How do you KNOW when it's time to let go of a car?

[Ghoste]

Those of you who have had many cars over the years or change them frequently, how do you know when its time to move them on? How do you know for sure when its a keeper?  I am talking about hobby cars of course and not daily drivers and I also am not referring to the occasional frustration that gets us all from time to time.  I am talking about a hobby vehicle that you really love but one day you wake up and put the for sale sign on it.  How do you know for sure when you reach that point with a car.
I personally tend to keep them so I wonder.

[b5blue]

Ether your wallet or heart is broke!   

[Chryco Psycho]

Often it simply comes down to resources if I cannot keep them properly maintained or stored or simply do not have the budget to build them then I let them go to someone who will build them or take care of them . Some cars are just uncomfortable so you do not enjoy driving them, you get them for a good price fix them up & don't enjoy them . Other are just a pain you fix them & they break , they wear you down  . I had one unreliable dialy driver Mopar fixed everything on it , spent two weeks repairing the engine & clutch , did the steering etc & drove ti less then 2 miles & a witer line split on the way home with it , the guy I sold it to said he fixed the water problem & never had another issue with it LOL
I was looking to build a Charger as a race car a few years ago & bought a 70 for cheap , it burned in a fire , bought a replacement body & it turned out to be a vary rare R/T SE 4 Spd Track Pack car as I did not want to do a resto I sold it & bought a 72 Charger sight unseen , it turned out to be rarer yet as a 400 4spd Ralley in GA4 so I sold that & bought a 71 Charger body , it was a mess , traced the #s on it & it was even more rare as a 440 4 spd track pack possibly 6 pack air grabber car !!
All I wanted was a clean 318 to play with LOL

[Troy]

So far, I only let them go as a means to get something I want more. Basically, I won't sell one just to have cash - or I'll end up blowing it on stupid stuff. I have to have a plan that needs funding. Of course, most of my problems stem from having too many cars so it's easy to convince myself to sell a couple in order to get/finish something better. Realistically, I can't enjoy everything I have - no matter what I thought when I was buying them all. Now, if I only had one car, it would probably have to be an emergency for me to sell - in which case I'd probably lose a bundle (like most people who need to sell quick).

Troy

[nvrbdn]

for me its what interests me. i only have room for 2 cars in the garage. so when i get an itch to try something different, one has to go. the only one that has withstood the urges is the 70 charger. had a 67 goat,72 cuda,68 coronet 440,71 dodge charger,70 mustang fastback that have all left to greener pastures since i bought the 70 charger 15 years ago. whenever the tastes change, the odd ball out gets the pass while the charger stays. the car on the bubble right now is a 69 cougar. but i kinda have my eye on a 3rd gen charger in missouri i might be going after so who knows what the future holds for the cougar. ha ha

[charger490]

getting to old to be playing with the car so i think i will sell the 66 and 68 charger and the 58 plymouth. i was going to give them to the grandkids but when they want 20 bucks for mowing the lawn for me they lose out.someday they will learn  to help out if they want to get something.

[Ghoste]

How old is too old and how do you determine that?

[charger490]

when you cant pick up the women any more andyou cant move around like you did before and when you cant walk to the bath room  it is time

[model maker]

Charger490, MAN, do you have that one right ! It seems kids these days expect money ANYTIME  they even open a door for an elderley or disabled person. I think they automatically EXPECT you to give them your valuable possessions because they are growing up being told that THEY ARE ENTITLED and special and the world owes them a living. $20 bucks for mowing a lawn If you do pay them that & they get thirsty, give them a glass of water & say "$25. bucks please.

[resq302]

well.... for me, if the money is at a rediculous price where I can get something else that I might want, well then that car will go by the way side.  For instance if the movie pilot that my charger was used in got picked up and they wanted to buy the car off me, I had a set price and wouldn't go below that.  The price I had in mind could have gotten me a car for the wife as well as another charger for me which I could have fixed up.

