It was a SCAM, business was closed permanently two years earlier and scammers are trying to sell their cars from old websites

After reading thru the negative comments (one after the other, & on & on they went, but I lost count), I decided to query the company. This article here says they CLOSED UP SHOP due to shady business practices...they were FORCED to close up shop. Here's the article: https://www.dmnews.com/classic-car-dealer-closes-amid-shady-business-allegations/ read more

It wasn't what it used to be..... smh Benicia location has changed drastically. I went to look at a 72 Chevelle disappointed

Specialty Sales Classics was a lot of fun for me. Their display has a lot of beautiful classic cars. The one I bought was in perfect shape, ready to drive, and had been carefully cared for. The staff was nice, helpful, and made buying simple. If you want to be sure you can trust them, Specialty Sales Classics is a terrific place to look for your perfect classic car. read more

If I could do zero stars I would. I took my fathers (who recently passed) Datsun 240Z to them to be sold (the Pleasanton location). Everyone was a pleasure to work with and I had no issues. A few weeks later the car sold on July 21, 2023 (bittersweet to say the least, my dad LOVED that car). MY ISSUE IS, I STILL HAVE NOT BEEN PAID MY MONEY!!!!! I talked to the people who helped me in the beginning and they say their hands are tied and the owner is the ONLY person who can wire my funds. Unbelievable that they can get away with this. Now I have to get a lawyer. read more

I have never been so appalled by a business establishment before in my life. I have been to third world country stores that had better customer service than this place. My mother and I put my father's car on consignment here. He passed a couple of years ago so we needed to let it go. My dad actually bought it there several years back so it should be no issue right? WRONG. 1 - They will absolutely try to wring you out for every little bit of commission they can get at the expense of what you may get back for the car. They don't care and won't so much to compromise. 2 - Absolutely SLOPPY and UNPROFESSIONAL. When the car finally sold, the buyer actually brought the car back claiming there was some sort of issue with the car. As the sellers, we were led to believe that all checks on the car and inspections were done and the car was 100% sold. The buyer drove the car off and had it for a week before claiming that there were issues. Not saying the buyer was being dishonest but how would any of us know?!?! The dealership didn't write anything down. They led us to believe everything was a done deal then came back and said it was our responsibility to spend another $4k on the car to get items fixed. This was after they convinced us to take a deep discount on the car. 3 - They will not be your advocate or your friend. We are going to slide over the fact that the manager raised her voice to my mother TWICE. (Rude). They just want to get the deal done so they can get their cut. That's it. Simple. How much you gonna get? No idea. Don't care. Their commissions is a set $$$ amount so good luck to you cause they will do their best to convince you to sell to the first buyer available for whatever they are willing to offer. NEVER. AGAIN. EVER. read more

Very poor business practice here they don't care about your time or money they try to make $10,000 plus on your vehicle and say your vehicle is not worth beans to try to make more money off you not to mention their sales guy is very rude and disrespectful who promises what he can't deliver and never returns phone calls also the management is very rude and disrespectful who basically said my appraised value from a professional appraiser is garbage If you want to waste your time and money go here I would not recommend these guys ever Not if they were the last classic car place on earth read more

Eugene was a big help, but he couldn't overcome the lack of cash flow of this business. Most companies will hold a payment for 10 days while the check clears this company policy is 20 days and then the excuses start it took us at least 15 phone calls two or three meeting in person and a lot of uncomfortable time to finally get a payment for a car they sold for us it took them over a month to resolve this. We would be very uncomfortable using this business again read more

