How to find old car & motoring magazines!

Ok, so perusing the car magazines section has got you interested in collecting some old motoring magazines. Next thing to address is - "Where do I find these old motoring magazines??". Well, fear not, here are ten top ways on how to find these interesting old magazines!

Where to find collectable magazines - Ten tips!

1. Car boot & jumble sales
Trawling around a car boot sale at 7am on a Sunday morning isn't everyone's idea of good fun, especially if Saturday night had been a loud or late one. However people clearing out junk from their loft or garden shed, can often turn up old car magazines. The chance of finding pre-war magazines is slim nowadays, although people undertaking house clearances must come across them from time to time. Post-war magazines do still turn up, I saw a pile of Car Mechanics magazines only last year, in quite good condition too. I didn't buy them because a) I've got quite a few copies of this mag already b) 'er indoors was with me at the time :-)

2. eBay and other auction sites
This is the easy way to find old magazines, the only problem is that you are up against millions of other potential bidders, so rare stuff tends to get bid up a bit. Still, worth a try definitely. Click here to read about registering on eBay - there are other auction sites around on which you could search for motoring magazines, but this is undoubtably the busiest. It costs nothing to have a look - try this test search for Autocar magazines to see whats available to bid on today. If you've never used it before, you can also find an eBay tutorial here at oldclassiccar.

3. Local newspaper
Newspapers don't often turn up interesting mags, but once in every blue moon something does turn up. Going back a few years admittedly, but I purchased a mountain of old car magazines via an advert in the Manchester Evening News. There were lots of 50s Motor and Autocar magazines, as well as the pre-war Practical Motorist titles that I've featured elsewhere. Don't forget, you can also place Wanted ads in them too!

4. Newsagent noticeboard
Advertising in the local newsagent's window is a low-tech solution, but for a few pence a week its a cheap and easy way to place a Wanted advert in front of the locals. And if you just make one contact leading to a purchase, then it was worth the small outlay!

5. 'Word of mouth' eg at work
Don't hide your light under a bushel. When I worked for a big company, I made it known to those I worked with that I was interested in old motors. This led to me being offered not just magazine, but also a choice selection of rare parts by the security guard, and some tasty motor racing books from a guy in the next office. Accept that people will probably think that you're a saddo, and put the word out that your looking for old magazines etc.

6. Libraries
From time to time libraries sell off old publications that they have cluttering up their back rooms. You won't find really old magazines this way, but you might turn up some later titles of interest

7. Autojumbles and shows
Attending shows and autojumbles/swapmeets is one of the more successful ways to collect old car magazines. Some dealers specialise in older magazine titles, although often they know how to charge, so your best bet is to look for a general spares dealer, who may have taken in a collection of mags and now just wants rid of them. Magazines are heavy, bulky, and are a pain in the neck to most spares dealers - especially as once they get wet, they are all but worthless. This puts you, the punter, in a strong bidding position, so bargain hard!

8. Book shops
Bookshops often have a section for old magazines, and rarely charge silly prices either. You might need to dig through a mountain of recent publications to find one or two collectible mags, but it can be worth the effort!

9. Charity shops
Bit hit-n-miss this but if you're passing a few charity shops, say if er indoors is busying herself in a ladies clothes shop, pop in and see if there are any old mags lurking in a scruffy cardboard box below the main book shelves. Some charity shops are a bit sniffy about tatty mags and bin them straightaway, so best target the one-off establishments, who tend to only throw away the truly horrible things they get given, the rest going on sale for tiny prices.

10. Old garages
Definitely a dying breed, as many old garages get cleared away for housing developments, but it doesn't cost anything to put your head around their door and ask the question - you never know, they may have boxes of old mags sat gathering dust in the loft.

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