Collier Motors?
Printed From: TheAMCForum.com
Category: American Motors Corp., its history and more.
Forum Name: Dealership Project
Forum Description: Facts and information about long lost Rambler/AMC dealerships *FACTS only* please! Mods - Ohio AMX & farna
URL: https://theamcforum.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=71874
Printed Date: Apr/18/2024 at 6:07pm
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Topic: Collier Motors?
Posted By: The Breeze
Subject: Collier Motors?
Date Posted: Jul/18/2015 at 9:45pm
| So does anyone know what the deal is with Collier Motors? I live about two and a half hours away from the historic dealership. I have heard stories that it is in shambles. I saw the American Pickers episode shot there and I was flabbergasted that it looks like a scene from AMC's The Walking Dead. Does anyone know the owners? If plausible, I would like to volunteer to help them clean up the dealership. |
Replies:
Posted By: Mr. Ed
Date Posted: Jul/20/2015 at 8:08am
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Although I applaud your zeal, it might be an effort in futility. If you recall on the American Pickers episode, the old man was sitting at hi desk sorting used car stickers like he was still in business, totally oblivious to his surroundings. And the son didn't give me a warm fuzzy feeling either. Considering they have a pretty complete '70s dealership going, one would think they would want to make an effort to save what is left. But sadly I doubt that will ever happen. It will continue to rot and deteriorate until there is little left to save. Once the old man and his son are gone, the heirs will scrap whatever is left. Wouldn't it be nice if we had a law similar to emanate domain to take all of the property while there is still something to save? Later! Mr. Ed ------------- 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo "Gwendolyn." 1978 Concord Sport coupe "Mr. Black". 1982 Concord wagon. The Admiral. FOR SALE! 1976 Sportabout X, 304, auto, air. The Bronze Goddess |
Posted By: target
Date Posted: Jul/20/2015 at 9:12am
| That comment hurts. I don't think I would be for a law that basically said if you won't sell your stuff we will take it. It is his property to do with as he wishes. As to him selling I have bought from him. His parts and cars are priced what we all think are too high for the market. But he does occasionally have a buyer. |
Posted By: The Breeze
Date Posted: Jul/20/2015 at 10:58am
| Yeah, it is depressing. I truly hope that Collier's son frequents this website and finds this post though. I considered contacting them personally to let them know my intentions, but I do not want to go guns blazing and weird them out. If at all possible, I would totally fix the landscape and help move some of the cars inside the building for protection. |
Posted By: Ohio AMX
Date Posted: Jul/20/2015 at 11:23am
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If I'm not mistaken others have volunteered to clear trees and brush but were not allowed to do this. Meanwhile all of those once valuable cars rust and rot.
------------- 1940 Hupmobile Skylark 1968 Javelin future Pro Street 1969 AMX 290/auto (first car) 1997 Dodge SS/T 5.9L AMO# 983 |
Posted By: Slate
Date Posted: Jul/20/2015 at 12:00pm
No, despite our own feelings of frustration with what others do with THEIR stuff, it is theirs just like ours is OURS. All this being theory, of course. The reality is different. It would not be nice to have yet another law that further reduces someone else's freedom for our own present interest. That same law eventually, like all laws, comes around and bites YOU and your "FREEDOM" too. Steve
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Mr. Ed wrote:Posted By: mramc
Date Posted: Jul/20/2015 at 6:32pm
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OK I'm going to give you my IMHO comments. I think Colliers were looking for a big pay day. Sadly I think they have missed the day by about 10 years. If they sold out at auction about 10 years ago a lot of those cars could have still been in good enough shape to restore. Now I think your highest bidder will be the junk yard guy. First off they wanted restored car money for cars that needed restoring. I think at best most of the cars might make now, are parts cars , most likely at about scrap rate plus at best. I did see the American Pickers episode with the Nash Healeys and here were I see a big disconnect on Colliers part. The AMCs they wanted big money for, in reality the Nash Healeys went cheap compared to what restored Nash Healeys are going for in the 125 K range. There one at the old Imperial Place here in Las Vegas nee the LINQ car museum for sale for an over priced 250K ! The two Nash Healeys Pat and Mike bought cheap enough that flipping them for a profit was not going to be too hard . Sadly I think the junker will eventually get that majority of the whole lot from Colliers. LRDaum ------------- LRDaum |
Posted By: The Breeze
Date Posted: Jul/21/2015 at 12:36pm
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Slate does have an excellent point, because people's property is their own. But is there not a point to where neighbors or others can complain that a place becomes an eyesore and needs to be fixed? For example, a homeowner does not mow their lawn for months and it becomes a savanna. People may complain and the local government would request that the homeowner cut their lawn or else. I do value freedom, but there does come a point to where something needs to be done. I admit that I do not like it when people tell me to do certain things, but leaving precious automobile treasures out in the weather is borderline abuse IMHO. I am surprised that the Colliers turned down volunteers. I would never expect anything in return for my service. I would do it just to see another victory for AMC. A little effort can go a long ways. Sure the cars are losing value daily, but at least if something was done now, there would be plenty of AMC parts and a financial gain to benefit Collier Motors. |
Posted By: Slate
Date Posted: Jul/21/2015 at 1:28pm
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It's called a free market. The cars have been for sale and a few sold. The rest, it seems, did not find interested buyers. Approaching the "problem" from eyesore stautes, etc., unless it's specifically addressing the eyesore issue only, is still trying to manipulate things to get , what exactly, done with the Collier's property. What are the unforeseen repercussions of forcing their hand? Pushing the cars into the junkman's lot to only, for sure, be destined as parts carts? And maybe that's what they are, but all these efforts involving "laws" amount to reducing their freedom now, and ours later. You then, in effect, legitimize things like eminent domain, except in this case not even the Collier's benefit and they might not get wholesale value. The cars go for whatever they can get rid of them for. Maybe the cars aren't worth a damm now. Either buy what they have that is worth something to you or leave it alone.