Eugene the sales specialist reach out to my Craigslist AD on my 1969 Pontiac Firebird if they can have my car under consignment. At first I declined but the second time I decided to go for it. Eugene was great, polite and professional until today. Last night Thursday we were texting back and forth letting Eugene know that I wanted to pick up my car on Saturday. They ask for a 3-day notice and he said in short, ok, I'll start the paperwork, sound good. Today he emails me his weekly update hits online. I replied with a thank you. Then he emails me that he has some serious inquiries and that if he gets an accepted offer and a deposit he was going to sell my car. I replied that he would need more than a deposit and have it sold before I drive a few hours to pick up my car. He then responds that by contract I'm not allowed to pick up my car when they have an offer and deposit. (NOTHING IS ON THE CONTRACT STATING THIS). Then, I'll take blame on this part of this because after Eugene stated that he was going to start my paperwork I went ahead and posted my car back on Craigslist. Well, Eugene saw it and was furious. I will copy and paste his own words I quote, "Hey Arnaldo You need to take down this ad right now. It states in your contract with us that you won't advertise the car while it's in our possession. And its kinda shitty that you are using our pictures (which by the way you can't they are our property) And on top of that you are advertising it for less than we are. Dude I have been good to you, and this is how you repay me." (Eugene)...unquote I immediately deleted my ad after noticing that was in the contract and I apologize to Eugene and asked him to keep his language professional. I did use their photos and description but I gave them the credit on the first few lines of my Craigslist AD letting people know my car was in their showroom. I started to write this review before picking it up a few weeks ago. I wasn't going to write it because I didn't want the whole company to look bad because of one person. Well it's been 2 weeks after picking up my car and I decided to go ahead and write it because I reached out to the head of their company and they didn't bother once to reach back. In fact, when I picked up my car Eugene did walk up to me to say sorry and truly respected him about that. My overall advise if it's worth anything to you, I don't recommend to do business with all three locations to buy or sell. read more

Walked in at 5:19 pm today 06/15/19, and not one single person said anything to me or my wife. We walked throughout the entire showroom floor from front to back, then back to the front and not one salesperson greeted us or said goodbye. Little do they know that an African American Man and his wife were coming to start the process on making a purchase. Oh well read more

Took over 10 minutes before any sales rep to even noticed us walking around.. My husband was ready to buy a car today but no dice. When we finally did get a sale representative to even acknowledge us, he had said to the sales rep: "I'm ready to buy a car today." So he showed us around and answer the few questions my husband has. He saw 2 cars there we wanted, in the middle of hubs a asking a question the sales rep sees another pair of people walking around blows us off to go to cater to them instead. Which in my honest opinion is a low blow to us considering we were there for some time and we were waiting patiently. So instead of taking care of us and saying to the new people that walked in: "hey were a little busy right now but I will get to you as soon as I can." Instead we got blow off and he walked away from us. We were upset that we were treated this way so we decided to take our business else where. This was the second of 3 locations we happen to be visiting that day (Yes were ready to buy, we were that serious!). This was by far the worse customer service I have ever received at any car dealership. And because of this I cannot recommend it. read more

See all

I was specifically looking for a Corvette Z06, recently. They had one. I emailed this consignment dealer and asked some questions I had about this vehicle. I received a "canned" response that "someone would get back to me shortly". That someone did get back to me but did NOT answer any of my questions. I had to cut/paste my initial questions and respond to his email. The return email (answering my questions?) was incomplete (he did not answer all my questions, properly or fully). He asks me to "call him", so we can "discuss this further"? Seriously, if I wanted to call, I would have called. So, I emailed him back, asking him to answer "all" of my questions and clarify some of his previous answers. So, he ignores this/my email (and never gets back to me). Really? I see they still have the vehicle (so they haven't sold it?). Absolutely NO excuse for not communicating back to me. While I'm not going to name, names here (it's beside the point), I feel by not getting back to me with a simple email (answering and clarifying), this company violated my trust. So, why would I buy a car from/thru them? Edit, the sales manager did (finally) get back to me and basically told me this salesperson ended up leaving the business (and that this might be why I never got a return contact?). So I gave them another star for that. I had heard some complaints about these folks and was skeptical about my inquiry being handled professionally. Looks like my skepticism was justified? If you are going to provide an email address for contact, don't ignore potential customers, who are emailing you with an interest in one of your vehicle consignments. I wonder if the consignee knows about this kind of unprofessional behavior? I'm pretty sure they would want to know about it. read more

