When a collection of cars gets either too big for a home garage or too rare and expensive for a simple storage facility, what should owners do? Ideally, they'd utilize a proper warehouse designed specifically for car storage, one that’s able to withstand, for example, a 12-point earthquake.
According to a report from Bloomberg, that's exactly what's happening with wealthy car collectors across the US not only storing their rare vehicles in such warehouses but investing in them as well.
Take Matt Farah, for example. The host of The Smoking Tire and all round upstanding dude is currently building a 13,800 square-foot garage in West Los Angeles that can hold up to 140 cars. Not all of the cars belong to him, but he does have a waiting list of 85 customers who are prepared to fork over $850-$1,500 per month for an indoor and protected parking spot. The warehouse, set to open next summer, is a $10 million project built to stringent fire and safety standards. Yes, it can withstand a serious earthquake, a known problem in California.
Farah searched for two years to locate the right property to build his warehouse and if this one proves successful he wants to expand to additional markets. “My business model depends on putting these things in places with a lot of money and no parking.”
Not everyone is rich enough like Jay Leno and Jerry Seinfeld to be able to afford a large private garage of their own, so entrepreneurs such as Farah have spotted an opportunity. Not all of the collectors, however, are purchasing expensive supercars, but also 1960s muscle cars, vintage Porsches and Mercedes, and even old VW buses. Why? First off, they like cars, plain and simple. But also because they see car collecting as an investment.
“Rather than play the stock market, I collect cars,” said one owner interviewed for the article. As such, they need to protect their investments from the elements, and other business-minded people like Farah are stepping in to help.
