Projects Ever sell a car...then buy it back?

Hello!

A few years ago I sold a '41 Chevy Coupe to buy an OT muscle car. I still have that car ('69 Mach 1), and I enjoy driving it, but I kinda miss the coupe.

I put a ton of work into the coupe before I sold it...rebuilt open rear end, T5, disc brakes, dual well MC, all new lines, tires, rims, plus a lot of small stuff. The car was solid...there were a few rust holes on the perimeter of the floor but nothing horrible. Trunk and frame were solid. Motor was the original 216, and it was SHOT. The mains were so lose you could hear the crank rattle when you drove it.

I lost about $1000 on the sale...nothing huge.

Anyway, while cruising Craig's List a few days ago, my old coupe surfaced. The car was pretty much unchanged, save for a newly rebuilt 235 with dual carbs. It's $2000 more than what I sold it for, but I did some digging, and it's been for sale for a few months, so I could probably beat him down some.

Anyway, anyone ever sell a car, only to buy it back at a later date?

Chris

 

No, don't miss any I sold either. If I got rid of them I wanted them gone, or they were beat to shit.
Only regrets is the pricing, but it was current market at the time.

I wish you luck on your decision, sounds like you didn't really want part with it.

 

I have on a few occasions. Most of my buddies love trading so we are constantly swapping stuff around in circles. Usually its between friends just trying to help each other out. Bought a 52 Cadillac sedan when I was in high school for $100 bill, tore into it and found spun rod bearings had killed the crankshaft so I quit messing it and it sat around for a few years till I ended up swapping it off to a buddy of mine. He took it apart a lil further and decided to sell it to a guy he worked with that had big plans for it. Fast forward 15yrs, I asked my buddy what ever became of the Caddy and he told me the guy still had it but was wanting to sell it. It was near Christmas and he was looking for extra cash to get his kids gifts. So a 2hr drive and $1000 (inflation sucks) later I was the proud owner of the Cad again. It is EXACTLY the way it was when my buddy sold it to the guy, which isn't much different than the way it was when I sold it to my buddy except that the brakes had been rebuilt at some point. That was 3yrs ago and yes I still have it and plan on keeping it.

 

My dad had a identical twin brother that owned a 78-80 El Camino. He was a iron worker. In 85' he was hit by a crane and died instantly. The car was sold at some point. He had two sons that were very young at the time. When they oldest one became driving age; my aunt found the El Camino, bought it and gave it to him. From what I gather there was not a lot of interest in working on the car. They youngest son is now a iron worker just like his dad and when he started he was working with some of the guys that knew his dad. It's always been kinda of sad to think about.

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Yes, built this roadster in '76 sold in '82, bought back in '88 sold again in '92. Just visited it not long ago, same owner I sold it to 24 years ago still has it and taking good care of it.

 

My dad bought a 36 Chevy coupe years ago. His twin brother was driving it home (no exhaust). A cop tried to pull them over and they found out it had no brakes. He had to drive it into a corn field to stop it. The cop showed up and eventually told them to tow it home. Later my my uncle blew the clutch through the fire wall during a time trial. My dad has owned that car for 45 years now. I don't think he's selling it.

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<------------------- My avatar.HRP

 

My two Sons and I keep selling cars to each other and then we end up buying them back. One car, an OT Capri has been in the family for over 20 years. First Don owned it, then I bought it from him, and ended up selling it back to him a few years later. He sold it and the car went to Ohio, but 4 years later he saw it on Craigslist and bought it back. It won't be going anywhere again.

Same with the 46 tudor. I bought it, and a few years later sold it to Don, who sold it back to me about 2 years ago. I realized I will never get around to it, so I just gave it back to him as a gift.

Don

 

Only to part them out after they had been thrashed to the point of junk.

 

have not but, a couple that are gone wish never sold

 

My uncle had a friend with an OT Datsun back in the '70s...car was a lemon, and it had been in the body shop a few times for accident repair; guy just had a lot of bad luck with it and finally sold it. Several years later, my uncle is stationed in Alaska, and his girlfriend drove cross-country to be with him. She bought a car, and he couldn't believe it when she pulled up in that Datsun, which was still a lemon and had been in a couple more accidents before she bought it. They promptly traded it in on a new Honda CRX, and got several hundred more for it in trade-in than she paid for it.

 

I tried to buy my old'40 back from Craig , who bought it from me about 2004. He wanted $10,000 more than I sold it to him, I offered him 5,000. more but he refused. A couple years later I see it on ebay with different wheels and they couldn't get what I offered him for it. By that time I had another '40 Ford.

 

Sold this one when I was unemployed to pay daughter's college tuition. Met the guy a year later and he found a 5 window right after he bought the tudor. Was happy to reverse the deal for the same dollars.

 

Yes, sold an unrestored vintage race car project from the 1930's without doing all the research on its history. Bought it back, sold it a second time still didn't get all its history. Years later there were two pages of photos of it racing along with its history in a book on the clubs history. One of my biggest regrets. Bob

 

Yes... The 55 in my avatar. built it, had it 5 yrs, sold it, bought it back a year later and kept it for 5 more years. That was back in the mid 80's.. I wish I could buy it back now but I could not afford it if it did show up..

