Flying to Tennessee to buy a 1,000 car collection

Christ Almighty What in the God green earth is this? I've seen some before but this is unbelievable. I don't care if it's 5 10 25 45 million dollars. I can do it. Yeah, I believe We're going to Covington, Tennessee to go buy Don Baskin's massive collection. He's got a thousand cars, one of the largest collections in the country. Brought some extra guys with us because keeping notes on a thousand cars is a hell of a lot harder than keeping notes on 50.

Let's go get some business done. I was just coming up here to buy a few and meet this guy and get a cool video and maybe buy five or ten and I was told last night he might want to sell all of them and get out of this whole mess. That's true then we've got a whole different plan of attack we got to do today. This is gonna be a big one.

We're gonna go up there and try to buy some cars, but I ended up discovering the story behind this car empire and the way this guy thinks. This is the most interesting son of a bitch I've come across in a long time. You've got to sit down and watch to the end of this one. What in the God's green earth is this? I've seen some shit before, but this is unbelievable.

Don is a bigger hoarder than my old lady. I mean he must have bought every car off of every some bitch in Ten counties that needed a loan. What's the problem in a room like this is you start looking at these cars And they all start looking good to you It's like being in a room full of ugly women the good-looking ugly one becomes good-looking And then you bring her to town in a room full of good-looking women and you realize you brought an ugly woman to the party. They're not all whores. They damn sure aren't debutantes. This goofy-ass paint job. My Diane. It's hard to sell Diane to somebody that don't love Diane.

Is this a real 63 split? I mean why would you make a race car out of a 63 split? You know back then they did shit like that. The value wasn't there on a 63, but they might've put that split in it. You know, this car may be custom, it may be real, you just don't know. Old Diane there, she was after 63. That's a 63 and then this is after. So that's that split versus not split deal. But that's not a good example. That is not what does the money. Hey, Don. I don't know if I can make it through there. Where's a good hole to cut through? It's so tight in here, it's hard to get them. You got two skinny midgets that get these in and out cause I sure as hell can't do it.

I see you on TV all the time.

Well, Mr. Baskin, I've been doing this for 30 years. And you are a car dealer, my friend.

Yeah.

I've been saving these since I was 14 years old. What year did you get started? I built trucks, 14 burnt trucks, wrecked trucks, stuff like that. And then I just kept on getting bigger and bigger.

We can sit down at a table for a minute. I think you got a cool story. And then we'll go through and try to buy some cars.

I want to sell them all, yeah.

What are you going to do with it when you're done?

Might start buying again. I don't know. Probably will, I haven't run out of room.

Right. But I don't owe nothing on none of it. I believe that. When we rolled up, I said, old Don is not on a 60 day turn.

No, he is not.

He may be on a 60 day turn the motor over.

Don's made some money.

I'm just saying.

It's like, it may harm you to believe this, but I've never borrowed one dime from a bank. I didn't have the money, I didn't buy it. car salvage business, quit school, and I went to buying big trucks. First 500, my daddy credited me enough to buy a big truck that was burnt. It was a 9500 GMC, like a 69 or 70. Took a cab off one I'd bought off another truck,

put on it, and made like 7 or 8,000.

And you were how old?

I was 14.

You just ruined yourself at that moment. You were never coming back.

And I never went back to school. Never went back to school?

Uh-uh. Why would you need to? In the mid-60s, you made $7,000 on a truck. One truck. That started with $500, and you went and did it again.

Yeah. I bought seven 9,500 GMCs. If you got any money, I said, I wouldn't be down to have no money. Right. And he said, well, we'll take seven thousand apiece. And that was fifty grand. So I told him, I said, I'll give thirty five thousand for right now. Didn't have no bank account. They did take cash and I went deal after deal after deal.

You had more money than your dad pretty quick. Yeah. Was he jealous?

No, he she was about 10 or 11 years old, she was keeping up with my stuff already.

She was keeping your numbers?

Keeping my numbers and keeping what we paid for it, what we got for it, pay the taxes.

10, 11 years old is when we started.

