Classic car purchase - unexpected?

Mr. Tightwad said:
And now she's enjoying breakfasts with you and loading up on sausages to take home.
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Yes! You remember the post! :) Her husband dropped her off each morning to join me for breakfast when I was visiting.
 
G-Money said:
...Deep! I'm not sure my parents had a favorite but I was the younger one and my parents were absolutely a little more permissive with me. She paved the way. But I was also smart and learned from her plight that getting good grades and not being outwardly rebellious allowed me to fly under the radar and gain undeserved trust. Boy howdy that would make her furious. Little bit of Ferris Bueller going on in our household growing up ;)...
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G-Money, that's part of being the favorite. lol I was my father and grandfather's favorite. I was the tomboy, mechanical, loved the stock market like they did. My quiet, cake baking, equestrian sibling was my mother's favorite and oldest sibling was my grandmother's favorite. Both of them were rebels. It bothers my one sister when my father, grandfather & I talk about the market. They tried to teach her for years but she wasn't interested. Now she just wants us to give her a "winning" stock.
Hope whatever you decide that your dad will be happy.
 
G-Money said:
Anyway, he kind of lit up when I said I might be interested. Similar to a comment above, it could be a way for him to still enjoy and see it, but without the burden. He even said maybe I can ask you to store it for a while while I figure out next steps.
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The above is key. Retaining the car might advance the father-son relationship. It's less of a mechanical machine than an instrument of therapy.

However, as a fellow car-guy, I definitely appreciate the sentiment that we like certain types or genres of cars, and less so, others. For instance, I like small RWD 1970s-1990s imports with swapped American V8 engines... like, a Datsun Z with a LS-series Chevy engine. That tends to annoy both the American car-fans and the import-fans. A tricked-out big-turbo Honda Civic wouldn't enthuse me. Nor would an Impala or a Galaxy. So, if I inherited say a 1963 Impala it would, after the passing of the parties involved, end up on Bring-a-Trailer. If however a Miata with a V8 engine swap showed up, I'd pay top-dollar, or beyond.
 
No mention of a 3rd generation of car lovers, so assume you have no kids that are close to your father and familiar with the car(?) That factor would swing the pendulum toward keeping the car in the family to possibly pass down yourself eventually.
I'm a Bring A Trailer fan. Some cars sold there have long family histories (50-70+ years) that are often shared in the comments and fun to read.
 
I'd say buy it at your father's asking price so you and he can continue to enjoy it for awhile. You can always sell it later on if you choose to do so.
 
G-Money said:
The cool cars when I was coming of age were decidedly not this car. I was into muscle cars, huge power, V8's, and big cars and trucks.
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I had to struggle the other day on the temptation... found an all original 1963 Pontiac Tempest convertible, straight 4/2 speed
 
NameTaken2 said:
No mention of a 3rd generation of car lovers, so assume you have no kids that are close to your father and familiar with the car(?) That factor would swing the pendulum toward keeping the car in the family to possibly pass down yourself eventually.
I'm a Bring A Trailer fan. Some cars sold there have long family histories (50-70+ years) that are often shared in the comments and fun to read.
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My sister has kids who are adults now. Neither are interested in cars or driving at all.

They'll be the ones in 40 years hiring Wayne Carini (he'll be like 160 years old then, but still alive!) to help them figure out to do with this ancient car under a cover in the back of their Uncle's shop.
 
As you can expect, a lot of comments on both sides...

For me there is no reason to keep a car that I will not use.. I have had some nice for me cars that I loved to drive and would love to not have totaled my 04 Acura TL 6 speed.. but did not love it enough to get another...

From the OPs comments I would think that he wants to keep the car due to his father but not HIS wants... so do the half way and keep it for him and when he passes you can sell.. in the end I would think you will get more than $35K from his estate so the cost of the car is not that big of a factor...

BTW, is there any chance of the price going UP?
 
Texas Proud said:
BTW, is there any chance of the price going UP?
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Probably not too much, the car is over 60 years old so you can imagine the interest curve for those cars is probably falling off as the population who enjoyed them when new or as an aspirational vehicle is decreasing. That's happening with a lot of classics - the next generation of enthusiasts have their own interests. "Classic" is officially 80's and 90's now, and starting to nip at the early 2000's if older than 25 years is considered a classic vehicle.
 
