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Wifes upset, what's your op[inion.


AndyC

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I have a 1962 Chrysler New Yorker. Except for new paint, it is an original car with 39K miles. Needs some cosmetic work, that with the current economy, I can't afford right now. Had a fellow stop by while I was just running it to keep the battery up, and blow out the winter cobwebs. He asked if it was for sale, and made what was probably a reasonable offer. After talking for a few more minutes, I told him I would have to consider his offer, and get back with him. As he was getting ready to leave, he metioned how good it would look with 20 or 22 " rims on it. I immediately told him that the car was NOT for sale. Even though it isn't a rare or sought after car, I will not sell it to have it either modified into a rod/custom, or parts car. Wife isn't happy and disagrees. What's Your opinion??:confused:

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In today's world there's no way to guarantee a buyer will not modify car, flip it for profit, or put in a movie to be destroyed. If you want to sell car, sell it. If not keep it, then you're assured it'll stay as is....

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hi andy, i wouldn't sell a car to someone who likes to donk the car (put on the idiotic looking wheels), my wife would agree, so i guess i'm lucky there. most people won't care what happens to a collectable car after the sale, i guess that might be where your wife's thinking is headed. you shouldn't have any problem finding a like minded buyer, who thinks like you and me. charles coker, 1953 pontiac tech advisor.

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Guest my3buicks

It's your car, you can choose to keep it or sell it, if he buys it, HE can choose to put wheels on it or not put wheels on it, but if you choose to sell it, then you have no say. Wheels are wheels, while it's not my cup of tea, they can be put on and taken off in a few minutes. Doesn't really affect the car. Plus it does get it out on the streets and being enjoyed.

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Guest Skyking

Andy, we never really own these cars. We are just the care takers while they are in our possession. Who's to say the next care taker promises to keep the car original and then he sells it off to somebody that changes everything. We just don't have control over that. I think your wife may be right on this................

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I guess you could call me an idealist. Unlike most of the members on here, this is my first and only hobby/classic car. These older original cars bring back, and are full of old memories, that when they are gone, are gone forever. I agree with all of the responses and respect all of your opinions, but I won't "knowingly" let it go to someone who is going to change it from it's "original" look.

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As some have said, you can't guarantee what someone else will do with your car. However a little effort can go a long way. You took the time to talk to this potential buyer and discovered his plans were to modify the car. I think you made the right decision.

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I have a 1962 Chrysler New Yorker. Except for new paint, it is an original car with 39K miles. Needs some cosmetic work, that with the current economy, I can't afford right now. Had a fellow stop by while I was just running it to keep the battery up, and blow out the winter cobwebs. He asked if it was for sale, and made what was probably a reasonable offer. After talking for a few more minutes, I told him I would have to consider his offer, and get back with him. As he was getting ready to leave, he metioned how good it would look with 20 or 22 " rims on it. I immediately told him that the car was NOT for sale. Even though it isn't a rare or sought after car, I will not sell it to have it either modified into a rod/custom, or parts car. Wife isn't happy and disagrees. What's Your opinion??:confused:

Do y'all have a dog? Tell your wife Michael Vic stopped by and offered to buy your dog for a very good price, ask her if she wants to sell. Seriously, it's one thing to have to sell "an original car with 39K miles" that sounds like you highly respect and love, but another to sell to someone you KNOW does not have it's best interests in mind. If you and your wife both agree that due to possible lack of space to store, current or future lack of funds or other reasons you need to sell the car, then post it on here or some other antique auto site where it will likely go to a home where someone will appreciate it for what it is. I commend you for not selling to that individual and I think your wife probably secretly does too. Think hard about ever selling it though, 39K original condition cars are rare, of any kind.

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I understand the desire to find the best home you can for your car, but you can't have it both ways. If you sell it, it's not your car anymore and what the next owner does with it is their business. You've decided you'd rather have the $$$$ than the car, and that's ok...folks do that all the time.

