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Ever sold a car only to watch it die?

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by 59IMPALER, Feb 28, 2010.

  1. sold my roadster it has'nt been in a garage since outside and snow covered and for sale
     
  2. that would be all my cars.. I run em till the wheels are about ready to fall off and then sell em for next to nuthin..
     
  3. bobscogin
    Joined: Feb 8, 2007
    Posts: 1,771

    bobscogin
    Member

    ""Ever sold a car only to watch it die?"

    Nope. Once I decide to sell one, I never look back.

    Bob
     
    hipster likes this.
  4. I traded off a 1970 455 ho gto needing restoring and the guy took it completely apart and his buddy he shared a shop with got mad at him and took all of it across the scales. Another one was a 1970 ss nova I restored and sold and the bozo wrecked it 3 different times till it couldnt be saves and it was scraped. But it just makes the ones left worth more.
     
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  5. Deucedreamer
    Joined: Jan 11, 2010
    Posts: 548

    Deucedreamer
    Member
    from BC Canada

    I've only sold one car, a 1967 Nova SS and it was pretty rough. I figure once it's gone, it's gone. If I get the price I want for it, then I really don't care cause it's not mine anymore. That being said, I'm sentimental about cars and don't really like to sell anything anyway. If I do sell, then I just don't think about them anymore.
     
    hipster likes this.
  6. Johnny1290
    Joined: Apr 20, 2006
    Posts: 2,834

    Johnny1290
    Member

    This thread is pretty funny.

    When I was a teenager, my mom sold the rusty old vw bug to a friend of mine. We'd driven it to south texas from ohio in the late 70s, and it was now the late 80s. My friend cut the roof off and drove it a while and then its ownership got murky.

    A few years later I'd taken my newer bug(yeah, I know) to the best mechanic around corpus christi. I looked in his back yard and there it was, being parted out. He told me some guy had brought it over. He'd said he was going to prison, and needed to sell it fast.

    It was a complete rustbucket from salt, no great loss but it was kinda sad to see its demise.
     
  7. BenderJ
    Joined: Sep 15, 2009
    Posts: 70

    BenderJ
    Member
    from Detroit

    After reading this thread, I wonder if this is how these guys who own dozens of cars in their back yard won't fix em up and/or won't sell (just to watch them die). Instead, they're cranky and chase everyone off...

    Something tells me I will end up like this! :D
     
  8. Gehngis Wrench
    Joined: Jan 22, 2011
    Posts: 4

    Gehngis Wrench
    Member

    About 15 years ago my Uncle Woody (may he RIP) sold his 51' Vicky to one of his fellow ford clubbers here in Vancouver. Two weeks after the sale he had picked me up to go out to the Langley show n shine. I always went along, He was my Hot Rod hero. We were on our way out to Langley in his 58' Ranchero when we came upon a traffic jam. As we slowly made our way through we saw the cause of the gridlock...
    It was the Vicky, T-boned into the side of a flat bed tow truck. We pulled over and Uncle Woody bought the car back right there on the spot, and we spent the next year putting it back together. When it was done He sold it again to ANOTHER of his ford buddys who then totalled it in a high speed highway crash a year or so later.
    If Ol' Woody wasnt neck deep in his 47' & 49' Pick ups I bet he would have bought it back again.
    I think the Vicky was cursed or something.
     
    hipster likes this.
  9. Some sad tales indeed here. I actually saved a dying car, or at least am in the process of saving it. The guy I bought my 50 Chevy from had performed the attempted murder of the car. He bought it from midwest and towed it here as a complete and pretty much rust free car. He then proceeded to tear apart the entire front clip, gut the interior, rip the stovebolt 6 and 3 spd out, remove all the trim and glass, paint some half assed rattle can flames on one side, and then let it sit outside for about 4 years and serve as a home to rodents and spiders. Oh yeah, he also was thoughtful enough to loose all of the bolts for the front clip and doors, and let the entire deal grow a nice thick coat of surface rust, pitting most of the metal. I got the car on the cheap, and all the parts are there but damn it has been a lot of work to save her, but she will be saved dammit!!
     
