CARuso Classic Cars (CARuso Motor Cars)

Caruso Classics, which also trades as CARuso Classic Cars, is the consignment, marketing and auction arm of Caruso Motor Cars LLC, a Tampa company that sells collector cars on behalf of private owners. Its defining feature is that the cars never come to a lot: the owner keeps the vehicle at home while Caruso writes the listing, places it on a series of online marketplaces and handles buyers, negotiation and paperwork. The company was founded by Fred Caruso, and its Florida LLC is registered in Tampa.

Who runs the company

The company's history page says Fred Caruso started it with the idea that there had to be a better way to sell classic vehicles, drawing on a career marketing commercial real estate. Its team page describes him as a lifelong enthusiast with more than 50 years in the automotive industry and a personal collection of ten classics, and names Dave Hein of Tampa as co-founder and Isaac Haugen in Northern California as partner and sales director. Regional representatives are listed in California, New York, Nebraska and Florida.

Public records give a shorter corporate history. The Better Business Bureau lists Caruso Classic Cars, LLC of Hanover, Massachusetts, with Fred Caruso as principal and a start date of November 2016. The Florida company, Caruso Motor Cars, LLC, is active, with a principal office at 400 North Ashley Drive in downtown Tampa and Dave R. Hein as registered agent. The company's older website also claims "over 40 years in the industry," which appears to refer to the founders' experience rather than to the company itself.

How the consignment model works

Caruso is a broker, not a stocking dealer. The company says owners "should never have to leave their prized vehicle at a consignment lot." The process on its site has three steps: the seller fills in a vehicle listing template; Caruso guides the owner on photos and video (it publishes photo directions prepared with Hagerty), writes the listing and loads it to its own sites; then it markets the car across several platforms in rotation, so the listing reaches different groups of buyers instead of going stale in one place.

The company's site lists two paid packages for sellers: a "Strategic Classic Car Marketing Program" at $350 per vehicle and "Professional Photography & Listing Preparation" at $475. Commission terms on a completed sale are not published, so ask for the full fee structure in writing before signing. Our guide on how classic car consignment works explains the usual fee models and what a consignment agreement should cover.

Where the cars are sold

Caruso's home page shows logos for Bring a Trailer, Cars & Bids, Hemmings, Dan Kruse Auctions and Collector Car Lending, and its sold list credits several sales to Hemmings and Hagerty auctions. Results the company has published include a 1971 Plymouth Cuda coupe at $82,000, a 1970 Chevelle SS clone convertible at $70,000, a 1963 Impala SS convertible at $49,000, a 1970 Mercury Cougar XR7 at $40,500 and a 2000 Ford F-150 SVT Lightning at $30,000, along with cheaper drivers in the teens.

The older CARuso Classic Cars site, built on the Carsforsale platform, still showed 184 vehicles in October 2026. The examples we saw were mostly American classics and muscle cars, from a 1949 Chevrolet business coupe and a 1959 Apache pickup to a 1969 Camaro at $118,750, plus newer collectibles such as a 2005 Cadillac XLR and a 2006 Corvette. The site also has categories for motorcycles, scooters and work trucks.

Buying through Caruso

Because each car stays with its owner, a buyer is dealing with a broker and a seller who may be in another state. The company says it can connect buyers with financing, inspections, open or enclosed transport and collector car insurance, and its older site advertises a 3-month or 3,000-mile warranty through a third-party provider on qualifying vehicles. Its listings note video walkarounds and online paperwork. Ask where the car is, who holds the title, and arrange your own inspection before sending a deposit.

Reputation

The Massachusetts company is not accredited by the BBB and has not been rated, with no complaints closed in the last three years and no customer reviews on file. On the business network Alignable, Caruso Motor Cars has five recommendations from local business owners. We did not find a Google rating or a published body of customer reviews, so there is little independent feedback to go on either way.

Contact and locations

Caruso lists its headquarters at 400 North Ashley Drive, Suite 1900, Tampa, Florida 33602, with a mailing address in Hernando, Florida, and branch addresses in office buildings in Orlando, Miami and several other states. Because cars stay with their owners, these are offices rather than places to see cars. The company asks people to call for an appointment; reach it at (877) 743-0322 or [email protected]. For cars you can see in person, browse more classic cars in Florida.