Well... I'm selling everything

[BB1]

I'm kinda mad right now, yup it's just what I need to get me motivated to start all over again.
My situation is not dire, but I need something to move me into a positive direction.
Am I rational or nuts.

Item number 1,
I want to move back West to Arizona for family, and other good reasons.
My house is on it way to being sold July 1st.
Getting out of this money pit and moved is a real good feeling.
The bad is, I will make practically nothing on it, hell I will owe money because of a dumb second mortgage on my house and the market.

Most of the money is tied up in cars, and parts. I have an automotive problem, I love working on cars. 
I work pay check to pay check without the brains to save for the future, other than a 401 and a very good retirement, I'm sunk.

Item number 2,
My 68 is at a body shop, one that I can not recommend, because 6 months later he hasn't done shit to it other than getting it blasted and mounting it to a rotisserie. The guys is a phuking GM Olds man, he talks a good game about body work, but I have yet to see him work on anything.
He constantly takes jobs in front of my Charger I am losing my patients. He talked last Dec like it would be done by summer, what a joke.
Well last weekend he took some dents out of the roof. 
I gave him full 1/4 door skins, frame parts, but had no front fender to put on it.

He said the last person that worked on it lost the factory door jam location, so the 1/4 couldn't be mounted without the fenders. 

I've lost all interest in it, so I bought my 69.
Well since I gave him ten grand in Feb, I let him have the 69 to put a trunk in it and some other work. Well now its turned into a full paint job.
That was 3 weeks ago, the windows are out of it and that's about it. I nearly blew my stack when I found my 69 outside with a hail storm approaching.
Now he shows me the roof need a lot more work because of dents. 

I don't want to deal with it anymore, I have other things I need to take care of.

68/69 Charger (both 383 magnum auto) one Black one Silver.
Less then $8,000. each.

Yes I am stupid thank you.



I will buy another Charger, one that runs and drives for the love of God.
And I am going to teach myself bodywork so I don't have to farm it out anymore.

[Rolling_Thunder]

     hmmmm      sounds like you're just in a funk man...   you'll get out of it sooner or later...     I'de pull your cars out of that shop and ask for a refund of your money....     when he asks why say "lack of progress" and take all your things back...     dont sell them off because some blow-hard has gotten to you...       I was in a similar mood until recently...    my charger sat in the resto shop i manage...  and there it sat every day for over a year without being touched...      i was in a pretty pissy mood about it...     I last month i decided to do something about it - i bought a 6.1L Hemi for it, begin disassembling it, ordered some XV parts, and alot of other things that i've wanted...     I am currently writing this as i take a break from welding in torque boxes and other trinkets...     

I would get the cars back along with your money and then concentrate on one of them...   get it done so you have something to cure your fix...     then finish the other one as funds allow (this is what i'm doing with my charger and my road runner) -

I vote for not selling them   

[BB1]

That's good thanks

[69bronzeT5]

I vote dont sell them. Believe me, everyone has one of those days.

[dpm68]

What Bronzy said.

[G-man]

Your in a similar (but not) situation as me.

Had my 1970 Challenger since august 2005. Still no pictures because its still sitting at the guys house with nothing much done to it.

I then Buy parts, to only find out I got ripped of over 3000 dollars on them. Then the scumbags tried to rip me off 16 000 for parts only worth 8000  (But I pulled out on time)

This was already when they knew that Mum, Dad and I were already in a financial problem. So to "look after us" to not get ripped off as we did by somebody else, they go and rip us off EVEN more 

So now, 2 years later, car is still not done, had to sell the house to get out of debt to the money hungry banks, had to move out of sydney into the country where its cheap (will never afford sydney again as the cheapest house there is like 500 000 dollars).

Then the money that was there to atleast finish the blasted challenger off, went onto something else that also dissapered, so money in the fire, car sitting there falling behind and behind. OVER IT!@!#!@!#

Anyways, bit of time went passed, thought about the future a bit and what I am going to do in college and where my life IS headed... Now that the houses are gone, no debt, I am able to afford a 68 Charger (driver condition FORGET Projects, they cost too much and take forever, and not able to drive them till there done)

The challenger will slowly get done, and then help pay for college fees upon sale. I will atleast have a driving condition charger, and I can slowly modify that while driving it instead of having a project thats being modified and not useable untill 80-100 000 goes into it.

Pull back for abit, get on to what you need to think about, look for a driver, buy it, so you have fun with a car that works, and, do these 2 up over time and sell them for better $ then you are asking for right now. Dont let the frustration make you regret things later.

[dpm68]

Yea, it's hard. My '64 Galaxie 500 keeps me from losing my cool, as the Charger collects dust in the garage.

[Kevin68N71]

Every one of us should learn body work and paint.  I have put it off for years.  These kind of stories aren't the exception any more, but the rule.

Before my parents just outright GAVE me their 1969 Cadillac Fleetwood (don't laugh, it has a lot of great memories and it is in really good shape) I looked around for a paint shop to do basic prep and paint.  This car has no dents, no rust, I just wanted to get it sprayed for them. They had a budget of $5k for the paint and a bit more to replace the vinyl top. What I got was alot of BS, and one guy even saying the car was too big. Everyone talked like I fell off a turnip truck, not a guy pushing 50 and collecting/restoring cars for 30 years.