[Old Moparz]

I never really had to get rid of a "hobby car" but when these old things were daily drivers, I'd get rid of them when they cost way more to fix than I could earn. I'd sell a car cheap, or junk something when it was worn out. Right now I'm at a turning point in the hobby (and life in general) where I have to make up my mind to get rid of a few things. There was never any desire to get rid of a car I've had, I'd like to keep them all, but a number of things are forcing me to reevaluate.

Family I started in the hobby when I was 17 or 18 & single. Even after I got married my wife never had an issue with my cars, but with a kid I just don't have the time & money. Like this summer when she gets her braces, & I get the bill from the orthodontist.  

Income We're back to one income after having had two for a long time. Bills keep coming, the house needs repairs, the daily drivers need to be kept up, & it never ends. My wife has been able to get a couple of part time jobs, but nothing like she had.

Energy No, not electricity, mine.    I'll be 50 the end of the year, & even though I don't feel like I'm getting old & feeble, I just can't do the same things I did when I was half my age. I was up on my roof replacing it last fall & decided that the next time my house needs a roof I'll put a lit match to it instead.  

Interests They change. I still love old hot rods & being in the garage with a cold beer while I tinker with something, but I'm starting to enjoy a cold beer on the sofa a little more.  

Clutter It's my own fault as much as my wife's, but we have too much crap, (No, not as bad as the hoarders on TV) It's not just cars & parts, it's household things. When my wife's mother passed away a while back we ended up with a lot of her stuff. When her sister moved we cleared out the house & got more. When my mother closed her business I took things in after clearing out her warehouse. When she passed away, same thing, more stuff. We got rid of a lot over time, but it just doesn't happen fast enough. I find myself thinking about what my daughter would have to do with all this shit one day in the future.  

So.....

I'm at a point right now that "I just know" it's time to part with a couple of cars to make life easier.  

[Scaregrabber]

I've had a lot of cars. Generally when a car has major sheet metal replaced it's a seller. When a car has all it's original panels on it and it's documentation it's a keeper. That's how it works for me anyway. I sold my 71 Hemi R/T a few years ago only because of a company takeover and my livelyhood was gone, other wise I would still own that car, it was matching #'s and all original metal.

Sheldon

[Daytona R/T SE]

I'll be 50 next year.

It's time.

I've got ten old cars.

All projects.

My Garage holds three (sort of)

Right now, there's three in there, along with a  huge diesel Ram and a Harley.

One more stuffed in the old crappy storage shed out back.

Five more in storage.

One in the body shop getting painted soon.

I just don't have the same interest in cars I used to have.

My job sucks, and after 25+ years in that shit hole,

I want to quit and do something/anything else which may require relocating elswhere.

I've decide to keep three of my cars...for now.

The rest will be sold, or politely parted out and scrapped.

Any money I make from selling cars and parts will be used to complete my Daytona.

Then, when the Daytona is done...

I'll decide if I'll EVER do another project car.

[Cooter]

Never really was one to "Buy and sell", but can understand more and more why those that do, do it. I guess it comes down to playing with your toys when you were little. Once the "newness" wears off, you begin to wanna play with the next toy for a little while.

[Ghoste]

You have two cool ones to play with though, do you find that makes it easier or harder?  You have upkeep and everything for two but you also have something else to go to when you are tired of one.

[bill440rt]

'71 Road Runner. Clone. I was 17-18 or so, that car was a big learning curve for me. Kicked my ass with every project. When something was fixed, something else was right behind it going wrong. I was still a newbie somewhat at the time. I already had my '68, but really wanted an R/T. I decided then at the time if I'm going to keep plunking down money & stuff it might as well be with something I really wanted. So, I knew then to sell, but it was tough to do because I really liked the RR. I still wonder what became of it.

[Cooter]

You have two cool ones to play with though, do you find that makes it easier or harder?  You have upkeep and everything for two but you also have something else to go to when you are tired of one.

I assume your referring to General Lee and Christine. However, I do have a 1970 Challenger, a 1999 Dodge ram, a 1994 Toyota, a 1968 Dart, a 2001 toyota Corolla, a 1995 Mercury, and my boys 1966 Plymouth the Maintain with as well.

