It happens- you make a plan to clear out a space in the driveway, or to make a few extra bucks, by getting rid of a car that – at the time – you have fallen out of love with. Maybe it was a wild hair that drive the initial purchase, maybe it was too many drinks, but there it is, and for whatever reason, you decide it must go. And then days, weeks, or even months later, you wish you hadn’t.
Has that ever happened to you? I can say that it has to me. I used to have a rough but reliable MGB-GT that was my daily driver. Family expansion meant that something with more than just two seats and a vestigial padded shelf in the back was needed, and the B went into the garage while an arrest-me red Dodge Neon took it’s place. At the time, air conditioning and a CD player seemed to outweigh wire wheels and Smiths Gauges, and after a while, the B found a new home. I wish I still had that car as it was filled with great memories and had a soul.
Has something similar ever happened to you? Was there a car that you cast away, and later wished you could still find in your drive? Have you ever sold a car and then bought it back again because you realized you had made a mistake? What great catch did you return to the sea?
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Hooniverse Asks- Have You Ever Sold a Car That You Now Wish You Hadn't?
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60 responses to “Hooniverse Asks- Have You Ever Sold a Car That You Now Wish You Hadn't?”
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I grew up hearing stories from most of my relatives about the car that got away. For my dad, it was his Torino GT. One uncle still pines for his corvette. It's because of these stories that I've kept my 93 RX-7 even though it hasn't been driveable for nearly half the years I've owned it.
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Well my parents had a few cool cars back in the day but they don't feel the regret as much as i do in the fact that those cars are long gone. One being my mom's 74 Dodge Dart Hang Ten edition. It wasn't a very highly regarded muscle car by any means but just a cool options package that is only getting rarer. For my dad it would be his 1971 Pontiac LeMans Deluxe. But that ended up totaled after being t-boned by a drunk at an intersection.
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I've sold a ton of cars, many of which I claim to miss but really only miss the idea of. Very few would I welcome back with open arms. There is one that I really, really miss, though: my '99 Miata. That car was weld-the-hood-shut reliable, reasonably comfortable, and an absolute blast to drive. With snow tires and my undivided attention, it handled 4-5" of snow no problem. It handled a sunny spring day even better. My wife and I bought it when it was nearly new, on a lark, for an incredible price.
It was a nice, sunny day and we decided to go test drive a VW Cabrio, which was my wife's obsession at that point. We found a car lot with a used one, and took it for a spin. Lisa hated it – said it drove worse than her old '84 Rabbit, slow and diving all over the place. Well, the used car dealer had his hooks in us and kept talking us into trying other cars. This being a VW lot, he convinced us to try a Jetta, Golf, and New Beetle. They were all crap – the Beetle drove pretty well but the rest were soft family cars. The Beetle was too ugly to consider. He said, "well, we do have this other car – it's not even on the lot yet," and proceeded to walk us around the corner of the building where a '99 emerald mica green Miata was waiting. My heart simultaneously rose and sank as I realized we were well and truly screwed. Building on top of the general awesomeness of a Miata, it was an absolute base model with a manual transmission and no weight-adding features whatsoever. As soon as we turned out of the parking lot on a test drive, I was hooked. I told my wife, "I cannot be the voice of reason when it comes to this car." The dealer quoted $13,500 which was a decent enough price. Lower than retail but above wholesale. We decided to go to lunch and he convinced us to take it to lunch. (ahh, smart! we have to come back no matter our decision then!) On the break, we looked up comparables. After returning, we decided to think it over and tried to leave while the dealer was talking to other people. He kept coming back to us and saying "don't go without saying goodbye!" and dropping the price by $1,000. This happened four times – without either of us asking for a price reduction – and when the price hit $9,500, I looked at Lisa and said "we could sell it in the spring for that." Trade-in value was over $10k on the car still. Well, we ended up getting five wonderful years of enjoyment out of it, during which time the only costs were new shocks (which of course had to be KYB AGX adjustable!), brakes, and tires. We ended up getting $7,500 out of it when we sold it. While I've bought some incredibly cheap cars over the years, it's pretty tough to beat driving a nearly new car for five years at only $2,000 in depreciation.
