Ponoma Swap Meet and generic questions

[Thomba48]

Hi guys,

 

this might be the wrong spot for my concern, questions. If so, do let me know where to turn instead :-)

 

I am planning to synch up my short visit this year to LA with attending the Ponoma swap meet. Having to sell off my Plymouth Business Coupe due to a family extension (do need a four seater now) I was kind of hoping to find something of interest there. Get it delivered to my freighter carrier and send it home to Germany.

 

So my questions are:

• What is your experience with Ponoma price and choice vice. Meaning, realistic prices or over the top? Is it a place to find decent cars and not only hot rods or completely rebuild ones? Honestly, not really my cup of tea :-)
• How would the actual purchase process work. Of course I would have to pay cash :-) And yes, I should be getting a sales contract and the car in the end. But then I might also need the title. Is that right? Would I need something else?
• How could I get to car off the ground to the freight carrier organisation. Would I be able to drive it there? Do I need an insurance etc.?
• Finally, if I happen to find something of interest that would need some work to be done I was wondering if that work should be done in the US instead. Might eventually be cheaper. Does anyone know of a decent, affordable and fast Garage that I could be approaching for that purpose?

 

Sorry for the amount of questions. And thank you very much for all your insights and Inputs.

 

 

 

 

Thom

 

 

 

[wayfarer]

The Pomona swap is good for about a three-hour walk if you look at every booth. I was there last year and saw plenty of parts but not a lot of Mopar cars, the exception was a Ply Suburban that someone had started work on and then gave up. The asking prices that I did see seemed reasonable.

Yes, you absolutely need to get the correct title with the car you buy. On some cars it will be difficult to verify the title depending on how the issuing state identified the vehicle on the title.

What paper work will you need for importing the car? If you need additional paper like a bill-of-sale then be sure to get it.

If you have a freight company lined up in the greater LA-Long Beach area then you should talk with them about receiving a car and their requirements for transport. The great state of California would prefer that the car have insurance, and you should have insurance on the car that would cover the in-state transportation. The shipping company will, hopefully, explain your insurance options with them.

 

If WRStorey doesn't see this thread then send him a PM. He attends many of the area swaps and may be a good resource for information on repairs.

[Thomba48]

Hi Wayfarer. Thank you very much for your kind response.I shall wait and then Approach WRStorey in due time :-)

[ptwothree]

As long as the car in question is not touching the ground, that is, transported via flatbed, trailer, transporter truck etc. insurance is not required by  the state.

[builtfercomfort]

Depending on your schedule, etc. you may find better shopping on the us east coast? There are more people, cars, and ports on the east coast.

[Thomba48]

ptwothree. Thanks.

Builtfetcomfort. What devent, I mean also big meets are there on the East Coast?

[pflaming]

I have a friend who is in the OLD car business. He has four yards and his focus is on cars pre 1960. He raises his Fresno, CA. prices by 50% for the large Turlock, CA., swap meet and doubles his Fresno, CA. prices for the Pomona Swap meet. I've never attended either so I have no other knowledge of them except guys from here attend faithfully. 

[Thomba48]

Wow :-)

[Andydodge]

Thomba, dunno if this info helps but here goes....as a general rule here in Oz most guys try to get something that is located on the US west coast as shipping to Oz is generally done from LA.......the other thing is that road transport across the US say from the East coast generally raises the price by about $2-2500.00 so I would expect that the opposite would also apply from Pomona or other California areas and that it maybe worth checking if you can get a deal shipping to Europe via a Californian port although, I think Long Beach is the main or only California port........also we here in Oz try to stay away from any cars coming out of north east USA states due to the salted roads.........and finally have you checked your entry port as I have read in a few hot rod publications lately that shipping into Amsterdam is cheaper than other European ports..........a mate here in Grafton NSW has purchased a 1946 Ford Convertible last month from California for $26,000 US, with shipping from Long Beach, customs duties and associated costs such as fumigation spraying it will owe him approximately $34,000 Aus when he picks it up 400kms north in Brisbane on 10th April........not cheap but as the 46-48 Ford convertible was not sold here then you have to pay to play........good luck in the hunt...........andyd.  

[Andydodge]

Thomba, as far as getting any work done in the states against doing it in Germany or chasing parts etc I would suggest that if its just parts etc that are needed see what you can get in the US and have them either installed there or at least included in the vehicle trunk as the overall car shipping cost really shouldn't change with a trunk full of parts as against shipping them separately,and you would think that repairs/installing parts would be cheaper in the USA but it might be worthwhile shopping around..........andyd

[Thomba48]

Thanks. The shipment cost differences I have completely forgotten about. And that was kind of stupid. Thanks for pointing this out to me. Fumigation. Funny. I will never forget my trip from Darwin to one of the National Parks. They almost stripped us down to our underwear to check if we were in the possession of forbidden fruits. Sorry for this slight pun :-)

[builtfercomfort]

Carlisle PA is probably the biggest collector meet in the country. See Hemmings Motor News website for dates. There are threads here you can search about Carlisle.

