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Close, but no Cigar! A Hershey Story!


R W Burgess

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Here's my Hershey story guys. I am sure you have heard something similar before.

I was really looking forward to Hershey this year. Being the owner of some “cheap” cars, being cheap myself, I have decided to move upscale with the “well to do” of the car hobby. :)

I began looking at the RM Auction web site and noticed a striking looking V-8 Cadillac (see below). It was a no reserve car so I checked it over, compared other Caddy’s on the web (few and far between) and decided that the suggested go price of $35-40,000 may work for me. I also decided that the wife did not need a new Honda anyway (look at what they cost?), so I talked myself into affording a car like this. You know, impress the neighbors with a what?, certainly $100,000 Classic Car, when it’s under 50?:cool:

Anyway, I talked to the RM folks, had my bank letter, figured out the “buyer’s fee” and registration fees, and decided to get prepared. On arrival to Hershey I drove over to the hotel and found the Caddy parked outside in the weather. It really is a striking color, even if a certain magazine editor does think it is too gaudy for me. Hasn’t he noticed my green dress jacket after all these years???? Wait! It’s those white wall tires, I'll bet. Sorry editor, I keep forgetting. The sedan really looked nice at a distance and I expected some paint problems up close. Disturbing to me was the wood in the driver’s door. It was deteriorating, even dimpling the paint on the bottom of the door, plus the door was dragging the threshold. All of the interior handles were incorrect. (I understand they are "stolen" for the more important Phaetons?)The engine also had an intake repair problem. Not knowing how hard a replacement intake was to locate, I became a little disappointed.

The next day, a friend told me about a very nice 1929 Lincoln (also, see below)in the car corral. I went over and looked under the car cover at it (still raining, you know?), and was really surprised at how nice it was. I negotiated a bottom line on this car and told the owner I would test drive it on Friday morning. Since this car was much better than the Caddy, I decided not to register for the RM Auction. Unbelievably to me, that Caddy sold for $25,000. WOW! You can do a lot of repairs for $15-20,000. Guess I misread the market on that one. The V-12 Caddy listed, freshly restored, brought $55,000 or so (another wow).

Back to the Lincoln: Friday morning was a rainout, if any of you noticed. I told the Lincoln owner that my wife and I were very interested in his car but certainly wanted to drive it, made an appointment for Saturday morning. I was thinking about Saturday morning all through lunchtime, telling a few friends about the car. Everyone supported me, telling me to go for it. Well, I worked the AACA membership tent at 2pm Friday afternoon, and enjoyed meeting everyone and helping renew their dues. Around 3:30pm I received a phone call from the Lincoln owner.

"Sorry, the Lincoln has been sold.?????":confused::eek:

"Excuse me? You sold it?":confused::eek:

"Yes sir!" and....

...."No sir, the car did not get sold to you???":(

Ok guys, I’m making light of this and I have heard the millions of stories about Hershey, “Buy it now! It will not be there later!” At any rate, I am telling my friends that I was not supposed to own a Classic car this year. I will just have to be happy to continue owning my cheap Chevy’s, Ford, and the (now, in my mind) lowly Essex. Gosh, I was so close to the “well connected” antique car owners.

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Edited by R W Burgess (see edit history)
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By the way guys, I am still in the market for a classic vehicle like this. I will also probably sell a 1984 Oldsmobile, 1986 Chevy wagon, and even a beautiful 1929 Essex, all very che....expensive cars.:cool:

I just knew that a couple of you were waiting for this information.;)

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Guest Art Griffin

Wayne,

Yours is an interesting story, but I've heard similar stories before. So, when it is your time to buy a classic vehicle that is in good condition and which you can afford, it will happen. In the meantime just continue working at the Membership Booth and at your regular job in AACA. Best wishes!

Art Griffin

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Shucks, sorry you missed out on the Lincoln, as you state this happens sometimes. Have had it happen to me, when occasionally a seller tells you "someone else is interested", it's true and not a sales pitch!!

And just like goodies in the flea market, once you put it back on the table, it's someone else's to own.....

There are good cars out there, keep up the search and it'll come to you....

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Wayne, FWIW I missed a car Thursday that I am pretty sure, if it ran as well as it looked, I would have likely bought. This from a friend who had no idea I would be interested - it never would have even been at Hershey had we discussed.