Our only reason for selling it? For money to put in a new driveway. Well, by the time it sold I had the money saved up anyway, but who was I to turn away my asking price? Some day soon, I'm sure I will buy another. But it won't be the same. -
Yes. I wish I had keep my '82 Full Size Blazer. It was a great rig. BFG Mud's. 400 SBC, TH400 trans and 4:10's. Went. Through. Everything.
Split the transfer in two and toasted the transmission, body was falling off from rust. Engine was getting worn. Traded it for the E21 I saved from the crusher. I think the frame, chassis and engine survived but the rest of the Blazer was crushed.
That was the Blazer that saved Christmas, yanking a UPS truck out of the woods on Christmas Eve. Having the cops follow the mud trail from bar to bar then to my house. Thinking they had me nailed for all sorts of stuff but then they had to leave in disgust when it was learned I had permission to be in that muddy field and I was the DD for the evening.
So many good memories of that truck. At least I still have those. -
I know I'd miss it, so I'm not selling.
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Luckily no. While I do have fond memories of all of my cars, and all of them had their redeeming qualities, I don't feel bad about selling any of them. The only car that I would absolutely hate to sell, I have no intention of selling.
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Sometimes I miss the '87 Crown Vic wagon I sold to my buddy, but then I realize that I sold it because it wasn't reliable enough for daily driver duty and I lived in an apartment at the time and couldn't easily work on it.
Sometimes I miss my '05 F-150 that I turned in at the end of its lease, but then I realize I got rid of it because it was a gas hog and my commute had more than doubled along with gas.
So, not really. I'm sure I'll miss my Mustang when it's time to sell it, but I bought it knowing it would be going away some day. Unless I can figure out a way to keep it and get something in addition to it… -
I suppose I wish I hadn't gotten rid of my old F-150 (especially since I got far too little for it), but then I couldn't really justify having it even now, and I know I'll be able to find another cheap beater truck if I need it.
I also haven't gotten rid of it (yet), but part of me wishes I was still driving my Cavalier – the stick shift elevated it beyond commutermobile (barely), and I liked having a sunroof. -
1980 Rabbit Convertible- best car I've ever owned.
1993 F-150 Extended Cab 4X4
1999 Jeep Cherokee
Each had entered the realm of maintenance nightmare, yet I regret letting them go. All the others, I was glad to be done with -
Just sold my '99 Contour SVT, and immediately regretted it. Sure I sold it for more than I bought it for, but I highly doubt I'll find one as well taken care of, and in as good of shape as mine for what I paid for mine.Real Worlds a Bitch.
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I still remember the first time I drove one of those. It was a freaking beast! It ran like a scalded cat, but the torque steer would rip your damn arms off if you weren't ready for it. If I had owned one, I'd miss it too.
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One day, I aspire to owning a car that I will regret selling. Right now, I don't miss any of my prior rides.
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Has to be my '89 323 hatch. Sure, it wasn't the GTX, but it WAS the LX, which meant Air con, power windows, manual sunroof (crank handle baby!) and the "deluxe" interior.
That car was the absolute definition of "ridden hard and put away wet." I never went out in it without wringing its neck to within an inch of its life.
Sadly, I realized too late that I was no Ken Block. One snowy day I tried to drift it through a school bus loading zone and curbed it rather hard. With all 4 wheels now pointing in different directions, I sold it for scrap, rather than putting $1000 of suspension under a $750 car.
Of course, financial genius that I am, I then spent $25k on a brand new Protege5. 180,000+ kms later, I don't necessarily regret that decision, I just understand much more clearly that 25 > 1.