[Mike Petersen]

I'm 45 min. from Pomona. Been there many times in search for different Mopar rides. Our area is loaded with GM and Ford. There is alot of Mopar listed on Craigslist out here. Largest Mopar meet on the west coast is the Sprin Fling in Van Nuys next week. Check this web site www.cpwclub.com. A guy from Frnce bought a engine from me last year. I delivered it to a location in Wilmington that only ships vehicles over seas. You could have put 2 football fields in their warehouse and it was full of every brand car or motorcycle made. I will look around and see if I can come up with their name. They were real easy to work with. Contact this member for shipping contact he might be able to give you the name of the shipper he used for the engin I sold him.

carlcad55  Edited March 30, 2014 by Mike Petersen

[deathbound]

I'm in Long Beach....about 45 minutes from Pomona & about 10-15 minutes from the LA/Long Beach Ports. If there's anything I can do, let me know.

[Thomba48]

Thanks very much for all the information - again and again. All extremely helpful. Thom

[desoto1939]

The other Big swap meet in the Fall is the AACA Hershey Show and swap meet.  This is the next week just after the Fall Carlisle swap meet.  I do know that a lot of Europenas do attend the met and they then shop cars out of the Baltimore MD post.  Also there are several car carriers such as Horesless Carraiage that also move and take home a lot of the cars that are attending for the Car Show and to be judged.

 

I have been attending for 25+ years.  The older parts are drying up at all of the various swap meets. So you have to just give the good old try and look and search but there are Mopar venders specialist and then there are guys that have all car manufactures parts.  They have around 8-10 thousand venders.  It takes about 4 days to walk all of the fields and they are all on paved lots so no real grass or mud to worry about if rainy conditions.

 

Figure to spend about 100 dollars anight for a room with a 4 night required stay if you can find any open slots.  The Hershey swap meet is in October 8-11/2014

 

Rich Hartung

Desoto1939@aol.com 

[blucarsdn]

I live in So Cal.. I have found the Pomona Swap meet to be very disappointing for Mopar parts and/or cars.. Lots of GM, Ford and VW stuff.

Generally speaking the Mopar Muscel cars, 1968/73 are the most common. Good prewar/post war cars up through the early '50's are not very common.

The one thing I can advise you to be very careful with, no matter what car you buy, is the legal part of the game..The online forums are full of postings about car that people have shipped to Europe, Aus., etc. that have turned out to have incorrect VIN's?serial numbers.. Many states used engine and/or body numbers in lieu of the actual VIN's when these cars get to their destination in a foreign country, the invalid numbers come to light.

I helped a guy from Australia with a '39 Plymouth convt coupe that he bought in Tenn. in '09.. When the car got to the shipper in Long Beach, I checked the Serial/body numbers, which had been verified by Tenn.. The numbers were for a 4dr sedan, not a convertible coupe..

T

[Thomba48]

Thanks again for your advice. Thom

[Tones52]

Well Thomba48, I'm in Covina, CA which is next city over from the Pomona Swap Meet and I would have to echo what's been said about the Swap Meet in terms of older Mopars and parts being scarce. I also found the prices of cars offered for sale to be unreasonably high in my opinion. But it's fun going and seeing the sea of parts and rows of old and interesting cars out there.

 

I think if you put out there what it is you're looking for (i.e. 2 door or 4 door, 1946 -1954, up to $XXXX etc., running, clean title etc.), then maybe some of us could do what Deathbound suggested and help you out some.

 

If something popped up on Craigslist or eBay not far away from me, it wouldn't cost me anything to go and scout it out for you, take digital photos, to send you etc.

 

And if money isn't a barrier, then there's this dealership also in Pomona near the swap meet: http://www.amclassiccars.com/

 

Good luck in finding your next fun ride.

 

Tony

[Thomba48]

Hi to all of you again and again - Thanks :-) for the Inspiration, help and tipps. And I will most definitely (gosh this shouldn't Sound like a threat) come back to you for additional Insights and help. What I have to do first is to sell off my Plymouth Business Coupe first here in Germany. With that generated money I am than seeking out a nice car that shall be slightly more family oriented :-) in regard to the seating spaces available at least. Thom