There is no way to ensure that the next owner isn't going to use it as a demolition derby car, for instance. Perhaps that's a bit of a stretch, but I suppose it could happen. And even if you find the "right" buyer, what's to say that person isn't going to flip the car and have to go to a customizer?

Seems to me that if money is tight, an offer in hand for the car isn't something to sneeze at. How long would it take for you to get a better offer?

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I have to disagree with most of the other posts on here. While it is true that you have no control what happens to the car after you sell it, you have already been told what the buyer's plans for it are. And you do not like them. Yes, wheels can easily be changed back, but that does not mean that will be the only modification the new owner will do to it. I am sure there will be others, and they might not be reversable. It seems like most people on here can complain when a car is rodded or customized. But they are not willing to do something as simple as inquiring what the buyer's plans are when selling to try to prevent it from happening.

I would not sell it to him either. In fact, I would not even say it was because of his plans for it. He could easily send someone else back to buy it for him if he was really determined to get it.

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How long would it take for you to get a better offer?

What is "better", and how long is too long?

I commend anyone for whom there are more important things in life than money, particularly when money is already a limiting commodity in one's life. If a "better offer" means less money and better sleeping at night, who's to say that's the wrong thing to do? Plenty of people value things in life more than money, and are admired all the more for it. Wide receiver Hines Ward turned down (reportedly) several offers of at least $6 million just to say that he retired as a career-long Pittsburgh Steeler. Who doesn't admire something like that?:cool:

When I sold my 1960 LeSabre to buy a second Triumph I took at least a $1000 hit selling it to someone who'd preserve it as long as he had it. He sold it last year (unmodified), and I hope he willingly took on that mantle as well. But even if he didn't, I did my part.:)

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Guest justice14u2

well money isant everything ass long as u and ur wife are not going hungry ,,,,keep it from the fools with the 24s or what ever they were saying about the big wheels ,

i care about what happens to my car even after sold ,,,4 example i wouldant sell my 65 chevelle to a high scool kid so it could be raped around a pole after all the hard work restoring it ,,even if the kid offerd twice the asking price

i would save till i die just to find the rite home for a car even if i will never get time or money to finish it ,,,all the money in the world isant worth it if u care about it ,,,thats the point CARE .greed and money is whats wrong with this country .

thats my thought !

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What is "better", and how long is too long?

I commend anyone for whom there are more important things in life than money, particularly when money is already a limiting commodity in one's life. If a "better offer" means less money and better sleeping at night, who's to say that's the wrong thing to do? Plenty of people value things in life more than money, and are admired all the more for it. Wide receiver Hines Ward turned down (reportedly) several offers of at least $6 million just to say that he retired as a career-long Pittsburgh Steeler. Who doesn't admire something like that?:cool:

When I sold my 1960 LeSabre to buy a second Triumph I took at least a $1000 hit selling it to someone who'd preserve it as long as he had it. He sold it last year (unmodified), and I hope he willingly took on that mantle as well. But even if he didn't, I did my part.:)

I don't really disagree with you at all. It's certainly not always about the money, though sometimes one's commitment to not having it be about the money can have real financial implications, just as you pointed out: taking $1000 hit selling a car to your preferred buyer, for example. Some people will eat that $1000 and feel good about what they did, but not everyone can do that.

Yes, in that context I meant "better" to mean more money, as the original post indicated that finances dictated he could not finish the car for the foreseeable future and that the offer received was fair. I would not have mentioned money at all except that the original post introduced it as a factor in the situation. Whether it is or isn't...really none of my business. And how long do you hold out? It could take years to find that perfect buyer, I suppose.

Selling stuff causes anxiety for me. I tend to drag my feet selling anything. Part of the reason is I don't want to see one of my vintage treasures "abused." I have a really nice, original Vespa scooter that is a rare model, a really, really rare color and configuration. Even though it doesn't completely fit in with the main scope of my collection, I won't sell it to some of the local folks that really want it because of what their intentions are. I don't want to see this bike with a late model engine, newer suspension, disc brakes, or a repaint, so I've kept it. Even though I've been offered fair money for it. So I understand exactly what we're getting at here...it's not all about the money.

