When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Will be 79 soon & not in great health & am starting to think about selling my cars. Have 5 cars in a 3 car garage. 56 restored pickup 57 black E code Tbird bought from the original Ca. owner 1967 300Hp B/B PS PB AC Auto Headrests vinyl hardtop speedminder factory side pipes. Tank sticker POP & titles /paperwork owned by Bill Moak back in the day. 1967 Lyndale blue/ White 67 390 4-speed TI PS PB AC Vinyl hardtop.I bought in the 80'S both Oklahoma Corvettes.1970 454 4-speed Bronze/Black convertible EVERY options except Wheel covers shoulder belts & deluxe interior. Regional top flight bought from thr original owner that bought it at Bob MCDorman Chevy.To me these cars are special. Dont drive them much but still look at them. Iam a hoarder & hat to let things go but not sure if its right to leave it to others to dispose of them. I dont need the money not sure what to do. I know there are many of us on here in the same predicament and wonder what others are doing.
We were working on wills this weekend so I get it.
I think if faced with your situation, I’d simply pick out the one car out of the 5 that still brings you the most joy. I have had cars that simply made me happy just by being in my garage and I could walk by them. If theres an issue about possibly driving it maybe consider having it converted to automatic. But if thats not a concern, I’d pick out that one car that makes me happy, sell the other 4 and divvy up the proceeds any way that makes you feel good and enjoy the one car all the way to the last day. And stop worrying about whats going to become of it. Let the estate worry about what happens to it then; you wont care.
We were working on wills this weekend so I get it.
I think if faced with your situation, I’d simply pick out the one car out of the 5 that still brings you the most joy. I have had cars that simply made me happy just by being in my garage and I could walk by them. If theres an issue about possibly driving it maybe consider having it converted to automatic. But if thats not a concern, I’d pick out that one car that makes me happy, sell the other 4 and divvy up the proceeds any way that makes you feel good and enjoy the one car all the way to the last day. And stop worrying about whats going to become of it. Let the estate worry about what happens to it then; you wont care.
THANKS Great advice. My 67 Lyndale 390 will be the last to go. Owned since 1989.& have had a lot of rare Corvettes & cars. L-88 last ZR-1 Big brake 435 ETC. I was a good ride in the day when Corvettes were a hobby not a business.
I would keep the one you like the most for as long as you like, If anyone has ever expressed an interest in buying one of the other cars, I would contact them now and give them first dibs on it. They will be very appreciative.
I'm going with a slightly different spin on things...
You have a very nice collection, and I expect that what you really want is for the cars to go to people who will appreciate them and take care of them as you did. BUT - if I'm reading things right you seem to still enjoy them.
Start by finding a mechanic that you can trust to work on the cars. There are still some really good independent mechanics out there, if you can find one that will do good work - that takes a major burden off you for maintaining / repairing your cars.
Then take each of the cars out for a spin, and see which one puts the biggest smile on your face, and which one is least enjoyable. Consider selling the one that you aren't as much in love with.
Then give yourself a little time, and if you're still OK with having sold that one car - think about selling another one. If you still really miss the first one you sold - then stop.
If you can get down to the two cars that you cherish the most - I'd stop there. Try to take them out and enjoy them... Talk to people you know, and gauge if there is interest on these two - but hang onto them. On some rainy day - write up a detailed description of each car you still have, along with what you think that they are worth, and detail anything that makes them special. Also detail the names and contact info for people who might be interested in buying them. Put that write-up with other important papers, and make sure you attach a set of keys for the car, and add a note about where the title is held (e.g. the Safety Deposit Box, or in the safe in the basement). Try to revisit the write up every year or two, but more important than that is to sit down and talk with the person who will be the executor of your estate, and tell them that you want the car to go to someone who will take care of it. Talk a little about some of the resources available to value a collector car (e.g. Hagerty, auction websites. etc.) When you finally pass - you will have made the "job" of selling the cars so so much easier. Believe me - I've cleaned out my parents house - selling a couple of collector cars is a LOT easier than going through 25 years worth of "stuff" in a house.
Both buyers are close friends and my daughter knows both. My daughter knows what each corvette is insured for. As I stated, I trust both and I prefer to trust them rather than my daughter trying to sell the cars to strangers with all the scams out there.
I bet I know which car provette has his eye on..........I don't balme him!
Sounds like you have a great plan. My plan is to have my last check bounce HAHA! I worry more about what my heirs will do to move my serious watch collection than what is going to happen to my '65.
