How do you come to terms with selling off some of your cars/stuff?

john56h · Jan 29, 2008

Well....the inevitable has finally come. The building that houses the "hobby shop" that me, my brother and my Dad have been sharing has finally been sold.

We'll have to move out soon...or be faced with rent payments we cannot afford. My Dad has been renting shop space there since 1972 (almost 36 years, YIKES). Needless to say, there is quite an accumulation of stuff.

What I'm having trouble with is facing the fact that we'll have to cut loose a lot of stuff that we've grown used to over the years. Some of it probably should have been "purged" years ago, but you know how it comes in handy to keep extra stuff around incase you need it.

It's looking like we might need to reduce our inventory of project cars and associated parts. Just having trouble accepting the thought that they are worth a lot more money to us, than to anybody else.

How do you guys come to terms with selling off your goodies without getting too depressed?

Lyaec350 · Jan 29, 2008

Think of all the new stuff you can buy with cash you get from selling?

Red Green · Jan 29, 2008

I don't have a good answer for you but I can understand your pain.

kickassgarage · Jan 29, 2008

I will sell prized car toys if I have to get rid of them for one reason or another, and will take less money for them if they are sold far far away.(So I will not have to see that car ever again and see what someone did to it.)

If it is bought and paid for, and you think that one day you may want it back, sell it to someone that you know who will sell it back to you for a reasonable sum. Rent another storage space.

Raffle them off to some charitable cause to the guys on this message board that have large garages who can take good care of your toys until you have the space you require again.

I actually hate selling cars. I still have my first one BTW.

Heh.

mhoffm911 · Jan 29, 2008

John,

I have sold estates (both living and dead) for hundreds of families in my auction career. Dealing with a lifetime of memories can be hard for anyone. In an auction scenario, I tell the sellers to not pay attention to the individual prices of items, but more to the bottom line as there will certainly be items sold for more money than what you would expect and many that are less.

You have a myriad of options to choose from when liquidating your assets. You can choose auction, eBay, tag sale/garage sale, craig's list, etc. Obviously I believe an auction can be the best choice because the majority of items will be sold that day. In the other options, you can still be left with a lot of stuff that you have to deal with.

I know quite a few auctioneers in NY if you need a referral.

Franz© · Jan 29, 2008

Been pondering the same question myself for the last year for different reasons. Some things I look at and ask why the hell I own it to begin with. Others I still wonder if I want to be rid of, and more I wonder if I'll get around to using for what I intended to do with them in the beginning.

I guess I'm just not ready to part with a lot of things yet, but I do feel the time coming. I really don't need a 68 Plymouth Fury III or a 57 MGA roadster any more, but I have them and one I've owned since the day it was new. Hell maybe there will just be a big auction after I'm dead, and I won't have to deal with it.

Steve in Mi · Jan 29, 2008

My buddy has been turning a phrase for 3 decades to the tune of "It's only Monday" but his words are "It's only Money". I've watched him build cars, race bikes, choppers, trailers (the lastest a dump trailer) and restore all sorts of antique cars etc. all of which are sold for a portion of the investment. It bugged the dickens out of me to see this but his thing is the designing and building and already built projects take up valuable room that could otherwise be used for the next project. His attitude toward it and watching him rebuild after having lost his entire 3k sq.ft. shop two years ago (including my 32 Ford truck I owned since 1964) to fire has helped me rethink this attachment to THINGS. I'd rather pass them on than turn over burnt out haulks to the crusher any day. Space has a price and I'm spent right up on what I'm willing to pay for storage. Take lots of pictures and move em out.

rsanter · Jan 29, 2008

I have had a number of really cool cars over the years and ones that would be worth many times more now than when I sold them. I have always looked at it as everything I have sold I made the best decision I could at the time and I will not go back and second guess myself.
you have a tought decision, but decide what is important and what you can do now and do not look back.

your options
1 rent some space to put the stuff and keep what you want
2 find some friends that have space and will hold it for you
3 give some stuff to a friend that he may want and then the friend may give it back later or give you something else you may want
4 sell some stuff, keep some stuff. use the money to fix what you keep of buy something else you have been wanting so you can look at it like a trade

you need to plave value on what you have and decide that if you want it bad enough you will do whatever you have to do to keep it. everthing else can leave.