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Guest justice14u2

i mite be interested in the vespa,,,,im a collecter of small cycles ,tho im not rich ,i will not sell any of the ones i have until i cant feed myself,,, and then they will go to a good home of my choice of buyers ,,and thats my choice ,

i will do my part ,hope to see others do there part,

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Before anyone laughs at my choice, I have a 1980 Plymouth Volare 4 door Special that I have become very attached to. 6 Cyl, automatic, not much else. Went to Cincinattii in 2007 and bought it with 8400 miles on it. Now about 22,000. Hate the very thought of selling it as I am sure it would end up a "Hopper" or some other even more unpleasant choice. Maybe I will be buried in it. I don't know. if I had to sell it to eat or care for the family I would but...

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You were smart not to sell your car to someone who will obviously abuse it.

I have my pre war Ford because some hot rodder/customizer blabbed too much. He agreed to buy the car for the asking price. On the way back to the office he told the seller he was going to customize the car and sell the original parts on e-bay. The seller immediately pulled the plug on the sale. The hot rodder was ticked. Too bad. The seller sold the car to me for less than he wanted, fully confident the car would remain original and unmolested while in my care.

There are a couple of ads in Hemmings right now that make my blood boil. They go something like this: "...car was a Dearborn winner until [the current owner raped and vandalized it]; now has 350/350 w/auto, IFS, air, tilt," blah, blah, blah. It's upsetting. Don't sell your car to someone who you suspect will abuse it. That's about the only defense.

Edited by Pomeroy41144 (see edit history)
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Your wife is right. You know she's always right. Sell it and

buy another and try harder to buy one she thinks is cool.

Get involved in touring with your club and she'll have fun too

and think your are a genius. We can do it alone, but we can't

live alone and be satisfied. It's a family hobby.

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Guest 48buickkid

Don't sell it plain and simple, I peruse craigslist quite often for all sorts of cars just to see what's out there and prices things are going for. I can personally tell you that over %80 of the vintage cars that get sold to the guy that wants to put large rims on it. Get bought, Get those rims, usually a sound system, crappy interiors and plenty of hacking and half assed fixes to keep it going. Then they sit and rot. Your car is too low mileage for this kind of thing. I've seen a couple really nice cars(1975-76 gm cars(impala,lesabre,electra, ETC.) that were very nice original cruisers 1 of which had 5600 miles on it(1976 lesabre) and was super nice before the attempted sbc engine swap. Now it sits in the drive way with the frame all hacked up for a lift kit, the guy sold the 26 inch rims he was going to put on it and a pos small block sits In the engine bay half disassembled. The wiring is a mess. Basically the car is junk now. I'm ok with modified cars done right and not to super rare or low mileage cars. But this one hurts to see. Keep your car and tough out this rough period and you won't regret it later!

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Andy, only the two of you know if you need to sell it (or simply want to for whatever reasons) and if so, there is no shame in that. Priorities change especially for young families. That said, think about it as it may be a long time before you can replace it. If you do decide to sell, you may try posting it here as you do increase the chances of reaching the "right buyer".

While I appreciate your concerns about selling to someone who could possibly destroy the car's originality, it is a tough thing to control. Today I would be a lot more concerned about the integrity of the buyer - you know, payment terms, understanding you do not expect he or she to show up on your doorstep a few weeks later looking for you to pay for that broken part they think you should have disclosed, or just a parade of test pilots. I do care, and am in your corner but when you are seriously selling their are some other things to think about. I would like to think posting here might cut down on some of tht nonsense as well. Just a few thoughts for you. :)

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Guest B1rdman

keep that sucker till you die then they can do what ever.

i have 7 cars and none for sale.

going to leave them a problem when i die.

gene

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Well, you might discover that your "un-collectible" collectible car is more rare than you might suspect. Why? Several years ago on "My Classic Car", Dennis Gage was in CA with the owner of a '61 (I believe) Chrysler New Yorker 2-dr hardtop. The remark was made that many of those New Yorkes were "salvaged" in order to restore the more valuable Letter Series of that particular model year. "Waste" the New Yorker, no matter how nice, so a Letter Car can live! Money speaks! While the investment in a Chrysler 300 Letter Series can be better than Gold, the New Yorkers are probably plateaued for a good while.