I don't know of any industry that is full of BS more than paint and body.  Not even rip off houses like Firestone.  Paint isn't rocket science.  I am learning it myself.  And I am not unfair, I don't expect to get a great job for $1000.  But $5000?  $10,000?  $15,000?  Screw them.

And I don't get people that just have a car sit in their shop.  Why'd they take it in?  If they are getting paid by the hour, doesn't it make more sense to turn yours around on a first in, first out basis?  They were not doing it for you for free I assume.  But you hear this over and over.  Then one guy taps out a few dents and they call it progress.

I think these are the same guys we knew in high school that "studied the whole weekend" for the US History test.  All weekend?  For a 50 question test?  That's like 2 hours to study.  But you get the idea.

So many guys out there inflate their time, and talk in big flourishes about how complex it is.  Yes, there are techniques.  Yes there are skills.  Yes there are mistakes to be made.  But I think that most people want what I want, a basic, shiny, decent lasting paint job that is at least as good as it came with from the factory.  We're not, for the most part, expecting Ferrari depth, outlandish and complex color schemes, and fancy designs. 

And then there is the crappy work.  When I had my 727 rebuilt by a very good shop (did my Pontiac Safari too) one of the guys accidentally scraped my fender on a metal door.  They sent the car down the street and had it fixed and painted for me no charge of course.  I just noticed, not two years later, that whole fender, which they must have painted, is now a different white than the rest of the car.  Thanks for the quality paint guys, especially seeing my car IS INDOORS.

As I said before, with the exception of auto transmissions, welding and alignment and paint, I have done everything myself.  Looks like it's time to up my skills. 

[MoParMetal]

i gotta get my butt in an auto body class.
im just finishing my welding class, so hopefully i can get a job doing that.
then im going to take an auto body class and get my butt into gear.

[mikesbbody]

I agree with rolling thunder and cody DONT SELL!!!

[BlueSS454]

I got sick and tired of getting stuck dealing with bodyshops with my 2 Chevelles.  I took a night auto body class and now I can do it all myself from welding to blocking to paint to cut 'n buff.  I do it all.  No more dealing with jackasses that want to take your $$$ and do nothing with the car.

[BB1]

I always wanted to do body work on my own cars. Working with my hands is what I do best, I have the drive and the patients.
All I need is training and a good welder, then I'm off the body mans payrole for good, this stuff isn't hard.
I'll be much happier for it; I know a lot already by reading the posts here.

I'm mad as hell and I ain't taking it from you paint and body morons anymore. 

[Back N Black]

I got sick and tired of getting stuck dealing with bodyshops with my 2 Chevelles.  I took a night auto body class and now I can do it all myself from welding to blocking to paint to cut 'n buff.  I do it all.  No more dealing with jackasses that want to take your $$$ and do nothing with the car.

Did you paint the Chevelle and the charger? If so, great job! 

[Old Moparz]

I always wanted to do body work on my own cars. Working with my hands is what I do best, I have the drive and the patients.
All I need is training and a good welder, then I'm off the body mans payrole for good, this stuff isn't hard.
I'll be much happier for it; I know a lot already by reading the posts here.

I'm mad as hell and I ain't taking it from you paint and body morons anymore. 

I know what you're going through with getting jerked around by a body shop, that happened to me just over 20 years ago with my Satellite convertible. It leaves a real sour taste for anything car related. I stopped going to car shows, even as a spectator because of it. I didn't pay attention to car & part ads, or even think about getting the car fixed "again" to enjoy it. I think it was close to 5 or 6 years before I started to get interested again, but also having bought a house during that time contributed to holding off on cars. I never sold it though, all I did was a partial reassembly so I could at least drive it occasionally & store it for another time. (which still hasn't arrived....lol)

My advice to you would be the same as what my lawyer told me when my car was still inside the "restoration shop". Get it out of there & worry about the money part later. I cut my losses back then, which was $3000 for s**t body work & another $1500 for labor & materials of mine for carpentry work for the shop owner's shop. That was a ton of money for me back then & I made damn sure it will NEVER happen again. I know moving soon & trying to shuffle cars won't be easy, but if the cars are in the shop after you move, you won't be able to do a thing & may as well have given them away for free. I'd suggest that you keep the one you like better & not sell both if you have to sell at all.

[bull]

The first thing I would do is get your cars out of that body shop, then mull it over for a week or two before you decide what to do. Knee-jerk decisions can make for long-lasting regrets.

[brianz426]

Try not to make a bad situation worse by letting that body shop get the best of you. Get your 2 cars back , take some time and come up with a plan. Set small goals and take things one step at a time. If you make an impulsive decision based on the actions (or lack of action) of a bad body shop you may regret it.
Best of luck to you.
Brian

[Blown70]

I will agree with most of the posting here but will also say dont sell them becasue you are mad at the bodyshop.  I would get them back, and make a choice, personally I would keep one at least.  Sell one if you need to after you ARE CALM.

