Kimberly V. Althage – April 7, 2021
JJ’s describes himself as a car guy, yet he is at the point where he would rather not take on a full project. His search began a couple of years ago and was slow and steady for a time. That is until New Year’s Eve when he got rear-ended in his primary vehicle right in front of his house. He was in limbo and unsure if insurance would total his Jeep or not for a couple of months. His search had become more urgent as he debated what he wanted. All he knew is he wanted something old, not new.
JJ wanted a solid truck to use as a daily driver and be his work truck. He saw the 1971 Chevrolet C10 Pickup at the St. Louis Gateway Classic Car showroom and called to speak to us to find out more after bidding on the truck online. This C10 had undergone a good list of restoration work to bring it back to life. Many parts and hours were poured into this truck to make it better than before.
“I wanted a truck I’m not afraid to drive,” he explained. “I wanted something that I could budget, and old vehicles are more likely to appreciate in value than newer ones.”
Some people just could not understand why he was going to spend the money on an old truck only to use it to work. Until he asked them “how much are you going to pay for a new vehicle and what will it be worth in five years?” Then they would do the math and explaining in that way, they realize it makes a lot more practical sense. The reality is he could spend the same amount of money on a newer used truck that is ten years old or less, “in five years from now chances are it’s going to be worth half of what I paid for it.” Rather, “buying a classic, it will appreciate, or at the very least you’re not going to lose money on it. It will at least maintain the value I paid,” he explained.
JJ spoke to Ben Heese, Lead Sales in our St. Louis showroom telling him he wanted it. “They held it for me because I’m in Ohio,” JJ recalled. “I flew out there, I liked it, I drove it back the same day and went straight to work with it the next.” He continued, “I’m in construction, so I use it. I put it to work immediately.” In fact, this photo is the very next day after being loaded with materials. “The guys who loaded me up are like ‘oh, I got to be careful when I load you up,’” which JJ thought was nice.
JJ also enjoyed his visit to the showroom. “It was like my own private car show,” he recalled. “Ben was very knowledgeable. I’d see a car in the distance, and he knew exactly which one I was talking about. It was a nice to talk to another car guy about all the cars. When you go to a car show, you can talk to this guy about that car, or that guy about another car, but you guys just have such a variety of imports and domestic cars and old and new, and obscure ones, it’s just a wonderful pallet of automobiles.”
Older vehicles “are also a lot more fun to drive,” says JJ. “You definitely get a lot of looks.” It has that “cool factor” despite being a work truck.
What we love about JJ’s story is a lot of the cars we sell are show cars and people hardly drive them. This truck had a ton of rust cut out and new metal put it just before coming to us, so for him to not be afraid and just start using it in salt, snow, and for work is AWESOME! The consignor is a frequent customer with Gateway Classic Cars. He understands the utility advantages of this workhorse of a classic truck and was thrilled to see it find a new home with an owner who would truly appreciate all that it has to offer.
If you would like to explore our full collection of available C10 trucks, click here.
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