totaly legit. They have quite a shop with lots of high $$$ cars, many loyal customers and real racecars. I think it's cool to see a shop like Tru Speed selling Vintage's cars, it makes our little replicas more accepted.

IMO there is something to be said for taking posession of a car witha title the day you drop a load of money. Placing a 5 figure discount and waiting a month or more does carry some risk. Vintage and JSP both seem totally legit, but I'm sure there have been other builders that have left potential owners with no car or returned deposit.

5 figure deposit, oops sorry.

Here's a parallel: I just read a road test for the new Aston Martin Cygnet. That is an upgraded Toyota Scion iQ with 98 Hp that sells for $50,000.00! Hey, it's got real nice leather and superior carpets on the inside and realy nice paint on the outside. More importantly, Aston Martin buyers have no idea what a Scion is, and they don't really care.