Held at Bendigo's Price of Wales Showgrounds this weekend, the Swap Meet is also a chance for locals like Julie Loomes to show off her pride and joy.

When Julie was going through her teenage years, there was not a single pop star poster on her bedroom wall. The images that made her heart speed up were bright, shiny vintage cars, a 90 year old A model Tudor in particular.

"I simply adored the shapes of those old cars. My dad was into cars and he would let my brother and I help him. This was in the days when everybody had to know how to fix their cars because they were fairly unreliable, pretty but fickle," Julie said.

Have you ever heard anyone, in your life, say cars are an investment? They sink in value as you drive out the gate right? Not so vintage and veteran cars it seems.

Julie remembers she paid $2500 for a 1956 pale blue Chevvy in 1983, and just like your first born, she can tell you all about its provenance, even today. It was a Bendigo car, she was only its third owner, she rebuilt the motor, and a bonus part of the buy was an extra car.

She admits she could have paid for a deposit on a house, and yes her friends all said she was crazy. She takes quiet delight in the fact that at Shannons Auctions recently a very similar car in show condition, brought $120,000.

Of course Julie's cars are in show condition, all nine of them!

Happily, Julie has decided it's time her and husband Mick put a bit more time and effort into retirement proper, so the couple have decided to travel and see more of Australia.

"We have driven various cars of ours on hot rod runs, we've even driven the 1930 A Model Coupe to Darwin and back, sleeping in a tent as we went.

"We took the 1928 A Model Tudor to Gulgong east of Dubbo in May. We hooked up our nine foot A-van caravan and headed out. It took a week to drive to our destination, we stayed a week and then a week to get home again, and it never missed a beat."