Really cool place to see some vintage and classic cars, along with a number of muscle cars. Everything is for sale and if you're thinking about getting an "old car" then you better stop here and check their inventory out, why do all the restoration work yourself when you can just drop some bills and drive away with a new old car. read more

See all

I recently sold a classic car, a 1975 Pontiac Trans Am that was in good shape but needed paint, on consignment at Specialty Sales' Benicia location. The experience went well and I feel that I got a fair price for my car without any snafus. I dealt with Jason Mendoza and would recommend him. He is knowledgeable about classic cars and has expert experience in body work and restoration. Specialty Sales' Benicia location is one of their four in the Bay Area. They have a large indoor showroom adjacent to Highway 680 near the Lake Herman exit. During business hours they usually have several of the cars out in the parking lot and the vehicles can be seen by motorists on the freeway and by Amtrak riders. I often saw my car parked on a ramp in the lot readily visible from the freeway, and I was told that a number of people pulled off the freeway to check it out. Their showroom is a great place to visit and check out the cars for sale, even if you are just looking. They welcome "lookie-lous." And the great thing for the seller is that this is not like new car showrooms and used car lots, where you have families piling in and out of the cars. No one touches your car, sits in it, or takes a test drive unless they are a qualified buyer and have put in a bona fide offer. When I go to sell the family minivan, I can leave it in my home driveway, place an ad on Craigslist, and deal with buyers who want a transportation car for a few thousand dollars cash. Classic cars are different. Owners have tens of thousands of dollars invested in their eye-catching, fun-to-drive toys, and can't leave them unattended or exposed to the weather. I didn't want to have to take my car out of storage every time someone wanted to come see it, and deal with lookers who wanted to take a test drive, talk cars, and then tell me they couldn't come up with the money, or their wife said "no," or whatever. And the fear of "carjacking" is a valid concern too. Specialty Sales has been in business for years, has four showrooms, may get another one in Sacramento, and the firm appears to be in good shape financially. They are regularly adding new vehicles to their inventory and are getting cars sold too. I, like many other sellers, dread the thought of turning over a car to a consignment dealer and then having them sell the car, keep the money and declare bankruptcy or disappear. Apparently this has happened with one classic car consignment dealer in the Livermore area who either went out of business or is now operating under a new name. At least one person had to seek legal counsel after he did not get a check for his car within the timeframe agreed upon after the car was sold. Selling on consignment at Specialty Sales is not inexpensive. There is an initial listing fee, a safety inspection fee, a monthly fee, and the commission upon sale. Expect a commission fee of at least a few thousand dollars. However, keep in mind that they have four local showrooms, a website, world-wide buyers, and will take dozens of photos of your car, write up a description, post it on their website and others, deal with all the would-be buyers, handle the paperwork, and can probably get more for your car than you could on your own. After my car sold, I got a check in about 14 days. read more

I have been trying to get my car registered and titled that i bought through specialty sales and have been lied to and given the run around. Stay away. They are worthless and liars after the sale. read more

Covid or not the greeting at the door was rude advising they are not open to the public. Could have been handled much more professional. Got back in our collector cars and left. read more

This company is a total joke. I have them so my car has been over 26 days and they have not paid me for the sale of the car. Tomorrow at be reporting this to the DMV and hopefully closing down this business. Please stay away from this please do not buy anything or sell anything through them. You do not get any responses from the owner and they hold your money as a hostage. read more

Why aren't there any minus stars? Bad business practices!! Has anyone had a positive experience selling with these folks? It was okay until the sale was made. They took posession of our baby SEPT 13th. After getting us to agree to a lower price, they did a nice write-up and took good photos. The car sold on Oct 2. Buyer is happy, salesman got paid, but we had to wait 23-days for our payment. Contract stated we would be paid within 20. Sellers, RUN, FAR-FAR AWAY. read more

