My Classic Car: 1959 Cadillac Series 62

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I had been looking for a 1959 Cadillac convertible for a very long time. One day I was scrolling pictures of cars for sale, as I always do, when I finally came upon a 1959 Cadillac. The car was listed in an auction on eBay and the only pictures in the listing were Polaroids. They were clearly several years old. As I scrolled through the pictures, the top of the car was the same color as the body and, because of the Polaroid quality, I believed the car was a hardtop and not a convertible. I continued to scroll through some listings, when it occurred to me, maybe I was wrong, so I went back and scrutinized the pictures as much as I could. To my surprise it actually was a convertible.

I contacted the seller and he stated that his dad had been the original owner of the car. His dad has now had Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, so the family had made the decision to sell the car. I told him my story and we shared experiences; we were both car guys. I continued to watch the auction, and as it drew to a close the reserve had not yet been met. This was my chance. I watched the auction count down and entered my bid in the final few seconds. I ended up having the high bid while simultaneously meeting the reserve. The car was now mine.

I received a phone call from the son and his mom congratulating me on the purchase, and they were glad that it was me since I had spoken to them earlier. The car was located in Florida, but I was in Indiana. I hopped in my Suburban and drove down, intending to bring it back on my trailer. When I went to the door of the house, I was greeted by an older woman who told me to go meet her in the garage. I went to the garage and waited with anticipation of seeing what was behind the garage door.

As the garage door opened light shined on the car surrounded by boxes, wheelchairs, and all kinds of things. I eagerly cleared a path to where I could bring the ’59 Cadillac out into the sunlight for the first time in many years. As we did this, the news of this car spread around the neighborhood. Soon numerous people were pulling up on golf carts excited to see the car and some offered to buy it. I told them that I had beaten them to it, and it was not for sale. Despite it being much too big to fit on my trailer, I did eventually get it back to Indiana. I had it gone through by my mechanic and redid the chrome. The car is in impeccable condition.

–Dan O., Indiana