Yeah, my son's the same way. So that day that you bought those seven trucks Were you nervous as a whore in church? I was never nervous. I said money ain't nothing but a tool. If I lose it, I know how to go back and scrap it and make it back. I come here bare-necked, and I don't care if I go home. When I go, the Lord takes me home. I got filthy rich, just crazy.

Made so much money. I'd go buy 50 trucks, and two or three days, we done been sold them all. We make five, 60 grand a piece off of it. And I just kept doing it and doing it. I started buying them cars and sell one every once in a while. But you know, if I do, I hit a home run. Like I sold a 79 Pontiac Trans Am a few weeks ago. I killed 7,000 for it and brought 50.

He gave me a 50, 7,000 for it. And I never laid a hand on it. I've got something going on with me. I can sit right in here, bring gas out of any of these cars in here, and put new gas in my new battery and crank them raft. Any of them will. About once a year I go through and they got boosters, come around, crank them, let them out a few minutes, then cut them back off.

It's hard to keep all the tires aired up on. I mean, the tire's going down. And I got a couple more buildings that's not quite full, but they got cars in them too. I'm 68 years old and I figured I don't want this burden on my kids trying to sell this stuff. Right. And if I could sell it, I'd sell it. But I just let them have it and they can do what the hell they want to with it.

Right.

So let's talk about this collection here. You know, seeing you and meeting you is kind of scaring me because I've got a little version of this. I keep my shit moving. Yeah. line and put them in my barn. And I'm sure when you started this, this was not the plan. It was a plan. I would have a bunch of cars. I really planned it. It's a hard place for me to

sell these cars. If I had a bad day, I'd walk around with these cars and my day would be better.

Right.

But I got to sell them because my daughter, my son, they don't really care about them. because that's just the way they are. They feel like they were doing a disservice to you. Yeah. You said something a second ago. When you're having a bad day, you come in here and your day gets better.

It's better.

For me, it's because the memories of your teens.

Right.

And you can look at these cars and it starts playing that video tape in your head.

Exactly.

I mean, you put you back in that thing.

I come down here every day I got people working over my race car. And I'll come down every morning to watch them, make sure they're working. Not leaving them. Just it's just the truth. It's just the truth. Now that people have, people have no malls.

No, just watch it.

Make sure nobody's stealing. And then what are you doing now?

I'm working.

What are you working on?

Making sure nobody's stealing.

That's the truth nowadays. I mean, people have no morals to them. I mean, you know, I never seen, used to when nobody steal nothing. But now I ain't never seen them steal so much stuff in my life.

It'll blow.

Don's rich. That's a boat. He ain't gonna miss it. Oh yeah, he's for it or lose it. That's what they think. I've heard them say it to me. To set precedent. Yeah, it's kind of slowed down a little bit. It was so bad at one time I fired everybody started over. So you want to sell them all but all means everything outside too, right? Everything. Yeah

Yeah, I figure have one day outside and is it all on a computer? No, I got all the titles, right? Yeah, no, you don't have them logged in a system. I got them logged at my business up there

I mean, but the inventory of cars and titles is in a computer. Yeah, okay

Do you know the difference between Don's cars and Don's trucks

Titles count. No, I just know that we should have a little bit over 900 like Nancy But that includes the junk not close to outside cars here. Okay, but not down the street not nothing down there. Okay, nothing so that's what it's called. I bought two cars this morning, a 64 Malibu and a 72 Chevelle this morning. Yeah, come up and bought them. I've been trying to buy them a while He just finally brought them up there to get the money. Those are your Christmas presents. That's right. And you're excited about it. Yeah, it'll last about five minutes, but you're still excited about it. Oh, yeah. I love these old cars. You got to pull these things out and ISO them to enjoy them because they get watered down with everything else and you can't focus on that memory we're talking about.

We clean the thing up about once a year and have people come up here and look at them and stuff. Last time we saw a thousand people come through in eight hours. Really? Like this, I call it a rat rotty, whatever you want to call it. That's old Ford, 57 Ford. I've had that car probably for 25 years. Yeah, and it was just dead. And it was probably, I think I paid $800 off. And I wake up with a bang on it, crank right up.