This is for the Benicia location. I talked to Mark and made an appointment to see a Jensen Healey. The JH was parked inside and I was told it was in great shape but Mark did not have any details regarding service on the engine, specifically the last time the timing belt was changed out. Mark went to start the car and guess what, it took about 10 times and pumping the gas pedal to get it to start but it wouldn't idle without constant stabs at the pedal. Mark overrevved it numerous times. This is really a bad idea for a lotus engine when starting. He finally had to turn off the ignition as it would not idle. I then asked to see the trunk, and guess what, it wouldn't open. I asked what the procedure was if I was still interested and Mark told me he would take my license and insurance card and then I could actually drive it around the parking lot. Wow. I asked about taking the JH to a service facility to get it checked out and Mark said they don't do that. A service rep could visit and look at it at their facility. Then he told me that a lot of folks were looking at the car and it would go fast. I asked him how long the car had been there and he said 2 months. I have dealt with SS in Pleasanton and Benicia before and have had excellent services. Not here as Mark knew really nothing about the JH, it wouldn't ever idle and the trunk wouldn't open. I have owned cars of this vintage before and know they are not perfect but on this occasion, SS provided a car that wouldn't run, a salesman who knew nothing about how to operate it, and I could actually drive it around the parking lot and I couldn't take it to a service facility. Why would anyone buy anything from this dealership. Too bad. They have some really nice cars. read more

Mark Headly did an awesome job helping us out with the purchase of a 1963 Buick Special, he was patient with the process that my credit union required for financing. The car is not perfect but to me it's beautiful and is something I want to build and work on with my boys. The price was perfect for me to be able to work on it and upgrade it as I please. Again great experience all around. read more

I have a 2007 BMW M5 that I wanted to sell. The car is in great shape and contacted Specialty Sales for consigning the car. From the beginning, they seemed very nice and willing to work but as soon as the car was turned in, the service became horrible. The rep's name was Jared Kelly and he was probably one of the worst people in terms of customer satisfaction. I tried to contact him many times about the offers or prices but would never hear back. The only response I once got from him was, "Can I get a price break?" When asked, how much he wanted, he went all quiet as his usual self. After a new months, we were so upset with their lack of communication, that I went back and picked up the car. Jared was ignorant and non-courteous enough to not even recognize me when I showed up at the door. That pretty much sums up the kind of customer service you would get from these jerks. My rather obvious indignation stems from their despicable behavior and utter sense of disrespect for clients. If you would like to sell your car, please take it elsewhere. I am sure you can do a better job yourself on Craigslist! read more

Very Nice place to visit! They have 3 Different locations. Sales reps let you look around without being harassed. They are more than willing to answer questions or open cars as needed. I would buy a car here!! Thank You!! read more

I took my 62 Impala to the Pleasanton location and agreed on a sales price and what would be my final payment once sold. Lisa was very receptive and easy to work with, she was great with communication in the beginning. She would text me stating there were a lot of views on the car, to be honest views don't mean anything because before I bought this car I looked online and viewed thousands of cars in a 4 year period. I viewed the same cars over and over. Views don't sell cars so they shouldn't use that information to make you feel like they are working to sell your car. The car sold itself, within a month I was told we had a buyer. But, I needed to fix a few things and I agreed that those items should be fixed. Then all of a sudden Lisa was going on vacation and no updates from anyone, then when she got back I was told the buyer wanted the transmission fixed because it didn't shift smoothly. I offered up to $500 to get it fixed and Lisa said they would cover the rest if it cost more. More delays and then BOOM, I get an email from the mechanic that all of a sudden more things are wrong and needed to be fixed. I just dealt with it because we had a buyer so I ended up getting less than n the agreed amount. Once I agreed on more fixes I again had to contact Lisa to ask status and she said the mechanic was on vacation now. Like others on here I had to wait 20 days for a check , I had to reach out to their finance person on day 20 and then was told they will send the check. I cashed it and then 6 days later I was looking online at my balance and saw that their check BOUNCED! No contact from anyone. When I contacted Lisa she just blew it off saying she hates dealing with banks. Well I should guess so if you bounce a check to someone that used your services and was owed that money. This company is shady and they like to float the $$ that comes through their door. I also had an agreement with Lisa that since the car sold quickly they wouldn't charge me the $99 monthly fee on the 2nd month. When I received my 1st check I responded saying I was charged the $99, they gave me a credit but where was the due diligence to make sure I got the credit. To me that's a big miss on customer service read more