Since that 323 died, I have had at least 10 other cars, and I don't miss any of them like I miss that 3-deuce. -
The second was a 1971 VW Squareback with a super straight body and perfect floorpans that I bought from an old man for $250. It was the first year for fuel injection in those cars, and the system was a mess. All of the wires were toast, the fuel pump was shot, and to make matters worse, I knew nothing about this FI stuff! My first thought was screw the injection, stuff some carbs in there, and call it a day. Well, come to find out, even baby Dell'Ortos were too tall to fit under the cargo floor in the back of my beloved Type 3, and I had to find a set of '70 or older factory Type 3 carbs and manifolds for a dual port 1600, and at the time that was waaaay easier said than done. On top of that, I was 16 with a part time job at a pizza shop, and not exactly rolling in the dough, so to speak. I went to VW shops, checked classifieds, and went to Bug-Ins looking for those damn carbs, all to no avail.
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Well here's a list:
-1981 Buick Regal Turbo: 1st car, pretty rare turbo option, wish I could have kept it, used proceeds towards purchase of 77 Vette, so not too bad.
-1992 Ford Thunderbird S/C 5-speed: Very rare 5-speed car, lots of fun, wish I could have kept it, used proceeds towards purchase of a 94 Vette
-1979 K-5 Blazer: Totaled by insurance company. Wasn't hurt that bad, but wasn't worth fixing, miss it.
1994 Corvette 6-speed: Traded it in on a new TrailBlazer for the new wife. Probably the car i miss the most, even if it did have almost 150k hard miles on it when I traded it.
1967 Imperial Convertible and parts car: Project car, not enough time, money, or space. Would love to still have it.
1996 Camaro Z-28 Convertible automatic: One of the very few cars I DON'T regret selling. It was the replacement for the 94 Corvette, but a very poor substitute. Traded it for a 1987 BMW e30 325 and cash.
1987 Ford Bronco with a 351: Another one with no regrets, traded it for a 1988 BMW 750iL
1988 BMW 750iL: Sort of wish I had kept this one. It did start me on the dark path of BMW, but 12cylinder maintenance scared me too much. Could have made a great $200X challenge or maybe even LeMons car. Traded it for a 1979 Ford Ranchero
1979 Ford Ranchero: wish I cold have kept it, but I needed a real truck, traded it back to the guy I got it from for a 84 Chevy K10
1985 Chevy K10 diesel engine replaced with gas 350: this truck was rather rough, didn't look too bad, but only one gauge worked, no heat, no A/C, hole in the bed from 5th wheel. Big loud and scary. Had the same paint scheme as the Fall Guy truck. Don't really miss it, but do miss having a 4WD. Sold it for $1000 to a group of Frat brother to be used for a bachelor party on a farm. There are probably videos of its destruction on Youtube.
1987 BMW e30 325: This was a 4 door 5-speed with the eta motor. Fun little car, love the e30, might get another some day. No real attachment to this particular car. Sold it to get my current Z3/M Roadster conversion.
In short, I wish I could have kept most of them. Sorry for the long post. -
1970 Shelby GT500 convertible, 428CJ. I'll never get over it.
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That is a bummer.
For what it's worth, I know a dude who acquired a 1968 Shelby GT500KR back in 1974 that he traded for a 70 Plymouth Duster and 600 bucks.
Needless to say, he still has the KR and it looks every bit as beautiful as is did when it was new (speculating of course, being that I wasn't born til 77). Sometimes I wonder if that dude is bumming about that trade. -
Whaaaat!!!!
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Please say you were under some sort of duress, like a gun to the head? I'm not being judgemental. "The one that got away" for me was a '69 442. I still kick myself when I see one, or a picture.
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Since I don't turn over vehicles much I've only got 3 I regret letting go.
1. As nutty as it sounds I wish I still had my old 1972 F-350 Plumbing truck. I ended up with it when my 63 Thunderbird ended up needing more repairs than I could afford at the than I could afford at the time. So I was basically given this old plumbing truck as a run-about until I could get the bird running. Keep in mind this truck had not a straight piece of sheetmetal on it, the exhaust manifolds were just there for looks and the passenger side headlight was held in by plumber's tape.Regardless of how rough the outside was it had the heart of a champion. Even when cold the engine started on the first click of the key. I drove that old truck for 6 years off and on until a fit of still working on the truck at 3AM rage took it's toll on the transmission. The old bugger still drove for about a year after that but the slipping trans and 3 years overdue tags made me give the old truck up to a junkyard sometime in '98
2. 1988 Cougar XR-7 Gave it up for $500 when I got my Bronco. at 235,000 miles it was the most reliable vehicle I had up until then. I would even run the tank dry just to see if the car would even shut down due to lack of fuel. It did once, 5 feet from the gas pump. First car I broke 120 MPH in and the car I got my most haenous ticket in, 85 in a 35. Luckily the cop got me on decel. Still love that car despite the porno red interior.
