Letters to the Editor

Why is there no price of vehicles in advertisements?

Author: Peter Flanagan Thursday, 22 December 2011

Why do people not put the price they want for their vehicles on the ads? Are they too ashamed of their vehicles to quote the price and do others, like me, just ignore those ads and only consider contacting those who are prepared to be upfront about pricing? I want proof that they don't quote prices when contacted depending on the country you come from and not on the value of the vehicle.
Peter Flanagan

Editor:
The subject you come up with is as old as car advertising and probably also existed before that time with horse selling ads. There are various reasons why people sometimes do not show a price. Some people want to keep the freedom to adapt the price to their feeling about the marketsituation, without showing that to you. Sometimes they just like to know what the interest is that a car attracts independent of the price. Sometimes they try to sell the car of their neighbour and don't want to their neighbour to know how much they add to the price. Sometimes they have no idea what to ask for their car and want you to come up with a price suggestion. The next motivation not to show a price, is that a seller is not yet sure if he wants to sell privately or through an auction house. When he is showing his car at a certain price level he may be afraid that at auction this price has become an impossibility. 

We are sure there are many more reasons why some people don't want to show a price in the advert. And you should not care about that. If you don't like it, just ignore the advert. You can demand all kind of things like you do in your last lines, but in the end the seller/owner is in charge - is the boss-  untill the time that you or anybody else is taking over the wheel....

'A vulture vandalising Bentleys'

Author: Joris Bergsma Tuesday, 11 October 2011

Dear Editor,

I've followed your website with enthusiasm, and have supported it by selling a car via it earlier this year (I also briefly spoke with you at Beaulieu). I hope that you are serious in your desire to preserve and support the vintage car movement, so what am I to make of the following two adverts;
http://www.prewarcar.com/classifieds/ad59470-2.html
and
http://www.prewarcar.com/classifieds/ad59471-2.html
You are advertising for sale the parts of an perfectly useable Bentley, that a vulture is breaking for parts, so he can make a fake racing car from the chassis to sell to gullible buyers who believe they are buying a "vintage sports car".
This is vandalism, pure and simple, and by permitting the advert on your website you are being complicit in the sale of an original and fine motor car so someone can make some money by destroying it. I don't imagine you can possibly be aware of all the adverts that are placed on the site, but someone should be ensuring that such adverts are not accepted - they do no credit to a website that is supporting vintage motoring.
It is not the first time he has done this, and it won't be the last - but I am disappointed that PreWarCar appears prepared to carry his adverts and thus be a party to the destruction. Are you prepared to say you will no longer accept adverts from him, or does profit come before principle?

regards Paul Weston


Hello , As a long time used and admirer of PWC I hope you will take the following criticism as a piece of well meaning advice.
Recently adverts have appeared for parts from cars which are being deliberately broken up, either so that a "special" can be made from the chassis, or just to sell the parts for a sum which is more than the original car would fetch.
The latest of these is for a radiator from a Derby Bentley, shown actually on the car before it is destroyed! Many folk over here in England deplore this trend of breaking good cars, particu;arly saloons, to make so called sports cars from them, and the Vintage Sports Car Club actively discourages it in its rules.
I feel that you should refuse to publish adverts selling parts that have obviously been stripped from good cars in this way, you are encouraging this scurrilous trade by helping the sellers get rid of their purloined parts. You often praise people who preserve 'barn-finds' and those who restore neglected cars. That is an admirable perspective. Helping those who vandalise such cars by publishing adverts such as the one for the Bentley radiator is , in my view, quite deplorable.
Please can you arrange to refuse such adverts in future?
Best Regards, David Barker.

Dear (editor),

I am horrified that Prewarcar is running this advertisement.
The vendor is clearly vandalising a perfectly usable pre war car and should not be encouraged.
I feel strongly that you should refuse his advertisement. This sort of thing is happening too much in Europe and many good examples of Derby Bentleys and Rileys have been destroyed in this way.
I have already made my feelings known to the vendor.

Yours sincerely
James Holland



answer by editor:

Dear Paul,

Thanks for your letter. After a week of travelling I see that advert only now. Though we are not going to remove the advert we are not favouring this way of conduct either. Our adverts reflect what is on the market and do not reflect our opinion of what is on the market. If we would discriminate adverts based on their content, we would give the false impression that all remaining adverts are perfectly honest and posted by law and heaven vintage car respecting people. I can assure you that we could never guarantee such a thing. Also this practice would go on without being known like it is now in this case. Is the hobby helped by it, if this practice moves on to dark back alleys?

So in short: an ad is an ad is an ad,
some make you feel glad, some make you feel sad...


Joris Bergsma

'New-York to Paris at $ 20 only', a massive succes

Author: Joris Bergsma Wednesday, 24 August 2011

“What a wide reach Pre-War Car has! To help celebrate their first ten years, the team at Pre-War Car highlighted our DVD The Greatest Auto Race on Earth (New-York - Paris 1908). We were contacted by car and history lovers right across the US, New Zealand, Australia, and almost all of Western Europe. The Post Mistress was overwhelmed the first week of the campaign, having to put through more in a week than ever before. Congrats PreWarCar! Onwards towards the next 10 years.”