Bottom line, it's theirs.
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Posted By: sweatlock
Date Posted: Jul/21/2015 at 3:07pm
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It's not much different than people who hoard items over decades, keeping it all to themselves in case they might someday need it, and then one day they pass away and the immediate family scraps it all. Or the person who collects parts, but then their personal fortunes change - they then have so much stuff accumulated, and they need to sell it off in such a short amount of time, that the bulk of it ends up in the scrap heap. Even more irrational is when these individuals want large sums of money for these items, and then end up taking pennies on the dollar for scrap when they don't sell. Incredibly frustrating for those of us who may now need those parts, but they bought it, it's their stuff. |
Posted By: Ohio AMX
Date Posted: Jul/21/2015 at 5:00pm
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My thought process is that we don't take this stuff with us when we die, so it is our duty to preserve this small part of history to the best of our ability while we are alive. We are only the temporary caretakers of these AMC cars.
------------- 1940 Hupmobile Skylark 1968 Javelin future Pro Street 1969 AMX 290/auto (first car) 1997 Dodge SS/T 5.9L AMO# 983 |
Posted By: The Breeze
Date Posted: Jul/21/2015 at 8:23pm
| I definitely agree that it is their property. I do not want to tell the Collier family to do anything, it just makes me sad. They are free to do what they want, but if they find this thread or this forum, I hope that they call on AMC enthusiast for help. |
Posted By: bikerfox
Date Posted: Jul/22/2015 at 1:48am
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For obvious reasons, the Collier situation is a sad one. ------------- 1969 Rebel SST (1970-1987) 1968 AMX (2005-2011) 1969 SC/Rambler (2011-2019) 1970 Javelin (2019 to ?)"Jane" |
Posted By: nda racer
Date Posted: Jul/22/2015 at 7:38am
| There should be a few gleaming examples saved. But to save 50,000 examples for generations that won't care? |
Posted By: Ohio AMX
Date Posted: Jul/22/2015 at 7:42am
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It's well documented that Colliers have allowed some rare and significant AMC's to degrade into junk. Cars that should have been preserved as gleaming examples. ------------- 1940 Hupmobile Skylark 1968 Javelin future Pro Street 1969 AMX 290/auto (first car) 1997 Dodge SS/T 5.9L AMO# 983 |
Posted By: raysinvegas
Date Posted: Jul/22/2015 at 8:00am
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I got the impression from the TV show, that the son is ready to start moving stuff, but that he was keeping things as is until his father either went into a nursing home or passed? ------------- Andy Ray 64 440H 64 440 Convertible 68 Javelin SST 343 69 Javelin SST 343 69 SC/Rambler 
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Posted By: pacerman
Date Posted: Jul/22/2015 at 12:44pm
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Has anyone who has bought a car from Colliers ever publicized how much they paid for it? ------------- Happiness is making something out of nothing. |
Posted By: The Breeze
Date Posted: Jul/22/2015 at 10:08pm
| I talked to a guy, who offered to buy one of their AMXs, but the asking price was astronomical. |
Posted By: trewyn15
Date Posted: Jul/23/2015 at 8:52am
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Makes me mad looking at the pictures.. such a shame that someone so into cars would neglect them so deeply. ------------- 2020 Ram 1500 Big Horn Night Edition 2000 Trans Am WS6 1989 Trans Am GTA 1989 Grand Prix ASC/McLaren 1983 AMC Concord DL 1966 AMC Rambler Rebel Classic |
Posted By: punkpa
Date Posted: Dec/20/2015 at 6:43pm
| Maybe that will be the next huge dealership auction after Lambrecht Chevrolet. |
Posted By: Mr. Ed
Date Posted: Dec/21/2015 at 8:59am
Maybe if you were a visiting celebrity from a TV show, they would give you a decent price. Merry Christmas! Mr. Ed ------------- 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo "Gwendolyn." 1978 Concord Sport coupe "Mr. Black". 1982 Concord wagon. The Admiral. FOR SALE! 1976 Sportabout X, 304, auto, air. The Bronze Goddess |
Posted By: autotraveler
Date Posted: Dec/08/2016 at 4:37pm