IF the car is as nice as it should be (from the low miles and description), I would not sell it to ANYBODY that even hinted at any modifications--no way, no how!!!! Reason is that I know how neat those cars are, how great they handled, how great the a/c was. That it has all of the basic attributes which made the Letter Series cars the forces-to-be-reckoned-with that they could be (when new). Plus that it has all of the basic attributes which made Chryslers of that era about the best high-speed travel capsules of their time! For general principles, get a copy of "It's a Wild, Wild, Wild World" and watch how those Chrysler products went around corners and such--a source from the vehicle fleet management for that movie said all of those cars were not modified in any way.

As I found out years ago, the BEST way to come to appreciate those '60s-era Chryslers was to get them out on the road. The firmness and comfort of the torsion bar suspension does not become apparent in lower-speed city venues, but it's "tight" handling responses can be. The ease of which it will run down the road, even roads with some ups, downs, and corners! Our '66 Newport, as I later discovered back then, was "bored" at anything less than about 70mph, yet it liked 75-90 very well. Past 90 mph, it needed something a little heavier in chassis calibration (like the upgrades some of the police units had). With the chassis harmonics "happy", the 383 2bbl was loafing along on the bulge of the torque peak . . . reasonably economically, too. You just can't appreciate what made these cars GREAT in short trips to the store and back!

On the other side of things . . . getting new 14" tires of the needed size is now in the domain of the repro tire vendors . . . which means about $200.00 EACH for a new tire. Upgrading to a Chrysler 15" factory wheel and the equivalent P225/75R-15 or P215/75R-15 radials can have some supply issues, too. It's also an accepted upgrade in the Mopar hobby to install the Mopar Performance electronic ignition distributor kit (which can be done very "incognito" if you try). Many mechanical parts and interior items can be found if you look in the right places (think Letter Series vendors which can have some items which were common to the letter cars and normal New Yorkers).

Really, I'm somewhat surprised that your wife does not like a large, comfortable vehicle, with taller seats and wide-open doors! Plus enough rear seat leg room to bring along other family members/friends! At one of our Buick shows several years ago, "the ladies" piled into a '55 Buick Century 4-dr hardtop and "went shopping" . . . all 5 or 6 of them in that car, giggling the whole time. Might have been the big trunk and what they could put into it?

I DO believe you did the right thing to not sell the car to that guy. Even at a "good price", your piece of mind is worth more than that!!

I decided a long time ago that if I sold one of my Chryslers, it would NOT be to somebody local. If they changed it from the way I had it finessed, I would not like to see it NOR see its headlights looking at me. SO . . . if you must sell it, aim for somebody in the Chrysler/Mopar hobby! There's the WPC Club, for example, with its international membership. There's also the "Mopar Collectors Guide" monthly magazine. Might not be a "fast sale", but at least you could target people who are really into the Mopar hobby this way and hopefully find fellow Mopar enthusiasts who will respect the car for what it is and should be.

Unlike the GM and Ford cars, the way the Chrysler "K-frame" is configured, it would have to be completely replaced to alter things to allow air bags and such under it. Same with the rear suspension, too. In so doing, you also take away the many great chassis attributes of the Chrysler suspension system . . . which is highly unfortunate just for the ability to ride low, etc.! I've seen how it can be done, which is quite ingenious and easier than I suspected, BUT it also makes it "just another pretty car" when that it done and also makes the resale market a highly niche-i-fied situation.

Please let us know what "the wife's" orientations are about the car and what she'd like to replace it. Just for general principles. It might also be that, when all is considered, the vehicle she might like is performance-inferior to the Chrysler . . . just that she doesn't know it. Check out the many '60s Chrysler road tests and tech articles at www.wildaboutcarsonline.com. Do the free registration and then delve into the many articles and such on Chryslers of that general vintage.

