The Garage is for a single car or a single job: a first serious purchase, a search for a particular example, a car you have already found, an import, a restoration that needs a firm hand, or a sale that deserves preparation. Defined work with a beginning, a middle and an end, done buyer-side throughout.
Who it is for
People buying the car they have thought about for years, and who want to buy it once, properly. Owners with one defined problem attached to one car. Buyers who could do all of this themselves, and have decided their time and their nerves are worth more.
It is also, quietly, where most longer relationships begin. There is no obligation for it to.
What it covers
The brief comes first: the car, the specification that matters, the budget, and what would rule an example out. Then the market, honestly mapped, so you know what exists and what it costs before falling for anything.
From there: the shortlist, the seller enquiries, the history and provenance checks, inspection by the right independent specialist, valuation context, negotiation, and the purchase itself with the paperwork done properly. After the keys: registration, transport, first service placement, and the car's file handed to you complete.
What it can add
An import or export, with the costs set out before commitment. A restoration or improvement project, scoped, budgeted and governed. Preparation and route advice for a sale. Storage, detailing and specialist placement for the first year of ownership.
What it does not include
Alex does not perform mechanical inspections personally; the right marque specialist or independent inspector does, and you see their findings directly. There is no guarantee that a suitable car exists at a given budget, and you will be told early if it does not. Legal, tax, insurance and finance matters are for qualified providers; Alex coordinates and introduces, nothing more.
The Buyer-Side File
Every assignment builds a file: the brief, the market evidence, the history, the enquiries, the inspection findings, the reasoning and the decision. You keep it. It is the difference between buying a car and buying a story.
A real assignment
A Golf GTI, sourced in Japan
Found at auction in Japan, verified, imported and landed under budget.
About the case filesFees for this kind of work
Acquisition work runs on a retainer that is deducted from a success fee if the car is bought. Other defined work is quoted as a fixed or scoped project fee, agreed in writing before work starts. Third-party costs, such as inspections, transport and import charges, are separate and approved by you in advance. Details on the Fees page.
Questions about The Garage
Do you guarantee to find the car?
No. The market decides what exists. What is guaranteed is an honest reading of it, quickly, so you are not paying for a long hopeful silence.
Can you work from a car I have already found?
Yes. That is Deal Review, and it is often the fastest way to see how this works.
What if the right answer is not to buy?
Then that is the advice you get. It costs a success fee to say it, which is rather the point.
Who actually inspects the car?
An independent specialist chosen for that marque and model. Alex commissions the inspection, interprets the findings and tells you what they mean.
The 760i I wanted was in Germany, which is exactly the sort of purchase that goes wrong. It didn't. Alex checked it over there, argued the price, imported and registered it, and the first time I had to think about any of it was when the keys arrived.
Client, BMW 760iOne car, bought once and bought properly
Send the car you are chasing, or the one you have found already. Alex will tell you honestly what he would do.