In 2002, Alex Manos had achieved his dream. The L.A.-based Wilhelmina model was gleefully driving his slab-sided 1961 Lincoln Continental convertible home after a yearlong restoration. “In my eyes, if you lived in America and you’re successful, you had a convertible,” Manos says. Suddenly, a chauffeur-driven Escalade pulled alongside him on Sunset. “The guy in back wound down his window and said, ‘How much is it?’ And I said 55,” Manos says. “And he said, ‘Not what year is it. How much do you want for it?’ And I said, ‘$55,000.’ He said, ‘Pull over.’ ”

They did the deal in front of the Chateau Marmont, and the buyer — an owner of the Sahara casino in Vegas — took delivery the next day. After a few more side deals flipping cars he’d longed to own, including Willie Nelson’s Mercedes-Benz

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