the best excuse youve heard for not for sale

I have ONE and only ONE car I ever chased down after I saw it sit for YEARS...1969 Chevelle Malibu 2 door...same paint and year/model as my Pop's first "new" car. I wanted it for sentimental reasons...but I watched it ROT on a gravel driveway (literally, rust appeared over time where there wasn't any before), next to a house for several years before getting the balls up to stop by one day and ask if they wanted to sell it...pulled up, grandkids in the yard, granny on the porch, older fellow standing by- told him my story, but got the "It ain't for sale-- it's her everyday car" line...... I said thanks, and leave politely. A few years later I was mentioning the story to someone who knew of the car, and they told me, "I know about that car...was from Virginia...was pristine until the old guy bought it for his mom, now the whole bottom side of it is rotted out because she never drove it and it just sat.
Probably better off for not actually buying it.

 

The one I used to use when I was 17 and had my '55 was "You can't afford it".

Sam.

 

My brother in law found a farm full of Studebakers and saw the model he needed some parts from with a huge tree growing thru the engine compartment where the hood was missing. He knocks on the door and an old man with a cane slowly comes to the door and he asks about that car with the tree in it. The old man turns around and says, "Daddy, there's a man here to talk to you about your car!". Then this REAL OLD man comes to the door in a walker. Takes him forever to get to the door. He says, "Oh, that car? That's the one I'm going to restore someday." They sat down and visited for about an hour and talked about Studebakers, and finally the old man says " Just take the parts you need Sonny. No charge."

 

LOL!!!! I had a nasty fart do something very simmilar to me about 10 years ago, so I knocked again after he slammed the door. He answers and I said "You didn't give me a chance to explain. I'd like to talk to you about these cars because I'm from the city. We have sent you several notices of violation, and were comming tomorrow to haul all of them to the junkyard"

His attitude changed REAL quick!

Of course I was not from the city, I just wanted to get even with the fart for acting like that.

 

My friend found a 50 chevy p.u. along side someones house sunk to the running boards it had been sitting so long. When he asked about buying it, the owner said you can have it if you can get it out. He dug it out and kept what he needed and parted out the rest.

 

When I was about 15, I was cruz'n around East Los Angeles on my Honda 90.. I saw this old car on the side yard of a house.. It turned out to be a '28 "A" sedan.. A tree branch had grown thru the driver side window and was pushing thru the top.. Other than that.. It was a damn straight car.. Knocked on the door.. Nice lil old lady comes out and says.. It was my husbands car.. He parked it there 20 years ago. She said I looked like a nice young man and I could have the car if I could remove it without hurting the tree.. Her late husband had planted the tree about 40 years prior.. At 15, I didn't have the know how to remove the car. So I passed on it..

 

I walked past a 53 Chev two door in a driveway for years when I was younger. Once I started to make some money 9Not much....) I ventured by to ask if it may be for sale.
Turns out it was the guys sons who was killed a number of years ago in a car accident. I didn't push the issue out of respect and he didn't offer it to sell.
A few weeks later I was walking past and he was in the front yard so I stopped and chatted for a while. Mainly about cars as his son was big gear head.
I guess he realised I was genuine about cars as he offered it to me for $500. I didn't have the money and asked if I could have some time to get it together. He said, 'now or never' and I thought I just lost a car. Nope, 'now or never' meant I could have it! Nicest guy I ever ran into, I would visit him every leave I got until he passed away. I kinda miss the old codger.

PS, I did give him the $500 once I got it together but it was a fight to make him take it.
Doc.

 

Young{er} guys always want to buy my ol' 1965 Buick skylark. I usually reply with"then what am I gonna drive?"

 

"I'm having it restored tomorrow" (1967 Chevelle sitting for 14 years)

 

A few weeks ago I saw an F-1 parked kinda in the woods, so I got out and approached the door, and there was already a sun-faded sign taped to the front door that said "Truck not for sail!"

I should have gone ahead and asked If I could have the truck since i didn't intend on sailing it anyways

 

honestly i don't remember. It was a random back road we were taking to avoid the monotony of the highway. The only thing I do remember was that cool old guys name that sent us over there, which was Bill Spencer.

 

That's familiar. I looked at a late-60s Chevy short-wide truck in the building at a junk yard locally. The bed was full to the top of stuff, and the only rust anywhere was a nice even layer of Georgia Red clay. (Being a Yankee from the Rust Belt, I'm seeing a pristine truck that I know would go for 6-7 grand back home) I asked the guy if it was for sale, and he says a friend owns it, and wants too much money for it. "Well, what's too much money?" He wants about 3 or 4 times what it's worth. I let a couple minutes go by, then cast into the hole again. "Whats 3 or 4 times what it's worth?" He wants $1,200 for it. I think he's nuts.

I didn't have the cash, but it goes to show sometimes you gotta keep after 'em.

-Brad

 

I got the "we're gonna fix it up" from a family friend but they promised me if they changed their mind it was mine. Drive by a few months later and it was gone. They said somebody offered them a lot more than they thought I would want to give for it. The guy gave them about a grand LESS than I would have gladly paid for it and I let them know it in no uncertain terms.


Aferthought...... I have been asked "How much?" before on vehicles I didn't want to sell so I shot them a ridiculous amount. Of course they snort and tell me I'm nuts or it's not worth anywhere that much to which I reply "You asked me how much, NOT if I wanted to sell it." I'm such a jerk sometimes!

 

"I'm going to fix it up someday". Last registered in 1978 or 9.....

 

Except for the '32, we don't get bothered much by anyone wanting to buy our stuff. Back when we would get the '32 out, if we went to an event of any size, usually the question would come up of "how much?"
My standard answer would be "see that lady over there, that's my wife. She really likes this car. If I sell this car to you it is going to take 'X' amount of money to make her happy again. Now I don't know exactly how much that is, so if you would like to go and ask her, she might be interested in a sale."

