Every car enthusiast at some point or another has bought themselves a car magazine. In the same way that record collectors and music lovers buy old copies of the NME and Melody Maker, car lovers seek out old car magazines such as Practical Motorist, Motor Sport and Motor Trader. There’s a certain joy in skimming through the pages of old car mags and not only seeing the models of the day in reviews and articles but also looking at the advertising from that era, it’s always interested to stumble across a classic article about a beloved, classic car.
It’s very exciting to find old car magazines in good condition for sale on online auctions sites such as eBay because magazine by their very nature are first bought, read through then ultimately throw away or passed onto friends and family. These types of magazines nearly always end up as bathroom fodder even before they end up in the rubbish so it’s very rare to find old car magazines in anything other than a tatty, worn state. Old car publications sometimes meet an unhappy end at the hands of rodents with a craving for the printed word or simply just degrade over time from poor storage. For old car magazines to survive intact they will need special treatment and care when transported during a clear out or house move.
Some collectors of old car magazines might simply stick to a single publication or a particular era so if you’re lucky enough to find someone who’s letting an entire collection go you might just have a fantastic lot of a certain motoring magazine; usually their value is based on their scarcity and condition. If you’re buying online in bulk make sure you can collect the Magazines in person as your precious magazines may be damaged in transit if the seller has inadequately packaged them.
