Vanguard Motor Sales

Vanguard Motor Sales is a classic and muscle car dealership at 15100 Keel St. in Plymouth, Michigan, a western suburb of Detroit. The company says it was founded in 2004 and describes itself as the nation's premier classic and muscle car dealership. It sells American collector cars to buyers across the country and overseas, and says its sold inventory includes more than 4,500 vehicles.

How the business works

Vanguard is a dealer-stock operation. Its About page states that it owns its entire inventory and takes no consignments, so a car on its website is a car it bought and prepared. The company says it travels nationwide to find vehicles and pays attention to paint quality, undercarriage condition and overall state. That is a different arrangement from a consignment seller, where the owner stays in the picture. If you are weighing the two models, our guide to buying a classic car from a dealer covers the questions worth asking either way.

What it sells

The company lists classic cars, muscle cars, classic trucks, street rods and restomods, with a strong lean toward Ford, Chevrolet and other American brands. It also mentions some low-mileage late-model cars. Vanguard says it does not restore cars. Instead, it describes servicing each vehicle it takes in, with a full inspection and test drive followed by a work order carried out by an in-house team it puts at 15 mechanics. Treat that as the company's description of its process, and ask to see the work order for any specific car.

Buying from Vanguard

Vanguard says about 98 percent of its vehicles are sold sight unseen, so its process is built around remote buyers. According to its site:

• A car is sold to the first customer who places a deposit.
• It offers multiple financing and payment options.
• Shipping is worldwide, and the company describes it as enclosed and insured.
• It does not charge dealer fees, and it offers buybacks and trades on later purchases.

It also runs an auto locator service for buyers who want it to look for a particular car. Because deposits move quickly, do your homework before you call: confirm the VIN, ask about known flaws, request more photos or video of the areas you care about, and consider a third-party inspection even though the dealer says it inspects every car.

Selling to Vanguard

The website has a Sell Your Car page, and the company says it offers buybacks and trades to its own customers. Terms are quoted case by case, so there is no published formula. As with any dealer purchase, a buyout or trade-in offer will sit below a retail asking price because the dealer has to prepare and resell the car.

Reputation

The Better Business Bureau lists the business as Vanguard Auto Sales LLC, accredited since August 2010 with an A+ rating, as shown in search listings at the time of research. Birdeye, a review aggregator, showed an average of 4.7 stars from roughly 1,850 reviews, drawn mainly from Facebook and Google. A large sample like that is useful context but not a guarantee about any individual car, so the usual advice applies: get everything about condition in writing. The company also publishes video testimonials on its own site, which is the dealer's selection.

Visiting and contact

The company says it keeps an indoor showroom of about 80,000 square feet and shows cars by appointment. Its address is 15100 Keel St., Plymouth, Michigan 48170, and its phone is 248-974-9513. The site lists a contact named Tom and the public email [email protected]. Call ahead before driving out for a specific car, since vehicles can sell quickly. To see what else is on the market nearby, browse Michigan classic cars for sale.