    hipster likes this.
  10. I had a similar situation. In 1988, My Best Friend had a (OT) '66 Formula S Barracuda with the HiPo 273 (forged crank, solid lifters, high compression), AC, Carter Carb, even still had the special exhaust resonator and valve covers. It needed work, but wasn't that bad. He took it out one night boozing with a lot of friends and chicks and killed the motor (put it in low and was stabbing the gas pedal in and out, all the way to redline or beyond to make the car "hop". Next day, he says it just stopped running after he threw a fan belt. Yeah--he threw a fan belt. . . and I look and see a big ass crack coming up from behind the pulley off the crank. Anyway, he was gonna sell it for next to nothing after he figured out that he killed it. I went and sourced another 273 hiPo from a local junkyard and was planning on buying. He went out of his way to sell it to someone else, for either the same amount or even less than I was going to give him--sold it to some rocker dude next door to him who was going to put a built 360 in it and "race it". OK, whatever. We'd get periodic updates for the next couple of years from this dude about how the Barracuda was all fixed up and tearing up the dragstrips. They seemed a little far fetched. Sure enough, a few years later, and right before I moved away, my buddy gets a notice from a towing/salvage company that has "his car" (title never transferred apparently). We go look at it. Stripped out, same old paint as I last saw it with, same skinny ass tires, now missing a couple hupcaps, no motor or tranny, and the big expensive back window smashed out. That thing never raced shit. My frend didn't say a word--he knew if he'd sold it to me, it would be nice, and hell, I probably would have sold it back to him now that he was older and wiser.
     
    Last edited: Jan 30, 2011
  11. Kentuckian
    Joined: Nov 26, 2008
    Posts: 863

    Kentuckian
    Member

    I've sold a few and watched them turn into junk. Something different that has never happened to me but I have had friends go through the following:

    One friend had inherited his dad's '59 Ford convertible which was not running but was an excellent candidate for restoration. A guy kept after him wanting to buy the car because he just "had to have that car." Time went on and my friend finally gave in and sold the guy the car thinking he could buy it back someday. Two weeks later the guy sold the car. He turned out to be a car broker.

    Another friend ran out of money before he could finish a 427 Galaxie. A guy who knew about the car bought it saying he wanted to finish the project for himself. The body was sold as a roller because the guy said he had enough parts himself to finish it. A month later another guy calls demanding the rest of the parts for the car he had just bought. The first buyer said my friend was only storing the parts and they went with the car. The first guy also turned out to be a car broker who lied to the second guy. It took the exposure of a 12 ga. to let the second guy know the parts did not go with the car.

    Watch out for car flippers who are only out to make a buck and could care less about your pride and joy. They will give you a sob story about how your car is just what they have been looking for all their life. If you think you have a chance to buy it back someday...dream on. When its gone, its gone.
     
    Last edited: Jan 30, 2011
    hipster likes this.
  12. voodoo1
    Joined: Jun 27, 2007
    Posts: 452

    voodoo1
    Member

    Back in '82 I had a '68 396 SS Chevelle. I had got it off a kid who was my paper boy. He had it for awhile didn't have a clue really what it was but I got it from him and went thru it top to bottom. Was really clean and nice when I got thru with it. New paint, tires interior. Nice fast car. Well I sold it to another kid who took it out and drag raced it. Fast car untill he blew it up. His Grand father came to me and told me I had ripped his Grandson off. He told me the car had motor and rear end problems. He said he had to replace the rear end twice and then the motor blew up. They were both at the shop I worked at one day bitching at me, I asked the old man if the kid had showed him the time slips from the drag strip. He had been bragging to everyone but the Grandfather how fast it was. Not too long after that he had the whole car torn apart, everything off off it. Then traded the car for a shotgun. Such a shame.
     
  13. LN7 NUT
    Joined: Sep 9, 2010
    Posts: 2,165

    LN7 NUT
    Member

    My dad and I picked up a 49 Mercury sedan with absolutely no rust, no body damage and only the diff and the front spindles missing, we had a lot of projects but if we didn't grab this Merc it was getting crushed... we brought it home and had it off the ground and safe for a few years, till there was a need for money and we had to thin the herd because of a douchey ex-neighbour, listed it for sale and after having dozens of idiots come out to look at it (why do people ask if a car with no suspension and a stuck engine an be driven home, then get mad when you tell them no?) even had a lady who was a self proclaimed body work expert who insisted that the car was basically un-savable and I should give it to her for free, we were only asking $400, I told her to leave and she refused, even told me she'd get the police out and claim that I had stolen cars... I said go for it you cow... WTF is wrong with people? Finally a guy and his son come by, they had a photo album of all their previous restorations and hot rods, they were nice, polite, friendly and I liked them, they never haggled on the price and came back with a trailer the same day, paid in cash in full and we kept in contact.