3. 1989 Mazda RX-7 GXL I think I may be one of the few people that has owned an RX and XR pretty neat huh? I had the RX for the shortest amount of time I have ever had a car but it so far was the most fun to drive. Quick, maneuverable and just unique to any vehicle I have ever driven. But after losing engine #2 (killed it racing a Mustang- yes I won) Little red ended up sitting in the garage until I had to make room. After that I sold her for $600 and a promise- not to be used for parts. She was repaired and rurned into a Demonstrator for a small RX shop that just opened. -
If these images don't show up, I apologize. I'm having trouble seeing to write the IMG tags. I must have something in my eyes, they're suddenly misting up.
<img src="http://www.tanshanomi.com/temp/chevpanel.JPG">
<img src="http://www.tanshanomi.com/temp/gmcvan.jpg">-
And, if we can expand this beyond cars a bit to include bikes, I'd say…well, um, just take your pick:
<img src="http://www.tanshanomi.com/temp/bikes-owned.gif" width="640"">-
Just…..wow. You had 7 bikes in 1993? Additionally to cars that is? Phewwww, I'm speechless.
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Hey, what can I say? I was a bachelor. I owned a two-bedroom townhouse with a 22'x24' heated garage. My only car wasn't even a car, it was a stripper Toyota 2WD pickup I bought new in '92 for eight grand. All the rest of my money I spent on bikes. I didn't even have all the rooms in my house furnished.
I moved in Jan. '94.
I got married in Oct. '96.
Those facts should explain the rest of the chart after '93.
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Wow. I have a real lust for vintage Bultacos. Probably because my uncle was a factory rider for them (and others) back in the day. I had a signed poster of him racing a 'taco at Indian Dunes on my wall when I was a kid. When a friend would come over that didn't know our connection, the progression was always some thing like: "Cool! Jim Connolly signed your poster." "Well yeah, he's my uncle." "No way, he's not your uncle." At which point I'd drag out one of my mom's photo albums with family get-together pics. Stunned silence usually followed.
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Oh, man, you got me at the H2 and Water Buffalo. I've got a thing for ring ding triples, had a GT550. Saw the GT250 there, too. Nice collection of bikes. I miss the GT550 almost as much as my '74 850 Commando, best bike I've ever owned or will hope to own.
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H2, oh yeah! My buddy had one that had been tweaked a bit, ported, chambers, new carbs, etc. Only one word describes it, peaky! Loads of fun in a straight line, just don't try to turn…
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Believe it or not, The H2 was FREE! I was working in a dealership, and a guy came in and said, "We're moving, and my son left an old Kawasaki down in the basement years ago. I don't know if it runs or what model it is. Anybody who's willing to haul it out of there can have it." Several of the mechanics were thinking it was some worthless, seized dirt bike. They couldn't be bothered to haul it up a staircase out of some guy's basement, so I went over to look at it…and my eyes just about bugged out of my head. Other than a spray-can repaint, rotted tires and some corrosion on the rims, it was in fairly good shape. And the guy had a walk-out basement, so I didn't have to haul it up any stairs. Even had the proper title. IIRC, it just needed tires, chain and sprockets, grips, cables, battery, tank sealant and a couple bulbs and fuses. Cost me maybe $300-$400 to get it running. Never had a problem with the engine, although I never rode it much, and when I did I rode it like a grandpa (scary machine!). I sold it at a classic bike swap meet for $600.
