SHIFTING GEARS STEWARDSHIP

Enjoy the car. We’ll keep track of the rest.

The best collector cars tend to accumulate two things: miles and paperwork. Shifting Gears Stewardship gives owners one point of contact for keeping track of both. We maintain the vehicle’s records, monitor upcoming service and administrative needs, coordinate approved vendors, document changes and provide ongoing market perspective — so you spend less time managing the car and more time enjoying it.

REQUEST STEWARDSHIP

Available throughout Fairfield County, Connecticut. Lower Westchester by arrangement.

THE DETAILS ADD UP

It’s never just the car.

Collector-car ownership comes with dozens of small responsibilities.

  • Oil Service

  • Brake Fluid

  • Tire Age

  • Battery Age

  • Registration

  • Insurance Valuations

  • Detailing

  • Receipts

  • Mechanical Issues

  • Specialists

  • Transportation

  • Parts

  • Photographs

  • Projects

  • Market values

Individually, none are particularly complicated. Together, they become something else to manage. Stewardship creates one organized system around the vehicle

One car. One living record.

Every vehicle enrolled in Shifting Gears Stewardship receives an actively maintained Digital Vehicle Dossier.
Rather than spreading a car’s history across glove boxes, email accounts, file cabinets, phones and shop invoices, Shifting Gears organizes the useful information into one evolving vehicle record. The record grows with the car.

What’s in the record.

  • Vehicle Identity

    Year, make, model, VIN/chassis, engine number, transmission number, build information, factory specification, current mileage, color, notable options.

  • Ownership Record

    Current owner, acquisition date, acquisition mileage, prior-owner information where available, relevant purchase documents.

  • Service Timeline

    Date, mileage, work performed, vendor, cost where you choose to record it, related invoice, notes.

  • Component Age

    Tires, battery, brake fluid, fuel hoses, timing belts, major service intervals, model-specific items.

  • Document Library

    Service invoices, purchase documents, restoration records, factory documents, registration, insurance valuations, photographs, manuals, books, tool and parts documentation.

  • Condition Record

    Date of latest review, current mileage, observed condition, known issues, outstanding and completed recommendations, photographic record.

  • Market History

    Previous Market Positions, relevant comparable transactions, general market direction, major value changes, notable observations.

  • Photography

    Dated photographic records - a visual history of the vehicle over time.

  • Upcoming

    Annual service, registration, inspection, insurance review, battery and tire age, detailing, storage prep, Market Position, approved projects.

Stewardship maintains the record going forward. A Vehicle Dossier researches the story that came before.

The Stewardship Digital Vehicle Dossier is a living record maintained from enrollment forward. It organizes current vehicle information, service, documentation, condition, photographs, upcoming items and market reports.

The Vehicle Dossier is a separate historical research project — previous ownership, historic transactions, auction appearances, archived listings, publications, period materials, factory records, restoration history, historic photographs and provenance.

We remember so you don’t have to.

  • Service

    • Maintenance intervals

    • Service history

    • Outstanding recommendations

    • Upcoming work

  • Components

    • Tire age

    • Battery age

    • Major service items

    • Time-sensitive components

  • Administration

    • Registration reminders

    • Inspection reminders

    • Insurance-value review dates

    • Ownership documentation

  • Condition

    • Mileage

    • Known imperfections

    • Mechanical observations

    • Photographic condition history

  • Market

    • Scheduled Market Position

    • Relevant market changes

    • Comparable sales

    • Model-market observations

  • Documentation

    • Invoices & receipts

    • Reports & photographs

    • Restoration documentation

    • Vehicle records

ONE POINT OF CONTACT

The right shop. The right work. The right time.

Stewardship does not replace the specialists who maintain collector cars. It helps you manage them. When you approve it, Shifting Gears can help coordinate work with detailers, transporters, licensed repair facilities and other specialist vendors - identifying the appropriate vendor, scheduling approved work, communicating your objectives, organizing estimates, tracking project status, documenting completed work, and adding the resulting records to the Digital Vehicle Dossier.

We represent the owner, not the invoice.

Third-party businesses perform their own services and invoice the owner directly whenever practical.

The car has a calendar.

Some collector-car problems are not caused by mileage. They are caused by time. A car may travel only 1,000 miles in three years while its tires age, its battery deteriorates, its brake fluid absorbs moisture and registration dates continue to approach.



Stewardship maintains an ownership calendar built around each specific vehicle. Depending on the car, that can include service intervals, annual inspection, registration, insurance-value review, battery age, tire age, fluid-service intervals, spring preparation, winter and storage preparation, detailing, approved repair work, an annual Market Position, and condition-review dates.

KNOW WHAT THE MARKET IS DOING

Value doesn’t stand still.

