Wanted: 356A Cabriolet built by Specialty Auto (Knoxville, TN)

SMART TO ASK AS THE WAITING LIST IS YEARS

You got way more patience than me buddy.  My advice is to get a Beck & be driving a brand new one one in a few months.

After an extensive conversation with Steve over there, they are 18 to 24 months out right now. I understand why and if I have to wait, I will. But, with the way my cholesterol is right now, I could be worm food by then! I gotta get this party started...

 

BILL U SHOULD READ ALL THE PRIOR POSTS. 18 TO 24 MONTHS SEEMS VERY OPTIMISTIC

this is from the vendor specific forum

 

 

 

November 12, 2013 9:53 AM

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Naughty,

 

thank you for the detailed account. I'd heard some of this prior, but had thought this was several years ago And was behind them. i figured it was just some bad economy blues you know. I definitely need to do much more research prior to making any sort of deposit. 

 

Maybe this explains why I'm not finding SAS 356's out there for sale, maybe there aren't any...

Bill--there are plenty of SAS out there---plenty.  They are not for sale because the owners love them and won't part with them.  They are works of art and a real automobile---if you can score one.

 

Despite Gerd's post there are many good stories too.  

 

Tom's advice is valid and from what you posted I'd either go the Beck route or see what Intermechannica has on hand right now.  Look at the "makers" tab above and look at refurbished Speedsters for sale or even a new one. 

 

You have found the best place there is for learning what you need to know.

X2 - What Jack said. If you figure what you would pay SAS and a premium for taking someone else's place in line if you could find a taker, I'll bet you can find a nice gently used IM for close money.

 

This is the time of year when cars seem to pop up for sale.

 

Good luck!

JACK, I THINK U R WRONG WHEN U SAY THERE ARE PLENTY OF SAS OUT THERE. DEFINE PLENTY. THERE ARE PLENTY OF IM, VINTAGE, BECKS AND JPS OUT THERE. JIM PROBABLY KNOWS HOW MANY R OUT THERE BUT I BET LESS THAN A DOZEN. THE FEW PEOPLE WHO HAVE THEM HAVE SOME GOOD STORIES BUT I SURE THE HELL WOULDNT SAY MANY. AND THE PERCENTAGE OF OWNERS WITH GOOD REPORTS COMPARED TO THE PERCENTAGE THAT ARE UNHAPPY, ARE STILL WAITING FOR THEIR VEHICLE OR NEVER GOT THERE VEHICLE DUE TO THE BANKRUPTCY FILING JIM MENTIONED MUST BE SMALL IN COMPARISON TO THE LATTER.  AND IF I HAD TO WAIT 5 YEARS FOR A BUILD I SURE THE HELL WOULDNT COMPLAIN, I WOULD BE TO EMBARRASED. YOU HAVE TO GIVE JIM CREDIT FOR SPEAKING UP FOR PEOPLE LIKE BILL.

I try to be consistent when I state facts that take some effort to discover.  My advice to a potential SAS customer is to do your own research, don't just take one person's opinion or statements as true, including mine.  Find out on your own.  The facts I stated can be checked by asking relevant questions to SAS or getting info from government agencies, like the Eastern District Tennessee bankruptcy court, or news agencies, like channel WATE in Konxville TN.

 

Ask Specialty Auto-Sports how long the wait is for a car to be built.  In the past 12 months, three different posters on this site have stated that Steve Lawing told them they would wait 18-24 months.  SAS hasn't built a car in that length of time for at least 8 years.  For the record, Hoss' car was the first built.  I think it was built in 2004, but I could be off by a year or two.  To date, SAS has built 20 Speedster/Cab/coupe replicas, as advertised on their site.  That pencils out to about 2/year.  Unfortunately, even that snail's pace doesn't tell the true story, since the build time has increased severely in the last three years.  There are 2 guys still on the list who paid their first deposit in 2007.  They will spend over 7 years on the list in a best-case scenario.  The next car being built is for a guy who paid his deposit in 2008.

 

My coupe will be the only car built by SAS in 2013.  Can anyone envision a scenario in which a car-building company can remain in business by building one car/year?  There really is no queue with SAS.  The queue is not tied to deposit date, it's tied to the customer that makes the most noise.  I bought a guy out who joined the queue in May 2008, and had 26 months in line, then I spent 3.5 years in line.  My 5.5 years is average for the last three cars from SAS, not 18-24 months. 

 

I will respond honestly to specific questions, but I am not going to become known as an anti-SAS blogger, with repeated bashings.  Life is too short and I have more productive things to do.  Unfortunately, I am old friends with righteous indignation, but I'm putting him away in the closet, and moving on. 

Gerd--I'm not going to rehash this.  It's all been said already.  All the guy has to do is search this site and make his own conclusion.  Yes, there are some good stories out there but Jim"s was pretty bad, no doubt.  I believe that Jim has every right to share his story because he is telling his own experience.

 

Jim knows I support him 100%.

 

Your Caps lock seems to be on. 

always on JACK

Jim's story is so disturbing because its true