I have a collector car that I am thinking of selling so some of the issues OP describes are close to home. I just returned from the one big car show I always attend so I am full if good intentions to spruce the car up but the pattern is that it just sits till next year.
 
Yea... my BIL had a British sports car convertible sitting in his garage for years... I was interested in buying it to fix it up but he always wanted to do it himself...

Well, many years later he sold it.. to get a working transmission would cost the same as a new car... bought a Miata and had fun with that...

There is no way I would want a 60 YO car... parts are going to kill you I think... and to say nothing about the safety of driving one... you might be a great driver but I have been hit a couple of times just sitting still..
 
The good thing is that I'm equipped to do most of the work/maintenance and troubleshooting myself. My father also knows the car inside/out, and we are still plugged into a social network of folks who live and breathe these vehicles. Parts are a concern for anything this old, but there is still a very lively community, swap meets, shows, and the cars were common enough back in the day plus there is still a pretty robust OE reproduction parts market. That's certainly not true of all cars of this vintage.

I agree, though, if I didn't have the space, knowledge, or skill to "support" an older vehicle, this would be a much more daunting question and I could see others being turned off by the overhead/burden an addition like this could pose.
 
G-Money said:
I never thought my father would want to sell a classic car that's been in our family for the last 35 years.
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G-Money said:
I'm in a good position to house it and tend to its needs, maintain its good condition, but.. do I want to.?
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I was in a similar situation several years ago. I had been driving a VW Rabbit for over 36 years. I spent a year fixing it up, repainting it, and licensing it as a "classic" car. Then I had the "now what" moment. I had a newer car I was driving regularly, so the Rabbit was just taking up space in our garage. Space that I could use for woodworking, or other things. I bought a battery tender to keep the battery from going dead, but for what? Maybe a drive or two each year.

While my Rabbit had a lot of sentimental value, it wasn't worth much in dollar value (sold it for $3500). I also didn't have the time or desire to maintain another vehicle. So, I finally made the decision to sell it. I second guessed that decision a time or two over the next year, but once it was gone I didn't think about it much. We still have the pictures and the memories...

Life With My VW Rabbit - Anthony Watson

Life with my VW Rabbit, by Anthony Watson.
www.watsondiy.com
 
mountainsoft said:
I was in a similar situation several years ago. I had been driving a VW Rabbit for over 36 years. I spent a year fixing it up, repainting it, and licensing it as a "classic" car. Then I had the "now what" moment. I had a newer car I was driving regularly, so the Rabbit was just taking up space in our garage. Space that I could use for woodworking, or other things. I bought a battery tender to keep the battery from going dead, but for what? Maybe a drive or two each year.

While my Rabbit had a lot of sentimental value, it wasn't worth much in dollar value (sold it for $3500). I also didn't have the time or desire to maintain another vehicle. So, I finally made the decision to sell it. I second guessed that decision a time or two over the next year, but once it was gone I didn't think about it much. We still have the pictures and the memories...

Life With My VW Rabbit - Anthony Watson

Life with my VW Rabbit, by Anthony Watson.
www.watsondiy.com
Click to expand...

That was a great photo essay. Thanks for posting it.
 
G-Money said:
I never thought my father would want to sell a classic car that's been in our family for the last 35 years. He bought it as a father/son project for us and I have many fond memories of working on the car, helping him restore it, going to shows, taking it to school dances. It's part of the family. I don't really want to say what it is, just out of privacy. But here's the situation.

I'm a car guy and have a few toys of my own. This is a car I love and enjoy but the value is primarily sentimental. It's a little outside of my wheelhouse for my own enthusiast interests, but it's still very fun. It's not something I'd drive much if I bought, but I'm in a good position to house it and tend to its needs, maintain its good condition, but.. do I want to.?

$35k wasn't a planned expense, again, never though he'd sell it. It won't significantly impact any trajectory for our retirement plan nor cause any immediate hardships, but $35k is $35k. It's not a drop in the bucket and then I've got another car to deal with, I have 4 just for me, this would be 5. Mental health issue? Hey, I'm not Jay Leno...

