Cars I should have bought

[Rusty_OToole]

There's one I saw just yesterday. A 1978 Mercedes 280 2 door hardtop with 90000 km on it (about 55000 miles). Looks good but the upholstery is cracking. Not running, asking $1000.

One part of me says I should buy it but the other part says no. I have a feeling if I don't buy it I will regret it later but if I do, I will regret it later.

[John_Maine]

My uncle sold Chevies in New Hampshire from 1948-1976 and he was always coming up with some good trades. One in particular was a '56 210 4 door hardtop that he sold to my uncle in 1961 when it had 13K on the odometer. It was black, had a 265 power pack and powerglide. No radio, dog dish caps, etc. My uncle sold it to another uncle (his brother) who later sold it to my grandfather. My grandfather traded it for a '63 Impala in 1968. The 210 had 80K on it then. I wanted to buy it (I was 16) but my parents said no. It left the family for $75.

A couple of years later, I needed transportation for college. My uncle found a '61 Impala sport sedan with 30K on it for $600. It was 9 years old then. Had a 348, turboglide, PS, PB, PW, PSeat and a bunch of other options. It belonged to an elderly couple who always traded with my uncle. I passed because I thought it would use too much gas. At about the same time, a woman I did yard work for wanted to sell her '61 Lincoln Continental 4 door convertible. It was black with black and white leather interior. It had 41K on it. I passed again because of the gas mileage. She ended up selling it to her mailman for $650. I tried to get my parents to buy it but they couldn't see the investment potential. I told them that if they bought it, kept it up and didn't use it that much that it might be worth $5000 some day. Ha! I ended up with a '64 Corvair 700 that proved to be a total lemon.

[Guest EMF-Owner]

When I was in high school (early 80's), a junk yard was closing and offering any car for $50. There was a Metropolitan I wish I had bought, but my dad would not let me.

Also in high school there was a Ford Retractable Hard top for $800 that I was denied for the same reason.

The first year I was married (late 80's) there was a 1910 Detroit Electric in rough shape for $700. If I had a garage it would have been mine. There was also a running 1907 1-Cylinder Cadillac with the Victoria touring Body for $6500.

Oh well. Now, back to work on my time machine.

[Guest prs519]

1921 Marmon speedster, knock off wheels, phillipine mahogony dash, could have won preservation awards. Old ranchers in Wyoming had it in 72 for 10K, which may not have been too big a steal at the time, except that it came with a Marmon sedan of about the same vintage....also, ...once bought an old upside down body and its front and rear axles. Body was quite complete and solid, just rather fallen apart. It was about 1970, and I begged my father to take the body and the hell with the axles, but he was old school and could see reasonable usefulness only in the axles! We did not have room to haul both, so oh well. The car...it was a 33 or 34 Ford Cabriolet!

[keiser31]

Back in 1971 while out in Auburn, Hills Michigan buying a 1936 Dodge Brothers sedan for $25.00 for the rear end gears, the owner of the property, Mrs. McKim, offered me a couple of other cars. I was only interested in getting my '36 touring sedan on the road, so I passed on the other two cars. One was a 1940 Packard formal limousine that was lying on it's side. The lady's husband thought it would "store better that way". She wanted $200.00 for it. It was really complete and very nice. Had the divider glass, too. The other was a partial car. It was the complete chassis and complete front end (including engine and trans) with fenders and cowling for a 1931 Marmon V16. Really, the only thing missing was the body. She wanted $100.00 for it. I was 17 years old and did not know what I was passing up. I knew that the Marmon was rare, but where oh where would we put it once we got it home?

[Guest Phil Stark]

Had a chance to buy a new1970 Dodge Hemi Daytona Charger that had sit on the dealer's floor until 1971. Nobody wanted it. I passed on it....now anybody guess what they are worth? Makes you sick to watch Barrett-Jackson!!

[keiser31]

Then there was a copper colored 1950 Dodge woody in Pacific Beach/San Diego, Cal. It was a very nice and solid car except it was missing a rear side door and I figured $500.00 was way too much for a car I would not be able to find a door for. That was in 1974.

[TexRiv_63]

There have been less of these than the cars I did buy and should have kept, but everyone has sad stories. A few that I remember:

Early 1930s Rolls Royce Town Car Limo with open drivers compartment for $2500 in the late 60s. Very nice original, needed tires and a water pump. Had no money.

1967 or 68 Lamborghini Miura sitting on a used car lot in the early 70s for $5000. Might as well have been $100,000 on my salary.

1967 Shelby GT350 for $1200 in mid 70s, nice but needed some front end bodywork. I was ready to buy this car but did not have the cash on me, lost it. I have never made that mistake again.

[Vila]

Two I looked at and didn't buy, then one I did

In 1967 I looked at a White 1963 Corvette split window 327/365 with a blue interior and 36,000 miles that looked brand new and selling for $1,200 in Camp Hill, PA. At the time I was 17 years old and $200 short.

