What to do??? My Aunt and Uncle want to sell my car.

I know I don't post often,but I come here a lot, I mainly don't post because I just read everyone's posts and learn. But I am having trouble, June 2002 my Aunt and Uncle bought me a 55 Ford Fairlane, all stock, wasn't show quality, had a couple of dings and a couple of chips, since then we haven't done anything to it as far as customizations go. Now I know its not a hot rod, but I love the car as it is my first car. Today I was told that they are thinking of having it fixed up and selling it at a car show this september. I was told that it isn't a good idea to have an old car as a daily driver (would be once fixed up) and that it has a higher chance of getting vandalized, well I wasn't surprised that it would have a higher chance of getting vandalized, but It isn't a show car so I am not going to die if like it got keyed. I would be extremely mad,but not like I would if the paint was HOK or something where it was a ton of money to paint. I was also told that if we could get back the same amount it was bought for (8500) I could get a 5-6k late model as a daily and then use the rest for a hot rod. But I got out of school in April (I homeschooled for the last year of school) and I am going to be looking for a job soon. I can then pay for what I want to do, I can pay for any fixes that come up. I can save and pay for a hot rod, etc. What do you think I can do to save my car?


Thank You Very Much

K.C.

 

Maybe the Menendez brothers can offer some advice.

 

Haha...

I was just about to say something to that effect. I didn''t want to become an accessory though.

Just kidding...can't you explain what the car means to you and that you want to keep it?

 

It all boils down to who's name the car is in...

Offer to buy the car from them...

I love a 55 Ford...

 

Sit down with them and tell them how important the car is to you. They did buy it for YOU...which means you own it right? or is there some kind of clause there that says, "since I bought it and gave it to you; its still mine to sell whenever I want!"

I hate family like that. Freakin' indian givers.

If they dont understand that, divorce the car, walk away from it and let THEM worry about it. Dont have nothing to do with it, and tell them to never buy anything for you again...even for x-mas.

Yours is Yours...not Yours is Thiers.

~or~ they fix it, and sell it...but do you get to keep the cash? If so...get your "reliable" daily driver 80's Dodge Colt hatchback, and spend the rest on a rod that tickles you "pink".

55 Fords or other rides can be found cheaply...even running!

All cars Pre-64 make great customs...Except for West Coast Style'd Chevy Nova II's.

Save your bucks, So what if you have to put in a few more bucks in it to get it running or driving right...you will have to anyways....and you learn about the car too!

 

It's not your car.

Get your own car and nobody can sell it on you, or tell you what to do with it -Until you get married.

 

Two things:
#1) They're going to sell the car & give you the money? Tell them you'll just turn around & buy the car back; or have a friend buy it & then give him the money back.
#2) If it comes down that you loose it, buy a $500 driver & spend the rest on a hot rod.
~ Paul
aka "Tha Driver"

Easy on the Giggle Cream!

 

Do they run an old motel in the middle of nowhere?is your name Norman?
If not it will all end up fine........

 

if they are gonna pay to have it fixed up and sell it and give you the money then go for it.

if it's there desire for you to pick up a late model car and an old school that is cool too.

if they're gonna give you $8-10k you can pick up a decent truck for $5-6k and spend the rest on a hot rod you want and parts that you want and it will be YOUR car.

Right now they clearly see that car as there's.

I'd take the offer. You'll get a daily and a hot rod out of the deal and it'll be your choice on what to get.


There are TONS of cars out there for less than $3500 that are in decent shape and running that you can work on.

 

this is one of the reasons why when I was a kid and all my friends had parent bought vehicles I saved and bought my own. No one could take it away and no one could tell me what to do with it.
I was workin when I was 14 bought my 1st car when I was 15, my old man always said I should get rid of my old junk and buy some late model POS, I never listened, he hated that but couldn't do anything about it.
My advice is to get a job and get your own car, can you really say this is your first car if you never even bought it?

 

LAUGH MY MOTHER ****IN *** OFF!!!! sick minds think alike. i was gonna suggest the same thing (jokingly ofcourse). perhaps we need help!

hell, all my first cars were "vintage" cars. every time i'd ***** about something breaking my dad would tell me "thats the price of owning and driving vintage automobiles". he was'nt against the old cars but he was'nt a hot rodder either. he was a good mechanic though and would help me fix stuff sometimes. other times i had friends who liked to wrench and we'd usually figure out and fix the problems together. i also made friends with an older guy (a bit older than my folks) that built hot rods, out of his home garage, for a living. he was always very helpful with advice and would lend a hand when i realy needed it and could limp the car over to his place. he gave me some very good deals on parts from time to time aswell.

it helps to have some mechanical ap***ude yourself and it realy helps to have friends who can and WILL help you out when you need it. they are machines and machines break down once in a while. you have to accept that. you also have to accept that you may need to bum a ride once in a while when your machine does break down.

even late models break down. bad thing is you need a ****in engineering degree and a million dollar diagnostic computer to fix most of em . i've got no beef with 'high tech' but i prefer to keep things simple. for the most part.