Save yourself the trouble and pick the one you want to keep and contact a dealer or auction house and let the rest go all at once. At some point time becomes more valuable than money and the money that you may lose out on by going that route will more than be made up in the time and hassle you will save not having to deal with selling and marketing the cars. JMHO
Genuine research shows that most people of all ages can see how much their lives have changed in the past five years, but they can't imagine it being much different in the next five years. Plainly that shows a bias toward believing things will not change when in fact they always do. Being a realist approaching 76 I know I am not getting stronger or more capable each year. Knowing precisely when to pull the trigger on the sale is hard, but a bit too early seems better than a bit too late to me.
This is exactly true.
At 43, my days of hardcore projects are already waning due to early onset arthritis and nerve problems that make holding a wrench pretty bad some days. I'm a pretty fit guy and have never been overweight or a smoker. A few years ago I got an unusual GI infection and nearly died, spent 2 weeks in the hospital and needed emergency surgery. Shortly thereafter, my wife got diagnosed with breast cancer right after our son was born, at 39. Three surgeries later she seems OK, but spending a year of your life wondering if your young children will have a mother, just plain sucks. Wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy.
That's a bad luck series of events, but everyone wants to think they have time to do anything they desire when it's simply not true. Very few people's quality of life is improving over time.
I have been selling Corvette parts for almost 50 years and have been called by several widows to help get rid of the husband's collection or single car. Before the remains go in the ground the line forms with friends, neighbors, family members and others to make offers well below to true value of the cars. I have made it a practice to never buy cars under these conditions or charge a widow to help disperse of the cars.
That being said and if you are over 79 I have one and only one piece of advice--- SELL THE CARS NOW. It is exceedingly SELFISH to make the widow or family members get rid of this mess. Remember these cars are "YOUR DREAM' not the dream of others. Giving these cars to family members are boat anchors that they have to maintain until you pass and then struggle where, how, and how much to get rid of the cars without insulting your memory,
Sell the collection and clean out the garage and write enough checks to cover your heirs and watch the smile on their face when they open the envelope while you are still alive.
I am 78. healthy, and circling the drain as they say so take this recommendation to heart and give your heirs a memorable sendoff they will appreciate.
I am speaking from experience as I sold a 6000 sq. ft. building of parts and cars much to the relief of my family. It took six months, and I knew what I was doing. I then went on vacation.
My opinion---
I have been selling Corvette parts for almost 50 years and have been called by several widows to help get rid of the husband's collection or single car. Before the remains go in the ground the line forms with friends, neighbors, family members and others to make offers well below to true value of the cars. I have made it a practice to never buy cars under these conditions or charge a widow to help disperse of the cars.
That being said and if you are over 79 I have one and only one piece of advice--- SELL THE CARS NOW. It is exceedingly SELFISH to make the widow or family members get rid of this mess. Remember these cars are "YOUR DREAM' not the dream of others. Giving these cars to family members are boat anchors that they have to maintain until you pass and then struggle where, how, and how much to get rid of the cars without insulting your memory,
Sell the collection and clean out the garage and write enough checks to cover your heirs and watch the smile on their face when they open the envelope while you are still alive.
I am 78. healthy, and circling the drain as they say so take this recommendation to heart and give your heirs a memorable sendoff they will appreciate.
I am speaking from experience as I sold a 6000 sq. ft. building of parts and cars much to the relief of my family. It took six months, and I knew what I was doing. I then went on vacation.
My opinion---
I would say to do this sooner rather than later would be wise. Of course ask any family if they are interested, if you feel they would care for the car as it should be cared for, because we all know some people can't take care of things, but you have an opportunity to honor your car collection, and find them the right buyers, verses just letting them fall into disrepair, and be sold or auctioned off to random buyers. This is a touchy subject of course, but its a day we all know is coming.
I go with a friend I've known for 25 years to nostalgia drags to help him out with his Max Wedge Savoy as he is approaching 80 years old now & I'm basicly just helping out cuz he's just not able to do what he used to. He's the brains, I'm the muscle, and although Im not much of a fan of drag racing, i love learning from a guy thats been drag racing & SCCA racing since the early 60's. I'm positive he shouldn't be pulling wheel stands & running 10 second quarter mile times at that age, but he still does, and the thrill he gets can not be replaced. He's struggling with this same choice as well, and i hate seeing it. He's got 30 years on me, I know my day is coming too, so I hope to be having as much fun as he is at 80 years old. One things for sure, there is not one of us that's gonna get out of this life alive, so enjoy it best as you can, for as long as you can.
THANKS for all the comments. I agree with most of you but just needed to hear it from someone else.Will be putting them, except the 67 Lyndale blue 390, up for sale soon.I live in Phoenix so If i dont sell them myself I can put them in one of the auctions here without much hassle.or shipping expense.