Six of them. Peterbilt's calling you, you got a big one.

Yeah, yeah.

Do it, I don't give a shit.

I ain't had a chance. to deal with their customer. That's right. But it's a 2020 Peterbilt 389.

Is it a sleeper?

Yeah, a big sleeper. Got a 70-inch condo sleeper.

How many miles?

Over a million.

So it's been done twice, been done once?

Never been done.

Well then, there's 60 grand right there.

I can overhaul one for 5,000, 6,000. Really? Is that about right? About eight. Yeah. Ranked 15. Will you sell it with a million or will you do the motor? I won't do nothing to it. I'm gonna dyno it. I got dyno and I can show dyno part. But if it needs overhauling, I'll overhaul it. Sure. I got boys can do it in a day. They do it in 12, 13 hours. The head's in stock. 16 hours they work all that and then I'm coming to work the next week I mean, I just want enough money to leave then, you know, but they've been working for me since I've already you know It would cost to go do that. Oh, yeah, I'll see 40 50 60 down. Yeah, our bed is still good But nothing like it was at one time that tariff money like monster. They're just eating it right now

They're losing money and that that price has not shown up in the new car yet and when that price really shows up in the new car it's oh yeah I've been to it I've been through the lows I mean just don't doesn't bother me how many times you married a few just a little story here was at lawyers fortune when she was divorcing me I had to give her a bunch of money.

The first one?

First one. My daughter's son called me at 12 o'clock, or 11 o'clock at night, and said, don't settle. We found what she'd stolen millions from us. Oh, good. I went into the courtroom,

and I was giving her seven million. I said, I'm not even me and her. I said, I got you caught on stealing money from me. And it was a corporation. They said, I can prosecute you. Yeah. I said, I'm going to prosecute you to the fullest extent. And I've already contacted, which I had. It went from seven to three. So I settled with her for three million.

But I'm just fixing'll give her was three million. Okay. I understood. You wanted to be done. I want to be done with her. Because you knew that. Because she was, she was my CPA. I put her through school and everything. I mean, she was a CPA. She was conniving, buddy. Do you want me to buy anything today? Yeah, I just want to sell all of them. I wouldn't like you know right yeah it wouldn't matter to me but it's just it's so many in here I don't know what they'd work you know I bought them years ago let's work on ten and see what we come up with okay all right what happens you lay now tell me I broke my back cut my spinal cord so I was paralyzed from the waist down oh yeah but it didn't cut in half it cut half

into it now my calves and my shins and my feet haven't worked in 20 years. So I can't balance. I got to wear these braces to hold up Um, and that's what you're out here going. That's what I like

But if you ever watch my videos people are like I can't believe he's leaning on that car

I watch you a few times. I said he's hurting. I said he's hurting. He's hurting bad. Yeah, I understand like you I started at a super young age I mean desire right that's what gets it going and I'm like I ain't ready to give up on this shit. I get the greatness out of buying them you know it's just something I enjoy buying old cars. If I sell these out I buy them back. I need to clean them

up I mean they all dirty. Do you know miles on anything? I brand new ones. Okay. There's several Like I could put a number on all these Trans Ams, one number. What would it be? Obviously Brown ain't worth shit. I mean, it's the worst of the group. Yeah. One, two, three, four, five, six. 120,000. Let me think about that a minute. All right.

Here's some right here, it's brand new stuff. We got just a few miles on. Mm-hmm. I bought them, he had his collection and he had it collect, he called me one day and told me what he'd take from them and I bought them.

And are they all like under 500 miles?

Yeah.

So there are 17, 2000 Ram Airs-ish?

Yeah, yeah. Convertibles, I'd say, I ain't heard of them.

3000 for these three. I'm not far off. No, you're not far off. Have I impressed you yet? Yeah, you're impressing me. I'll tell you that. And you know I mean it. Yeah. Okay. If I took a section out, then it's going to f*** up your bromance. So do you want to sell me those cars?

