How old was your car when you bought it?

[60FlatTop]

I have been following the topic on attracting young people to the hobby. I recognize that many of the senior members have an unshakable perception of what is and isn't what they would call an "old" car.

 

It makes me wonder just how old those really desirable cars were when they acquired them. So, those owners of the Great cars, built over 50 years ago, how old were they when you selected them?

 

My '64 Riviera was about 15 years old when I bought it and I was 30. It is all of 52 now. I bought a collectible (to me) '94 car in 2012, 18 years old at the time. My '60 Buick was 42 in 2002 when it was brought into the fold. Looks like as I get older I buy older cars.

Bernie

Edited July 15, 2017 by 60FlatTop (see edit history)

[Guest]

I've owned over 200 cars. This may take a while............

[60FlatTop]

Ah, another sign of what those young hobbyists are up against. I think there is going to be a tend.

 

YOUR car, not the car you don't have. I have a spreadsheet with 150 of my cars on it. And I bet you are intuitive enough to know you weren't my target.

[JV Puleo]

45 years old... 1926 Cadillac purchased in 1971, the year after I finished High School. This was also my first car.

[cahartley]

My first '59 Chevy was 8 years old when I bought it in 1967.

Cost 200 bux......... 

[nzcarnerd]

I bought my 1965 Pontiac Bonneville in 1977 - 12 years old. I still have it, although it has been dormant for 20 years. My son is presently resurrecting it.   My two boys are 18 and 20. The 18 year old recently bought a 1978 car because here in NZ you can get cheap licencing for cars over 40 years old. The 20 year old has a 1984 VW Golf. Both have inherited my interest in old stuff and both now work in the 'old car' industry.

 

My current wheels, just a small JDM model Toyota go-to-work car, was nine years old when I bought it in 2013 but it only had 20,000 km on it. Now at 63,000 km it has so far only had new front brake pads and front tyres, and still has its original rear tyres.

 

Don't have a good photo of either of the boys' cars but a quick look in our local club magazine will show their two toys being used as intended. Harry (jokingly) thinks of his Marina as an MGB wagon as it has basically the same B series engine. The previous owner had had the car lowered a bit and the wheels widened, which has transformed its handling.

Dripfeed June 2017.pdf

Edited July 16, 2017 by nzcarnerd (see edit history)

[Mark Huston]

My current car is a 1929 Studebaker President purchased in 2000 when it was 71 and I was 43.    Back in 1975, when I was 18, I bought my first car which was a 46 year old 1929 Studebaker Commander.    

[SC38dls]

Not sure mine qualify as really desirable but this is what I've had over the years 

My first I was 22 - 1960 Austin Healy it was 8. Then a 1949 Ford F3 pickup it was 44 and I was 47. Last one is my daily driver a 1938 Studebaker it was 77 and I was 69. Had a few MG,S in between the Healy and the F3 but they were just a few years old when I bought each one. 

Edited July 16, 2017 by SC38DLS (see edit history)

[old car fan]

Wow guys. Great topic. After reading the reply's ,I may need some down time.My first car was a 63 nova convertible,,next was 63 f 100 unibody with 15 406 real miles.perfect garage find on a farm, Both 17 years old

Edited July 16, 2017 by old car fan (see edit history)

[60FlatTop]

I can see this is going to be hard.

 

You have an old car, one you own now. How old was that car when you bought it?

 

Capture this thought, senior members are looking at younger people with newer cars and resistant to accept the newer cars. So, how old was your car when you acquired it.

"The collector car I own was X years old when I bought it." Ta da.

[Laughing Coyote]

My 1961 Mercury was 52 years old when I bought it in 2013 at age 46.  Still own it.

Edited July 16, 2017 by Laughing Coyote (see edit history)

[hidden_hunter]

My 1922 Cadillac was 94 years old when I bought it, and I was 28

 

My daily driver is a 2013 BMW 125i though which was an ex demo when I bought it 

[JV Puleo]

Ok... my old car is a 1910 Mitchell. I bought it 6 years ago... it was 101 years old at the time.

 

(EDIT) In the late 70s my daily driver was a 56 Plymouth. I didn't think of it as an "old car" than and still don't. When one of the rear springs broke, I sold the engine to a customer and junked the rest.

Edited July 16, 2017 by JV Puleo (see edit history)

[Joe in Canada]

First old car was a 1931 Model A in 1978 second car was a 1913 T in 1981. Then a long list of cars and trucks from the 40s to the 80s that I lost interest in and all mentioned are gone. Still have a 1930 Cadillac bought in 1984 and stored until retirement eight years ago. It would have been 54 years old when I bought it.  I missed the 1913 T so I replaced it this spring with a 1915 T so it was 102 when I bought it. The 1930 will be in Pa. tomorrow afternoon.

