RUST TO RICHES

OPPORTUNITIES ABOUND IN SOUTH AFRICA'S VINTAGE CAR MARKET. IT'S LIKE A TREASURE HUNT, WITH SOME INCREDIBLY RARE CLASSIC VEHICLES SCATTERED ACROSS THE CONTINENT, SOMETIMES IN THE REMOTEST VILLAGES.

- PAULA SLIER

If you've ever driven past an old Mercedes-Benz rusting in a field, or spotted a forgotten VW Kombi parked behind a rural shack, chances are you were looking at a small fortune on wheels. For Paul Maree, a 25-year-old vintage car enthusiast based in Johannesburg, spotting and restoring these hidden treasures isn't just a hobby- it's a calling passed down through generations.

“My dad grew up poor in Pretoria, and working on cars was just what you did. He’d buy old Harley-Davidsons, restore them, and export them for big money,” says Maree. “He once paid R30,000 ($1,663) for a bike and sold it for over R115,000 ($6,373) in Canada.”

Maree inherited more than just a collection of 14 vintage vehicles when his father, Albert Maree, passed away in 2022. He also inherited a philosophy: the hobby must pay for itself.

And it does—just about. “I try to do everything myself,” says Maree. “Unless it’s a job like paintwork or one that needs massive pieces of machinery, I’m the one sanding, fixing, and assembling.”

He’s currently restoring a rare 1965 VW split-window double cab, which he bought for R120,000 ($6,650). When finished, he expects to sell it for around R750,000 ($41,562). “I'll spend about R300,000 ($16,630) on the restoration, but it’s taken three years of hard work. People think it’s quick money, but they don’t see the hours.”

There's an almost spiritual joy for Maree in reviving machines others have given up on. “There's a morbid fixation I have with fixing what no one else can—or wants to. I’ve always been that kid who took things apart just to see if I could put them back together.”