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I visited Collier Motors back in 2009 and while I found all three generations of Colliers to be very gracious hosts, but as an AMC enthusiast and historian, I found the overall situation depressing. That being said, when it came time to put together the premiere test/pilot issue of Legendary American Motors Magazine (LAMM) last month, for that issue's history story, rather than doing a new layout of my Randall AMC story that appeared a decade ago in Musclecar Enthusiast, I found all my Collier Motors files and did a new, from-scratch, six-page layout. What I found interesting was that the images all had a strange, otherworldly glow about them. It was a very overcast day and I can't remember having employed post-shot processing so the effect remains unexplained. You can take a look at this video slideshow to see the whole issue. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLieCfmu02Y If after watching the video you want to buy a copy of LAMM, please visit the title's Amazon page where both print and Kindle eBook versions are available for $10.99 and $3.99 respectively. http://bit.ly/OrderLAMMonAmazon If you live in Canada, you can order LAMM from Amazon's Canadian website. http://bit.ly/LAMMonAmazonCA Happy Holidays, Richard Truesdell Founder and Editor, Legendary American Motors Magazine
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Posted By: ADAM12MATADOR
Date Posted: Dec/09/2016 at 9:46am
| Went there a couple of years ago on a road trip to Florida. Located in a visually depressed area. One traffic light and a train track thru the middle of town. No real industry or any box stores. The town is like the dealership where time stands still. The owner is a quiet guy with pics of Patton and Roosevelt on the office walls. I spent about an hour and a half waking around the dealership grounds. The Goldwater AMX was inside the shop building. All the buildings are in disrepair or collapsed. The showroom roof fell in and the paint room / body shop is basically 3 walls. The service dept building is large with quite a few cars but the roof leaks everywhere and there are stacks of scrap and used parts all over the place. Saw the Healy's and they were rough. Yes all the cars are for sale for the right price. The owner told me he recently sold a Machine and a couple of Javelins. Yes it is sad that the cars are there deteriorating but they are his to do with what he wants. Maybe walking around looking at his cars or sitting in his office reminds him of past good times. It might just give him a purpose in his life and thats what keeps him going. This is only my 2 cents. |
Posted By: autotraveler
Date Posted: Dec/09/2016 at 10:40am
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Hi Adam12Matador. I hope you'll buy a copy of LAMM and check out the story I wrote. Sounds like your experience was similar to mine in 2009. Happy Holidays, Richard Truesdell |
Posted By: ADAM12MATADOR
Date Posted: Dec/09/2016 at 12:15pm
| Hi Richard. Did that road trip in 2012, so i guess everything got more deteriorated since you were there. I personally would love to see the dealership restored and turned into a museum. But like i stated, memories of days past keep that old gentleman alive. Will have to add your book to my Christmas list. Happy Holidays to you and yours. |
Posted By: 74gremx258
Date Posted: Nov/28/2018 at 8:09am
| Mr. Robert Collier sr. passed away on February 11, 2018, at the age of 88. He was survived by a daughter and 3 sons. |
Posted By: racerM95
Date Posted: Dec/16/2018 at 6:24pm
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Didn't Rutlidge Wood (sp) from Top Gear, buy some parts from Collier's on his own show a few years back ? |
Posted By: tuffypuff
Date Posted: Nov/10/2019 at 11:02am
| My dream would be to hit the lottery and purchase collier motors and restore the place back to her glory and restore AMC cars. |
Posted By: racerM95
Date Posted: Dec/03/2019 at 10:58am
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tuffy: if you do it please let me know, I used to work for an AMC Dealer in the parts Dept... If i dig far enpough I probably still have the factory microfiche ;) |
Posted By: POS #1
Date Posted: Dec/03/2019 at 12:40pm
i also worked in a Parts Dept. Dick Clifton motors.. west broad street Columbus Ohio.. I do have microfiche and a viewer and a few other odds and ends from way back when... what i hated the most was checking part #;s in the book, only to see the # changed 10 times, before you got to the DISC. #... !-(
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Posted By: racerM95
Date Posted: Apr/15/2020 at 11:39am
| @pos1 lol that still happens.... even worse with the German stuff :) |
Posted By: mdh157
Date Posted: May/02/2020 at 7:11pm
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I also visited the dealership with another member back in 2010. Very interesting place to walk around. It was Mr. Collier's 80th birthday so we had to cut it short as they were having a party for him back at the house. I do not understand it either but as some have said here, the cars are his property to do whatever he pleases with. He had 3 68 ambos out front and insisted one of them was a 390 but would not let me open the hood to check. There were some made with 390 but they are almost unicorns now. I still wonder if he was right or if the car is a 290. Think I still have some pics somewhere. At this point most, if not all of the cars outside are parts cars. I am surprised someone did not try to sell some stuff off after senior died but who knows what is going on behind the scenes. ------------- '67 Ambassador DPL/3 spd/OD |