Learned that people know my Charger isn't for sale.

[JR]

I posted this on the Moparts board but wanted the opinion of some Charger owners. How do people act about your Charger?

Within the last couple of weeks, I've run into 3 or 4 local old gearheads who asked me about my car. What struck me is this.

The first one, after seeing my car out back at my work but not realising it was mine, called my boss and asked if it was for sale. Then he found out it was mine. A week later when I ran into him he asked me about it and then said something to the effect of "I saw a Charger out back and then called Glenn to ask if it was for sale. That was before I realised it was yours..." etc.

Then yesterday a local guy that has always toyed around with musclecars told me that he was driving thru town with his son. His son saw the car in the fence and then got excited and insisted on calling my boss and buying it. He said he told him he knew who owned it, and he wouldn't ever get that car...

After a couple of other conversations with different people I realised that at least the people in my hometown know that my car can't be bought. I've only owned it since '99 but have built it from the ground up. In this small town, Mopars are extremely rare and the Chevy guys always insist on how great Camaros are, but that doesn't stop then from staring at the few local Mopars.

It took 8 years of owning my car, but people finally know it can't be bought. Of course there's always the flipper passing thru town, but for the most part, people know it as MY car. That really makes me feel better. I don't think its a proper muscle car until you make it your own. And I guess I did.


What is it like where you guys live? How does the public act with your Mopars? Seems like any musclecar will draw attention, but there is something about Mopar when it comes to attention.

[AKcharger]

I had the same situation with my pet squirrel

[sixpack70]

I find that people don't know mine is not for sale. They always ask and drool and they have no clue what kind of charger it is. The car is in my garage, but you know people are staring because people know who I am because of the charger, mach 1 and cobra. They always say are you the guy who owns the charger? Then they say my friend would love to have that car, but I bet its not for sale. Well ok, I guess a few people know its not for sale. At least people don't bug me wanting to turn my charger into a low rider, but there is a guy I know with a coronet R/T and he always has some morons coming over wanting to buy it and tells him they want it to be a low rider. Morons!

[deputycrawford]

     I parked mine at the Chrysler Classic in Norwalk, Ohio. I walked away for about 3 hours. I returned for some chairs in my trunk and found 7 pieces of paper in my car with names and numbers. EVERYBODY asks me how much I would take.

[Chad L. Magee]

Yes, I have a reputation in my hometown as the "#%$@^" that won't sell his cars, even when offered cash on the spot.  I turned down a $10,000 cash offer for my project 69 WHS as the guy used to have one exactly like it and really wanted another.  (I gave him information on another one that was for sale and I think he did buy that one.)  People did try years ago to ask me about them, but after a decade of trying (can't fault them for that), they just finally quit after I put up a giant NOT FOR SALE (ANY OF THEM) ! sign on the cover of the car nearest to the street........

[Charger1973]

I have had lots of people stop and ask if my cars are for sale.  I dont mind usually, but half the time I get woke up out of bed on a Saturday or Sunday morning, and that gets old.  I finally put a NOT FOR SALE sign on my dash and that seems to have taken care of that problem. 

[gers1968rt]

I've had my car for 18 years and everyone knows its not for sale. I notice that when i drive it, alot of people i don't know wave at me. Also, like previously stated, my car is known by people before i meet them. Oh you're the guy with the yellow 68, they would say. Mostly, people say to me " if you ever want to sell, call me"

[41husk]

I always give a price much higher than the car would fetch, I have raised the amount every year for at least the last 3.

[Nacho-RT74]

ppl always say me, I GUESS YOU DON'T SELL IT, RIGHT ?