Moral of the story for me - keep people updated on your interests..

Saw several cars sell this year so maybe a tough year for vendors but people selling cars seemed to be doing ok...

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The more things change on the Website the further behind and dumber I get. I walked the Corral three times and the only car I liked was a poor old '39 Buick out in the flea market from Michigan. Original as the day it was born except for the "bleeding blue" paint job. Obviously '39 Buick's are my obsession and had I known how to get it to Virginia it might have been here now. Thank goodness for the rain. I need another '39 Buick like a hole in the head. As for the Corral I must be very choicy because I wasn't excited by any car I saw there, eve the pre-War Buick 4-door convertibles. That said, I hope I can get as much for mine as those guys were asking. Now wait! I'm not dead yet so it isn't for sale yet. I'm trying to time it for that moment just before the event so I can play in the pile of money for a little bit, even just a little bit! However, the Lincoln was a beautiful car, well worth buying, if for somebody else---mainly my friend Wayne. I even offered to give him back the same price he paid me for the 1981 Olds 98 Regency coupe, but no, he would only sell the 1984 and I can't reach the pedals in that one. Frankly though, neither one of those Oldsmobiles look like a 1939 Buick, :)

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For what it is worth, I believe the Cadillac was bought by my friends at the St. Louis Car Museum so I am sure it will be offered for sale shortly on their website. You're right, that was a really cheap selling price.

That Lincoln used to be owned by an acquaintance of mine. It was a really good old car and that he owned and toured with for decades. I think he sold it a couple of years ago.

I think of the two, I would have chosen the Lincoln, but I am more of a Lincoln guy than a Cadillac guy.

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Wayne, I drove by the Hershey Lodge this morning and the large tent is still up and there were a dozen cars still under it. RM’s semis are still here and I saw a few of the Reliable car carriers still parked at the lodge. Email me your credit card numbers and bank letter and I will be more than happy to run over and negotiate a deal on a “classic car” for you.:)

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Hi Wayne-

Life long GM guy here - voting for the LINCOLN. (Can't get past the blue-sorry.) Maybe a Franklin - air cooled IS cool remember.

Andy

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Hi Wayne-

Life long GM guy here - voting for the LINCOLN. (Can't get past the blue-sorry.) Maybe a Franklin - air cooled IS cool remember.

Andy

See Wayne!!! I told you! It's fine to like garish, but it's hard to resell it.

There was a beautiful Franklin in the car corral, and the price seemed VERY reasonable, but I don't remember how much that was.

I looked closely at that Lincoln and it was 120% percent nicer than the Cadillac. VERY nicely restored, whenever it was done, and it would still do well in point judging.

Edited by West Peterson (see edit history)
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I looked closely at that Lincoln and it was 120% percent nicer than the Cadillac. VERY nicely restored, whenever it was done, and it would still do well in point judging.

Now, the man tells me!???? Either way, spending that kind of money requires a ride, in my opinion. Oh well, it always takes me 2 tries to get it right. 2 tries in a career, in a marriage, now in a special automobile.:D

Wayne

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Glad to see you at Hershey once again. I did not know you were interested in such a big classic car, but things change. I hope you have a nice big garage for this baby. (when the time comes)

Don't worry, you will find the right one at the right time, like the others have stated. I do know of a very nice 1935 Ford Cabriolet that was in the car corral and at a very nice price.

Only if you wanted to stay with a regular type car and not a classic. Hope everyone still had a good time at Hershey. I got wet with everyone else, but thats Hershey. At least there was no mud like years ago.

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Wayne,

Thanks for posting your Hershey story. I have no doubt you will find the perfect car you want. When you do you will look back on both of these cars and say glad I missed out on these because I never would have found this one. Funny how we all "miss" so many opportunities only to realize that the real opportunity had just not come along yet.

Sorry I missed you, Marty Roth and others I normally see at Hershey. My new job did not give me much time for Hershey this year.

BTW, I thought of you and Marty on Friday as I was changing a flat tire on my trailer in the rain on the way to Hershey. The story you told me once about a flat you had on the way to a meet and the flat Marty had at the Bristol meet both popped into me head as I was changing the flat on my trailer. Thank Goodness I had my "Trailer Aid" ramp. Just pulled the trailer up on the ramp and changed the flat tire. Was done in under 10 minutes. Best of all did not have to unload my car from the trailer.