She won't tell me how much it would take to make her happy and we still have the car

 

cqn't say that about my wife, she'll sell anything-- cheap

 

I like your story, Doc-way to go.

 

When I was 17 and living in Oscoda, MI (my dad was stationed at Wirthsmith Air Force Base there) I scoured northern Michigan looking for old cars. Came across an old abandond gas station with a '29 roadster parked outside and the garage door open. Walked in and asked the old codger wearing bib overalls if the roadster was for sale. Quicker than you can imagine he grabbed a shot gun from behind an old wood stove and pointed it at me. I back toward the door trying to calm him down, and him yelling something about young people always ruining old cars. After a couple of minutes listening to his tyraid I was back to my car. I apologized for stopping and told him I had no intention of butchering up an old car, all the time just wanting to get out of there. By this time he had lowered the shotgun and I took the opportunity to back out and leave. I've never had a similar experience. Once is enough. Since, I've polished my approach to old guys with cars but now I'm one of them so maybe I ought to upgrade from a .410 to a 12 ga.

Frank

 

Buddy of mine finally got a '55 150 4dr 6/stick that he knew about and had been rotting since like 1975 in the same spot, last year. Maybe it sat even before that. Got them to promise that if they ever got rid of it they'd call him.

Of course the frame's shot, the rockers flap, it's a parts car. Just kind of unusual in that it's the cheapest of the cheap '55's.


The strangest "gonna restore it some day" I ever saw was a '70 Pontiac Catalina ragtop on a lift in a garage, all torn apart. I don't think the lift had been lowered in years, it was out of the way so they could work, but still under cover. I don't know how you'd get the thing down. The lift was one of those deals with the big round posts that come out of the floor - and they were starting to rust up pretty good.

 

Funny stuff.

I see cars and parts pretty often, don't bother to ask.

No probs buying stuff at Brookville though....

 

The year after I came back from Viet Nam I was at my duty station and BSing with a guy in his 40s-50s about cars. We were trading stories back and forth and I made a remark about finding an old car that the people wouldn't sell because it was their son's and he was killed in the war, I kind of laughed and he excused himself and left. I found out later that his son had been killed in Viet Nam the year before and he was keeping the car they had worked on together and wanted to build it for the grandson left behind. God did I feel like crap! I couldn't think of anything to say to him when I saw him again and it bothered me for years.
t

 

little old lady of about 80 years young!
"Get The FUCK Off My Property"

 

Excuses I give, all true, "My dad gave me that truck and I won't sell it I'm going to fix it up someday."

I've had my '49 Chevy 3600 since I was 12, I'm 25 now, I'm accumulating parts but the most I've done with it is start it up and drive it around as is for now.

"They're not mine to sell, and the owners won't sell them."

My grandpas running dodge truck, and my cousin's 1950 Ford Coupe that last ran in 1993 when it was parked where it is now. My grandpa will never sell that truck, he would drive it daily during the summer till his heart problems got to be too much for him to handle the truck. I still start it up and drive it around though and it will never leave the family, I grew up riding around in that truck and it's a major reason I'm into the old tin.

The '50 Ford Coupe, well it was my uncle's and he gave it to his son, 4 years ago my uncle ended his life because of cancer.

So for people that are persistent and think everything out in the country is up for grabs, let it go, people have their reasons, and people out in the country have guns. I've peppered a pickup that was snooping around grandpa's and my trucks, then drove over to my '65 mustang, at 4 AM. I was gonna go out and give them a warning but as soon as they seen the light turn on they tried getting out of there so I fired my warning.

 

"It may be rusty, but its MY rust! And thats where its stayin" from Pops nieghbor on his 283 vette motor

 

When I was a kid my neighbors across the street had a running, driving 57 chevy. One day it broke down and started sitting in the driveway. I got along with them really well, and I was looking for a car so I started asking about it. She told me a bunch of bs about how they couldn't sell it to me because it wasn't hers. She left it in the driveway for a couple of years until the kids in the neighborhood eventually smashed all the windows out with rocks..and then the city towed it because it was a nuisance or something. All I had to do was push it across the street and start working on it...I could see it from my bedroom window everyday, it drove me crazy.

 

amazing aint it this thread keeps growin.i just returned from a tin hunt about ten minutes ago. there is a 54 ford p/u just behind this barn enough stickin out to see its fairly straight, i knock on the door and grandpa moses came out i introduced myself and poped THE question i stopp about the truck behind the barn he replies what truck theres no truck out there stupid me "thats funny i can see it from here" he looks and says oh that forgot i had it, i was goin ta fix that years ago he then told me nah ill give that to my grandson hell enjoy that. so i walked away, ill go back in a couple weeks maybe hell forget i even stopped the first time.

 

I've been told "I don't wanna sell it yet.. that's my retirement plan"-- a POS rusted out '37 Ford Coupe...

"As soon as gas goes back down I'll start driving it again, so I don't want to sell yet"... '56 Pontiac hardtop.. that was in 1994.. wonder what he thinks now!

"It's not for sale, you're driving a Ford" '' 63 Chevrolet Impala. I was driving a '55 Ford... went back in a GM product and still got the not for sale routine.

These pale in comparison to others I have read on this thread!

 

One year ago I stopped and asked about the 49 Studebaker pick-up! An older man came to the door and said no, no I wount sell it to you, but if you take both of them, I'll givem to you.
Now a year later I'm trieing to give one of them away with no takers!

 

Got a pic? I'm interested.

 

"our son was fixing it up when he got killed in another car wreck. we would never let someone else finish it."