[69_500]

I've only had the 500 for a few years, but at local shows no one ever asks about buying it. Many don't know the difference ina 500 from any other 69 Charger anyways which is fine by me. Now when I take it to shows like the Nationals there are people who ask if its for sale. Which I always reply politely, "NO"

[Magnumcharger]

Interesting problem you've got there.
Here's how I handle that same thing.
When my Charger R/T was parked behind my house, or in my driveway, I'd get at least one passerby every day that took it upon themselves to ring my doorbell and ask if it was for sale.
Rather than look like jerk, and brush them off, I'd say "it might be, for the right price".
Of course, they'd ask what that price would be. I'd say, "make an offer. But before you do, I'm going to show you what other people have offered me", and pull out my notebook (which I kept on the shelf above the coat rack by the door) and pass it to them.
All of the SERIOUS offers I've had on the car were written in, along with the name, signature and phone numbers of those who were making the offer. I'd pass the book to them along with a pen and say, "write down an offer that beats any or all of these offers. If and when I decide to sell, I'll have your offer in writing and an amount. If you're prepared to buy, and your offer is greatest, I'll sell it to you."
About half of the tire-kickers would make an offer. The other half were just that, tire-kickers.
I still have the book, but since the car has been in storage for 12 years, all of the prices are ridiculously low compared to today's values.

[Lurker]

i live on the highway and when i leave my cars infront of the garage for a day or 2 i come home and you can barely see my door through all the post-its, i have a basket of them beside the door. most people don't bother me as they are enthusiasts too but i had to deal with a really pushy guy last year that convinced me to never leave my cars insight again. the guy was in my yard twice a week usauly at night and kept leaving notes that kept getting more and more pushy i finally phoned a cop i know (that left a note on my door too) and gave him the guys name and number and i haven't seen him  since.
everyone local knows my cars aren't for sale but there is a lot of highway traffic here.

a couple years ago i had my charger out in the driveway while i cleaned up the shop and a truck turns in my yard  from the highway and a guy gets out and asks if it is for sale before even looking at me, here it was a relative of mine from down south that i hadn't spoke to since i was 10 we had a good laugh... never heard from him since lol

[Magnumcharger]

I can't wait until they start reproducing Charger bodies.
Then everybody will finally get what they want.
And they'll know in advance how much it'll cost too!

[PocketThunder]

I always give a price much higher than the car would fetch, I have raised the amount every year for at least the last 3.

Yesterday at my home town parade i was gasing up an a guy walks out of the store and says "whoa!  sell it to me!"  i said sure.  he says how much, i said $25k and its all yours.  He walked around it for a few minutes and then left.  I probably should have said more, i was kind of sweating 25k.     It would cost me more than that to build another one.

[charger490]

I park my car in the front of the garage a lot but i have a card that reads [yes the car is for sale 40000.00 for the 66 charger 30000.00 for the 68 charger and 50000.00 for the 58 plymouth. please go to bank and bring cash in 100.00 bills and we will talk about it] thank you. nobody rings my doorbell
DON

[Winged 1]

 
PT, Do what I do when asked if it's for sale. Tell them sure, just give me a blank check, and its all yours...
As usual, if you have to ask how much you probley cant afford it..
Always gets the point across..
Second one is look over at the car and then at them and ask where they see the for sale sign at??
Have a good one..

[Mike DC]

 
A lot of people just ask about these cars because they think they might get a steal.  When you're talking about paying anything near the real value these guys aren't even in the market for the car.  But when they see one, they're always gonna give it a try in case you're that once-in-a-lifetime occasion where the owner who has no idea what it's really worth.


This is one really thankless aspect of owning a Charger.  Everyone tries to buy the car for 20% of its market value.  And then when you won't sell it for that, they get annoyed and go around complaining that you're stuck-up about how much your car is worth.  You can't win.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

You can always leave a small sign visible on the top of the dashboard whenever the car is in public: 


SORRY, NOT FOR SALE!
 
Yes, I know how much it's worth, but I would rather just keep it.
I have owned it for years and I'm very sentimental about it.
If you're a serious buyer, lots of similar Chargers can be found on Ebay.

You've been polite, you've offered them an alternative, and you've tipped them off that you're not a sucker.

 

[Ghoste]

And yet sadly, that sign will never deter the one guy you hate talking to most of all, Mr. I love Corvettes but the hot money is in Mopars flipper.  He views a sign like that as meaning he has to work a little harder because to him everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, is for sale.
I at least don't generally mind the inquiries from someone who actually loves the car.

[Charger1973]

I find that most of the people who ask about my car dont even know what year it is.  Usually they think its a 69 or a 71.   I can understand the 71 because I do have parts of other 3rd gens on it... but a 69? 

