3957 Mayfield Road, Cleveland Heights, Ohio 44121 (216) 291-9000

Background of the Owner

Philosophy of World Cars

Newspaper and Magazine Articles about World Cars

Return to main page

Tom Vail Jr. was educated at St. Paul’s School, Georgetown University, and the University of Virginia School of Law. Tom is a direct descendant of the founders of the White Motor Company and the Brewster Car and Bodyworks Company.

Tom’s experience with automobiles dates to his early childhood and includes an extensive and successful racing career. Tom is a veteran of over 150 races in Formula Fords, Formula 2000 cars, and a broad variety of vintage racing cars. He was Champion of the prestigious Skip Barber Racing Series and has taught many individuals high performance driving techniques as an instructor for Track Time Driving School.

Tom is a true enthusiast who really enjoys finding the perfect car to fit each customer's needs and desires. Car enthusiasts from all over the country seek Tom’s advice and services in locating particular cars because Tom’s extensive automobile knowledge and independence from any particular manufacturer allows him to render truly honest advice about cars.

Strict quality control: Unlike most dealerships, our used car inventory is not made up of traded-in problem cars. We wholesale 90% of the cars we take in on trade because they don't meet our strict quality standards. Then we search the country for cars in optimum condition for our inventory. If we don't have the car you want in stock, we can find it for you promptly using our worldwide contacts. All cars are inspected with the greatest of care and more importantly, all necessary repairs are made before any car is made available for sale or lease.

Warranties: Many of our cars are covered by their manufacturer's original warranty. For other cars, we provide at no additional cost a limited warranty and offer at additional cost warranties providing more comprehensive coverage and terms of up to 3 years/45,000 miles from the date and mileage of delivery.

Leasing of all makes of new and used cars is available on terms that are fully disclosed to each customer. We refuse to engage in unfair "back end" tricks which are so common in the leasing industry such as inflation of payoff amounts.

Four years ago, Tom Vail Jr. decided to change careers. Vail, now 40, had spent eight years as a lawyer specializing in mergers and acquisitions. But his obsession with fine European racing cars began even earlier, as a teenager. He loved driving classic BMWs, Porsches and Mercedes-Benzes, he said.

In 1992, Vail left the world of law for the world of cars, beginning his dealership for classic used cars in Chagrin Falls. Now, he has opened Tom Vail's World Cars in Cleveland Heights at 3957 Mayfield Rd.

His dealership sells, leases and services low-mileage examples of upscale cars for prices ranging from $9,000 to $50,000 and up. The cars are pristine, and the dealer does very little restoration on them. He searches around the nation to find and purchase his inventory.

Rattling off his 50-car inventory -- the model name, brief description, mileage and price -- Vail seems not to need a sales staff for the dealership. But he does have six employees. His sales staff is headed by Richard Alaimo, who has 12 years experience in selling and leasing specialty automobiles. Tibor Prokay, with 25 years experience in servicing mostly European specialty cars, heads the service department.

Vail said he is building a customer base of people who want to drive the finest cars, but can't stomach the sky-high prices. "World Cars is a clinic for those suffering from sticker shock," he said. "All cars are sold with a warranty, and they will recieve top-notch service here at a reasonable price."

Vail, son of Tom Vail, retired editor and publisher of The Plain Dealer, purchased the Cleveland Heights building last year. It had been built initially as a car dealership: first selling Hudsons and then Studebaker and Dodge.

His moving away from the outer suburb of Chagrin Falls to the closer-in Cleveland Heights appears to buck the trend of car dealerships following customers away from the city. He expects the customers for his specialized inventory will follow him to Cleveland Heights.

Looking out of his office to the main display area, filled with such cars as a red Porsche, a blue BMW and a black Porsche, Vail explained: "Any car ought to sell itself; a consumer should not have to face a lot of sales gimmicks."

"A highly modified 1981 Alfa Romeo Spyder, with a racing engine and racing suspension," says Tom Vail, Jr., whose World Cars dealership in Cleveland Heights is meant to rev the engines of those who just aren't intereseted in a cookie-cutter Ford or Chevy. The Spyder is strictly for summer use, says Vail; his regular winter car is a rare, 1990 four wheel-drive Audi Coupe Quattro.

The first "car" Vail drove as a kid in Hunting Valley was an International Harvestor tractor, but he had automotive passions even then. " When my friends were reading Sports Illustrated, I was off reading Road and Track ." The 1982 Skip Barber Formula Ford Midwestern champion spent time racing and practicing corporate law before settling into the car business.

As an independent dealer, Vail can pick and choose from the product lines of a number of different manufacturers, giving him access to some pretty hot rods (like the 1987 Porsche 911 Carrera above). In Vail's personal collection, though, are eight "pure sportscars." They're for driving - not for show. " I do care what a car looks like," he says.
"But it's not the image. It's the beauty. There's something about a thoroughbred car, with one person like Enzo Ferrari behind it, designing it first for racing and offering it for sale with as little change as possible. The results are just gorgeous."