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Nope, I have a 92 240sx SE, I bought it when I turned 16, when I was 21 or 22 the starter blew, and didn't have the money to fix it, but haven't gotten rid of it since then (now 25) and still have no money to fix the stupid thing, though more parts need to prolly be replaced…-.-
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Mostly, I don't miss the cars I've sold at all.
There was one, though …
<img src="http://s182874693.onlinehome.us/SW20/jpegs/album/medium/0019.jpg">
The first car I imported from Japan. Never before or since have I driven something that was as beautifully balanced. The 3S-GE revved to 8000rpm and sounded great 18 inches behind your head. The driving position was perfect, and I do mean that not one inch change in any direction was needed. Handling, same story. And of course in this bucolic community it got near rock-star attention (the RHD helped I guess).
Then I started having evil and dark thoughts of "well it's a real nuisance to only have room for one passenger" (this is a lie, that is actually a very good feature) and "the trunk is way too small for my cycling stuff etc" (this is also a lie, I always managed somehow) and I ended up selling it to an ecstatic Filipino kid from Winnipeg. I made about $1000 overall on that car, but I got ripped off.
I must get another.-
Vera nice. I bought an '86 in Winter-peg (I lived in Portage). It was everything you said, excellent handling, good ergonomics. Had to sell it due to insurance costs in Ontario after I moved.
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Hmm yes the AW11 is another one I want to experience at some point. They say it handles even better than the SW20.
The capabilities of these cars are so utterly wasted in Manitoba though.-
Yup. Need a bend or two (plus a hill) in those section lines!
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Three. Strangely, all old Fords.
1962 Fairlane 500. Had the original Ford smallblock, a 221. No power anything. But it had 50K original miles and would have been an easy restoration. My grandparents' car. Sold it a few years ago for $700 when I lost storage and I really needed some quick money.
1967 Mustang GT Fastback S-code. Bought in the early 80s in poor condition, first real restoration project. Never finished it to my satisfaction, but it was a nice driver that didn't look bad from ten or more feet away. Sold in 1986 for what was the going price, about $6K, before they started making movies (other than Bullitt) about it. Same car is easily worth $40K now; I could put a kid through college on it. But truthfully, if I had it, I'd just sell it; my main regret is just not banking it for another 20 years.
1969 Ford XL-GT convertible. Full size like the LTD, but "sportier." Rare beast, and I've never seen another like it. Turquoise w/ white interior, top, and c-stripes. It needed a lot of work when I got it in 1989, but it was only $350. Was going to grad school, so I traded it for a new-in-box $1500 Macintosh that got me through school. I still have the Mac. It's worth about $20 to a collector.
I think every other car I've sold was well used up when I got rid of it, so no regrets there.-
I'd kill for any one of those three, especially the XL-GT. I'd run it with black steelies like the Custom 500 Gator McKlusky (Burt Reynolds) drove in in White Lightning… that movie gave me the black steel wheel fetish I've had for 37 years. And a convertible? Wow… I wish you still had it too.
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Ooh, finally one I have a story for. Well I didn't sell it so much as my Dad did. Or rather my Mom tol…wait a minute, I am getting ahead of myself. Begin story.
So, as a young boy of 16, I desperately wanted a car. At that time, my Dad was considering a new car, and going to trade in his '87 944S on a new Porsche. I had never even considered that they would let me get something that awesome, so my jaw dropped when my Dad approached me. He told me the dealership was only going to give him $3000 for it, so if I wanted to buy it for $2500 (approximately my life savings), he would do that. He reminded me that it was an expensive car to keep up, and that every time it went into the shop it cost $1000. I told him I would think about it, and over the next few days talked with him and my Mom about the practicality of the car, my Mom always playing the voice of reason. After one discussion with my Mom, we concluded that I probably shouldn't get it, because I could not afford it. I concluded that conversation with "But I still really want to do it anyways!" The next day I came home to find a new car in my Dad's spot, and the 944 nowhere in sight. When I asked my Dad, he said Mom said I didn't want it. How did she interpret that as 'I don't want it'?! %##&$*! Instead I drove the family minivan around in high school and got a GTi midway through college. While true that it was the more rational choice to have money to burn in school, who the hell cares! I could have been Jake F#%$ing Ryan! *sigh*
Happy ending as I have a 951 now! -
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I tend to hang on to cars for a long time and I've only sold one in my lifetime – a Gen 2 Integra LS, which was near bulletproof.