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Wayne,

...................... Thank Goodness I had my "Trailer Aid" ramp. Just pulled the trailer up on the ramp and changed the flat tire. Was done in under 10 minutes. Best of all did not have to unload my car from the trailer........

Thanks Charlie. My goodness a trailer aid? Growing up on the farm there were trailer aids everywhere. I got 3 different sizes of "fire wood" sticks. Whatever raises it high enough, you know?:cool:

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post-31482-143142237956_thumb.jpgThere's a nice Pierce sedan for sale on the Pierce Arrow Society Emporium, 40K miles and a little more than that asking price...if any interest PM me and I'll send you a copy of ad...I'd lobby for you finding a nice Pierce, great cars for touring and excellent mechanically, and the PAS is a group of great people and a strong support group for keeping these cars on the road!
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Now, the man tells me!???? Either way, spending that kind of money requires a ride, in my opinion. Oh well, it always takes me 2 tries to get it right. 2 tries in a career, in a marriage, now in a special automobile.:D

Wayne

Same experiences here -- TRY IT BEFORE YOU BUY IT !!

and yes, Frank Sinatra sang it too, "The Second Time Around",

with both feet on the ground....

Career

Marriage

Cars

Many of my friends and family would agree

Impetuous youthful quickies VS mature carefully thought out decisions..

Hang in there, my friend... the right one will find you, and possibly when you least expect it !

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Wayne,

Sorry I missed you, Marty Roth and others I normally see at Hershey. My new job did not give me much time for Hershey this year.

BTW, I thought of you and Marty on Friday as I was changing a flat tire on my trailer in the rain on the way to Hershey. The story you told me once about a flat you had on the way to a meet and the flat Marty had at the Bristol meet both popped into me head as I was changing the flat on my trailer. Thank Goodness I had my "Trailer Aid" ramp. Just pulled the trailer up on the ramp and changed the flat tire. Was done in under 10 minutes. Best of all did not have to unload my car from the trailer.

Charlie,

We missed you this year, and glad you have the Trailer-Aid lightweight fiberglass ramp - as we age, we look for easier ways not to hurt ourselves --- and thanks one more time for the Breaker-Bar and the torque wrench at Bristol when my Harbor Freight torque wrench finally said "time to replace".

Hope to see you at upcoming Meets & Tours

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Wayne, no matter how quickly one tries to act you can still get skunked. One car I am particularly interested in is a T series MG. Yesterday, just before 8:00 AM, a I came across a CL ad for a complete, running TF (4 decent pictures and what appeared to be a pretty honest description) for a good - no, great price of $3,500 - local car. I immediately emailed (no phone provided in the ad) leaving two email addresses and two phone numbers indicating I would like to see the car as soon as possible. The ad was posted at 10:30 PM the night (tuesday) before! Well as of last night no call no email so I checked the ad around 10:00 PM last night, deleted by the seller. Someone must have purchased, dissapointing but fair enough - what irritates me is the seller did not have the courtesy to take 10 or 15 seconds to respond - "sold, sorry" not too hard, right??? Two misses in 7 days - oh well, I guess I just need to hang on to the money....

Edited by Steve_Mack_CT (see edit history)
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It's just a fact of life on responses....I've advertised the 1910 Hudson project, even had some phone calls and "I'll call you tomorrow and let you know", yet nothing....and a couple of emails sent with pictures but not answered....

When I'm on the hunt for a car, I try my best to respond to seller, even if it's with a "no", may not have a perfect record but try....

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Wayne, your invited up to Western Mass to take my 32 and 36 Pierce for a spin. One's an eight the other is a twelve. It will give you a good point for comparison to other marques. I have owned a bunch of Caddys and can also give you some insights on them also. Would also be happy to help you out over the phone. Just PM me if you like, Good luck. Ed

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Thank Ed. I may take you up on that. We'll be on the New England Sentimental Tour next fall, not that far from you, so we'll see how it goes.

We had dinner with Earl Beauchamp tonight before he heads back to Florida for the Winter. Of course Earl thinks I should get a Buick, then Marty adds to the misery by reminding me that his Buick (pictured on this thread) is still for sale. Lots of friends who want to help me take that moldy money away from the local bank.:)

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