I'm going to think about it. Oh, listen to you. Meekum said that if you have a sale, you end up buying them all back. He said I could sit in that room and bid on them if I thought they were going too cheap. You don't have to clean them, you don't have to move them, you don't have to no-sail them, you don't have to do all the bullshit. I'm taking that risk, so hopefully I'm right. Cut one out of here, a few weeks ago, and I backed another in here, it was a few months ago.

And I sold it for 50,000, just one.

But it was a good one.

It was a, no, it car is just like the one I had. And I priced him 50,000, he just jumped right over it.

So let's do one, right here. 25,000. I didn't mean to scratch it.

Oh, you didn't hurt that car.

Now it's my problem. I ain't gonna go. exact same number for the same car about last October. Yeah. 23 plus the fee. Yeah. I must think. Don, we got to do something.

We got to get going.

That's what I told you. I can't guarantee I'd sell them. That's what I don't know. I may have to let my kids sell them. It's just something about them. Well, they're going to call me to do the same shit.

I know live. But my mama just died. And she, six months she made, the night she died last week.

I didn't see red when I was numbering this body style.

Oh, you don't probably find them. That's an odd looking right there, buddy.

Are any of them sticks?

Some of them are.

This one's a stick cause it's got a good build. Okay. So what can I buy this one for? I had to get your sealant off and see what I paid.

Sometimes I go crazy. I ain't gonna lie about it. I seen this red car right here at Music City, auctioned up there one day. And I was there. It's been 20 years ago, 25 years ago.

And I seen- Well these things were bringing seven grand.

Yeah. Well, I give more than that for it, I give 12 for it. Okay. Which we cranked it up probably a hundred times. It's been sitting at one spot for a long time.

Price me a car.

I really want to sell my old one.

Let me buy a couple so we can get to know each other and get something done.

Meekum told me it'd take him three months.

It'd take me three days.

Okay.

And you know how I can do it. Yeah, I believe you. I think there's 935 cars you mentioned that are insured under roof. Let's say that's 15,000 a car on average. It's $14 million. I can write a check for $14 million.

This is a good old boy collection. Give me the ven.com or give me the ven garage. that one on collections will go straight to my desk. But we got to get something done first. Sell me a car so I can get interested.

In my heart, I want to sell them but it's other ways I really don't want to sell them. I went to buy this one car and I got in it and drove it home. I sold the car, drove up there, the 64 Impala with a LS in, didn't nobody do it hardly then. When the LS first came out in 87. I've never seen a red one before. Right. And they've been painted red either. It's red, factory red. Call it some kind of

orange, but it's red I think. You already know what I'm thinking because you've been on the other side. You're me. You lived your life being me. I can't put the hammer on it today. If you owe me a hundred for it, I couldn't put to sell them, because I don't know if I can sell them.

So this is like a good exercise for you.

It is, yeah. But I will pay you trip up here.

Okay.

I don't want to cost you nothing for coming up here. These are real judges. I mean, this car right here was my best friend. Okay. He died young. They wouldn't let me have the car. They didn't want me to be seen it. But anyway, they sold it to another buddy of mine.

I told him I'd give him $2,000 property. He sold it to me. That's how I got it.

He didn't die in a car wreck, it looks like.

No, he was just real, real fat. Just heart went out of him.

When you have the auction, you serious. Okay, good. Can we agree to do five cars today?

We'll walk through the hole mother f**ker

and we'll do a deal.

I can't do it.

Five cars.

We'll do a round and then we'll get serious about doing it.

I can't do it.

I can't do it.

I will play you playing ticket up here and these boys doing these cameras. The good thing about him is I know he'll actually cover that. I will do it. I don't want nobody to have no hard feelings on me. I do want to sell them, but I just don't want to do it today.

You ain't got no bromance with this damn old new body style Pontiac, I don't think. Yes, I do.

Do you?

Okay.

This is one bad animal. I know it is.

I built this car. This car's got supercharger, everything on it. Straight shift. Well, I'm not gonna ask you for a price on that Elantra. I can promise you.