I recently sold my 1971 Datsun 240Z through Specialty Sales in Pleasanton. Patrick did a great job and ended up selling it to a buyer out of state. They took care of everything (negotiations, DMV, shipping, etc). I clearly wouldn't have been able to do this on my own without a lot of work. However, this service is not cheap (the reason for the 4 and not a 5). There is quite a difference between what they sell the car for and what you get. That being said, your final proceeds are agreed upon in the beginning. They are very transparent about it. And you can cancel the deal at any time with a 3 day notice. Overall, I am very pleased with the experience. Thanks Pat! read more

My brother bought a old chevy truck from here.it supposidly had been checked.i looked it over.brake master cylinder was completly dry.both front and rear reservoirs..he called while i was there.the manager was supposed to return his call.he never did..I fixed a leaking rear wheel cylinder.and front brake lines to master cylinder was loose.I would never trust these people.all they care about is getting your money..they could care less if the vehicals are safe or not.. read more

These guys get the friendly camper award! Our car club was traveling north and had arranged a tour of their Benicia facilities as a stop along the way. When we arrived one of our members cars was experiencing shift linkage problems that left his car limping badly. Once Michael Yoshino the Sales Manager realized we had car troubles he made his repair station and lift available and made coffee and doughnuts available for the entire group. Once we were able to get under the car we were able to repair the problem and were on our way in no time. As I was finishing off the last bite of a doughnut and on the way out the door I learned that my buddy bought his car from Specialty about 15 years ago! Since I was busy helping with the repair I didn't get to spend any time feasting on all the eye candy on their showroom, but there was quite a bit there. If you are buying or selling an old classic be sure to give these guys some consideration. read more

I signed a contract to sell my classic vehicle back in May. The first thing that went wrong is that they held if for over a month without properly advertising the details of it on their website. How can you sell something if you do not put the details of the vehicle on your website. When I signed the contract they told me they would advertise it on ebay. It took over 2 months to have them post my vehicle on ebay. Again, not much of an effort to sell my vehicle. Communication is terrible with the sales staff. I received some criptic calls from their sales staff about possibly selling my vehicle but never any details about when it would be sold. Finally I received a call that it was sold but it was from the buyer asking me questions about my vehicle. He told me he had purchased it four days ago and has it in his garage, I never received a call from Specialty Sales that my car was sold, my car is gone and I have no money. They told me that I will not receive payment for 20 days and that I have to sign over my title. Lets see.........the buyer has my car, Specialy Sales has my title and money and I have zero. Does that seem fair? When I told them I wanted my money as soon as possible, the sales person I was talking too told me he was insulted by my lack of trust in him and was very upset with me This company is just out to make a buck, they don't care about their customers only their bottom line. I spoke to the owner directly and believe me, he has no clue about how to treat customers either. Just typcial untrustworthy car salesmen. Take my advice, sell your car yourself or go with a company that cares and communicates with their customers. read more

These guy's should answer their e-mails, Their web site makes it look like they are more interested in customer service than they are. No reply to email; I had requested info on a specific car and they don't seem interested. Same thing happens when you arrive in person to the showroom; I had purchased MANY cars from them in the past and also KASSABIAN; The customer service at KASSABIAN is head and shoulders above SSC. I will continue to do my own looking............ read more

