Everyone’s first instinct when a vehicle starts being too much trouble to fix is to get rid of an old car and buy a new one, right?

Aside from collectors and innovative engineers who love a good fixer-upper, which is just what Keith Warren and Shannon Parker are.

The husband and wife duo are obsessed with classic cars, and engineer Warren had an idea of how to make them last longer with fewer mechanical issues that led to the creation of Nomad Motors.

What does the company do, and how can this change how you get rid of an old car?

The Idea Behind Nomad Motors

Back when the family had an old 2002 BMW, they discovered how hard it was to maintain.

Maintenance costs and difficulties led Keith Warren to wonder how he could turn the BMW into the same kind of smooth ride he’s used to. The answer he landed on: make it electric.

And so he stripped out all the gas-related parts, cooling system, even some of the seats to make room for wiring, and got to work.

Today, the BMW has an electric motor on a specially-designed mounting bracket connecting two remanufactured Tesla batteries in the trunk. It’s waiting on one more part to be delivered before it can hit the road.

But if this was just a fun project, where did the business come in?

The Making of Nomad Motors

As said previously, the couple loved classic cars.

So while they were remaking the BMW, they had the idea to restore older classic vehicles so they could have an extended lifespan of 20 or 30 more years through electric power.

The growing interest in the BMW led to the creation of the business, as Warren felt there would be plenty of collectors interested in the converted vehicles.

In fact, they already have a second vehicle to work on – a 1969 Land Rover. A third – a classic Chevy Camaro – is coming from a local body shop.

The idea has even expanded beyond the cars themselves – Nomad Motors offers electric car chargers for home installation that are full-size replicas of old gas pumps.

So how does the couple intend to make it work?

Making the Most of Old Cars and Crafty Collectors

Everyone Warren has talked to about the concept has thought it was the coolest thing, and as the first company of its kind in the Maine area, he believes he’ll be seeing plenty of customers soon.

Most of the market is collectors and fellow restorers who have money to burn on a conversion that’s over $50,000 per vehicle. Still, there’s also a chance that people who want to get rid of an old car would be willing to sell a vehicle for conversion and resale.

As more and more people become interested in electric vehicles and disappearing classic models, the business will grow. It’s just a matter of time before Keith Warren and Nomad Motors go from the talk of the town to a successful multi-location business.