Thoughts, other than this ended up being WAY too long?
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I sense hesitation in your wanting to own the car. But you do want to own the memories and help out your dad.

Go to your dad and ask him if you can help him get it ready to sell. Detailing it, making any small repairs it might need. Use this as an opportunity to take pictures of you and him working on the car. Pictures of you and he washing the car, vacuuming it out, etc. You could even stage some shots with the two of you looking under the hood with tools in hand. Or have the two of you sitting in the car and take a bunch of pictures.

Take the car out to a lovely area with an nice nature backdrop. Take a lot of pictures from all sorts of angles, and all kinds of poses for the car--hood up, doors open, interior shots, shots inside the boot, er, trunk, engine bay, etc. Take pictures at this lovely spot of the two of you standing by the car, shaking hands in front of the car, sitting in the car, whatever strikes you as interesting and memorable.

This way your dad gets to sell the car, you both get a reminder of the fun and memories you had of working on the car by doing it together one more time. And you will always have the pictures.

I think this is much better than having yet another car in your garage/care.
 
mountainsoft said:
I was in a similar situation several years ago. I had been driving a VW Rabbit for over 36 years. I spent a year fixing it up, repainting it, and licensing it as a "classic" car. Then I had the "now what" moment. I had a newer car I was driving regularly, so the Rabbit was just taking up space in our garage. Space that I could use for woodworking, or other things. I bought a battery tender to keep the battery from going dead, but for what? Maybe a drive or two each year.

While my Rabbit had a lot of sentimental value, it wasn't worth much in dollar value (sold it for $3500). I also didn't have the time or desire to maintain another vehicle. So, I finally made the decision to sell it. I second guessed that decision a time or two over the next year, but once it was gone I didn't think about it much. We still have the pictures and the memories...

Life With My VW Rabbit - Anthony Watson

Life with my VW Rabbit, by Anthony Watson.
www.watsondiy.com
Click to expand...

Great story. Neat car. Hits close to home - a MK1 Jetta with a green-on-white WA license plate was an integral part of my formative years!
 
Maybe keep it if it means so much to you.
But then there's the upkeep. Tough call, unless it was this.

I strip away the old debris
That hides a shining car
A brilliant red Barchetta
From a better vanished time
I fire up the willing engine
Responding with a roar
Tires spitting gravel
I commit my weekly crime

;)
 
Diogenes said:
However, as a fellow car-guy, I definitely appreciate the sentiment that we like certain types or genres of cars, and less so, others. For instance, I like small RWD 1970s-1990s imports with swapped American V8 engines... like, a Datsun Z with a LS-series Chevy engine. That tends to annoy both the American car-fans and the import-fans.
Click to expand...
Not trying to hijack the thread, but you might have liked this RHD Nissan Silvia I saw the other weekend at a local show.

100_0563.JPG


100_0564.JPG

The model was a name I'd never heard before and which, subsequently, I had to do a Google image search to find. Other than an MG Midget, it was the only import there.
 
Al18 said:
100% of the gas sold in NJ, and other states has 10% ethanol. There is no other choice for road legal cars.
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There is at least one, high octane, no ethanol gas outlet by us.
 
Al18 said:
100% of the gas sold in NJ, and other states has 10% ethanol. There is no other choice for road legal cars.
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I can think of two gas stations near me in Minnesota where I can buy ethanol free gas. I know because every year I buy it for my snowblower.
 
Food for thought: what would you do with the car if your father still had it when he passes? Would you be inclined to sell it as part of the estate? Or buy/receive it as part of your share?

Sentimental can put a high value on something. Depends how much you want to have that sentimental item.

My father had a 1917 Ford Model T touring car. After his severe stroke he couldn't drive it; and certainly my mother couldn't. It sat in garage for a few years as it was too sentimental. I would turn over the engine and check tires every so often. Finally got mother to agree selling it so I got it running and driving. Mother wanted to give it to me, but it just wasn't my type classic car being a stock restored Model T. Sold to someone else to enjoy and money went to parents to help with father's medical expenses. The Model T had very high sentimental value to my mother, but not so much to me.
 
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