Rule #1: Complete the vintage car repertoire.
Rule #2: Purchase more.
Rule #3: Repeat rule #2.

Basically, those are the rules that make vintage car collectors go round. As much as possible, collectors want to amass every vintage car they see. But that’s impossible. With so many collectors around the globe, the distribution is good – though not even. Only the most ardent and the richest collectors hold the most dramatic vintage car collection.

If you belong to the “deprived” collector echelon, try to find an outlet to soothe your itch for precious, timeless vintage cars. Why don’t you visit your fellow collectors’ garage? The remedy could be as easy as that.

A New York Times‘ release took me to one grand garage…

About a century after old cars first became an issue (and about a century - less 10 minutes - after compulsive car collecting became an issue), the world is just coming to grips with the collector’s sunny-minded pathology.

And the facts are distressing. Thanks to this compulsion, the problem of insufficient storage space has sprinted right past the tipping point. It is commonplace to see neglected automotive nobility residing under toadstools, behind haystacks, in ponds, the reddish-orange rash of iron oxide spreading across the flanks like poison sumac.

At least one American entrepreneur is trying to solve that problem. Robert B. Machinist (his business card reads, Bob Machinist, Garage Man) is moonlighting from his day job as a managing partner at MB Investment Partners in Manhattan to provide succor to collectors by opening the Collectors Car Garage in Bedford Hills, in Westchester County, N.Y. (www.collectorscargarage.com).

“We opened in March 2005, and we’re now almost completely full,” says James Machinist, Robert’s son and the manager of the garage. With 120,000 square feet in three stories holding more than 200 cars, the garage is adding a 25,000-square-foot building adjacent to the original. In addition, a new 50,000-square-foot garage is planned for Jericho, N.Y.

The scale of the Collectors Car Garage’s public storage scheme, which Mr. Machinist describes as “a country club for car collectors,” is well suited to the care and feeding of high-end collectibles. At an owner’s request, stored cars are pampered with spalike services. Cars can be detailed for $200 or receive a premium detailing process, called Detail Plus, for $350.

Membership costs $400 a month for a year, offering the garage’s full range of services, including unlimited access to your car. Customers can view their cars by Webcam 24 hours a day, seven days a week. “We have a patent pending on this concept,” Robert Machinist says.

Membership includes unlimited access to the clubhouse - one multipoint check of the car before you leave for a drive; four quick checks of fluid levels, tire pressures, dust and glass cleaning; three hours of use of the detail bay, one valet service, and more.

When you think the collectors’ rules aren’t meant for you, just aim to be their guest. Know what, I’m dying to see their garage!

I’m tired of seeing my garage with nothing but a cranky pickup and a so-so sedan. It also reminds me of my VW fuel pump that hollers: Hey, I need repairs! Omigosh! I certainly need a break.