You also have a lot going on right now, this may seem a thorn, but maybe a rose if you can sit back for a minute too.

Good luck with your decision.

Too bad the hemi is not all aluminum.....

Tom

[moparstuart]

most body men are a seperate breed thats for sure

[89MOPAR]

   Even if you are cash poor , at least you are putting money into a 401 K plan, and have a job that will confer a good retirement eventually -- thats a lot better than many people. 

   Don't understand why if the bodywork guy was so slow in getting  progress completed on your 68 , to the point that you lost interest in the car.... Why would you buy a 69 , and then turn it over to the Same Guy , along with giving him $ 10,000 ??   

  Do you have a written, understandable, contract that points out what specific items he is supposed to perform ?
  Do you know how that 10K is going to be spent by the shop ?   

  I think as a whole , in this hobby, us enthusiasts tend to be trusting with body work / paint work / rust repair ... and then take the proprietor at his word, essentially authorizing the shop a blank check.  Especially not good  because we are dealing with 30+ year old cars , most of which have had several owners, and when the cars start getting stripped down , inevitably additional problems show up, that cost more $$ to fix.

  It's like changing the siding on a house, and then realizing that the studs underneath are chewed up by termites. Do you put new siding over crap framework - not if you want the house to last. Do you get mad at the contractor because a termite has been chewing your house for the last 10 years ?  It's not his fault -- then again , maybe the contractor should have seen signs of termite damage before estimating the job. If contractor knew there would be termite damage, he has a responsibility to disclose that before he starts the job.  Now if said contractor pulls the siding and leaves it off for a year, causing subsequent water damage from rainstorms, well then its time for a fight.

Point being, when a person goes into an agreement without clear expectations, or WITHOUT DATES or TIMELINES being established - their kind of screwed .

Probably if you took the original cost of the 68 + the parts you bought for it + the money you paid bodyshop for 68 + cost of the 69 + cost of parts for 69 + $10,000 for the 69 bodywork  =  One hell of a nice finished, turnkey car , that could've been driven and enjoyed since the day you first bought it.
   I'm not meaning to dog on you, actually I hope that someone else will read this and be more deliberate of their actions and protective of their money.  I've "lost" money on stupid stuff also.

   We all get burnt -  Knowledge is being able to describe how to fish , Wisdom is going out and catching your fishy dinner. 
   When is a bargain not a bargain ??   When you don't Need it, or can't afford it !!

Home equity is tricky , it seems like "free" money .  Then you realize there is a $400 a month loan payment for 15 years, or then when selling the house - not so much cash coming back at closing......

  Imagine a job, any job, offering  payment UP FRONT of $10,000 , at salary of $20/hr .   How many folks do we think would hurry up and work their required 500 hours - diligently + responsibly ?   And then how many folks would work for a week or two- then call in sick, then go on vacation, then work a few hours, then spend some more of the $, then have an excuse as to why work sucks, etc etc.

   

[BB1]

Thanks all, great thread.
I know a great deal of the problem should rest with me. Throwing money at a dream is not at all smart.
Plans, budgets, taking advice, that is what will makes my dream car come true. Also don't take on more than 1 project.
Fortunately, I don't have a wife and kids, or they would have thrown me out years ago. 

Other than looking back at this, I will make plans to do something like some of you guys suggested.
Let this serve as a warning that passion of the hobby can cloud the mind, just like a beautiful woman can suck the life out of your wallet.

I'm glad I didn't keep this from my DC bros, like I was going to. Just to embarrassing. 

Ok 

I'm going to step back for now, and take this to a logical conclusion.

Hopefully it will be a running driving Charger.

[mikes_classics_68]

perhaps i didnt read the thread all the way through?  although part of me wants to agree and say dont sell them  i am looking for a 68 charger  sooooo if your still selling it  mind me asking what condition it is in?  and i have a friend that is in the market for a 69 and if its in good condition he is willing to spend a little more than 8k  for one.  anyways  let me know  thanks.

and cheer up man     hope things start lookin up for you

[Old Moparz]

I'm glad I didn't keep this from my DC bros, like I was going to. Just to embarrassing. 

Ok 

I'm going to step back for now, and take this to a logical conclusion.

It's not really something to get embarrassed over, it happens & can happen to just about anyone. Several factors contribute to it, like the love of the hobby, being misled by a repair shop, or just getting in over your head on a project(s). Anytime something like this takes place the best thing to do is look at it as a learning experience. Embarrassing would be getting drunk, passing out, then waking up & seeing Ponch on your bedroom floor with just his socks on.   

[472 R/T SE]

...and a smile on his face doing the same thing Jolie's doing in your signature. 

[mikepmcs]

 
mmmmmmm! Angelina.  wait.... now I'm thinking of Ponch, Angelina, Ponch, Angelina, crap!

[raybeez]

BB1

Keep your cars man!

And where are you going in Arizona? I'm in Az., so if it's anywhere near me I can recommend places to go for vehicle repairs and places to stay away from.


I would love a 68 charger, but I would hate for you to sell yours and kick yourself later.

Hope to meet you when you get out here to Az.