Yeah, nobody wants that thing, does he? I think I bought this in it, at August. No reserve. Yeah. Might say what I paid for it.

Probably nothing.

Oh, I didn't pay nothing for it. I wouldn't have bought it, but I like it. Right. It's a factory 49 car. I mean, I've had that thing for years. A woman had it, and she said, my husband died, I said to him, I didn't do it the day after. I waited a week, she done sold it to somebody else.

Don, you're smart. You know you're smart, right?

I don't know about that.

If for one moment you think this guy's a stupid hillbilly, you're an idiot. You guys are genius. You be the judge, comment below. You don't get this far from a $500 investment and not be one of the smartest guys in the room. And I just realized what we're doing here. You want this video to go out and watching me struggle with these prices

and you're gonna f**king build the pressure on this thing so that you get everybody's attention.

Now that's smart.

I wanna do it, but I'm gonna tell you something. I am gonna send you a bill because you're using me for advertising. I will. I'll be glad to. I don't know about these cars right now. I don't know where they get. They look like they've been doing this.

Oh, of course, they are. Some. That row of cars. I call them happy days cars.

Oh, yeah, they done.

Yeah. Yeah, about 13 of them.

Just bring them to me and I'll, when I look at them, I'll make a deal with you. I'll pay you and you bring another load. People just sell me stuff just like that dude right there. That 13 cars, he won't sell me today. He's had them for a long time. Where are they?

Oh, down in Memphis.

You don't go buy them. Can you sell them to me before you get emotionally attached? No. No? These ain't worth nothing in my world. I always lose on those.

Yeah. Here's where I got suckered right here. Buddy of mine said, I'll restore it, won't charge you nothing, but what the parts cost.

Mm-hmm.

When he delivered it, he had a $45,000 bill on it. Mm-hmm. Plus I bought the car. It'd been worth more if I left it like it was. It did a good job on it. It did do a good job. When you first got back walking, I bet you was tickled, wouldn't you?

Oh gosh, yes.

All them Corvettes is brand new, which I know I bought them right. I bought them at Dealer's Golf and this is brand new. I've got like 10 of these I bought brand new. I figured they weren't gonna make them's why I bought all of them. When they do that, they're really doing a disservice

to their customers.

Yeah, that's true.

Especially on those Demons, you know, that first run was supposed to be it. Yeah. The new body came out, or new version of it. And then all we were getting them trade is the old ones, good money, which I don't know. Is it a Torino? Yeah, Torino. GT, I just had a twister. Do you know what that is?

Yeah, I've got one of them. Do you got yours? No. I bought it from, you need to start calling me by car. I guarantee you I'll buy them. And I'll send you money just quick and we talk.

And if there's something wrong with it, I'll never say nothing. I never call back on nobody. I may not deal with them again, but I don't never, I just take my licking and keep on kicking. And a lot of them don't mean to get you, you know.

A lot of them do.

Yeah, I cut them people out. Like this car here, I bought it brand new. It was a factory race car. I raced it a few times.

So is this a Coppo? Yeah, yeah. right there. Another black one up there. I got 10 of them all together. They're 50, 60 grand these days. Yeah.

Were they were more than that when you bought them?

Yeah, they was. Yeah.

You remember Rollins, Richard Rollins, Gas Monkey?

Oh yeah, I know him. I remember when they bought all them without the motor damage. Was it 60 of them or something? Yeah, yeah. I bet they lost their ass. It worked out. It did work out? I'd say Dennis is one of the most talented person knows more about vehicles than anybody in this country. I just listen to him talk. He's about like me. I can run right up beside him because I know about everything.

Because I was growing up in these old cars.

Right.

There's some L79s. One, two, three, I got four of them. They are all been documented and everything. Car right here. They scratched it the other day They getting a couch out there. Person. I got to fix it in a spot. That's a real car. This is a real car.

Here's a Nomad I had restored. $89,000 had it restored. Factory air condition. Everything's nice. Car for a start on. I seen these, that old Hummer is doing good.

Especially in my old ones. Yeah. Yeah, I got 10 of them.

