Have you identified the next caretaker for your current collector car?

[alsancle]

1 hour ago, West Peterson said:

I'm not sure what you're asking regarding automatically... I look at the title when they slip to me, and check the number against the old title/bill-of-sale.

I understand, but if nobody actually goes to check the number on the car then a mistake gets perpetuated for decades.    Sometimes the difference is hard to spot if you are not concentrating.    I just found out this problem with our Cord that has been titled and registered for 60 years.  

[29StutzM]

I agree with Matt, I believe 5% is low!

I at one time owned a DMV in Minnesota and saw a lot of wrong numbers on titles! 

[prewarnut]

5 hours ago, Scooter Guy said:

 

Museums should also not be thought of as forever homes for our stuff. They can come and go and run into financial challenges, managers can leave and so forth. Just look at what happened with the National Motorcycle Museum in Anamosa, Iowa. They had a huge collection of bikes (hundreds) and memorabilia and the institution seemed rock solid. But behind the scenes it was ultimately mostly the work of one man and his family and although they were established as a non-profit, had a governing board, charged admission, and owned a huge facility, disaster struck. The man that was the driving force got sick and passed away. The family and board continued to operate the museum for a few years after his passing but the challenges became insurmountable, and they closed late this summer and ultimately had a massive auction of all of the holdings of the museum which included bikes and memorabilia that had been donated to them (those that loaned items did get them back). Those that donated items there with the idea that they would be cared for and displayed in perpetuity were surely left disappointed. 

 

   I'll second that. I know a certain (non-automotive) museum in CT that auctioned off an item for 6 figures a few years ago (one of 4 left in the world if I recall correctly) after it was painstakingly restored and donated 2 decades ago. It was never quite within the confines of the charter so I "get it" and proceeds are probably going to building maintenance. Along that line search "Barnes Museum controversy" to see a dramatic scenario which played out in the Main Line of Philly a decade ago. There was a PBS documentary on it.

[Dr B]

2 hours ago, Gary_Ash said:

While putting the fate of a car in your will is not the worst thing you can do, there are other, better methods of dealing with this.  Proper wills can be expensive to create and expensive to change.  So, if the car is disposed of or your wishes change before you go, the will needs to be changed.  Better is to simply write a document and sign it describing your desired fate of the car and simply attach it to a copy (or copies) of the will.  You can easily take that document back and write a new one if needed. 

Yeah, this.  

 

I believe in making a will as simple as possible so as to limit any battles after the fact.  In Addition to making a written document, I suggest making these wishes clearly known to all who will listen (wife, children, siblings, relatives, lawyer, account, etc.) so everyone is on the same page.  I suggest the same should be done with living wills.  Having a clear discussion prior to any event with everyone about desired do's and don'ts with regards to healthcare interventions is crucial to making sure what is done is what you truly wanted. Whether it's your cars of your life, if everyone is guessing what you wanted, the outcome will not be optimal!

 

Robert

[West Peterson]

3 hours ago, alsancle said:

I understand, but if nobody actually goes to check the number on the car then a mistake gets perpetuated for decades.    Sometimes the difference is hard to spot if you are not concentrating.    I just found out this problem with our Cord that has been titled and registered for 60 years.  

The car's serial number is physically checked by an employee if you are re-titling from another state, otherwise the onus is on you.

 

I have never had a problem talking the registrar into correcting a mistake on a title, but others in Ohio have. Maybe I just look honest, or maybe I just look like I'm so stupid I couldn't pull off any kind of funny shenanigans... I dunno. Heck, I even had success changing the "serial number" completely on my 356 Porsche. It was titled using the engine number, and I had them change it to the car's real serial number. I caught someone on a good day, apparently, because everyone in Ohio that I tell that to just drops their jaw in surprise.

[Twisted Shifter]

17 hours ago, alsancle said:

If everybody on this forum matched their title to the actual car, I would bet quite a bit that at least 5% are wrong.

 

How many people take the title when it comes in the mail and go out to the car and make sure it’s correct? I know I never did.

 

6 hours ago, alsancle said:

I understand, but if nobody actually goes to check the number on the car then a mistake gets perpetuated for decades.    Sometimes the difference is hard to spot if you are not concentrating.    I just found out this problem with our Cord that has been titled and registered for 60 years.  

6 hours ago, 29StutzM said:

I agree with Matt, I believe 5% is low!

I at one time owned a DMV in Minnesota and saw a lot of wrong numbers on titles! 

How many people really check the seller's title against the numbers on the car when buying?  It's not the most difficult thing to find a title for an older car that matches the year and model of a car you're trying to sell and, as long as the buyer doesn't check, he ends up with a potentially BIG problem at title transfer/registration time if officials require an inspection/verification. 

Not all mis-matched numbers are the fault of the DMV.

[nick8086]

I was told to change the car title and add my next cars collector to it .  Or WROS..  Cheap $14.00

 

I did not do this for one reason.  Law suits.

 

I did add this to my will and trust..  The names a person to get my cars..

 

Here is what happen to me.. I was told to pay for the car insurance on the old cars I did not own..

 

I put this in my docs.. That will be paid by my estate the car insurance until the cars transfers.. I also put in my docs.. storage, mice bait, and no charge to store the cars until they are sold or removed..

 

I also named  two mechanic's that could work on the cars.. 