However, there will be two that will be a bitter pill to swallow some time in the future. The first is the Gen 2 Integra GS-R, which is going on 18 years old. The second is the RS America, which is 16. -
Since I haven't sold the '96 4.6L T-bird yet, I have to answer no. Dark will be the day that I do have to let go of it, since it's been my daily driver for almost 12 years and 190,000 miles. The next car has some big shoes to fill.
I'd like to avoid my Dad's fate… in the '70's he sold his '68 4-4-2 which he'd had from near-new. It was a black, B-pillared coupe (stiffer and lighter than a hardtop, with a little different side profile) and per Dad it always handled better than his usual Pontiacs thanks to the different spring/swaybar combination. He does own a '68 Olds again, a Cutlass S convertible, but I know he still wants the black post-body 4-4-2. -
Regretted a few;
'69 442 W30
'74 Gremlin (304, 3 speed manual, handled like a truck but a lot of fun. Short flight off a bridge killed it)
'81 BMW 528 (European spec)
'86 MR2
'96 Metro (yes, really, a great beater, 11 yrs, always started)
Bikes;
'74 Suzuki GT750 water buffalo
'81 Katana 1100 -
I've had several cars that I'd love to have today. Regretting their sale implies that I had a choice at the time, so I wouldn't go that far. The List of the highlights:
– 1954 F-100 with the side-mounted spare
– 1967 Alfa Romeo Guilia Super
– 1966 Mustang GT Fastback
– 1966 Alfa Romeo Spider Duetto
– 1963 VW Ragtop Beetle -
The one car I seriously regret selling I have mentioned here before – a 1968 Fiat Sport Spider, bought when I was 23 for $2,000. and sold four years later for $1,200. The rings had gone and, being in school, I couldn't afford to have them done. Loved the car to much to run it into the ground so I sold it to someone who could fix it. Ah, the good times I had in that car…
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Wow… I just love most all kinds of cars, so pretty much everything I got rid of I wish I could have kept…
There was the:
'80 Chevy El Camino
'86 Ford Ranger (with lift kit – from my older brother)
'86 Dodge Daytona 5-spd
'88 Jeep Cherokee Limited
'89 Ford Aerostar
'98 Pontiac Trans Am
'99 Ford Ranger
'02 VW Jetta 1.8T
'88 Toyota Supra
'86 Jaguar XJ6
Of all of those, the one I probably miss the most is the Supra with its Targa top. I sold it to my crew chief for $1 because he had no reliable means of transportation and I had no more room on the driveway. It later blew a head gasket. I miss driving home from work relatively protected from the wind but still feeling the sun shining down on me.-
Ford Aerostar? There's got to be a story there…
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Not too much of a story, I'm afraid. I was a drummer, all through high school and college. When in high school, I'd borrow my dad's Suburban to move large stuff – like 2 tympani for example. But in college, I used to fit everything into my Dodge Daytona. Well, the clutch went out and I had to get it replaced. And my folks – wanting to avoid me being stuck alongside some highway with a broken down car – found a used Aerostar for $3K. So the 'power sled' became my college ride. I left the middle seat in my parents' garage and moved the third row seat up to the middle position. We could fit multiple drums in the back, my band's equipment, a half dozen drunk freshman… you name it, we could fit it. We even used it to tow the fraternity's homecoming float.
That all came to an end – sort of – when an ice storm rolled through town and a ginormous tree fell. It was every bit of 2' in diameter, probably 2.5', really. And it basically rolled across the passenger side of my roof and absolutely flattened a VW Golf across the parking lot. We ended up paying $500 to get the roof 'jacked' up so that the sliding door would continue working and I continued to drive it for a couple more years. We towed the homecoming float one more time with it. It broke down a few miles from 'home' as I was relocating from Central PA to Jacksonville, FL. So as soon as my new job started to send me paychecks, I went and traded in the old Aerostar.