In any event . . . if you must try to sell the car, target the Chrysler hobby enthusiasts rather than "the general public". Respectfully . . . there are plenty of roads in Texas that your Chrysler would like, as our '66 did, even some NOW with 75+ legal speed limits, even "off the beaten path" (i.e., Interstates).

Just some thoughts,

NTX5467

Edited by NTX5467 (see edit history)
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Had the good fortunate (I'm still alive) to attend our son's wedding last weekend and it was a wonderful event. I can recall these feelings when I was married and again when he and our daughter were born. It is good to be reminded of these from time to time.

For what it is worth, it is all about respect from you and your wife. Other opinions don't matter. This is a situation, like many others, in which you do not agree, What is rational or irrational for your situation? Who knows, but you and your wife do. Lord knows sometimes I think the only reason I'm married is for self-imposed punishment, but not true.

Your car is a hunk of metal, plastic and fiber like mine. Would I like to see either turned into something it wasn't, no, but at some point in time, my choice will no longer matter. How many "museum cars" have been for sale? What happens to them??

Good luck to both of you,

frank

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Usually, "museum cars" are sold at auction . . . to a particular niche buyer who will "pay good money" to get what they want and see the investment possibilities of having a nice car THEY like and will also usually have a safe and secure place to store it . . . or as a part of their own personal collection (private or public). The chances of them ending up as some "modified" vehicle are very remote, from what I've seen. Especially if the car has the "as described" attributes of the particular New Yorker in question. These auctions usually don't attract the "Craigs List" shoppper, or similar.

Obviously, all of the human beings in this particular situation's orientations and desires should be respected, just as we should respect the particular Chrysler for its current cherished "survivor" status. Unfortunately, over the years of being in car club groups, I've heard of many cherished vehicles being sold due to the orientations of a spouse (who didn't like it for whatever reason . . . nor seemed to be inclined to understand WHY the car was "special" or why it was purchased in the first place . . . treating it like "metal, plastic, and fibre" (an "appliance") rather than "a machine with a soul" that was a "cherished Friend of the Family".

Eventually, all good things will come to an end . . . just that WE don't need to hasten that process "on a whim" of others . . . whatever that might mean. Some like to brag about how many different cars they've owned over the years, as others seem to find what they like and stick with it. Where "the heart is" can be important, too.

In being in and arould car clubs for many decades, I've heard of cherished vehicles being disposed of due to a spouse's orientation toward the particular vehicle . . . for whatever reason . . . which can also have some side issues, too.

With regard to unusual (as opposed to the "classic" collector vehicle orientations) vehicles endearing themselves to their owners (originally purchased to be "an appliance" and later becoming "a trusted friend and confidant" . . . I feel that if anybody might ask the particular owner what it is that they "see" in that old car, they might get their question answered with ease and positive emotion. They might find out that "It fits my needs perfectly. Was not expensive to buy AND maintain. Is reliable and as economical as vehicle costing many times what was paid for it. and 'It's unique and different, to boot'". The observed problem is that far too few people ask that question!

Regards,

NTX5467

Edited by NTX5467 (see edit history)
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Only two opinions matter...............yours and your wife's.

Talk it out to both your satisfaction!

Another possible scenario might be to determine if the offer was reasonable. If so, maybe invite the prospective buyer over to go over the car with you, help get it running, take it for a spin; and maybe convert the prospective buyer into preservation rather than modification.

However, in the end, it comes back to you and your wife, and I wouldn't trade mine for all the cars that were ever produced (we celebrate 47 years this year).

Good luck.

Jon.

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Thanks to all of you for your responses. After some deliberation, I have decided to keep both the car AND the wife. I think my original post was was somewhat vague. On the money issue, selling the car was NOT a survival issue. The finances were such that I wasn't able to put the money IN THE CAR to accomplish what I wanted to do. Just have to do it a little at a time. AGAIN, THANKS ALL FOR YOUR INPUT.

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A friend said she got a Chrysler for her husband.....

Her friend responded.....

"GOOD TRADE !!"

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