In 1969 I let a British Racing Green 1955 MG TF 1500 that was selling for $1,100 get away. I decided to go home and think about it and when I when back the next day it was sold.

In 1970 I finally bought a 1933 Chevrolet Master 5 window coupe that I still own today. Everything is still original from when I bought it with a few exception. See it on my website at : Bob's Vintage Cars

Bob Beers

AACA, VCCA, VTR, TRA, CPTC

1933 Chevrolet

1962 Triumph TR4

1984 BMW 633 CSi

[Ben Bruce aka First Born]

Last year at the big swap meet here in Springfield, there was a 1964 Wildcat convertable for sale. Not in the corral. The guy was asking $5000...!! I had my head up the proverabial posterior, I guess. Was looking for parts for my 50 Buick. Had just bought the second 50. Didn't think I needed another. Passed it by. About a half hour later I awakened to what I was missing. Too late. Sold marked on the windshield. Who says men don't cry??

Ben

[bubba]

I could fill up this thread for several pages with the cars that I should have bought including the buy of the year that I let go just a week ago, but one of my strangest experiences with going on the "hunt" was with a 1930 Lincoln LeBaron "V" windshield open front town car. I believe that this was in the late 1990's and I was at work in NYC reading my Hemmings on my lunch hour. Ok, so my reading time ran past my lunch hour but I had to get through it on the first day since I paid for first class and if you didn't call the first day, anything good was gone. Turning to the Lincoln section, I spotted the ad. The asking price was $12,500 and it was in New Jersey, not California where everything usually is. This car was an hour away!!

I quickly dialed the number and after many rings somebody picked up. I could tell that he was an older man and I was the first to get through. His phone was ringing off the hook but he wasn't picking up for any callers except for NY and NJ because he didn't think anybody further away would be interested. Over the phone I got all the info. He owned it since 1946 and started to redo the interior but never finished. Six wire wheels, dark red body with black fenders. My pulse raced as he told me all about it but there was one problem that he would show me when I got there. Lucky for me my boss was also a car guy and he let me go.

I made it into Jersey in record time. Everything was going my way. The car was in the northern hilly part of the state and when I got to the address I saw what the "problem" was. The house and car were located down the side of a hill so that when you stood on top of the hill it was like looking down into a valley. There were steps to walk down but NO driveway. The owner removed it a while back trapping the Lincoln from leaving. The car was now in a portable garage and the door was unzipped so I could see the front from my lofty viewpoint.

I walked down into the valley of "Lincoln" and met the owner who was as nice in person as he was on the phone. The car wasn't running and together we got her going but there was gas dripping out of the carb so I nixed any more starts. The car was in nice shape with just some wood needed in the back . I spent a while there trying to figure out what to do. How would I get it out of there? The hill was too steep to drive it up or pull it up.

I left him without leaving a deposit, knowing that the next guy to get there would buy it for sure. At least it would be cheap enough where you could do a nice restoration on it. I went home and spoke to some people and came to the conclusion to buy it but when I got through to him, he had sold it to a NJ guy.

It wasn't long before I saw it for sale again with a 100% mark up. The buyer hired a crane and the car was lifted out of the valley. DOH! I think it was sold a total of three additional times and is now being restored somewhere in the midwest. If anybody has it could you please pm me. I would like to chat with ya.

[Guest Willbilly]

I'm younger (28) so I don't have nearly as many stories as y'all do...but I have two that stick in my mind. The first is a 1941 Oldsmobile Coupe in reasonably good driving condition. I believe it was a business coupe, with a six-cylinder engine. It was unusual for how base model it was, and that, to me at least, is interesting in its own right.

The second was a 1949 Ford in excellent shape that had been hotrodded in the early sixties. It had a panoply of rare old speed parts mounted on its Merc flathead, a three by two manifold for instance. At the time I was shortsighted enough to dismiss it as postwar and not push for it like I should have. It would've been much better to drive for my first car than my eventual purchase, my 1939 Chevrolet.

[supersix]

Too many to think about but here are a few memorable ones:

In 1963- 1941 Ford fordor sedan- Solid car. $25.

In 1966- 1958 Corvette- 283-230 3-speed. $1200.

In 1979- 1968 Shelby GT500- Mediocre re-paint. $3600

In 1981- 1967 Chevelle SS396 conv. 396-350 4-speed, 18,000 miles, $4500.

[caddyshack]

The one auto that I really regret not buying was not a production car, but a custom bodied prototype that was developed by a good friend and neighbor of mine. This particular auto was fabricated in the early thirties (at his coach-building company) and was driven to Detroit to see if any of the big auto manufacturer's would buy into this new design. Aerodynamic design and custom bodies were way ahead of its time and he had no takers.

Check out the Bergholt "Streamline" at www.ellingsoncarmuseum.com and see an amazing auto.

Fortunately, I knew Fred Bergholt very well. I feel very fortunate in purchasing two of his extremely old cars, but this one is quite a gem that got away.

Thanks.

Skip

Edited April 8, 2010 by caddyshack (see edit history)