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Yea im with seoultrain, Ford Aerostar hahaha! i remember a friend having an awd version and trying to offroad it whenever possible. it didn't always end up stuck but when it did, it was a bitch to get out.
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A list of ones that I wish I still had (in order of when they were owned):
-1968 Ford XL Fastback
-1974 DJ-5 Postal Jeep
-1982 Z-28
-1985 Cutlass Supreme (H/O clone)
-1969 Chevy Blazer 4×4
-1980 Camaro RS (kind of a pile, but I still miss it)
-1984 Buick Regal (intended on restoring it…instead I sold it to buy a paintball gun)
-1984 Chevy pickup (rusty as hell, but it had a circle track motor in it…377 + 6500rpm = FUN!)
-1986 Chevy SWB pickup (this one was my first show truck, and it made a real nice down-payment on my new truck)
-2000 GMC SWB 4×4 (my first new truck, but I ultimately sold it 2005 to help raise money for my business)
Now I need a drink… :/ -
1983 Jeep Grand Wagoneer Limited. Leather seats, power everything, 10mpg on the highway… enough power at idle to pull other cars out of ditches. Custom 60gallon fuel tank. Drove it literally to Alaska. Blew a cylinder before I knew enough about fixing things, and sold it.
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There are two cars in my past that I deeply regret letting go of, and both for a song.
My "first car" was a 1977 Civic that had once belonged to my uncle. He had taken the engine apart, intending to rebuild it, and just never got back to it. Well, my uncle left Memphis to take a job in Knoxville, and the car was left in my grandparents' back yard, with the engine in pieces in the back of it. My grandpa knew I liked the car and told me one day that it was mine if I wanted it, obviously I'd just have to put her back together. I was 14 at the time, with no job and no cash flow, but I put the car on my list of things to handle as soon as I remedied those problems. Fate intervened, and I moved out of state with my family, and never made it back to the car. A couple of years later, another uncle called me and asked if he could have the car to commute to work. I told him sure, and that was the end of it. I should have never let it go, but in a situation like that how do you tell family no? -
Add to that all of the other things that needed to be done to the car after sitting for a couple of years, like wheel cylinders, battery, and some seals, and it became obvious that I was in over my head. I put it in the paper for the same $250 that I paid for it, and sobbed. That Square was really a dream for me, and to have to sell it was heartbreaking. I've looked for another one for years in decent shape, but the right one never shows up when I'm able to do anything about it.
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Yeah, old V-dubs are nice. I had a '74 Beetle with FI, and was clueless at the time. I was 18 and a private in the Army, and had my '56 Caddy that took up all my wrenching abilities. Somebody blew up my VW while I was on leave (never lend your car to a buddy. Never), and I never got to install the Webers that it needed. That VW was pretty nice, too. This was in 1980, it was a pretty new car at the time.
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Oh, man I've got a list of cool cars that I've let slip through my hands, and bikes as well. I sold a '64 Valiant to the junkman as a kid, it still ran. Bad karma. My '56 Cadillac blew the fourth gear of it's Hydramatic transmission right before the Army sent me to Italy, and I just gave it to my best buddy (with a whole trunkful of badass dangerous stolen pyro). My '71 Caddy limo, I just gave up on, and gave it to another buddy when I left Utah. I was in a hurry to get out of there, and got rid of a bunch of pretty cool old Jap bikes at the same time. It's too painful to talk about the other cars I let get away, it's just a damn shame about them. Painful subject, and these are things I don't like to dwell upon.
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Lord, I REALLY should not have sold my first '63 Cadillac. After owning it 4 years I sold it in 1989 (for a bit more than I paid for it) because I needed a daily driver and this was the only source of cash to buy same. Six or seven years later I became obsessed with finding another one. I eventually found a car that had very low mileage and looked great, and it cost me almost twice as much as the old one sold for. Unfortunately, it had various pesky problems and most of the time did not run well enough to enjoy. Then things started breaking faster than I could fix them, and I had to give up on it.