It depends on the people within your circle. Are any of those people up to speed with not only the value to the buying public, but the value to you ? You've got quite a collection there, which one do you want to use the most, which one do you want to keep ? You're old stuff will never be as valuable to the folks that are burdened with selling it as it is to you. With my recent disappointing medical diagnosis at a relatively young age I am extremely concerned with what my incredibly supportive bride might have to deal with when I'm no longer there to bark directions at her. Enthusiasts of any interest often boast of "when I'm gone they can do what they want with all of it ! "which comes across as a pretty nifty T-shirt slogan but IMHO that's a pretty heavy load to place upon your loved ones, spouse, kids or good friends. One positive that you have in your corner is this forum, everyone that I have dealt with here is honest and will most likely understand your situation. I would start here first.
On my last day, I still want to be a Corvette enthusiast, so plan to have at least one of them still! Please drive me to the grave in an urn in the Corvette!!!!!
I have been selling Corvette parts for almost 50 years and have been called by several widows to help get rid of the husband's collection or single car. Before the remains go in the ground the line forms with friends, neighbors, family members and others to make offers well below to true value of the cars. I have made it a practice to never buy cars under these conditions or charge a widow to help disperse of the cars.
That being said and if you are over 79 I have one and only one piece of advice--- SELL THE CARS NOW. It is exceedingly SELFISH to make the widow or family members get rid of this mess. Remember these cars are "YOUR DREAM' not the dream of others. Giving these cars to family members are boat anchors that they have to maintain until you pass and then struggle where, how, and how much to get rid of the cars without insulting your memory,
Sell the collection and clean out the garage and write enough checks to cover your heirs and watch the smile on their face when they open the envelope while you are still alive.
I am 78. healthy, and circling the drain as they say so take this recommendation to heart and give your heirs a memorable sendoff they will appreciate.
I am speaking from experience as I sold a 6000 sq. ft. building of parts and cars much to the relief of my family. It took six months, and I knew what I was doing. I then went on vacation.
My opinion---
This is excellent advice.
I’m presuming you guys with C2s have money etc.; I used to think “let my heirs deal with it” until my mom passed suddenly in March 2020, just as the world was locking down. Let’s just say her finances weren’t in great order, and her reverse mortgage on her house required my sister and me to sell the house right away. We both are married with kids, and lived a few hours away from her (thank goodness it was driving distance, and we didn’t need to fly), and instead of focusing on our own families’ needs, we had to deal with my mom’s stuff. We sold her house at a fire sale price, had to get a dumpster for her stuff (because charities weren’t accepting donations in March and April 2020), and just brought her car to a Car Max and got whatever we could for it. None of us had the room for it, and we had some questions about its condition that made us wary about selling it to a private party.
Is your house, literally, in order? Are your heirs going to go through probate?
When my husband’s childless great-uncle passed away almost 20 years ago, everyone just took what they wanted, and sold his house. He had an old Triumph that he loved, but no one wanted, so that was sold too. Obviously that wasn’t worth what a ‘67 Corvette is worth, but to him it meant a lot. When I was looking to buy a Corvette last year, I came across many cars that were being sold by heirs, who obviously didn’t want the Corvette.
I would LOVE to inherit a classic Corvette, but in addition to being a Corvette fanatic, I am a point in my life where I actually have the room for it, the $ to insure it, and have time to drive it. Not everyone is in that position. We have to acknowledge that car collecting is largely an older man’s hobby; the average of the NCRS membership, I was told, is north of 75.
I own a lot of “stuff,” including a ‘69 Stingray (which takes up a ton more room than my watch collection does). My stuff brings pleasure to me, but I don’t pretend that my kids will have the same enthusiasm for it as I do.
So, if a car still brings you joy, keep it. I totally understand what it’s like to enjoy owning something like that. But, it’s also worth having a discussion with your family about what everything is worth, who wants what, etc.
It’s very unfortunate when people feel the need to keep things that belonged to relatives long ago, eg fancy dishes from a great grandmother who died before you were born.
An advantage of selling them yourself is you have control over who the buyer is. If its not just about getting the very top dollar possible - you have the ability to ensure they go to someone you feel good about passing them on to. I recently sold a car I'd had for about 18 years - wasn't motivated to sell it - but I realized I'd never find a buyer who would enjoy it more than the person who'd called me multiple times asking me to sell it to him. Now I get to continue to enjoy it vicariously through his periodic updates on the car.
I have stood in garages with widows trying to offer assistance in clearing out a garage loaded with her deceased husband's stuff and never saw a smile on their face. Most likely tears on what am I to do with this stuff. Answer this question--Do you think he next five years are going to be the same as the last five? Then take the appropriate action.
Just my opinion.
02-15-2023, 04:43 PM
