- Words by Tess Van Straaten Photography by Lia Crowe

Internationally renowned car guru Tim Quocksister will never forget the first car he ever sold. It was a 1997 Porsche Boxster and it was 20 years ago91裸聊视频攋ust two weeks after launching .

91裸聊视频淲e91裸聊视频檝e maintained relationships for years with customers, and a lot of customers who bought a car off of us 20 years ago still are doing it today,91裸聊视频� the 42-year-old says, 91裸聊视频淚 can think of multiple people who have bought 10 or 15 cars off of us over the years and I certainly appreciate their loyalty.91裸聊视频�

The Victoria-based company saw its highest-priced car sale this spring91裸聊视频攁 whopping $7.9 million USD for a rare 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Alloy Gullwing.

91裸聊视频淭here were only 29 of them made and that was the third one that we have sold,91裸聊视频� explains Tim, who91裸聊视频檚 also sold 48 of the coupe and roadster variants of the 300SL.

91裸聊视频淩ight now, we have four in stock and we91裸聊视频檝e probably transacted the most of anyone else in the world that isn91裸聊视频檛 a restoration shop. We love the cars91裸聊视频攖hey91裸聊视频檙e probably one of the most recognized cars in the world with the doors that go up. They91裸聊视频檙e iconic and they were just so ahead of their time in terms of technology and performance.91裸聊视频�

Several of those sales have been in the last year, during the COVID-19 pandemic. And given that the non-alloy versions fetch more than $1 million USD, it91裸聊视频檚 a pretty strong indication of the health of the collector car market.

91裸聊视频淏usiness is exceptional and we91裸聊视频檝e sold about 120 cars on Bring a Trailer [a digital auction platform], which is now one of the biggest auction sites in the world. Over the last year they91裸聊视频檝e set all-time records for car prices and we91裸聊视频檝e sold three of the highest-priced cars that they91裸聊视频檝e ever sold.91裸聊视频�

It91裸聊视频檚 not at all what Tim and his team expected when the COVID-19 pandemic first hit in March of 2020, shuttering businesses and rocking economies across North America and the world.

91裸聊视频淲e obviously got a big scare and thought there91裸聊视频檚 a good chance business is going to be non-existent. We made an effort to get rid of as much inventory as we could as fast as we could,91裸聊视频� he says. 91裸聊视频淎s it turned out, March wasn91裸聊视频檛 as slow as we thought it would be, April was busier, May, June, July and August were good and it91裸聊视频檚 been up, up, up every single month. What we did learn from it is that the vast majority of people have more time on their hands than they91裸聊视频檝e ever had to sit and look at the internet and buy things they91裸聊视频檝e always wanted.91裸聊视频�

It91裸聊视频檚 a far different outcome then the last time the world changed overnight. Silver Arrow was incorporated in May of 200191裸聊视频攍ess than four months before the September 11 terrorist attacks in the US.

91裸聊视频淢y biggest learning lesson was it doesn91裸聊视频檛 matter how much you know, your world can change very quickly,91裸聊视频� Tim explains. 91裸聊视频淎t that time, I was buying cars in Canada and selling them in the United States and every US dollar was worth around $1.55 to $1.60 Canadian. And then the borders closed. I learned very quickly you can91裸聊视频檛 count on the cross-border exchange being there. We had a good wake-up call right away.91裸聊视频�

Silver Arrow rode out those challenging times and business has been booming ever since. In addition to David Street location in Victoria, the company has a warehouse in Blaine, Washington that it ships vehicles from, and a facility in Scottsdale, Arizona [home of the famous Barrett-Jackson collector car auctions] that91裸聊视频檚 used as its US-operations base.

91裸聊视频淚 would say about 70 per cent of our business is outside of Victoria and of that, 70 to 80 per cent is out of Canada,91裸聊视频� Tim says. 91裸聊视频淚 think for business this next year, we91裸聊视频檙e going to make a deeper impact in the US market and build our local consignment business up more and more.91裸聊视频�

Silver Arrow ships cars all over the world and Tim has helped buyers build $100 million-plus collections. Right now, he says the market is trending towards a much more modern era of collector vehicles.

91裸聊视频淭here are a lot of the cars from the 91裸聊视频�80s and 91裸聊视频�90s that have had huge leaps in value the last few years, and a lot of your old-timers that were collectors of the 91裸聊视频�30s, 91裸聊视频�40s and 91裸聊视频�50s cars are becoming a little obsolete,91裸聊视频� he says. 91裸聊视频淲e91裸聊视频檙e finding that the 40-year-old collector isn91裸聊视频檛 looking for that. They91裸聊视频檙e looking for a car from the 91裸聊视频�70s, 91裸聊视频�80s or 91裸聊视频�90s91裸聊视频攃ars like Acura NSXs that came up in 1991, the Ferrari Testarossa or Lamborghini Countach. Those were very special in their time and are gaining a great deal of interest from younger collectors.91裸聊视频�

As the company celebrates its 20th anniversary, Tim says the key to success is adjusting to forks in the road while keeping to your core principles.

91裸聊视频淵ou certainly have challenges along the way, but you need to stick to your fundamentals,91裸聊视频� he advises. 91裸聊视频淪ay what you mean, mean what you say, and do what you say you91裸聊视频檙e going to do.91裸聊视频�

Story courtesy of , a Black Press Media publication
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