daniel77350

I made this announcement in my last post in the topic I made "How to make vette daily driver"(or something along those lines). Anyway, the purpose of that is because I was being pressured to pick between my two cars by my parents. They foot the bill for insurance, and general repairs, and I do all the epxencive repairs and gas, and any hop-up parts. They have decided its getting to expensive on both ends and told me to pick one. I picked the vette. Apparently this is not what they wanted me to pick.

They are telling me to sell both and get one car, a reliable one with good gas milage that I will like. The two cars I have is a VW jetta(I hate it), and the vette. They say ditch the jetta because I hate it, and its 11 years old with 170K miles on it, and its about to fall apart(hence its expencive to keep up). The tell me to sell the vette because of the bad gas milage, the cost to upkeep, the insurance, and the fact that only me and one other person can ride. Im always barrowing my dads explorer because i can fit more friends in it. I guess hes tired of me using all its gas. :jester

Anyway, to try to keep it short, I may be forced to sell the vette by march(after it gets out of the body shop), and the VW will be gone once I get a different car(april or may). Im trying to talk them out of this, but they technically hold the title to both, so they control that aspect, plus they foot a large bill on both each year, so I cannot argue with them, they make good points.

They want me to get something that'll last me 8 years through college, and that I'll be happy with, and not have to get a job to keep running(aside from gas and general maintince). They don't want me working durring college, unless its a "related job"(architecture or drafting related)...they want me to stay focused.

On the brite side, I have talked them into buying me one as a graduation present(a C3), when I graduate from college with my masters(they want me to go all out, which is cool, I want a masters anyway, this is just incintive). Also, they said they would pay up to 50% of what I save, for a car. I think i can get about 10K by the time its time to buy one, and they will probably put in about 4K on top of that...As payback Im looking at a '94 BMW 325i cabrio(insurance will be epxensive for them).

I don't want to sell, but as I say, my options are limited. They keep telling me "in order to fallow your dreams you need to make sacrafices".

Daniel
PS. anyone looking to buy a '77 lemans blue? You can pick it up in march(pay when you pick up)...make an offer....and the engine detail will be complete by then... :jester

daniel77350

also, the VW. '91 jetta desil. Anyone here with kids looking for a cheap-gas car for your son or daughter's first car? it gets 40 MPG. Its pretty reliable compared to the vette, but it runs into a few problems every now and then. Mainly with the A/C, it never works, its been "fixed" 5 times. That and the drivers side door handle works about 70% of the time. It sucks, I hate it, but if your looking for something for your kid....perhaps this is it. :blueangel:

Daniel

ScubaJKD

Daniel its never easy to make tough choices but it sounds like you and your parents have a great thing going and you are keeping your eye on the ball and not the tire so to speak. You have lots of years to get any and every vette you want. Dont sweat the small stuff. Do what you have to do and be thankfull you have such great parents that care so much about your welfare and long term happiness. Thats worth more than any C3.

:seeya

daniel77350

thanks. I agree. I knew this day would come though, so I'm not to bummed about it...I mean I am, but, well you know what i mean.

I just hope the vette will go to someone I can keep in touch with, and possibly attempt to buy back from at a later date.

You could also look at it as, if I sold the vette now, I'd make a profit, for the first time in the history of the corvette, someone has "restored" one and made a profit. Its important to remeber that I didn't buy the car, just restored it. :jester

I still plan to hang around here though. If I still can? I'll just have to change my name to "forcedtosell".

Daniel

MikeC

There is always a way to do things, it sounds like you have some time. If you want to keep the vette you and your parents will find a way to work it out. I got mine when I was 15, me and my dad went halves on it( he wanted to keep me out of motorbikes) under the understanding that when I graduated university/college it would be given to me. My dad drove it to work everyday--- since it was "his" car and it would get damaged at school. Maybe you can work out a deal like that.

My dad died a few years ago, before he got to hand over the keys to me. That taught me that life is short, Do what makes you happy.

BTW, There is no car that I know of that will last 8 years without major repairs. Every car you buy is a crap shoot. whether new or used.

Good luck and keep us posted. :seeya

paso

as a option since you talked them into buying a C3 for your grad why don't you talk them into storing you vette for what ever # of years. It will likly be cheaper for them. OR have them send your Vette away for a Professional restoration then when you Graduate It's done:) sell them on the up value of their investment.:):)

PHulst

Daniel,

Why not get your Dad to "buy" the car? He holds the title anyway. That way he can drive it and enjoy his mid-life crisis. You could then buy it back after college.

You'd hate to turn this into one of those "I wish I had my old 77 back" stories in 50 years.