I have had 82 mustangs over the years (as well as some other cars) with a max of about 20 at one time. sometimes I would like to still have a couple of the cars I used to have but I never regret the sale of a single one. the proceeds from the sale of cars has helped the purchase of 3 homes, other cool cars, tools, and even education. you will feel alot better about the sale of cars and stuff if you put the money to good use.

bob

devinchi · Jan 30, 2008

I recently sold a LONG term project truck. For me, I had an epiphany one day, and realized I didn't need it, and most likely wouldn't finish it (It had already been 6 years). It took a while to sell it off, which happened in parts, but it is gone, and I am looking forward to the next project already. I am also taking the time, to re-organize the space, and improve the shop before the next project it rolls in. It was really rough watching the truck head down the road on a trailer, but I feel good about it now.

somky · Jan 30, 2008

Franz© said:
don't need a 68 Plymouth Fury III or a 57 MGA roadster any more, but I have them and one I've owned since the day it was new.

Which one?

I have a 60 TR3 my dad bought new and a 78 Bronco my grandfather bought new. Would never consider getting rid of either.

OldCarGuy · Jan 30, 2008

We never truly “own” anything in this world,, particularly antique cars. In fact they actually own us and we have the responsibility to safeguard them. In reality we are merely caretakers of these small pieces of history so that the next generation can appreciate them. We purchase them, restore them, show them, drive them. We are a simply slaves to them,, and eventually we will have to part with them. Leaving the world a legacy of the past.

Franz© · Jan 30, 2008

somky said:
Which one?

I have a 60 TR3 my dad bought new and a 78 Bronco my grandfather bought new. Would never consider getting rid of either.

Speced the Fury out new and had to wait 3 months for it back in 67.
Both have been on their custom jackstands for 25 years for lack of my desire to play with them.

milkovich · Jan 30, 2008

I find the city chalking the tires and requiring tags (and consequently insurance )along with a lanlord bitching about the eyesore is great motivation to sell a project car.

Now that I have a big garage, I don't plan on giving up any vehicles ever again.

rocco · Jan 31, 2008

i find it too hard to get rid of anything.

bigdav160 · Jan 31, 2008

I like what OldCarGuy said. And since I've been entrusted with these vehicles I think I'll just keep them.

LOL

Yotaforce · Jan 31, 2008

One way I look at it is that we can't take it with us when we're gone. That in itself can be depressing, but if something was to happen to us tomorrow, out of all of our stuff, what would our family deam important enough to keep? I know that my own wife and kids would not even know what half of my stuff is, more less what to do with it, so they would have a big yard sale and take cheap offers (like you guys would give and then go post the terrific deals on this forum!) until it was all gone. If I hold onto something long enough, sure, selling *****, but if you can use that money to do something in the here and now, do it. Don't hold onto something because "you MIGHT use it one day". That day may never come. Think of it as a clearing out to make room for other blessings. I have had my 87 Toyota MR2 since it was new, but I know one day I will sell it, and it will be hard. However, I would probably use the money to get something else that will make my life even better (like a 2 post lift?). I have my photos and memories. That's all I need. Even better is that my family won't sell it for a few hundred dollars after I'm gone just to pay for their cell phone bill or groceries! Live every day like it's your last!

How do you come to terms with selling off some of your cars/stuff?

john56h

Well-known member

Lyaec350

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Red Green

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kickassgarage

Member

mhoffm911

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Franz©

Banned

Steve in Mi

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rsanter

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devinchi

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somky

Active member

OldCarGuy

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Franz©

Banned

milkovich

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rocco

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bigdav160

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Yotaforce

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