[EmTee]

In order that they were acquired, my '56 Chevy was 17 years old, my '64 GP was 51 and my '67 Riviera was 49 years old.  Now, that damn Riv XX that keeps adjusting its price to taunt me is currently 34 years old.  I'm not sure what all this says about me... 

[Mike36]

'36 Plymouth was 30 years old when I bought it in '66. It's now 81 years old and I still have it.

[Rooney3100]

My 1956 Chevrolet 3100 was 45 years old when I purchased in 2001, it was easier to find Nos parts back then, its now 61 years old,  3 years older than me, glad I brought it back to NEW.   Steve M 

Edited July 16, 2017 by Rooney3100 (see edit history)

[Paul Dobbin]

Again it;s a definition thing, First old car I purchased includes all the cars I ever owned except the one new one.

I'll limit it to cars I bought as antiques not transportation too.  My first 1934 Ford was 38 years old and I was 27,  My first 31 Model A was 46 and I was 32, first 1915 Model T was 66 and I was 36 and so on and so on.

I always thought antique cars had to be older than I was, because I never thought of myself as old or antique.  The cars that I had or knew as a high school kid are and were just old cars, no nostalgia there!  Now they are "collectible", but not to me.

 

\

[fordrodsteven]

55 Thunderbird I bought in 1975 when it was 20 years old and I was 21. It is now my retirement project car.

[Guest Skyking]

My '62 Invicta was 28 years old when I bought it in 1990.  Can't believe I've had it 27 years......

[keiser31]

My first 1931 Dodge Brothers coupe was 36 years old when my Dad gave it to me in 1967. I will celebrate having owned it for 50 years, this year.

[intimeold]

My 1946 Indian motorcycle was 23 years old in 1969; I was 18.

[jvelde]

'39 Buick was 71 when I purchased it in 2010 - I was 63.

[39BuickEight]

3 minutes ago, jvelde said:

'39 Buick was 71 when I purchased it in 2010 - I was 63.

On that note, my 1939 Buick was 70 when I bought it in 2009 - I was 33.

[JD in KC]

'41 Packard Limousine - 63 years old - I was 59

'50 Packard Custom - 57 years old - I was 62

'49 Packard Custom - 64 years old - I was 66

 

[Xander Wildeisen]

The four that I have now. 1947 Hudson truck, 1947 Hudson convertible, 1949 Cadillac convertible, 1954 Jaguar XK120 Roadster. All about 55-60ish years old when bought. Oldest car I have owned, a 1928 Hudson Super 6 Coupe.

[Taylormade]

My first car was 35 years old when I bought it in 1965 - a 1932 Dodge Brothers DL sedan.  I was 19 at the time. I sold it to a college friend in 1967 and bought it back from him in 2013, when it was 81 years old and I was 67.

[Willie Wurke]

Most of the above texts contain the words "when I bought mine".  None of them start with the words " when a good friend gave me his old car.'

Does any one on here ever get a "freebee"?

Here is a couple of my "freebees".

The Lincoln was as shown: the T-Bird was all apart

 

I bought these: 1931 LaSalle in 1951 at age22 ( pg 50 current AA)

                           1953 Rolls Royce in 1968

                           1929 Minerva in 1991

                           1977 Pontiac 2009(sold)

                           1941 Chev. 2014 (sold)

                           1984 Buick Riviera 2015 at age 86 (for sale) 

Still having fun with them. Took 2 to a Hospice benefit cruise in today: over 500 vehicles registered !

                         

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest]

My Pontiac was 29 and I was 17 and 58 years later here we are still together 6 years longer than my wife and I.

[Digger914]

I enjoy my old cars and I usually buy those cars close to 20 years old and keep them until another one that looks like it would be fun catches my eye. I'm a hobbyist, not a collector and I get several years of enjoyment for the value of my time and usually get my money back when I sell. Best deals can be made buying cars needing work and all my cars need work when I get them. A couple needed a lot of work, but I saw something special in those cars that made the work worth doing. Most I can get looking show room new with a couple hundred dollars in materials and fifty to a couple hundred hours of time. I've done two complete restorations, but those cars were older than what I usually buy and to make it worth the effort of doing the work, they needed to be stripped down so they could be done right. These were the two cars that I lost money on when I sold them. The others get a real good refreshing and are well kept until I sell them.

 

I buy my old convertibles around the time they hit 20 + or - 2 and I sell them when they hit their magic number. Something about a good looking 30 year old convertible in my part of the country that makes people turning 30 and for people going off to that 30th reunion, think they really should have one..

[wayne sheldon]

Paul Dobbin, You must be some kind of wacko, just like me. I have also often used something to the effect that to me "an antique car has to be older than I am".

 

My first real car? Was a 1929 REO Flying Cloud Master semi-sport coupe, which was forty years old when I got it in 1969. I was 17, and still in high school. I drove that car to school a few times. About six years later, I came to the conclusion that it was just slightly too modern for my liking, and sold it. It was replaced by a '25 Studebaker, and a long succession of other cars between 1910 and '25.

