Lane Classic Cars, LLC

Lane Classic Cars, LLC is a small collector car business in Edwardsburg, Michigan, close to the Indiana border. It is run by owner Douglas R. Pittman, whose name is on the website footer and contact page. Archived copies of the company's website go back to 2010, when it presented itself as Lane MotorCar Company and Lane ClassicCars, LLC, so it has been operating from the same Lane Road area in Edwardsburg for well over a decade. It does not publish a founding year.

How the business works

Lane Classic Cars is a dealer with a short, high-value inventory, and it also acts as an adviser and agent for other buyers and sellers. In his welcome note, Pittman says he describes each car accurately, with the confidence that it has been "meticulously inspected and studied for its authenticity, merit, and originality," and that he serves discreet clients from across the United States and abroad. The site does not mention a consignment program, financing or trade-ins, so the business is best understood as a boutique dealer plus a service provider rather than a volume lot.

What it sells

When this profile was prepared, the site listed four cars for sale, all at or above $99,000: a 1967 Chevrolet Corvette convertible listed as a survivor at $149,900, a 1966 Corvette convertible at $149,900, a 1970 Ford Mustang Mach 1 fastback at $110,000 and another 1967 Corvette convertible at $99,000. A 1989 Mercedes-Benz 560 SL was shown as sold. If Corvettes are what you are after, you can also compare classic Corvettes for sale elsewhere on this site.

The sold page shows that the mix is broader than the current stock. Past cars include an Oldsmobile 442 W-30, a supercharged Studebaker Avanti, a Hurst SC Rambler, a Porsche 911 Carrera Cabriolet, Mercedes-Benz SL and CLS models, a Mustang Mach 1 and Volkswagen Beetles. The business therefore leans toward American muscle cars and 1960s Corvettes, with European cars and the occasional oddity in the mix.

Services beyond sales

The services page lists three things the company offers to clients:

• Appraisals and inspections of a car before it is bought.
• Representation in private sales, including representation at auctions, for a single car or an entire collection.
• Transportation: the company says that after a sale or consultation it can arrange transport from across the country or internationally, and it offers domestic and international shipping policies on request.

The page also says that every client is different, and that it can accommodate people who want discretion or anonymity. No fees are published, so ask for terms before you engage the company in any of these roles.

Buying from Lane Classic Cars

With cars in this price range, documentation matters more than anything else. Ask for ownership history, photos of the numbers and tags that support any originality claim, and a written description of what is original and what has been restored. The general steps are covered in our dealer buying guide. An independent inspection by someone who knows the model is worth the cost on a six-figure car, even when the seller describes it as authentic and inspected.

Reputation

Birdeye shows 4.8 stars from 17 reviews, all of them from Google. The page summary points to praise for communication, professionalism and flexible shipping arrangements, and mentions the owner by first name. The dealer is also listed as a Priority Seller on ClassicCars.com. A search of the Better Business Bureau site turned up no profile for the business, so no BBB rating or complaint history could be checked. A small review count is a limited signal, so read the reviews yourself.

Visiting and contact

The company's address is 68017 Lane Road, Edwardsburg, Michigan 49112, and its main phone is 574-876-2758. The contact page also lists a second number, 574-287-8199. The website does not publish business hours, and some online listings use a slightly different street number for the same road, so call first and confirm the address and a time before driving out to see a car.