ROAD TO RICHES
Car buff’s family sells secret hoard
● Bertie Bester bought so many old rustbucket cars that he soon learnt not to show all of them to his wife — for fear of a tonguelashing.
Instead they were parked in remote corners of their farm outside Stellenbosch, gathering dust in rows of faded history.
It was only after Bester died at the age of 80 in November last year that those handling his deceased estate realised the size of his unusual crop — and its potential value.
It consisted of about 200 vintage cars — some expertly restored and many others in disrepair — and as many as 100,000 spare parts, including everything from 1940s lightbulbs to rare hubcaps, some still in their original packaging.
A team of auctioneers has spent months drawing up an inventory in preparation for the sale of what is considered one of the biggest vintage car collections worldwide.
Until a few months ago hardly anybody knew it existed. “Some of the garages here have never been opened for 20 years,” said auctioneer Stef Olivier. “When we came here, nobody knew what was here — we were busy for three months.”
Bester’s family spoke this week about his lifelong passion, which started when he was a child working with bicycles in his home town of Hopefield.
“In standard 7 he started fixing bicycles,” said his son, Albert. “He spray-painted them different colours. Then when he was 16 he bought his first car and fixed it up — and that’s how he first started making money.”
Bester’s car collection grew steadily during his working career, first for agricultural supplies giant Andrag then as a private businessman. His hobby was aided and abetted by his businessman father-in-law, a prominent timber baron from Knysna, who sourced trucks from Bester.
One of them was delivered by his wife, Reinette, who said her late husband was always tinkering with cars, even when on holiday. “Sometimes we would wake up in the middle of a scrap yard — he was always busy,” she said.
“At home he never wanted to stop a [newly bought] car in front of the house because he knew I would say, ‘Wat se rubbish is this now?’ ”
In total, Bester restored and sold close to 700 cars, including a fleet of 100 that went to billionaire Johann Rupert for his Franschhoek Motor Museum.
A visit to the farm this week revealed two large warehouses full of cars, ranging from a 1928 Buick to more recent Fords and Chevrolets.
Bester was fond of salvaging old cars from unlikely locations, and on one occasion retrieved and restored a car that had two trees growing through it. He also restored a car that had completely disappeared underground.
“Nobody at that stage wanted to collect old cars — it wasn’t a big thing,” said Albert, who was never allowed to tamper with his father’s cars. Bester liked to work on them himself and eschewed outside mechanics.
By contrast, Albert has a team of three mechanics working to restore the fleet in time for a four-day auction starting at the farm on November 6 — three days for viewing and one day for bidding.
However, not all cars are up for grabs. Albert intends keeping 15 for his own enjoyment and to kick-start a business offering vintage car tours of the winelands and car hire for special events.
The days of stockpiling car wrecks are over. “I feel they have to be driven and enjoyed,” said Albert.
Olivier said some of the cars at next month’s auction could sell for as much as R1m. His company, Bidway, is constructing a makeshift arena to display the auction fleet, which is likely to attract a sizeable crowd. The event will also be live-streamed for the benefit of international bidders, said Olivier.
“This is without doubt the most exciting original automobilia private collection ever to go under the hammer in South Africa,” Bidway said in a statement.
“We also believe it’s the largest deceased estate and inheritance original classic car and barn find auction the country has seen in at least 20 years.”
The sale, a joint venture between Bidway and High Street Auctions, is on November 9.