 

Thank You All Very Much for your help. Yes my Aunt and Uncle did buy it it is in their name. They never asked for any money from me for it. If it is sold they will give me the money to buy a newer driver and the rest for a hot rod. as far as a driver I would probably end up getting like a mid-late ninetys explorer. As far as hot rods I am not really particular so pretty much just look around for a good price on a body, frame, engine what not, I would have fun building a car. Once the hot rod was built though I would probably use that as a daily and then use the explorer or whatever as a trip car ( I love Disneyland so whenever I wanna go there and my p***enger doesn't want to be in the hot rod the whole trip) and also use it for trips up to like Home Depot or something where the hot rod I have probably wouldn't hold a whole 4x8 sheet of plywood. I really appreciate all of your help everyone. I am really going to have to think about all of this. I love the car to pieces. There are a few problems with the car ie the gas tank leaks (found that out a couple weeks ago), the engine doesn't turn over all that quickly, usually takes about 10 tries, engine runs on the highest octane gas that is sold, then I have to put in a octane booster and a lead subs***ute. Power steering needs fixing. Thanks Again Everyone.

 

I took too long to write my reply so Fry's and Kustombuilder's posts weren't seen by me until after. I am going to look for a job this summer, I am supposed to start college out here in the fall,but I haven't decided if I am going to hold off until next fall when my friends would be going. I love old cars they just have sooooo much more character and style than today's cars, I love high tech too,but I don't think there is a reason to have a full on computer telling me whats wrong with my engine. I have somewhat of a mechanical ap***ude, I don't have much experience working on cars, but whenever a problem arises in something being built/designed by any of my family members I come up with some ideas to help out. I guess I can't really say it was my first car, but it sure felt like it, If it does get sold I want a big poster of a pic. of my car to put in my garage.

 

If you buy a late model daily...you ought to get a truck. That way you can haul all those hot rod parts around, when you start to build. ...Just a thought.

 

At least you can fix the old one! Wait until you get the late model for 5k and have to work on it. They'll, and you, be wishing that had that non-puter controlled car back! I hate those demon spawned CPU R2D2 cars! That's exactly why I drive older 70's chevy trucks....I can fix 'em and they're cheap.

I hate when people "give" you something........explain your situation and if they don't listen, take them up on their offer. Buy youself another one later...

 

Just make sure when you by your Explorer and htorod +to be named later+ that they both get put in your name...as long as anything is in their name you don't have a leg to stand on...


P.S. That's still ****ed up...I bet they've heard you raving about what you wanna do and how theirs so many more of us out here, and they wanna cash in on the money train...maybe I'm wrong, but either way, to give someone something and then yank it back is just wrong...it'd be different if they had legitiment saftey concerns or something but the excuse they gave were total ********...if they are worried about vandels then insure the ****er, if the are worried about reliability, you can get an old school carbed engine up and going way quicker, cheaper and with less headache than trying to trace down which sensor the factory purposely set to go out at **** # of miles. As a matter of fact if your in an accident, what's gonna hold up? The '55 or your new Honda??

 

Your gonna have to change your name from 55ford to 90explorer

 

waaaaaah..aunt b and uncle andy wanna sell "my" car that i kinda sorta maybe want,even though they "told me" it wasnt safe..SHUT UP.if you wanna keep the car,TELL THEM.if not,let em sell the stupid thing and quit whining about it.my dad was nice enough to buy me MY 1st cool car and he's tried to get me to sell it i couldnt tell you how many times,as well as I'VE been asked to sell it,and i still say "NO WAY" because it is MY car and I want it.if you're attatched to the car and dont want to get rid of it,tell them.otherwise,shut up and be happy with whatever you're given for free if you cant decide if you like it or not.sorry to be so mean,but this just seems like a waste of time to me
creepy

 

My mom was (and still is) on that whole "get a newer more reliable car" ******** kick. My car wasn't even that old, 1979. I had to have my heads rebuilt, but it was on a motor that was locked up and I broke loose. My parents have a 2000 Malibu, they had to have the fuel pump replaced, new brakes, and a water pump in the matter of 5 years. Expenses that came pretty damn close to what I had in my '79 malibu. Don't believe the hype! Older cars are easier to work on, parts are cheaper, and they are more reliable once the problems are fixed. Every breakdown i've had on my older cars was over stuff that I knew was a problem, but ignored it. Like said above, sounds like they want to cash in on the car, and probably keep the difference...

 

Yep, you'll be working on that "reliable" late model too.

You'll spend $5000 on a pile of **** explorer and $2000 on ****ing parts.
Then you'll end up with a $7000 vehicle thats only worth $3000 or less when you go to sell it.

By the time you're done with that explorer, you'll have pissed away all your money and have NOTHING to show for it.

