As with other collector or investment items, the value of a classic or collector vehicle depends to a large extent on its provenance and condition and the integrity of the documentation. As a conservative estimate, clean documentation can increase the value of a vehicle by around 10%. However, this important information is often only kept in paper form. While paper records are preserved - they are occasionally collector's items in their own right - The Motor Chain (TMC) app offers a better way to manage and share them.
Blockchain technology for old cars
TMC was founded by a team of experienced IT professionals with gasoline in their blood and is advised by well-known members of the Swiss classic car scene. It is a new and better way to manage the documentation of classic, collector and investment-grade cars. Users can enter the documentation for their vehicles via an intuitive user interface. However, the blockchain technology used allows even more: the owner can allow restorers or service providers to document their work themselves. Once entries have been made, they can no longer be deleted, creating a digital certificate of authenticity over time that has a significant impact on the value of the vehicle. In the event of a sale, the documentation can be seamlessly transferred to the new owner.
"As a petrolhead and collector, I found managing and checking the documentation of a car far too cumbersome. When I bought my Ferrari 308, I could only view the documentation at the owner's premises," says Julio Saiz, founder and CEO of The Motor Chain. "It was just too inefficient. But we need to go beyond the conventional file folder. If I'm interested in buying a vehicle, I want to see details upfront. That was my motivation to develop a better solution."
The result has already been well received by the European car enthusiast community. Prominent personalities have already documented their vehicles and contributed to TCM as best-practice advisors, including well-known Jaguar collector and enthusiast Christian Jenny, Georg Dönni (restorer of the Geneva E-Type), Simon Frieden (Rolls Royce/Bentley restorer), Marcel Widler (Managing Director, Goodtimer) and Raúl Aranda (Mercedes restorer and Managing Director, Cochera).
Jenny's famous Geneva E-Type - the first E-Type and show star of the 1961 Geneva Motor Show - was the first vehicle to be documented via the TMC app. Its history is now available to all users of the app.
Official debut
True to its Swiss roots, TMC celebrated its public debut at the ZCCA on August 19. The TMC team was on hand with the app, which is available for iOS devices, to document some of the vehicles on display and answer questions from the community.
During the event, Christian Jenny and Marcel Widler took the time to talk to TMC founder Julio Saiz. "The value of a classic car is based on the details we know about it," says Jenny, "Until now, we have compiled these details manually in Excel files, for example, but there is a better way, and Julio has found it."
Widler also talked about the practical benefits of the app: "As a restorer, I work like a doctor in some ways. For me, vehicles are like children whose files I follow: I know when they were born, know their blood type and physical ailments that lie in the mechanics. And until now, I have documented all of this on paper."
Widler continues, "I'm glad that someone has taken on the big task of digitizing this documentation and collecting the relevant knowledge about a vehicle, from the hour of birth to the registration numbers to the diseases and the names of all those who once treated them."
More information about this new app can be found on the company's website.