    For years I was getting progress reports on the car, they had picked up a restored chassis from a car that had gotten a Riviera chassis swap, and they told me about stripping the body to bare steel, and painting it, putting new glass in it, new interior etc. and i asked if I could come by and see it some day, but they kept putting it off, and skirting it when I would talk to them or see them... till late last summer I was at a friends vintage car yard (he sells everything and is a pro builder) and I spotted our Merc sitting in a corner half stripped out with rattle can flames on it...

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    What kind of loser will go to the effort of giving the previous owner progress reports about a car he bought? It's not like I had asked him to, we weren't bumping into each other or working together, he went out of his way to keep me "up to date" and made up so many stories... the day I found the car was the very first time I had been to this other friends place, so it was also the first time I got o see his photo albums, and I saw the same cars he guy I sold my Merc to had claimed he had built... a$$hole!

    I have thought about getting it back... I dunno... I don't need another project.
     
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  14. Shizzelbamsnapper
    Joined: May 13, 2010
    Posts: 317

    Shizzelbamsnapper
    Member
    from Ohio

    I still own my first car.
     
  15. Blown Mopar
    Joined: Oct 14, 2009
    Posts: 272

    Blown Mopar
    Member
    from abc

    In 1957 I bought a '48 Ford Convertible. It was almost like new. Some guy bought it new and a year later he died. I bought it from his dad who kept it stored in his garage until I bought it, Still ad great black paint, everything worked. I got a free Buick engine from a friends dad and my dad put it in the car. Drove it for two years trouble free. I joined the Army in 60 and sold it to another guy. When I finished basic and advanced training and jump school I came home. First thing I did was check on my old car. I was hoping I could buy it back since I knew I had screwed up. Kid says "Oh, it quit running so my dad (a salvage yard owner) cut it up for scrap. I left for Korea with a broken heart.
     
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  16. jkovalski
    Joined: Nov 7, 2007
    Posts: 74

    jkovalski
    Member

    I bought a '68 Dodge Monaco 383 2 door hardtop from my great grandmother's neighbor. Little old lady bought it new. It had 43,000 original miles on it. As soon as I bought it, a local Mopar guy started pestering me to buy the car. Several months later he convinced me to sell him the car for $2500. Three months later I found out that he got hard up for cash and sold it for $500 as a demo derby car! I wanted to beat the hell out of him.
     
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  17. riskybiz
    Joined: May 27, 2009
    Posts: 146

    riskybiz
    Member

    Sold my 67 Camaro RS/SS 396 4 speed Convertable back in 76 to a guy who kept on bugging to sell it to him, so I said ok for 10k I didn't think he buy it for that price but he did. I had bought it from the original owner with 24k in 73. New owner wanted it for his wife, but only after three mouth his dumb 17 year old son took it out for a joy ride and rolled it about six times. This is one car that I wish I could have back.
     
  18. flat34pu
    Joined: Jun 9, 2007
    Posts: 453

    flat34pu
    Member

    didnt want to but in '85 i sold my '66 impala dressed as a caprice, with a fresh 283 to my compa, and he center puched a tree the next week.
    rich
     
  19. Sheep Dip
    Joined: Dec 29, 2010
    Posts: 1,572

    Sheep Dip
    Member
    from Central Ca

    I sold two 1972 Chevy pickups to the same guy, one was a 50,000 mile 2wd stepside Cheyenne Super and one 4wd swb Cheyenne Super both pristine vehicles, he parked them in a barn and let the pigeons shit all over them, and they are still shitting on them today. This guy must have 35 or 40... 69 thru 72 chevy pickups will not get rid of a single one of them and the pigeons shit on all of them. What a waste....had I known he would not have gotten them from me.
     
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  20. merc-o-madness
    Joined: Aug 23, 2004
    Posts: 1,544

    merc-o-madness
    Member

    If the guy only knew what happened to my brothers ranchero, which he bought from nebraska, he would be posting the same kinda story on here haha. It lasted so many years in Nebraska really nice, Comes to Jersey for a couple months and gets wallopped in the quarter panel real bad by a hit and runner, but luckily he found the bastard a few days later by good ole detective work
     
    Last edited: Feb 13, 2011
  21. merc-o-madness
    Joined: Aug 23, 2004
    Posts: 1,544

    merc-o-madness
    Member

  22. LN7 NUT
    Joined: Sep 9, 2010
    Posts: 2,165

    LN7 NUT
    Member

    Awe man that was a sad sight, glad to see you got it back together in the end, any finished photos of that side of the car?
     