 

I need to review my doc next year..

 

Because the Secure act 2.0 and the 2023-2 IRS rules..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[JRA]

It is very true to say when the car leaves your garage, you will never know its future. Donating to a museum or carefully selecting the next caretaker (family or not) are interesting ways for us to believe our legacy on the hobby will be preserved. The reality is everyone of us spend lots of passion, love, time and money to buy, maintain and drive such amazing automobiles. I am still not sure about the future of my cars,  but I have to admit sometimes I think on this. Nevertheless, I have decided to write a book with my history on the hobby and my personal story around each car, including acquisition, restoration, maintenance, fun times, etc, and important people involved on this journey. I think it will be a good way to register my thoughts and feelings about these cars. I am 49 y.o and already started to slowly write the draft of it. I hope the next owners will carry a copy of the book with the cars when they move out the garage.

[alsancle]

34 minutes ago, JRA said:

It is very true to say when the car leaves your garage, you will never know its future. Donating to a museum or carefully selecting the next caretaker (family or not) are interesting ways for us to believe our legacy on the hobby will be preserved. The reality is everyone of us spend lots of passion, love, time and money to buy, maintain and drive such amazing automobiles. I am still not sure about the future of my cars,  but I have to admit sometimes I think on this. Nevertheless, I have decided to write a book with my history on the hobby and my personal story around each car, including acquisition, restoration, maintenance, fun times, etc, and important people involved on this journey. I think it will be a good way to register my thoughts and feelings about these cars. I am 49 y.o and already started to slowly write the draft of it. I hope the next owners will carry a copy of the book with the cars when they move out the garage.

 

Enjoy being 49!  You will be 59 in a blink of an eye.

The books are a great idea.

 

I have a friend who does very professional provenance books for higher end cars.  Mostly for use at Pebble Beach when the cars are being shown.   A lot of time goes in to the content, but there are online book publishing operations now that allows for small print runs of high quality at very reasonable prices.

 

[Walt G]

Writing - being a storyteller is something that should be done, but most do not do . It is "first person history" about the subject. Most important, even if just to give you a sense of being for what you feel gives you great pleasure. IT TAKES TIME. Endless amounts of time and if you are going to go into the history of what you are writing about even more so. Have patience, take the time. It is not a simple and instant thing to do. the majority of people think articles/stories especially on the history of something just "happens". NOT.

There are people who can put the story, the facts etc into a form that can be easily understood and some can "put you there" as part of it the way they phrase things.  They can then be there with you , share the joy.

Have been there , done that, still do that and always will.

[Dave Gray]

On 12/20/2023 at 5:00 PM, West Peterson said:

I'm not sure what you're asking regarding automatically... I look at the title when they slip to me, and check the number against the old title/bill-of-sale.

While transferring a title at penndot in Harrisburg, as I got the new title and license for my 2001 Corvette,

I reviewed the title and owners card and both said 1901 Chevrolet Corvette. While bringing it to the attention

of the same processing clerk, I was made to feel like the mistake was my fault. Go figure?
anyway later I was telling this story to a friend who was in the process of buying a 2001 Mustang convertible and believe it or not the same thing happened to him. I am glad that both of us corrected this on the spot, but I wonder how many 1901 Cars are still driving around in Pa. At this time.

[Paul Dobbin]

Most states have a thing called "Separate Writings", ask you attorney.   It's a separate addition to you will that you can make provisions for things like the disposal of personal property like your cars, tools, spare parts.   While not a page

in the will, it's instructions listing your wishes for disposal.   The will will state there may be separate Writings.

The advantage is that it can be changed at your whim and only needs the changes signed and dated.

 

Edited January 1 by Paul Dobbin
reposition text (see edit history)

[Larry Schramm]

For writing a book, we have a "travel diary" in each of our cars that we tour with.  We try to make entries of each day of each tour with input from our grandson and soon his younger brother will be joining us.

 

My daughter and her husband also fill out the book when they tour with the vehicle. We tour together on at least one tour a year.  This helps to put some memories in their minds and experiences for the future if they decide to have one of the vehicles after we leave this world.  They will be able to look back at some of their experiences. 

 

The grandsons are currently 8 & 6 years old and the oldest one has already been on at least a 1/2 dozen tours with us. His younger brother joins us this year touring.

Edited January 1 by Larry Schramm (see edit history)

[West Peterson]

12 hours ago, Paul Dobbin said:

Most states have a thing called "Separate Writings", ask you attorney.   It's a separate addition to you will that you can make provisions for things like the disposal of personal property like your cars, tools, spare parts.   While not a page

in the will, it's instructions listing your wishes for disposal.   The will will state there may be separate Writings.

The advantage is that it can be changed at your whim and only needs the changes signed and dated.

 

Actually called a Codicil.... or, at least, also called a Codicil.

[TAKerry]

I think AJ had the soundest advice on how to handle the cars. As far as checking title no.s for correctness, absolutely. I have titled many a car in Maryland and the car itself is never looked at physically. The paperwork on the title is entered by the dmv clerk and so it be. I do look at mine after an incident at the emissions testing station. I gave the guy my slip, the first thing they do is check the vin no. He gave it right back and said it didnt match. He was correct. The state made a mistake. The title was fine just a misprint somehow when they sent the notice. Yes things are prone to human error.