Knoxville man gets '69 Mustang back from shop in worse shape after 5-year wait: ‘He stripped it.’ Here’s the shop owner’s response

"As you can see in the video, the car is in worse shape than when I gave it to him," Bickley told WATE 6 On Your Side. "He stripped it. He kept the car doors. He kept the hood. He took the rear axle off. He took the front suspension off. I got none of that back (1).”

Bickley isn't alone. Jeff Ratliff, another customer, paid more than $25,000 to have his 1956 Ford F-100 truck renovated at the same shop. He waited ten months with little to show for it before taking legal action in January 2026 and winning (2).

For his part, the shop owner told WATE 6 that it was Bickley, not him, who’s in the wrong, saying: “There was additional damage found in this vehicle. There were parts that were supposed to be paid for by Kevin Bickley, he did not pay for them. He was told three years ago in 2023 to come in and pick his car up. It stayed in my possession; it should have been owned by me. It should have had a mechanic’s lien put on it. How is it my fault that it took five years for him to get his car back?”

Despite the clashing narratives at play, one thing is for certain: what began as a dream restoration has devolved into a cautionary tale where the financial and emotional stakes are only getting higher.

The classic car market is booming, and so are the risks

Bickley's ordeal hits at an especially painful moment for collectors. The U.S. classic car market was valued at approximately $12.6 billion in 2024 and is projected to hit nearly $26 billion by 2032, according to Credence Research (3).

Millions of Americans are chasing exactly the kind of dream Bickley had. Gen Z buyers are entering the market in growing numbers, drawn to "modern classics" from the 1980s and '90s (4). The appeal of buying and restoring a vintage vehicle has never been stronger; Hagerty’s RADIndex, which tracks collectible vehicles from that era, has climbed roughly 230% since 2014.

That enthusiasm, however, is creating a pipeline of opportunity for unscrupulous operators. The restoration industry operates with relatively little oversight, flexible timelines and significant asymmetry of knowledge between shop owners and customers. When a project goes sideways, a customer's car is often disassembled and on someone else's property, making recovery difficult and legally complicated.

Are classic cars actually a good investment?

Before you start searching Hemmings listings for your own dream build, the investment picture deserves a hard look.

For much of the past two decades, Hagerty's Blue Chip index of high-end classic cars outpaced the stock market. But in 2024, that reversed for the first time in 17 years: the stock market surged while high-end collector car values softened, and a dollar invested in the S&P 500 back in 2007 would now yield a higher return than the same dollar put into a Blue Chip classic car (5).

Additionally, Hagerty's Q1 2025 data showed that values for both classic Ferrari’s and muscle cars, like Bickley's Mustang Mach 1, declined about 10% year-over-year, potentially due to younger enthusiasts with different preferences entering the market (6).

That's not to say classic cars are a bad investment. Rare, well-documented examples in excellent condition, like the kind of build Bickley was paying for, still command strong premiums and can appreciate meaningfully. But as Hagerty itself cautions, cars aren't a straightforward path to financial gain: maintenance, storage and insurance costs can erode returns significantly, and valuation swings are hard to predict (7).

The better mentality is to buy a classic car because you love it and treat any financial upside as a bonus, not a guarantee.

How to protect yourself before handing over your keys

Bickley's nightmare contains several red flags that could have served as early warning signs. Here's what experts recommend you do to protect yourself and your property.

Do your homework before signing anything. Research any shop thoroughly before committing. Check Google reviews, the Better Business Bureau and ask fellow enthusiasts or car club members for recommendations. Verify that the shop has the necessary licenses and insurance coverage, including liability for any damage to your vehicle while in their possession (8).

Get everything in writing and make it specific. Never rely on a verbal agreement or a handshake. A proper restoration contract should spell out the full scope of work, a clear timeline with milestone dates, an itemized cost estimate and the payment schedule. For large projects, Hagerty appraisal experts recommend having an attorney review the contract before you sign (9).