Buy What You Like, Pay What You Should
Keith Martin
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Keith’s Blog: 3,000 Miles in the Mercedes
Last Sunday was brisk and sun-lit. We decided to exercise our 1972 Mercedes 250C. I keep a log for all my cars. I discovered it had been six weeks since we last drove it. It took six to eight pumps on the throttle before it would fire up. The Webers still need the cold-idle speed…
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Fantasy Meets Reality
As I wrote about in the October 2023 issue, my son Bradley got his driver’s license last summer. As a “safe and sane” first car, we decided on a 1982 Chevrolet Corvette Collector’s Edition. It was probably more my fantasy than his, but the right car at the right price suddenly appeared. I am genetically…
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Keith’s Blog: More Christmas Wishes
Last week we talked about the care and feeding of SCM’s 2006 Lotus Elise, 1971 Mercedes 250C and 2000 Land Rover Discovery II and what they each needed to be considered “in service.” Our 1971 Jaguar E-type V12 coupe has turned out to be our “go-to” car for long distance tours. It’s covered over 6,000…
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Keith’s Blog: Holiday Car Wishes
Now that December is upon us, it’s a good time for us (and you) to survey your collection and take care of little things that have been nagging you. Here’s what we will be emailing to Santa. With the 2006 Lotus Elise, the list is short. Last summer when we took the car in for…
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Keith’s Blog: The Porsche 911S is Alive!
After a couple of months of indecision, Al Blanchard at A&P Specialties here in Portland has decided on a path forward for our 1975 Porsche 911S Sportomatic. We’ve known from the start that its 2.7-liter engine had some broken studs. However, the compression was excellent and we were advised to just drive it as is.…
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Keith’s Blog: Is There a Turkey in Your Garage?
I’ve sold two cars in the past few weeks. Should you be thinking about thinning your nest this holiday season? I didn’t dislike either car, but it was time for them to go. I had learned everything the 2004 Mercedes SL55 AMG had to teach me, so there was no adventure left. The last time…
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Keith’s Blog: Be Patient, Save $20k
We took our 1971 Mercedes 250C out for a drive yesterday. It was overcast with a little rain, but not terrible. Our destination was Backwoods Brewing Company, an independent brew pub in Carson, WA. It’s about 50 miles away in the Columbia Gorge, not far from the site of the 2022 SCM 1000, Skamania Lodge.…
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Gone in 60 Minutes
After five years and just 2,000 kilometers, our 1971 Alfa Romeo Junior Zagato is gone. In a happy moment for all, it went back to SCMer and longtime Alfa enthusiast Gordy Hyde. I bought it from him five years ago for $60,000. I spent these years and over $20,000 attempting to get a vacuum-operated hand…
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Keith’s Blog: The German Mercedes is Staying in Germany
My son Bradley and I are looking for a classic four-door manual as a run-around car for him. I mentioned this to SCMer Brad Miller, and from his vacation home in Paris he started sending me links of possible choices. One that caught our immediate attention was a 1990 Mercedes 300E-24 with a dogleg 5-speed…
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Keith’s Blog: Ro Ro or Container from Germany?
I’ve found a car in Germany that interests me — a 1990s Mercedes. It is a nice driver, but not a concours example. It’s been decades since I bought a car from Europe, and I would like your advice. Millions of cars come to the U.S. each year ro-ro (roll-on, roll-off); is there any reason…