Hello Stork,
OK, does this mean you are interested in possibly acquiring one, but don't yet trust yourself? If that's the case, you are at the right place--this forum--where you will, if you invest the time and effort, learn more about these cars than any other place on earth.
Though many have done so successfully without an inspection, my own suggestion is don't buy it sight unseen. Maybe the seemingly perfect Pagoda for you is up in Washington State, or in Boston...well you will really need to see it in order to pass judgement on it.
There are a number of boutique dealers that buy and sell these all the time. They sell them because an owner didn't want to deal with the sales process and is taking a hit on his return and allowing someone else to deal with it. These showrooms thus can buy them at a discount, often significant to value. There are a number of showrooms out there that take them on consignment, too. So start poking around, reading the magazines, and getting names. Almost every listing is online somewhere so there's a lot of research into any one particular car you can do with your computer and a phone...