Collector-car markets change. Stewardship provides continuing perspective on where a vehicle sits, rather than leaving you with a valuation performed years ago. Depending on membership level and vehicle, market review may include updated comparable transactions, major model-market movements, changes to the vehicle’s expected market position, important auction results, and a recommendation for a new full Market Position when conditions warrant.

Some things require seeing the car.

Shifting Gears is based in Darien, which lets Stewardship remain a hands-on service. Depending on membership level, periodic vehicle reviews can document current mileage, visible condition, new cosmetic issues, obvious leaks, tire condition and age information, battery information, documentation updates, recent work and recommended follow-up

This is not a formal mechanical inspection unless separately arranged through an appropriate provider. The purpose is continuity — the same person keeps seeing the same car over time.

EXAMPLE VEHICLE — ILLUSTRATIVE, NOT A CLIENT RECORD

1973 BMW 3.0 CS

  • Current mileage

  • 47,822

  • Last service

  • May 2026

  • Tires installed

  • October 2025

  • Battery

  • August 2024

  • Last condition review

  • June 2026

  • Last Market Position

  • June 2026

Open Items:

  1. A/C currently inoperative

  2. Minor driver's-door paint chip

  3. Monitor transmission seepage

Upcoming

  • October

  • Annual service

  • November

  • Storage preparation

  • January

  • Registration

  • April

  • Spring review

  • June

  • Market Position

Documents:

42

Service records

8

Ownership documents

74

Photographs

3

Market reports

An annual ownership program.

  • Steward

    $350/month + $750 enrollment

    For an individual collector car. Includes a personalized ongoing ownership plan built around the vehicle.

    • Digital Vehicle Dossier maintenance

    • Service-history tracking

    • Ownership calendar

    • Administrative reminders

    • Annual Market Position

    • Annual vehicle review

    • Documentation & photography updates

    • Approved vendor coordination

    • Priority Shifting Gears scheduling

  • Collection

    From $495 / month

    For owners with multiple collector vehicles. Stewardship services structured across the collection.

    • Collection-level maintenance calendar

    • Consolidated vehicle overview

    • Coordinated vendor scheduling

    • Collection documentation

    • Market overview

    • Multiple annual vehicle reviews

    Exact pricing depends on the number of vehicles, vehicle complexity, location, and the level of coordination required.

  • Private Client

    Custom

    For larger collections or owners requiring more active collection management.

    • Multiple vehicles

    • Quarterly reviews

    • Ongoing vendor & project coordination

    • Restoration oversight

    • Transport coordination

    • Collection-level documentation

    • Market reporting & project tracking

    • Priority access

    DISCUSS YOUR COLLECTION

What's not included

Stewardship fees do not include mechanical repairs, detailing costs, parts, transportation, registration fees, insurance, appraisals by third-party certified appraisers, storage, restoration work, specialist historical research, marketplace listing fees, or unlimited vendor-management hours.



Third-party expenses are always separate and approved by the owner. Regulated repair services are performed by appropriately licensed third-party businesses.

Onboarding

At enrollment, Shifting Gears establishes the vehicle's core Digital Vehicle Dossier using the information and records reasonably available from the owner.


Vehicles with extensive historic records, complex provenance or significant archival material may benefit from a separate full Vehicle Dossier project.

LEARN ABOUT VEHICLE DOSSIERS

The record gets better with time

A collector car enrolled in Stewardship develops something increasingly difficult to recreate later: continuity. Mileage is recorded. Work is documented. Receipts are preserved. Issues are tracked. Photographs establish condition over time. Market Positions create a history of market context. Years later — whether you keep enjoying the car, hand it to the next generation, or decide to take it to market — the information is already organized.

Don’t reconstruct the history later. Maintain it now.

And when the time comes to sell…

A Stewardship vehicle is already ahead of the process. The service history is organized. The documentation is assembled. Mileage has been tracked. Condition has been photographed. Market activity has been monitored.


When you eventually decide to go to market, Shifting Gears can convert that existing record into a complete Market Ready project.

EXPLORE MARKET READY

Local matters.

Collector cars cannot be completely managed from a laptop. Shifting Gears is based in Darien, Connecticut so we can see the vehicle, meet the shop, review the records, document the work and remain familiar with the car over time. Lower Westchester is available by arrangement

Frequently asked questions

  • An ongoing owner-side collector-car management program. We help maintain the vehicle's records, ownership calendar, market information, and approved service and vendor coordination.

  • Getting started is simple. Reach out through our contact form or schedule a call—we’ll walk you through the next steps and answer any questions along the way.

  • We combine a thoughtful, human-centered approach with clear communication and reliable results. It’s not just what we do—it’s how we do it that sets us apart.

  • You can reach us anytime via our contact page or email. We aim to respond quickly—usually within one business day.

  • We offer flexible pricing based on project type and complexity. After an initial conversation, we’ll provide a transparent quote with no hidden costs.

  • Collaborative, honest, and straightforward. We're here to guide the process, bring ideas to the table, and keep things moving.

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