As one of those folks who occasionally gets paid for sticking his neck out on
what Healeys are worth, I would never cast aspersions on the quality of a
restoration done by somebody's father, or a relative unknown, and pride myself
on
the fact that I can (usually) tell a great restoration from one that's just
good, and either from one that is pretty, and shiny, and just plain wrong.
However, I expect that many people can't do that, and very few of those who
buy at auction can do so -- that's why the smart buyers hire advisers.
So, the point of mentioning the name of the restorer is to help explain why
these cars almost always get good money, and restorations by unknown folks, no
matter how good, don't. There are just too many unknowns.
The generic may be just as good as the name brand, but we don't know that for
sure, so we're not willing to pay the same amount for any good that is
marketed without a name brand.
Tanner has become a name brand, and the fact that he has now been doing this
for over ten years, and no one is suing him, or knocking the quality of his
work, on previous years' cars suggests that he deserves his reputation.
(and, by the way, one of the reasons his cars are the quality they are, is
because his father is his body and paint man).
Cheers
Gary
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