By the way, I drove a few VW Rabbits (from 84-96) as my only transportation. Great cars. I ended up buying my Corvette myself in '94 by working two jobs. And yes, I asked my parents for a Vette every Christmas. For years I got a Matchbox car in my stocking.

daniel77350

I have tried talking them into keeping it, but their expecting me to use the money I get for it, to get another car. I would keep it, but then I'd sell a $3k car for a $3k car...so I'd get pretty much the same thing. Im going to talk to my dad about "buying it from me"...and to pay for it, he can just make the payments on the car they want me to get. their plan was for me to use the money from these cars to break even. Im currently in debt about $2500(a loan). Then whatever $$ I had after paying for that, I'd buy a car and make sure I could pay cash for it. So when i went to school I wouldn't owe anybody anything. And that would make it easier to get student loans if needed.

Im still trying to reason with them, but I have until march to convince them. And right now they are already telling me to look at cars and giving me "ideas" on good ones.

My biggest regret will be, becoming one of those guys that says "I wish I could have kept my first car". But there are just some circumstances where I don't have a choice. Anyway, I'll be so caught up in driving my "new" c3, or restoring one, that I won't think about it much.

I tried telling them not many cars will last 8 years, and its chance, but they don't understand that concept. They drive cars to get from a to b...and they get new ones as soon as they pay one off it seems(they day we payed the last payment on the VW, we went to get an explorer, the day we paid that last payment we went to get a truck, and now they are looking at the linlcon navigator)...so they don't understand the concept of how long a car will last. They get a new one to often.

Maybe its just them being very convincing, but I see where they are coming from, and I won't kick and scream, I will take what i get and enjoy it. I told them "but we only live once, I should keep it"...they said "exactly, you shouldn't spend your whole life with one car, you need to try different things, before its to late". They turned that aginst me good.

I'll keep trying to convince them, but it seems hopeless. We're supposed to go up to carlots by the end of the month for me to test drive, and start to get an idea of what I want, "thats reliable". :sad:
Daniel

lbell101

re: they said "exactly, you shouldn't spend your whole life with one car, you need to try different things, before its to late".

Tell them that only applies to women not cars :)
You will NEVER be able to replace that car for the same amount of money. The '77s won't stay at the low point forever. Show them the 'cycle' of vette prices over the years. You got into the '77 at the very best time. If you store it for 8 years it will be worth way more than it is now!
I bought a '67 Chevelle SS in '82 for $3000.00 fixed it up and sold it for $3000.00 a couple years later. Five years later it was a $10,000 car while the new car I bought depreciated to $5,000 from $12,810.00 (Monte SS).
Learn from my mistakes.

Paul L

An education is for life. A car can disappear overnight.

DaveP

Dan, I went through Dental school and undergrad, and managed to always hold onto a "fun car" sometimes a couple at a time. You will need the car to relax, drive around when the going gets tough. Nothing helps clear your mind when you come home from classes and know you can go for a little cruise as a reward for a good day!! Tell your parents this. If they don't understand tell them to email me. Life does not stop during school !!! a small job is good, I worked on people's cars on sat mornings during school, many of my fellow students drove heaps that needed easy repairs, earned many friends and respect that came in handy during studying, missing notes, etc. in a nutshell, if you love cars, and your vette, figure a way to keep it. I bought a new honda civic si in 89, drove it 180k miles and sold to my brother in 95, he put another 100k on it. good luck!!

73 LS-4

Your 77 is old enough, you should be able to throw antique plates on it, if the insurance is under your father's name, and then insure it as an antique vehicle. Insurance this way is dirt cheap through my state farm agent, I only pay 59 bucks every 6 months and that's with a BB car, yours should be even cheaper, but it's a declared value policy so you pay for what you insure (I'm 15K). Of course with antique plates it can't be a daily driver but I doubt you really wanted it as a daily driver, probably more like a weekend toy that you can show off and keep clean. I personally wouldn't take a vette to college, I drank way to much in college to trust myself with a vette plus college students normally aren't those most responsible folk to have around your car (read door dings, beer bottles, people sitting on your fender, etc.). What you want for college is a reliable beater that's cheap to repair, I had an 87 bronco2 with 140k on it that I drove around college that has been through at least 2 hail storms and an early attempt of my doing body work and in one case was used as a bunker in a paintball fight, so the body wasn't so hot, but it ran great and I knew how to fix everything on it, of course it helped that I was going for my Bachelors degree in auto technology at the time so most stuff i fixed at school, but really there was very little needed. So I'd stay away from the BMW as a school car, don't get me wrong BMW's are great cars ( My mom has a 93 and I drive it a lot since she borrows my B2 often), but parts may be hard to come by and this would mean more downtime if there was a problem plus the fact that parts would be twice as much at least. This is my oppinion and you know what they say about those, but I know if I had to go through 8 years without a toy to play with when I got back from school I'd go :crazy:

:cheers:
Pat Kunz

daniel77350

ultimatly its not my decision. But I will run those points by my parents and see what happens. I appreciate your support guys.

keep in mind though, I've been wrenching on it about every day since I was 15. (my parents think i spend to much time/money on it). I mean I may as well have done a frame off. Most of the reasons for this was it was converted from a under 11 second race car, into a street car. You can imagine the stress it has been through.(it had a cage at one point).