Michael Hamm

Frame 30 Productions Ltd.
Edmonton, Alberta.
www.frame30.com
780-439-5322

55(!) responses in 5 days for 1929 Harley project.

Author: Joris Bergsma Friday, 19 August 2011

Dear PreWarCar,

The advert insertion process was quite simple (first time for me) and the review/approval period very quick.

The response has been amazing with some 270 responses by phone and email from afar afield as USA, South Africa, Czechoslovakia, Germany, Netherlands, Denmark, France, Belgium, Sweden, Switzerland, Poland and of course, UK. Essentially the "Harley project" sold to the first person who resonded only hours after publishing the advert. It sold to someone from East Anglia. I could have sold the parts many times over and even received an opinion that I had "under priced" them. I also had some very interesting conversations by phone from vintage motorcycle enthusiasts which was an added bonus. Several enquiries introduced the question of transport and shipping costs.

The Prewarcar.com site is an impressive link into the fascinating world of old cars and motorcycles, and I am a regular reader having once bought a vintage car from Belgium through an advert on the Prewarcar site. Please keep up this wonderful service.

You may publish my comments in part or whole if you would like to.

Thank you.

Best regards,

Richard Coutts in Lincolnshire, UK

still motoring well

Author: Joris Bergsma Friday, 08 July 2011

Hallo Team.... I can't recall a day in the last decade I didn't stop at your website
to check that the world was still motoring well.... you've been an inspiration
to so many round the world.... the heartiest of thankful greetings from the
Antipodes, and warmest regards, Mike Rose, Auckland, NZ

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Dear Joris.
Congratulations in this very special day.
Kind regards.
Francesc Palau

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Hi Joris and Charlotte,
Amazing what you two have achieved in the span of only ten years! Of
prewar-manufacture myself I am probably one of the oldest amongst your regular
contacts and clients and maybe the longest active collector-dealer-restorer having
started exactly 50 years ago in Eindhoven/Netherlands and still going strong.
But in all of that time I have not come across any organization anywhere which
had such a true global impact on our happy niche-activity, be it hobby and/or
business. So please receive our warmest congratulations with your first successful
milestone and please keep up your excellent work. Thanks.

Hans & Beverly Compter
Kauri
New Zealand

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Hi Prewarcar.com lot!

I want to thank you and congratulate you on the 10 year anniversary.
When I finally got started about 5 years ago things started to move. I realized
that I had to get on with cars and stuff. Clearing out 30 years of collecting and
 pruning became important. Also I needed to progress my Bugatti projects.

The buy and for sale pages became useful tools and selling my old redundant
parts have been an important part of the restoration programmes.
Also the quizzes which I have been part of a couple of times, have brought
interesting responses and aquaintences from around the world.
With regards to the ex-Oosten Riley Imp I got in contact with Dutch Riley members
who remembered the car and could supply photographs. As for the history of
my rebodied Grand Prix Bugatti this has now been concluded with research
by historian, Pierre-Yves Laugier. The interesting thing is that it turned out
to be completely different to what we had believed previously. More of that later…

Kind regards   Henrik Schou Nielsen

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Herzlichen Glückwunsch!
Rudolf Dittmann

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MANY HAPPY RETURNS, A BIG THANK YOU AND A 100 MORE OF THIS
DAY as they say here in Italy.
Ciao, Ewan Gallie

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Dear Joris,

From all the Pueche family, our best wishes to you and your team.
Happy 10 year to Prewar Car!!

best regards  Rafael  Pueche

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Dear Joris, You cannot do it alone but you are the driving force behind this all.
I remember when I met you the first time when you just started early 2000
and I was on a visit from New Zealand. Since then we became friends and also
'colleagues' as we work together where we can. I'm looking forward to work more
closely with you in the years to come.Warm wishes to you and your family,

Rick Nicolaas,  Pursang Australasia

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Dear editor,I received the aniversary newsletter! congrats
We were in touch concerning cars from argentina, but I left that business
very fast. Anyway,I usually visit your site!is amazing what you have done,
so congrats and greatings froms this land! best regards ank keep in touch
Carlos
PS At this moment I work in a business school as a manager program and
also as a market research consultant for the pharma industry

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Congratulations, like my heart pills, I take your excellent magazine
daily--sometimes twice a day! Long may it continue. James Kirk

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY !!!!!!,
AND CONGRATULATIONS ON STICKING WIT THE IDEA AND MAKING IT
WORK AND THE MODEL THAT EVERY OTHER "WANNABEE" ASPIRES TO.