Even with all these to "chose" from, it gets tiresome trying to "Rotate" the cars to keep them from sitting so long that the tires break cords in them.

[SRT-440]

I think when it's time to sell you just "know"...for whatever reason. I've got my GN, 70 RR clone, 71 Dart and SRT4 (DD)...and it does help to have a couple choices. However, everything gets old..I'm already thinking of selling the GN. One thing to note, the Dart I will keep...my dad and I built it and it was the first car we worked on together so it stays.

[Todd Wilson]

I'll be 50 next year.

It's time.

I've got ten old cars.

All projects.

My Garage holds three (sort of)

I'd still like to have that Imp!   


Todd

[Todd Wilson]

I've actually been wrestling with this topic in my beady brain lately myself. I have thought about selling Frankie the 69 Charger. I have come to the conclusion I will not have the time nor the money for a long long time to restore it. I dont think I am physically up to the challenge anymore either. I dont mind working on them for normal things but body work or pulling a motor or transmission just doesnt excite me anymore.
I have a friend local I was talking about with this topic and he said I should just put Frankie away in the garage and forget about him. One day I will walk out and say wow theres a 69 Charger in my garage and then it will be time to start working on it.

Right now I basically have 3 toy vehicles.  Its a pain sometimes to take one as I have to move other daily vehicles to get one out. Heck I just got my 71 Charger out of the garage last weekend where its sat about 9 months. Gas is foul in the tank. I need to drive this car more.

Todd

[triple_green]

Interesting topic...
and timely for me

I am putting all the parts I have for the hemi Challenger Vert (clone) on it and the going to sell. It really deserves an expensive paint job/body work...which I cannot do.

It runs great after 4 years of mishaps and my mechanic dinking around. The FBO igniton system was a diaster and cost us hours of time and money, and never was right.

I made the mistake of borrowing money for this from my home equity line of credit, thinking I could do the engine swap, drive it for a while and then sell it ( for a profit  ). Now the market has crashed becuase it took so long. My wife brings it up to me as disaster everytime we have a money discussion.....so it is definately time for sell..bummer!

[charger_fan_4ever]

I think you can feel when your detached from a car. Longest i ever owned a toy was 8 years(89 mustang GT). After all the time and $$ dumped into moddifying it I thought it was a lifer. Started out bone stock original paint. Changed colors had two different aluminum headed engines in it, tremec tko transmission ect ect. Then 2 years ago I realized if I kept it and put a little $$ here and there into my charger it would be another 10 years before the charger was finished. Sold the mustang for 1/2 of what i had in it.

Learned a good lesson about return on investment when it came to modiffications on a car. Recoup $1 for every $10 spent. If you want a moddified one buy it already that way so the prevoius owner takes the bath on the cost.

[Daytona R/T SE]

I'll be 50 next year.

It's time.

I've got ten old cars.

All projects.

My Garage holds three (sort of)

I'd still like to have that Imp!   


Todd

And... I'd REALLY like to sell it to you!!!

[Dino]

I can only have one car to tinker with.  I have my trusty daily driver that never needs anything more than an oil change and I have my Charger.  The Charger is mechanically great, I'll drive it anywhere and not think twice about it.  It needs some work but nothing pressing and when the time comes to restore it I know I want the plans laid out so I can get it done because once it sits in parts, it will lose my interest real quick.  For that reason I will never again own a second project again because it turns my love of old cars into hate.  Maybe it's because I've seen all those projects sit in the shop when I did body work.  I just don't want to be one of those guys anymore.  I'm sure there's a lot of people here that look at their car, their life, their funds, and their time and will realize the car will never be done.  That would be enough for me to get rid of it.  Tempted as I sometimes get to start doing major work on the car I need it running until I have the time to do a resto.

[Road Dog]

I know my car will never be restored. I fix things on it as needed. I bought it back in 78 knowing that and it's always been on the road. I do enjoy driving it though.  I think if it ever sat for any length of time I would be more apt to sell it.