 

Yes, and no...

I haven't bought back any of the cars I have sold. However, I was able to find and buy back the family truck, which dad sold when I was three years old.

There are a couple cars that I have sold and regretted. Some are long gone, others I know where they are. If the planets align, I'd love to have those back in the stable.

 

Have done this several times. Sold my 57 Fuely in 86. Bought it back a few years later and redid it and sold it again last year-owned on and off for 38 yrs. Sold a 40 coupe I did a few yrs back and it is back here again-must be nuts. Bought wife's 55 in 77 and sold it cheap to her brother to drive --bought it back in 79 when he got a new car and we still own it.

 

I just did this. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/buying-back-a-car-you-used-to-own.1015588/

I bought this '59 4x4 in 2000; fixed it up and drove it for 2 years; then sold it to concentrate on other projects. It recently popped up on CL, and I bought it back from the same guy. I cleaned it up again, and sold it to a guy who lives 30 miles from where it had been in Kansas before I bought it. I told him if he doesn't get anywhere with it in 15 year, I'll buy it back from him.

The only sale I ever regret was the one I sold because I thought I needed money. I have found that I always make mistakes when buying or selling with money as the only goal. Everything turns out better when it is done out of desire-desire to start a new project or the satisfaction that you are truly done having experiences with that vehicle.

 

Bought(1998) my avatar 20 yrs after dad sold it(1978). I used to play with my Hot Wheels, in the back, when I was a kid. Also, learned how to drive in it. That's my teenage son standing next to it, for one of their 50's days at school.

 

Never bought one back, but regret some I've sold. I did 'sell' one to my brother who is overseas on the condition that it comes back to me when he's done with it, but he's still having fun with it.

Devin

 

Yes..Photo from the late 90's.



This photo was taken he day I bought it back in 2011. HRP

 

My 56 Chevrolet Utility Sedan, that I originally put together for the street; 396, 375 HP, Muncie 4-speed, and stock rear end housing-5.38:1 Positraction (ON THE STREET!). I sold it to a friend of mine, and a few months later I helped him rebuild the 396. Then one day, his Dad says to me, "I sure wish you'd buy that car back from Tom". Tom had a custom bicycle he had built, and a week later (after asking me to buy back the car) his Dad up and took the bike for a ride. A couple miles from home the front brake caliper came loose, and got entangled in the spokes; it caused the wheel to lock up, and flipped the bike. Tom's Dad landed forehead first, suffered major skull fractures, and died at the scene. I did exactly what he'd asked me to do a week earlier, I bought the car back, and rebuilt the car as a Pro Bracket Car. Tom had quite a bit of guilt with his Dad's death, and knew his Dad did't like him having "that car". It was the right thing to do. I am Butch/56sedandelivery.

 

In the 70s I blew the 3 speed trans in my 57 Pontiac and couldn't find another one. Sold the car to a guy who had a tranny but wouldn't sell it. I bought a nice little 55 chevy hardtop and liked it but it wasn't as cool as my old Pontiac.
One night while cruising town in the chevy I spot my old Pontiac in traffic! Chased the owner down and swapped the chevy straight across for the repaired Pontiac. Both of us came away happy.
I swapped motors and trans in the pontiac and sold it off again after I blew 1st gear in the muncie and acquired a wrist pin knock.............I'm looking for the 57 again!

 

Have never had the opportunity to buy one back. They always seemed to disappear, never to be seen again. There are a couple I would certainly like to have again, especially if I could buy them for what I sold them for 20-30 years ago!

 

One of my cousins sold and bought back the same '59 Impala convertible 3 times before he sold it for the last time in the early '70s.

 

I havn't but I did offer to sell my friend my 31 Dodge coupe have him finish it for me then buy it back.

 

We originally bought the 57 Chevy we have now in 77, then in 79 we foolishly traded it to a buddy. He drove it a couple of years then pulled the motor and set it on blocks in the backyard. I was finally able to buy it back in 85, stuck a motor in it and it was our daily driver for several years.We still have it and probably won't part with it again.

 

I sold my restored OT 66 Fairlane convertible to build my 35 phaeton in 1999 and would buy it back in a heart beat for the same $ however I doubt very much that the buyer would be agreeable to that. I don't have the $ or space as I have another build currently on the go (46 Olds) but I'd make room for it either way.

 

Yep built this model A in 2002 drove it everywhere and traded it off last year for a 53 Olds Custom, Drove the Olds very little and hated the bags and air ride. My A was sold to another guy that actually fixed some stuff on it and last week i traded it with the new owner for the Olds. Hes happy with the Olds and i am very happy to have my Model A back !!!!!

 

buy em back EVERY chance i get... the pass around car back in 1963/4
was an old 1939 sedan 2 door, bad, rough, poor ol thing, title stayed with the car,
most of us passed it around for 15.00 to 25.00 ... i know right...
about 6 or 7 of us owned it over a 2 year period , each a few times, till i ended it, cause
my brother blew up dad's 1949 pu Trucks engine, so out came the engine and into Dads truck.
we then beat, cracked, and made AXE holes in the poor ol thing and pushed it into the revene....