JUST A QUICK WORD AND PHOTO OF AN AD I HAVE SENT TO YOU, I JUST
FOUND IN MY TOWN A 1950 SILVER WRAITH SPORTS SALOON BY PARK
WARD,UNUSED 20+ YEARS IT IS REMARKABLY COMPLETE WITH A GOOD
BODY AND NO DOOR DROP !, IT HAS THE ORIGINAL HANDBOOK,MASCOT,
A FEW TOOLS, GOOD TYRES AND A STAINLESS STEEL EXHAUST. WE DRAINED
THE OIL, PUT NEW PLUGS IN,A NEW SET OF POINTS AND A NEW BATTERY
AND PUSHED THE BUTTON.......WHAM !!, STARTED AND RAN QUITELY
WITH NO NOISE OR SMOKE. THE BODY IS DESIGN 144, AND ROLLS ROYCE
WON THE GRAND PRIX DE HONNEUR WITH THE IDENTICAL BODY AT THE
MONTE CARLO RALLY IN 1950. INCIDENTALLY THERE IS A PHOTO OF THE
CAR WHEN NEW IN THE COMPLETE CLASSICS BOOK BY BERNARD KING,THE
ROLLS ROYCE SILVER DAWN AND SILVER WRAITH ON PAGE 101,CHASSIS
NUMBER WHD4. IT IS AMAZING THAT LOVELLY OLD CLASSICS KEEP BEING
UNEARTHED LIKE THIS. I HAVE PRICED IT TO SELL AT £12,500 WHICH FOR
A RUNNING COACHBUILT RR SPORTS SALOON MUST BE A BARGAIN !!.

ONCE AGAIN, HAPPY BIRTHDAY AND THANKS FOR KEEPING THE HOBBY ALIVE.
REGARDS, TERRY TALBOT. LYTHAM ST. ANNES. LANCASHIRE, ENGLAND

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Best wishes on eve of your anniversary. I hope the next ten are as good
as the past ten,
Bob Lichty,  Motorcar Portfolio

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It is your 10th year in business – very many congratulations.
You have certainly led the market in selling collectors cars on the internet
and I am sure you will continue to do so - thank you very much for all
you help and support.
I just wish I was there to join in the party which will, I am sure,
be a very special event so have a drink for me.

Best wishes to you and your colleagues.
Gavin McGuire

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Dear Joris,Just wanted to send you a congratulation - mail , with the first 
10 years prewarcar history.Thanks for a good friendship , too ! Sending a
photo of my new 'dress'.
Kind regards
Viklit Graae Jorgensen
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Hallo PreWarCar,

Passend zum Jubiläum habe auch ich eine neue Webseite erstellt über unsere
Aktivitäten in Oedt. www.old-wheelers-oedt.de  Schau mal unter den Links
wer an erster Stelle steht. Gerne würde ich auch unter den Clubs
bzw. Veranstaltungen auf PWC erscheinen. Wir freuen uns schon auf morgen
Euch alle zu sehen. Schon mal vorab:
Herzlichen Glückwunsch zum 10-jährigen an alle Mitglieder von PreWarCar

Beste Grüße aus Oedt, Marlene und Günter Ladda

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Happy Happy. Congratulations on 10 years of a great idea and service.

Robert Pass

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Happy Birthday on you 10 year , Rudy Langer  kcvintagecars.com

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Hallo Joris,

Just wanted to congratulate you and your team on achieving the 10 year milestone for PreWarCar.

I very well remember a phonecall from Hans Veenenbos back in 2002 that he had just discovered
a fabulous website on the internet and hey presto it was ran by a Dutchman ! Not long after that
phonecall I found myself supplying suitable pictures for you and composing little stories to go with them.

During the 2003 Beaulieu Autojumble I was instructed to shift as many as possible PreWarCar flyers
as possible. It was still a time where people enquired PreWarWho ?? But you kept on fighting until
thousands of people all around the world were anxious to find out what PreWarCar’s story for that day would be.

At the same time you were giving room to others, including myself, to reveal so far hidden
photos and stories.

Your brainchild proofed to be so ground breaking that the American Society of Automotive Historians
awarded you in the autumn of 2003 with The E. P. Ingersoll Award for the best presentation of automotive
history in other than print media.

I think it was only after that award that true global recognition started and the all important advertisers
wanted to be part of the game and slowly but steady your hobby could be turned into serious business.

Joris I wish you and your team many more PreWarCar years.

Kind regards,

Bas de Voogd

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Congratulations with the 10th birthday of prewarcar.com
With your website you are "bringing" the prewar automobiles to everybody
Back in the days ( December 1922 see attachement with Spyker ) one needed paper to do this.
Now we got www.prewarcar.com on the web !!

Best regards
Arnoud van der Sman, Les Six Troennes

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Congratulations and well done on the tenth anniversary of Pre War Car which is quite an achievement. You have
created something that has changed the antique automotive industry globally in a very positive way. Not only in the
market place enabling people from other countries access to cars and parts that they would never had the opportunity
to purchase, but also educational news and history. Not many people can say that! Keep up the great work that you
and your staff are doing so things will last for many more years to come. Again congratulations!

Best regards,

Hal Fillinger

P.S. I think so much of Pre War Car that I have posted a link to it on my web site.