Ray Skillman Classic Cars

Ray Skillman Classic Cars is the classic car sales operation attached to the private collection of Ray Skillman, a long-time Indianapolis-area car dealer. It is based at 1280 US Highway 31 South in Greenwood, Indiana, just south of Indianapolis. The collection itself is not open to the public, and the business says vehicle sales are by appointment only. It is a separate, classic-only operation from the wider Ray Skillman automotive dealerships, which sell new and used cars under that family name.

Who is behind it

The company's website says Ray Skillman's enthusiasm for cars began when he restored his first car at the age of 14, and that some of the cars in the collection he restored himself. Press and collector-site biographies say he entered the car business in 1960 in his hometown of Owensboro, Kentucky, and moved to Indianapolis in 1979 as a partner in an Oldsmobile dealership. Those details come from third-party profiles rather than from the classic car site, so treat them as background. The dealership lists John Blackburn as its sales contact. A collector-site profile says he joined in 2017 to run the classic car operation and has worked in the specialty car business for about 40 years.

How the business works

Ray Skillman Classic Cars sells cars it owns. The site has no consignment program. It does have a "Sell Your Car" page saying that Ray is always looking to add vehicles to his collection, whether a single car or a whole collection, and inviting owners to get in touch. The site also has a Car Finder form: you describe the car you want, and the staff say they will tell you when a match arrives. Because sales are by appointment, plan ahead and call before driving out.

What it sells

The inventory runs mostly from the 1950s through the 1970s, with American muscle, Corvettes, hot rods and trucks well represented. The first page of the online inventory when we looked included a 1964 Ford Fairlane Thunderbolt at $195,000, a 1967 Corvette convertible at $149,500, a 1939 Chevrolet custom hot rod coupe at $79,500, a 1971 Chevrolet C10 at $75,000 and a 1969 Pontiac GTO at $65,000. Further down were a 1973 Datsun 240Z, a 1994 Ford F-150 Lightning, a 1951 Ford coupe at $24,500 and a 1979 Buick Riviera at $14,900. A few later-model cars appear too, such as a 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat. Prices and stock change often, so these are examples only. Besides cars for sale, the site has sections for the collection's race cars, a carousel, signage and memorabilia.

Buying from Ray Skillman Classic Cars

Start with a call or an email to John Blackburn to ask about a car and set an appointment. For the usual checks on a dealer purchase, see our notes on what to check before you buy. The dealership's finance page recommends three collector car lenders by name: J.J. Best Banc and Co, Collector Car Lending and Woodside Credit. Buyers apply with a lender, and once pre-approved they contact the dealership to work out a deal. The company does not publish shipping, inspection or trade-in terms on its site, so ask about each before you commit.

Reputation

The Better Business Bureau lists the operation under the name Ray Skillman's Classic Car Museum. It is not BBB accredited, carries an A+ rating, and showed no complaints closed in the last three years, with no customer reviews on the BBB page. A review aggregator that tracks Google reviews showed an average of 4.7 stars from 101 reviews, though the date of that snapshot is not clear. One reviewer in 2022 advised calling ahead because the collection was not open to the public at that time, which matches what the dealership's site says today. Third-party articles describing the collection as a free museum are older and conflict with the current website, so rely on the dealership's own wording.

Visiting and contact

The address is 1280 US Highway 31 South, Greenwood, Indiana 46143, and the phone number is (317) 496-5082. No walk-in hours are published, because sales are by appointment. If you are comparing options around the state, see Indiana classic cars for sale for current listings from other sellers.