.......meanwhile, the dude that bought the '55 will be able to turn around and sell it for more money than he bought it for. Vintage vehicles make MORE sense financially. They actually APPRECIATE in value.

Buy a clapped out '80s car to drive. If you spend more than $800 on it, you're wasting money. Drive it for a year and buy another one when the first clunker quits on you....

DO NOT WASTE money on late model piles of ****. Reliability is a myth.

 

Not to sound harsh, but your aunt & uncle sound like control freaks. As much as you may like the 55 Ford walk away from it & let them do what they want to do with it. You should just get a job, save your money & buy what you really want. This way it's yours and no one else is gonna tell you what you should have.

I understand the temptation to accept there offer but if you do, understand that you will be in for a lifetime of others calling the shots for you. Don't be a puppet.

Billy

 

You really shouldn't complain about this. You are very fortunate to live with people who are able and willing to give you an automobile, of any kind. Alot of us weren't so lucky growing up and had to bust our ***es to get simple transportation...

 

gotta agree with stressed sounds like you live with them & they raised you also got a good head to be thinking college & that you dont post a lot of **** on here & read & learn means your not a dumb*** wish i could say nice things bout a 55 ford but i cant (GM fan here) but with college you do need more of a driver with depabilty if it can be sold for that much & they will let you use money on a driver + a rod sure you could find a ford in same year range for the money left over after driver is bought hell LionHeart just sold a sweet 55 ford for less then 5K seams like your aunt & uncle are just trying to look out for you wouldnt hurt to sit with them & let them know you love your car & would rather get a few hundred doller driver & keep your 55 as a long term project might work good luck

 

Just doing a little math here- they paid $8500 for a '55 Ford in driver condition. Sounds a little steep to me, but I don't know what '55 Fords go for. They want to pay somebody to fix it up (which I ***ume means more than fixing the gas tank, the paint chips, and what sounds like some head work) for, say at least $2000 more, and hope to get the $8500 back, which they'll turn around and give (all of it?) to you to be spent on a ten year old, 100K SUV and a $2500 start on a hot rod.

I'd ask for the $2K+ they'd dump into the car to make it saleable, and spend it on a mid-nineties mini truck (you can find manual trans S10's or, hell, Izuzus for $2K all day long, and they won't be much worse shape than an Exploder of the same vintage). Then, IF THEY'LL PUT THE ' 55 IN YOUR NAME, start spending your own money to make a smooth kustom out of that. Prove to them that you are dedicated to it, and that it can be reliable.

Don't know if this is good advice. I'm a little inexperienced when it comes to people giving me money and cl***ic cars--it's a problem I'd like to have.

 

Believe it or not guys... these two people are still trying to look out for this guys well being.
Its obvious he needs reliable transportation when he gets to college.
Yes, they did say they gave the car to him but realize during college he won't be able to afford to keep a 50 year old car on the road.
They know the value of the ford and realize in order to help him, they need to sell it to loosen up funds for a reliable car.
If you ask me I think I'd like to be their nephew.
I didn't have a playtoy car until I was 37. Give this fellow a chance to grow up and learn the value of our hobby.
Unless of course, maybe one of you would like to help him and give him your rod.
For those of you who think it is wrong to take this car...
I was never given a thing in my life until last year.... I wish I was in his predicament (sp) at his age.

 

i've had to buy all of my cars myself, except for my 57 my uncle gave it to me for christmas. it was a basket case, but it's still the best present i've ever got.

if they sell the car just save your money and buy another one. newer isnt always more reliable than older.

 

Dude all i'm saying is let them sell it, get yourself a 88-95 Honda civic usually less than 2,000 bucks..Or like someone mentioned earlier, buy a 50's chevy truck running same price I bet, and you could haul all your stuff and hook it up at the same time... Word of advice do not wait to go to college with your friends, they will only distract you...

 

I agree that you are very fortunate to have family that is willing to give you ANYTHING.

Keeping a 50 year old car on the road while you are in college WILL be tough. Especially if you are inexperienced at mechanics.....and believe me, unless you have torn apart and rebuilt at least 5 old cars....YOU ARE inexperienced.

Hell, I'm inexperienced.


I own a '63 Fairlane street freak as my daily driver, and I drive it too. BUT....It is "down" a lot getting tweaked here and there and upgraded here and there.

I just recently bought an '89 buick to drive for a while to help my wife and I ease some of our transportation issues. I worked on it for a week fixing little things and now its been on the road for a few months. I've already put around 4,000 miles on it.

total investment WITH taxes and all: roughly $950

It might just be in your best interest to sell that '55 and get something else for a few years.

 

If they stick to that figure, ($8500) on a car that still needs to be "fixed up" don't worry about it, you're going to be driving it a while longer...

 

let them sell the car. You can come to detroit and take my old 55 for a ride any time you like! I may even sell it to you soon, as i just bought a 57 tbird project.

best luck to you, don't give up!