Fantasy Junction

Fantasy Junction is a collector car broker based at 1145 Park Avenue in Emeryville, California, just across the bay from San Francisco. According to the company's own history, the Fantasy Junction name dates to early 1976, when a BMW dealer owner in Marin County started the business. Bruce Trenery bought the trade name that September and has owned the company since. Fantasy Junction describes itself as a broker of special interest and collector cars, and its inventory runs from vintage race cars to high performance classics.

History and ownership

The company's about page says the original venture lost money and that Trenery bought the name for $500 in September 1976 and moved the business to Berkeley. It grew there through the 1980s, working out of a building of about 2,250 square feet on Dwight Way and selling a wide range of special interest cars. By 1989 it had outgrown that space, and Trenery bought the Emeryville buildings the business still occupies. The main building dates to the early 1920s and once housed the offices of the American Rubber Manufacturing Company, and the company says the new facility opened in time for Monterey Car Week in August 1989.

It remains a family business. Published profiles of Trenery say his son Spencer took over day to day operations in 2018, and the company's site lists Spencer Trenery among its staff alongside several other team members, some of whom the company says have motorsports backgrounds. A profile of Trenery also says he has sold more than 9,000 collector vehicles since taking over; treat that figure as the owner's own count rather than an audited number.

How the business works

Fantasy Junction brokers cars rather than simply stocking a fixed lot. Its site has a "sell your car" submission form and says the company handles the sale of cars for owners, including photography, video and promotion of each listing. It also offers what it calls light mechanical corrections and help with delivery. The company says it will help clients locate and place cars around the world, and it also buys and sells collector cars as part of its normal trade.

For sellers, this means the first step is a vehicle submission and a conversation about valuation. Anyone thinking about this route should read up on how classic car consignment works before signing anything, since fees, minimum prices, insurance and who pays for preparation all vary from one broker to the next. Fantasy Junction does not publish its commission or terms on its public site, so those are questions to ask directly.

What it sells

The company says it specializes in Ferraris and postwar European sports cars, and its sold archive reflects a broad collector mix: British sports cars such as Jaguar and MG, Italian cars from Ferrari and Maserati, American cars including the Corvette and Dodge Viper, German performance cars from Porsche, and Japanese classics from Toyota. The archive lists notable cars such as a 1964 Ferrari 275/330 GTC Prototipo, which the dealer describes as a prototype retained by the factory for long term testing, and a 1965 Ferrari 275 GTB Shortnose that it describes as a Platinum award winner with matching numbers.

The cars are generally at the high end of the collector market. Prices are not always published on the site, so expect to ask. For a wider look at what else is out there, see these classic cars for sale in California.

Buying from Fantasy Junction

Current inventory is posted on the company's website, with a newsletter for arrivals and incoming cars. Because this is a broker working at the upper end of the market, buyers should plan on the usual diligence: ask for the history file, confirm title and VIN, and arrange an independent inspection by a marque specialist before sending funds. The company's public pages do not detail financing, shipping or inspection policies, so treat those as items to confirm in writing with the dealership.

Reputation

Fantasy Junction says it has operated for more than 40 years with a reputation for straightforward honesty. That is the company's own claim. Independent signals that can be seen directly include a 4.6 star average across 49 reviews on a Birdeye aggregate page, nearly all of them from Google, and a Yelp listing that showed 19 reviews at the time of research. The dealer is also listed in the Classic Driver dealer directory. As with any dealer, judge a specific car on its documentation and inspection results rather than on general reputation.

Visiting Fantasy Junction

The address is 1145 Park Avenue, Emeryville, CA 94608, and the phone number is (510) 653-7555. The company's contact page lists hours of 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM Monday through Saturday, and closed Sunday. Its site asks visitors to allow up to 48 hours for email replies. Calling ahead is sensible if you want to see a particular car.