Holy Grail Hot Wheel

 There are a few...or maybe a couple...of Hot Wheels that are considered Holy Grail cars. These are vehicles that are not only difficult to get, but have a large enough following to create high demand. The "Rear Loading Beach Bomb" (a VW bus with surf boards sticking out the back window) is one, with examples going for thousands (even tens of thousands) of dollars. Why? It was never really issued. The design was modified with boards in "side pods" before being released. A few escaped the factory, however.

But what is the Holy Grail of actual released production cars? That would probably be the 1971 Olds 442. The Olds 442 was produced only by the Hong Kong factory, and for only one year (1971). It is so rare that even examples in poor shape have value. Nice examples go for around 1200.00 to 1500.00.  So, getting one in good shape, for a decent price, is pretty much unheard of.

And this is mine...

How did I, a collector not known parting with his money easily get a car that could easily sell in that price range? 

I stole it. 

Well, not literally. You see, for years I stalked this car on eBay, putting in what I considered a "reasonable" bid on examples I liked, and then getting pretty much instantly outbid. I even tried to snag a couple in raffles, but no dice (nor car). Finally, I pretty much gave up. I was not going to pay a thousand plus bucks for a toy car. 

Then, one day, I saw the above car on eBay. I decided that it was so clean that I would put in a large (for me) bid of 275.00. It was a huge amount for me, but I had some extra money I had made playing bass so I figured why not. I knew I would get outbid anyway.

I wanted to put my bid in at the last second. However, the auction ended at 2:30 a.m. So, I decided to stay up. I think that's why I got it. At 2:29 and 30 seconds I put in my bid as the last second rolled off and...I won!

It was a pawn shop that was selling it, and I guess they just put it on and didn't really watch it. I was glad it wasn't an individual with bad luck. I sometimes have too much empathy, I guess.

Anyway, it just goes to show you that with enough patience, you can still get fairly goid deals on things. But you have to be willing to wait...and wait...and (if need be) wait.

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!