 

Over the years, I have had several daily drivers not considered as antiques by me including a '52 Chevrolet Fastback and a '65 Ford 3/4 ton pickup. I drove the pickup for 17 years and put more than a half million miles on it before being sold.

[Guest Skyking]

My son was 12 years old when he got his first car.  He'll turn 50 in October.  Still has the car

[edinmass]

My first car was 48 years old, I was 14 when I acquired it in 1980. My last purchase was 99 years old in 2014. 

[Walt G]

1931 Plymouth PA sedan in 1963 , it was 32 years old I was 13 years old, it was my first car. Purchased because I wanted and old car with running boards.

Bought my 1930 Packard last year , it was 86 years old, and I still love cars with running boards!

[mtnchev]

Interesting question.  The first several cars I owned were purchased as daily transportation, not as collector or classic cars, but may be considered as such today.  My first was a '34 Ford (that I bought for $15) in 1951, followed by a '41 DeSoto, '47 Chevy, '48 Mercury and several '50 Fords.  None of these are considered as highly sought after collector cars but they started my love for old cars that I still have today.  

 

Also, I think that many people have an appreciation for cars manufactured in the decade of their teens; a person born in the fifty's appreciates fifty's cars a little more than the forty's or sixty's cars.  I graduated high school in 1957, so I love the fifty's cars, and so both of the cars I have now and consider my "classics" are fifty's cars.  

 

Larry

[michel88]

My '40 Buick was 53 years old-I was I was 49

[Vila]

My 1933 Chevrolet Master 5 Window Coupe was 38 years old when I bought it in 1971.  .

I was 21 at the time and had one more year of college to go.  

I have now owned the car for 46 years.

 

 

[ply33]

57 minutes ago, Vila said:

My 1933 Chevrolet Master 5 Window Coupe was 38 years old when I bought it in 1971.  .

I was 21 at the time and had one more year of college to go.  

I have now owned the car for 46 years.

 

Sound similar to me: My 1933 Plymouth DeLuxe two door sedan was 40 years old when I bought it in 1973, I was in college at the time with another year to go and I've now owned it for 44 years.

[Pomeroy41144]

My 1937 Ford was 75 when I rescued it and brought it back to life.

 

[Grimy]

My current fleet's acquisition dates begin in 1994.  However, I've been in the hobby a long time, so here is info on some acquired as collector cars rather than daily drivers:

 

1934 Buick 56S coupe, on which I learned to drive, given to me by my great aunt on my 17th birthday when it was 25 years old.

 

1936 Ford deluxe sedan, 48k one-owner garage kept miles, given to me on my 18th birthday by a maiden great-aunt.

 

1929 Ford Model A coach with 58K miles (half-interest), acquired 1962 when it was 33 and I was 19.  We bought the contents of a one-car garage, including the car with 1940 plates, for $25.  We sold the coins, newspapers, and magazines found in the garage for $350, played with the car all summer and sold it for $325.

 

1934 Chrysler CA sedan, 65k miles, garage-kept original, purchased Dec 1963 for $75 with bad fuel pump (rebuilt pump cost me $2 and I had it running in an hour after towing it home); it was 29 and I was 21.

 

1936 Buick 40 sedan, purchased 1964 from an estate for $25 after it had been sleeping for five years; it was 28 and I was 21.

 

1939 Cadillac Fleetwood 75 7-p sedan, purchased 1968 (it was 29, I was 25) upon my return from Vietnam in Berkeley, CA.  I rebuilt the carburetor and drove it the Long Way (via Grand Canyon, Rockefeller Collection in AR, New Orleans, Ft Benning, Atlanta, Knoxville, and up the Shenandoah Valley) to my next assignment in Wash DC.  I kept this car 42 years, and now it is 2 blocks away in the excellent care of a very good friend.

 

1949 Jeepster, purchased 1982 (it was 33, I was 39) with 400k miles from the original owner; I kept this one until mid-2015 (found a much better one that I enjoy today).

 

And several others (including 1923 REO touring, 1948 Lincoln Continental coupe) between the period 1975-1994.  In 1994 I acquired my first Pierce and became hooked on that marque.

 

As almost a Journeyman Geezer, I am impelled to explain to our younger readers that my contemporaries and I viewed pre-1949 cars as more suitably "old" in terms of appearance and technology (1946-48 mostly being warmed over pre-war cars) and therefore worthy of our attention given our limited means.  As I've mentioned before, the then very active AACA California Region based at the time in SF was my start in clubs ca. 1962.  I received some good-natured kidding about my 1934 and 1936 cars as "modern" but my mentors (mostly 20-25 years older) were most helpful in training me how to search for parts and to accomplish repairs beyond simple parts replacement.