[Ghoste]

Hey, you have no idea how many times I've been told that I drive the same car as the Dukes.   I always tell them that is true but only in the seldom seen lost episode where they learn to drive in a 67.  And brother, does that earn me a blank stare.

[tomonty]

I haven't really had too many people ask if my 70 is for sale. But if I got a dime everytime someone asked where the 01 is at because it is an orange Charger, I could retire

[69_500]

I think that everytime I take my 500 to a local show, I have at least 10 people ask me when I'm going to put the 01 on the doors. I just look at them and say "The Duke boys only wish they could have had a Charger like this"

As far as people asking if the car is for sale. I also tend to get the locals who don't know a Charger from a Coronet, or a 440 from a 225/6 that always ask if its for sale. I tell them that if they top the previous offer then I might think about it, but odds are they won't offer enough. Usually makes them chuckle, and then instantly ask "no seriously how much to buy it?"

[hotrod98]

I had the same situation with my pet squirrel

Hey...is that squirrel out in your front yard for sale? 

[Mike DC]

 
You guys think you get a lot of "buyers," you should try driving a GL replica.  It's insane.

EVERYONE thinks you stumbled onto a barn-find, that you have no idea that it's worth more than $1500, and that you're just gonna abuse it.


And if they even believe you built it, then most will just begrudge you for "ruining a nice Charger" that must surely have already been in great shape when you started. 
There's no room in their minds for the idea that you actually put love/effort/money into the car.
 
   

[The70RT]

The original owner tracked me down in the mid 80's. He drove 300 plus miles just to find me. I was working in the garage when he and his family pulled up. All of a sudden everyones eyes lit up. I thought maybe they were some long lost kin. He walked up and said you don't know me but.....then he pulled out a pic of the car when it was new and he was standing by it. He freaked out when I called him by his first name. He said he came down to buy HIS charger back. I told him it would cost him twice the price he paid for it new. He almost cried. He said he may have to opt for this 69 hemi car for 5k but the body was rusted bad and he didn't really want one that needed so much work and wanted the one he bought new. He said his parents sold it out from under him cause it sat for 2 years because he was in Vietnam. I again said I feel for you but at the time I had the car for almost ten years and I was attached too much to it to sell it. The car has always been garaged so not too many spot it out back when the door is open.

[police1]

i know a lot of guys here complain about the idea of having someone stop and try to buy their charger cheap(had it myself many times) but remember one thing. i would say most of the ones who complain about it would stop if they saw one sitting somewhere and try to pick it up cheap. cant be a hippocrit about it(dont know if that's spelled right)..

[TUFCAT]

If somebody ever asked me....., My reply is  everything  is for sale. Although, I'm not actively trying to sell...and I would probably regret selling it, ...big money always talks. I just haven't heard any "big money" talking for a while    I had a unmolested Charger that was nice and chock full of NOS parts that I GAVE AWAY four years ago, ....since then (my ass still hurts by the way), I'm just not ready to give my rare stuff away.    By the way, my old Charger is slowly being DESTROYED.    If they paid more - - maybe it would have been taken care of better???

[Mike DC]

 
I don't mind people offering to buy my car.  I'm kinda flattered by that.


I mind people offering to buy the whole car for less than what the wheels/tires alone are worth, then getting insulted & angry at me when I decline their offer, then saying it's "phony" because it's not a real 427 Hemi car so I should be glad to get rid of it, and then finally griping about how stupid GL fans are the reason nobody can afford a decent '66 Challenger anymore. 

 

[71ChallengeHer]

When Shelby inherited the Super Coupe , it had to sit outside for about a year until we got the other side of the garage fixed up.  The guy I rent my garage from finally said I'm getting this car running and putting it in with your Challenger. Now this is out in the boonies. He said at least a couple times a week someone was knocking on his door wanting to know if it was for sale. I think the funniest was the guy that stopped and told Don he was big into Mopars. And wanted to know how much he wanted for the Super Bee.

[gordo1968charger]

i have a 68 and someone looked at it and pointed yelling"STARSKY AND HUTCH"
YES WE HAVE MORONS IN ENGLAND AS WELL!!!!!!