And I know the world doesn't stop for school. But architecture is very demanding. Right now Im at the community college level, which is easier then highschool, but already Im having to stay at the school over night to work on projects and such. And at the university level projects are due in under a week, CC projects where due in a month. I have a feeling I will be pulling a lot of "all-dayers-and-nighters" when I get to the university. The main reason I got the vette was I never expected I would want to go this far with school, I just wanted to go through the community college, and get a job, but I love it so much that I want to go as far as I can. If I would have known this since day 1 of having the vette, I wouldn't have gotten it...

And I'll agree with 73 LS-4...I don't want people using my car as a bed, or a place to sit. And college students are awefully roudy people, I'd die if one of them started kicking my car or pounding on it. I would store it, but I need transportation while I go to school, that I will enjoy(as reward for long day).

Right now my parents think selling it is the best decision, and I kinda agree. But I will keep talking to them about keeping it, unless I see another car that I want even more(it could happen). I don't want to "suffer" through vette ownership right now(with costs, and having people key it, or lay all over it, or puking in it) just because I don't want to regret it later on in life. "Suffer" is to strong of a word, but its the only one I can think of right now. I have a lot of thinking to do.

Daniel

scottw

daniel,
from your last statement it sounds like you really need to think about selling it. I went from the community college (8th grade level) to a university. It is totally different. If I remember correctly you also want to go and get a masters too. I would not tell anyone to sell their vette especially for as much work as you have put into it but you really don't have time for it for the next few years. If I thought I was going to get a masters when I started college I would have tried a little harder and got good grades. Mine were not that bad but an overall 3.0 isn't that good for a masters program. I finally got excepted into one and I'm on my way but you really need to focus on school. You can get another car later if it comes down to that.

Good luck in whatever you decide, just don't give in on any of your schooling for a car.


[Modified by scottw, 3:20 AM 1/5/2002]

daniel77350

I agree scott...I figure if I get good grades and end up with a 3.5+ masters, when I get out, I'll be making enough to own a couple vettes...I may regret selling this one, but I will just keep buying them until it makes up for it. :jester (I'll be the guy that owns 7 c3's, I can just alternate them on daily driving, 1 a day for each day of the week).

Daniel
I still have 2 and a half months to decide.....

74-Roadster

Daniel,

I know how you feel! Remember our discussion about Architecture? During highscool, I earned a full ride schoolarship with Air Force ROTC. When I showed up to pick up my check to pay tuition, I was told to see the Colonel and I found out that I had been disqualified due to asthma on my medical records past age 13 (I grew out of asthma at age 14-15). To make a long story short, Dad and I had to sell our 1973 Coupe for tuition.

Because I traveled so much for my job and only rented, It ended up taking 15 years before I started looking for an old Vette. But I finally got one of my top 4 choices (couldn't afford 2 of the 4). Do what you gotta do and tell your parents thanks for the 3 years that you've had. Then get a nice car that girls will be happy to be seen going out with you. Most girls don't care if it's a Beemer or a Honda, just nice, clean and shiny will do just fine! College is about having fun, growing up (and you sound very mature already . . . much more than me at your age), and learning what you love. Your memories of college will be with you for the rest of your life. I'm betting if you could have your pick of reasonably priced Corvettes, you'd probably pick a different model, so don't sweat it.

I do have a strong love and fond memories of my first Vette, but if I had it when the time had come to play with an old Vette, I'm sure I would've sold it and got a different model.

daniel77350

thanks 74...I need support like that. :) I will probably have to sell one way or another, so its nice to have help justifying it. :cheers:

A honda is out of the question. I've been ridin my friends for years about having honda's, if I got one I'd be america's biggest hypocrite. :jester At least with something like a beemer I can say "Its still a nice sports car, and not a ricer."...but Im reading parts are hard to come by for them..so I will search for something I can live with that is nice.

Daniel

mrbeaubo

Daniel, if you really want to keep the car, you're going to have to make enough money to sell the VW and buy buy another car with money from those 2 sources only. The vette should stay garaged somewhere with antique auto insurance. What's 100 dollars a year in insurance compared to losing your first car? Get a job NOW, McDonals, WHEREVER and make some cash to help towards the purchase of the car. Your parents will see how much you'd like to keep the vette and will most likely help you buy the reliable car. Propose the antique auto insurance idea to them.

e3pres

What's your major? Someone hit my '76 that I had in high school (in my parents name for insurance reasons... stupid, stupid me) and then the insurance would not pay off (long story), and my parents made me sell my car. I'm an engineering major, so I just went on co-op and bought my own d@mn Corvette (in MY name this time). See if you can work out a deal with someone to "buy" the car from your parents, and then sell it back to you at some point in the future. (Or immediately :lol:, You didn't hear that from me. :D)

daniel77350

architecture. I considered architectual engineering, but that seems :sleep:

I just wanna draw. :jester

Daniel