I bought them off the government. This one needs a bird on it in that paint if it's a 79. Yeah, they had it painted. I had a bird landing back seat. Well, they did a pretty shitty job.

Yeah, he did a really good job. A friend of mine did it.

What's this got in it? Do you remember?

4.6 900 to rear wheels.

So did JD quer my deal?

I hate to answer that.

Okay, that's what I'm afraid of. You know what I'm saying. Ain't gonna miss it. I understand. I already got my answer. Did y'all commit to having a sale? No, no I wouldn't I knew I didn't know if y'all made it. Oh, no, I ain't made no deal. No, but between me I think he's a hell of a night. Yeah. Well, he's a traitor like all of us. Oh, yeah, I call him. Mr

Haney his car here. They said it's been under what a little bit underwater. Okay, you're 10,000 It ain't been that long ago. Really? So it was still like within the- I bought all three of these.

They were all water cars? I'd give 10,000 a piece for them.

People make fun of me selling these cars at a dealer sale, but I'm not paying all those fees.

Oh, I watch you sell them sometimes, you guys on camera. Yeah. Probably the best thing ever happened, you put all this on camera like this.

Yeah. The video was good, but this is, I'm starting to see a different vein here. I can't show what I really do, but I can come out here with guys like you and show what I really do at one stop. But you're guys, you've been doing business with all those years, you're not gonna show that.

Oh yeah. That'd be crazy. I mean, I've been doing business with the same people for 40, 45 for over 50 years. I mean, the same people, all of them getting old like me, you know, and they getting where you can't. I don't want to go to this new generation, I want to let them work.

I mean, they want everything free. If somebody sticks with me, I'll do them right.

I'm the same.

What'd you give 10? No, about four or five thousand. Will you take, 15? No, I take 20. It's worth it. That's a Connell 2-door, ain't many of them made like that. Okay, I'm gonna buy a f***ing car from Don Baskin for $20,000. You own it. You own it. God, I bought the biggest piece of shit.

Yeah, I bought a Gilmore in that car. I don't want a Gilmore. I'm gonna sell it with you on the... Trans-Am? I'm trading on all of them, you know. Okay. I'm serious, I just gotta think about it a little bit. What I wanna do is bring you, first thing you're gonna do is draw attention with people that just wanna come see you. I think they'll help it.

I'll get to work, I just don't wanna work for nothing.

I want you to give me a call Friday. Okay. Can you be fair in that? Absolutely. I'll pay you all this right here and I'll be glad we're done. And I bought a car from you. You did buy that one. All right. And we'll get it out of there for you. We'll have it where the crank run.

I'll put a new bed and everything on it where it's running, because it does run good. Well, I appreciate it. You want to go back to Fort Worth? 500,000, I just wouldn't do it. I won't do that kind of business to start with. I like to be straight with people and do things right. You know, so coming up, you know, I was not just perfect. I ain't gonna lie about it.

You live it out a little?

Yeah, live it out. I was now, I'm just, you know, I'm a Christian man.

I think a lot different than I used to. about the scrap and you want to give back. That's right. That's it. That's the way it is. That's the true story right there.

If it's ever been told, it's a true story.

All right.

I'll talk to you soon. Thank y'all. Okay, we're done here. We're heading to Jackson, Mississippi. Go see Mr. JD Pass. We've got another group of cars to go look at.

Yes. The garage is really, goes directly to me. For big collections, I'm gonna wind up having to do it myself anyway. Nashville, Tennessee. Good morning, you're on the air.

2013 Dodge Ram with 74,000 miles.

You sound like you drive more than that. Was this your grandpa's truck?

No.

Actually, I bought it in an auction about a year ago.

Okay. A half ton or three quarter?

A half ton.

Regular cab, short bed, four-wheel drive. Which engine? It's got the small V8 engine.

Does 10,000 do it?

That's about what I gave for the truck.

Well, I've been doing this a little while. I kind of have a feel for these things. If you want your money back, go to gimmethevin.com. If you want your money back, go to gimmethevin.com.

We'll buy it.