Keeping classic cars on the road since 1986

Where it started

Copperstate Classic Cars was founded in Phoenix in 1986 by Bo Malefors. Bo is originally from Sweden and emigrated to the United States in the 1980s. Swedes are huge fans of American classics, and soon after Bo arrived, friends back home started asking him to help them find cars and ship them to Sweden.

Word spread, and before long Bo was exporting classic cars all over the world. When Roland first met him, Bo was shipping one to two containers of cars every week. Over the years, Copperstate exported more than 3,000 cars and tens of thousands of parts, and Bo's knowledge of late 1950s MOPAR and Cadillac made the shop a reference in the United States and around the world.

A changing market

The 2008 financial crisis changed everything. As the dollar grew stronger, American classics became too expensive for buyers abroad, and the export business nearly came to a stop. Bo had always done a little service work for local owners, but never much.

Where we are today

In 2023, after almost 40 years, Bo decided it was time to retire, and he trusted Roland Bertaud to take over the business. Roland made service for local owners the whole focus of the business: he grew it as much as he could and rebuilt the shop around it. Today Copperstate is three Arizona shops: the original shop in Phoenix, Copperstate Classic Cars of Tucson, and Copperstate Auto Body and Paint, our dedicated body shop, opened in 2025.

Before moving to Arizona, Roland was known in Europe for the classic cars he restored and maintained. When he took over Copperstate, word got out. Today Copperstate is known for American classics, which are the big majority of our work, and also for European classics, mainly German, French, British and Italian.

We still focus on one thing: classic cars. Late 1950s MOPAR and Cadillac remain close to our hearts, and we work on every classic our customers bring us.

What we believe

A classic car carries memories, so owners are rightly attached to them. That is why we take care of every car as if it were our own, with real attention to detail, from the moment it comes through our door to the moment you drive it home.

What you can expect

• We sit down with you and make sure we understand what you want before any work starts.
• We explain what is going to be done to your car, in plain language.
• On bigger jobs, we work with your budget to get you the most for your money.
• We keep you updated every week and invoice weekly, so there are no surprises at the end.