VAN NUYS, Calif. — Finding his way under the hood of a car isn’t a problem for Ben Field.

The longtime classic car enthusiast grew up fixing cars with his dad, who is also a mechanic.

“When I was in high school, instead of getting a job, I would buy cars,” Fields said. “At that time, you could buy a car for $50, fix it up, and sell it for $600, $700, $800 and that was my play money.”

Fields still loves fixing up classic cars and has collected over two dozen. They bring a sense of nostalgia. Fields buys and sells them online and in-person but since the pandemic started, many live event auctions have been cancelled, and he has seen online sales become increasingly popular.

“That’s become actually stronger cause now they have more time to sit at home and what else are they going to do? They are going to look at the internet, look at cars and go, 'oh, you know what? I think I could buy that,'” Fields said.

Fields admits buying a classic car online isn’t quite the same as seeing and touching a car at a live event, where you can meet up with friends that share your enthusiasm. But when he used a new online eCommerce site called Clasiq to sell one of his trucks, he found the entire experience seamless.

Clasiq CEO and founder David Zysblat launched the site last year after he moved from London to Los Angeles.

“There are sites out there where you can just — Craigslist kind of sites — where people list cars, but you are never quite sure who the seller is,” Zysblat said. “You’re never quite sure the condition of the car.”

So Zysblat set out to provide a trustworthy buying and selling experience while engaging classic car collectors during a time when meeting face-to-face isn’t an option for everyone.

Zysblat is no stranger to the classic car industry. He originally started Clasiq as a Facebook page for classic car fans and amassed 850,000 followers in four years. His company now offers an online marketplace that includes professional car inspections and high-quality photos and videos for sellers.

His site’s launch comes as the U.S. market for classic cars is expected to grow to $15.5 billion by 2023. But Zysblat said his site is more than transactional. It’s also a home for those who love talking about cars from their adolescence and the priceless memories they bring.

“People love their cars more than they love their children, some people, which is a crazy situation,” Zysblat said. “But they want to feel that they can provide some value to other people, so we provide the platform. We let people talk, we let people give their expert opinion.”

For Fields, the pandemic may have put a damper on traditional auctions, but it doesn’t mean he can’t enjoy watching a lively one online.

“I’ll tell you something. I’ve seen some auctions where I said, if I was there, that car would not have gone for that money because I would have been there bidding on that car, you know, for what it went for,” Fields said.

That may sound like a tough bargain, but the longtime classic car collector simply knows a deal when he sees one.