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I've "lost" quite a few cars over the years, but I've only sold one car in my life, and it scarred me forever. It was a faded Blue Metallic 66 Chevelle Malibu that I bought in the Navy 20 years ago. I could not get registered and bring it on base due to a mixup on the pink slip from the seller. After months of fighting the car was about to be towed so I sold it to another gear head hoping to save it from doom. One day I saw it driving towards me on base and gave the guy a big thumbs up, till I realized my old front clip was now married to the rear of a black El Camino. I almost died that day.
I lost my first car before I even got my license due to an ugly divorce, which was a 1957 Ford Fairlaine 500 Convertible, white over Baby Blue. I've been looking for it since 1977 when I last saw it in Northern Ca… (Anyone….anyone??)
The one car I failed to save in time was my storied old '72 Gremlin X. I left it with a friend for safekeeping while I was shipped overseas, and he ended up selling his property while I was away. The car went to the junkyard when the new owners moved in. No calls, no letters, just an empty spot in the weeds when I got back from the Desert Storm.
Bastards.
Bastards.
Bastards. -
Not as cool a vehicle as some, but I regret selling my first truck, a 98 Dakota. It was the 2wd v6 sport model, and was fun to drive. I ended up selling it to put a down payment on an 05 Dakota for college since I was afraid of it breaking down in the ghetto between school and home. I sold it to the kid across the street, and have been forced to watch as he beat the snot out of it, wrecked it repeatedly, and basically ruined the bed and cab by cutting a hole between them to run subs into the cab from the bed (or so I'm told). I don't think he's washed it more than a couple times since I sold it to him in 2004. After spending so much time and money fixing it up and taking care of it, it kills me to see it treated like a POS. I've been tempted to go try and buy it back, but I'm not sure if I'd want it at this point.
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Audi RS4. I've seen it around town, and it is being looked after properly.
But I got an Audi Q7 V12 TDI, so I'm good for now. Still hurts though. -
I miss my F-150. It was an 88, nothing collectible. XLT blue with matching blue interior. The 302 made the best sounds with no cat and straight pipes. That engine is on the transplant list for the Jeep, should my beloved straight 6 not do the job anymore. I may build one up just for a project that needs one…
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I regret the amount of effort it took to sell our Volvo V70 a while back but not the sale itself. I decided to list it as a private sale rather than trade it in because I could likely get $3000 more for it. That was right before the financial meltdown took place. I finally sold it 15 months later for less than the trade-in offer. We lost a lot of money in depreciation on that used car.
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I've only owned one car (so far…), but my dad has had some whopper "ones that got away":
-A '55 Pontiac two-door hardtop (might have been a Chieftan, not sure) that had a solid, 100% rust free body. He pulled the engine and trans to put in his '54 Ford F-100, and sent the rest of the Poncho to the junkyard.
-A '58 Corvette he rebuilt from a neglected heap. He had his friend paint it, and the color didn't quite match the original shade of red. IIRC he had to sell it to the same friend because he needed the space, and the friend sold it on a while later.
-A '71(?) Camaro with all sorts of subtle-yet-trick cosmetic and engineering tweaks that he had to get rid of before it was finished. Had it been finished the way he was hoping to, it may very well have started the whole "pro touring" craze 20 years early.
-And easily his biggest automotive "D'oh!": A '70 Chevelle LS6 4-speed which he owned so briefly he never really even drove it. It didn't have the original engine, but it would still be worth serious coin today. What'd he get for it then? $3600, I believe he said. -
I kind of wish I hadn't sold my '67 SAAB Monte Carlo in 1981. But at the time it was difficult for me to retain the status of living indoors myself so I sure didn't have room in a garage or driveway for a second car with unobtainable parts. I sold it to a guy who had a couple other SAAB parts cars. After a year, out of all three he managed to get the 95 (with the 3-cylinder transplanted from the other 96 replacing its blown-out original V4) and my old Monte Carlo back on the road. I remember seeing him driving the Monte Carlo around and saying to myself, "Why why why did I let that car go?"
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