To Protect and Preserve.

Don’t let your family’s classic car meet the crusher.

We buy and restore barn finds across the Midwest.

If you’re here, the odds are good that you are looking to sell a vehicle that has been part of your family for a long time.

I have no doubt that the vehicle in question served your family well, and that you have fond memories with it. You didn’t call the local tow company and have the car hauled to a junkyard - instead, you’ve done some research to find someone who will love your car as much as you do.

Your car deserves a second chance at life. That’s where we come in.

  • An old Mercedes lurks in a carport.
  • A 1955 Buick Special being winched onto a tow truck.
  • A 1976 Plymouth Duster parked in a hay barn

Who we are -and why it matters.

We’re Louis and Anna, two millennials who love nothing more than bringing a neglected vehicle back to life. We founded and co-own Edelweiss Autowerks, a destination auto repair and modification shop in Madison, WI.

We love breathing new life into old cars. From old muscle cars, 50’s chromed-out cruisers, to 80’s and 90’s European imports - and we’re always looking for our next project!

Unlike most businesses buying estate sale cars, we aren’t looking to crush your car for scrap value. We’re looking to bring it home with us and breathe new life into it. We have the tools, skills, experience, and resources to replicate this formula time and time again.

What to expect

when you reach out to us.

If you have an older car of any sort you’re contemplating selling, feel free to reach out to us at 608-535-4500. We will consult with you and determine if your vehicle is a good fit for us. We may ask you questions about title status, history of the vehicle in your family, overall condition, and storage situation. We may also request you send us a few pictures of the vehicle - don’t worry, we won’t bother you for a ton of images.

If the vehicle is a good fit for our needs, we will set up a time to meet you at the vehicle’s location. We’ll spend a few minutes checking out the vehicle and then perform the transaction. We will be respectful of your space, your time, and your situation. A car can become like a family member - we know that these can be emotionally charged moments.

We are happy to assist with moving items around the vehicle, if needed, to give it a clear path out of storage and onto our trailer or rollback. We will bring the vehicle back to our facility and handle all title work - you don’t need to lift a finger!

This Porsche 944 was destined for the crusher when the estate reached out to Louis as a last-ditch effort to save their late father’s pride and joy.

We spent a few months completely refurbishing the car, and it ended up being our transportation around Northern MN for our wedding.

Another one saved from the crusher!

Ready to talk about selling your car?

We know that selling your classic vehicle isn’t a decision that is made lightly. We’re here to help every step of the way. Give us a jingle and let us help you rehome your old car!

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Frequently asked questions

  • We don’t discriminate! German, Japanese, English, or American - we’ll buy them all.

    Examples of cars we have purchased in the past and resurrected include:

    • BMW cars, with an emphasis on the e30 and e28 chassis

    • Porsche cars from all eras, with an emphasis on 944 and 928s.

    • Classic Mercedes including W126, W108, W123. We love both diesel and gas-powered Benzes!

    • Antique Jaguar cars including several XJ6 sedans.

    • Classic roadsters including Fiat, Triumph, MG, and Austin Healy.

    • Japanese vehicles including classic Hondas, Isuzus, Datsuns, and Toyotas.

    • Classic Chevys including Corvettes, Camaros, Impalas, pickup trucks, and vans.

    • Old-school Buick cars from the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s, including Buick Skylarks and Specials.

    • Older Land Rovers, including the Discovery and Defender models.

    • Classic Jeeps, including the XJ Cherokee, CJ5, CJ7, CJ8, and Wrangler.

    • Mopar vehicles such as pickup trucks, old Dodge Darts and pickups, and Plymouth Dusters.

    • Grumman vehicles, commonly known as “bread trucks”

    • Classic motorcycles such as Harley Davidson, Indian, Yamaha, Kawasaki, Honda, and Suzuki, from the 1960’s to the 2010’s.

    If you don’t see your vehicle on this list, have no fear - this is by no means an exhaustive list of the vehicles we’ve acquired and rehabilitated over the years.

  • We’re happy to have a discussion with you about your vehicle’s value. We can generally give you a rough idea over the phone, after seeing a few photos of your vehicle. We pay more than scrappers, because we fix up the vehicle instead of crushing it for $220/ton.

  • We cover all of Wisconsin and Northern Illinois, and will often venture into Minnesota, Southern Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri. We occasionally travel as far away as Omaha, Nebraska, the Dakotas, and Ohio for the right car.

  • We understand that there are occasionally situations that require several cars being sold at the same time. We are always happy to look at a collection; however, these situations can call for more advanced logistics than we can provide in-house. Pickup of multiple vehicles will often require seller coordination with a shipping company.

  • Absolutely!! We’re happy to chit chat about your bike or bikes.

  • If your vehicle has been sitting for a significant length of time, it likely needs a fair amount of work. Rubber components including timing belts, tires, brake hoses, and other seals atrophy with time, and mice often take up residence in unused vehicles - ask us how many walnuts we’ve removed from intake manifolds over the years!

    If you are on the fence about selling your car or fixing it up, we are happy to take a look at it in Madison, at our state-of-the-art 8,300 sq/ft shop. Edelweiss Autowerks was designed from the ground up with the needs of the classic car owner in mind. Our team of technicians is happy to provide you with a holistic view of your vehicle’s health so you can make an informed decision about the future of your vehicle. We specialize in Porsche, but have the expertise to work on any classic car.

  • We provide an easy, seamless transaction, with no concerns about title jumping or other nonsense after the sale. Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist are populated by some interesting characters - do you want to deal with tire kickers as you try to sell your family’s heirloom?