BUYERS and SELLERS BEWARE!!!! I bought a great car from these guys, they insisted I take it to the shop in Fairfield for minor adjustments, they put several hundred miles on the speedometer and dropped off my car not running and with the front end bent!!! Hope you had a nice joy ride. Rory came to my home saying he was on my side but actually just wanted to see any emails on my computer from his boss and to get aggressive with me!! The previous owner was so shocked and it was 4 month's before they sent any money to the DMV. I have never been so horribly ripped off in my life! The owner did offer to take the price of the car off of a 180,000$$ fake GTO JUDGE that he owns! No thank you read more

Do not do business with this company! My sister and I had a 1940 Buick that we opted to sell through Specialty Sales. They were great at the beginning and over the last year that it took to finally sell the car. Once they received the funds from the buyer things took on a different tone. We specifically dealt with Tom. He has spoken to me over the phone and via email several times during the tenure of our business relationship. My sister and I were co-owners of the vehicle and because my sister was local and I am out of state she signed the contract. Mind you up until it came time for them to pay us they had no issues with talking to me. Once we provided all the necessary paperwork and wire transfer information they then informed me that because I was not on the contract they did not believe the information I provided was acceptable and stated that they would no longer speak to me. I find this highly coincidental as Tom disclosed information about my sister for a totally different transaction she held with them that I had no involvement with. When this was brought to his attention he then decided to stop taking my calls. They have now used every excuse in the book not to pay us for the sale of our car. They have stated that in the contract they have up until 20 days. Expect if you use their services it will not be up to but on the actual 20th day. I would have liked for them to have provided an actual viable business reason for holding our funds but now they say due to me not being on the contract they will not speak to me despite the fact that I have emails and voicemails contradicting this. I escalated to the "General Manager" Joseph who promptly greeted me with nothing but rudeness. Hardly the business attitude I would expect from professionals. If you do not mind rude, unprofessional, and shady business practices, this is the place for you! Buyer and Seller beware! BTW-still waiting on being paid! read more

I was contacted by the Benicia store as I had a rare Z-28 Camaro on craigslist. Got talked into trailering my car to them and signing a contract to sell my car on consignment with them. Their contract states they have up 20 days to pay you for your car after it is sold or the buyer takes possession of your car. Well........After 10 days breach of contract they did get my check mailed to me. It is a little nerve racking to have your car sold and no monies paid until they get to it. Everybody was very nice but no real explanation as why this occurred. My advice, get a "clearer" contract written that you can enforce if the company does not perform. read more

I consigned my Hot Rod at Benicia with the help of Todd, the car was sold through Fairfield with the help of Tom and Todd in a span of two (2) weeks. Todd explained that a car needs to be priced right from the beginning of the process to be fair to both the seller and buyer. The reason I chose Specialty sales was that I first tried Ebay and found that after a couple weeks I was being scammed by someone who had high jacked another website address. I contacted Ebay and thay handled it very quickly. I took the car off the site for six (6) months until I went to Specialty Sales. read more

Benicia showroom is clean and organized. Their Pleasanton location is an overstocked tin barn. Too many classics crammed to close together makes it difficult to shop. No sales people on the floor (or anywhere) to monitor activity for these these classics which are other people's treasure (asset) until sold or withdrawn. Benecia is a much better location to Buy or Sell a classic read more

Yes, they have alot of nice cars to sale. But if you selling your car with them I would not recommend that They did sale my car, after bothering me 4 times while I was on vacation to accept a lower price.Per the contract it can take up to 20days to get your check. I called on the 19th day to make sure my check was in the mail left a message and no one returned my call. On the 20th day called again and left message and again, no call back.Finally on the 21st day got ahold of someone with a half of brain said he would find out where my check was and would call me back the next day, which he did. He told me they are running alittle behind on getting the checks out and to please be patient with them. After screaming and yelling and telling them I know they have the money or my car wouldnt of been driven off the lot. Also, threatend to call 7 on your side and contacting the BBB (which I was told I didnt want to do that because they already have several claims against them) I had my check the next day. Sellers Beware! read more