  23. newpy383
    Joined: Mar 30, 2007
    Posts: 113

    newpy383
    Member

    I had a 76 monte carlo that i totally restored. I kept it awhile and then got bored with it si i put it on the internet. I ended up delivering it to a junkyard owner in idaho. After i signed it off and collected my cash the new owner and i watched in horror as one of his employees sideswiped it with the big forklift. The last time i was up there it was completetly stripped out and in the yard. Broke my heart.
     
  24. thesupersized
    Joined: Aug 22, 2004
    Posts: 1,367

    thesupersized
    Member

    i sold it before finishing it completely
     
  25. Bought this original, 1 owner, restored 55 Chevy 210. emeral green, creme top, 6 with 3 on tree. The ole guy drove it in High school and College. Had no kids , was moving to East Texas and was gonna retire and buy a pontoon boat. He placed the 55 it in the Houston Chronicle ads section. Here is the Kicker..........It was restored 10 years earlier and had only 436 miles on it since restoration ! After talking with the guy, he had already turned it down to a richie who wanted it for her 16 year old daughters highschool car, also turned it down to guy who...yep wanted to put a Small block in it. I picked it up for $ 14,500 and drove it home with the 10 year old bias plys. Flat spots were an understatement. Enjoyed the hell out of the car for several years till at Good guys in ft Worth. It 's top speed with 3 degrees advance on the distributor would net an honest 78 mph floored the whole way around the track. Some out of state guy must have noticed the flame retintion and offered me stupid money for the car.

    Called a year and a half later to buy the car back. They had stripped it, painted it black and put a small block in it. Sad day. Sometines doubling your money isn't always good because there are alot of Richies out their that money and originality has no value.
     
  26. Tom S. in Tn.
    Joined: Jan 16, 2011
    Posts: 1,108

    Tom S. in Tn.
    Member

    I believe the worst thing to ever happen to destroy legendary drag cars was the introduction of those da econo classes.
    Overnight, econo dragster became mega buck and the old survivors suddenly became bracket bashers.
    I can't count the number of hand built drag cars with a history book full of legend and lore that met their ultimate fate at the hands of some kid with the small block with a holley out of his street car and went bracket racing.
    I speak from experience.
    I was once a terminator, who grew up and spent years to ultimately built an injected a/fueler only to have to sell it and see it trashed as a bracket racer before it's death.

    I will no longer own a car, truck, or piece of equipment I can't part with. I refuse to give away any more of my soul to this stuff.

    Tom S. in Tn.
     

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  27. big vic
    Joined: Jan 3, 2010
    Posts: 400

    big vic
    Member
    from cary il

    bought my first car as a shell 67 malibu in 1975 had it running 3 summers as i was in high school,,, got married in 82 it sat waiting in the garage till 89 when we had enough cash to restore it as a semi custom street show car,,,we showed and cruised it till 97 when i sold it to buy a harley,,,biggest mistake of my life,,,sold the harley for a mint 68 impala ss 396,,,but always wish i had my 67 back,,, last seen was in arlington heights il bright red with a neon 3 color stripe on the side and a red roll bar,,,
     
  28. Habitual
    Joined: Mar 3, 2016
    Posts: 29

    Habitual

    I sold a 1973 Road Runner to an older guy back in 1990 who took a damn belt sander to it and never touched it again. Last I saw it was still sitting and rusted away. He drove it 1 time and parked. It is soo far gone now that it would take a fortune to fix it if the bastard would sell it.

    Sent from my SM-T310 using H.A.M.B. mobile app
     
  29. falcongeorge
    Joined: Aug 26, 2010
    Posts: 18,341

    falcongeorge
    Member
    from BC

    I think the panel was featured in PHR like that^^:D:rolleyes:
     
  30. wicarnut
    Joined: Oct 29, 2009
    Posts: 9,052

    wicarnut
    Member

    Back in the 60's sold a 1960 Ford ragtop, custom, pic in my albums. Did not want to sell, liked the car, but fellow kept offering more $$$ and finally I caved and sold it. He lived in my neighborhood and saw the Ford daily and within 2 weeks he totaled it, Street racing. 70's 80's sold midget racers that were very successful cars for good money and the one I should have kept for a vintage peice was hacked up and wrecked to point of nothing to save, another faded into obscurity, so I guess I watched them die, like so many things, Foresight 0, Hindsight 100%
     

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