I have a terrible dilemma!! I need opinions!!!

if its not what YOU want than you will never be as happy with it

 

The Buick has 4 doors and needs a load of work. The Dodge has 2 doors and needs very little. Neither are prom queens. This decision is a no-brainer. Go with the Dodge. Sure you'll miss the Buick, but you'll get over it. Any sorrow you have for selling the Buick will be offset 10x by driving a nicer car reliably.

 

Do what you would do if your dad wasn't in the picture and the Coronet was still available.

 

i would keep the buick.

 

I would have to say that you can listen to peoples advice all day long but only you can really answer this question, you just have to go with your gut instinct and follow it.

 

Very simple. I'd get the Dodge from your Dad, sell it and go find yourself a 2 door Buick.

 

I agree with loudpedal...

 

I just looked at your pics and there is no way in Hell you should part with the Buick ! That car fits you just right !

RetroJim

 

i couldn't agree with you more on this. i once had 1971 ALFA Romeo spider that, i am to this day still madly in love with. unfortunately i let my EX-wife talk me into selling it when i had a fender bender (other guys fault) 3 days after getting it out of the shop for a tranny rebuild.
i regret that decision to this day, although i now love my life on a motorcycle, i would still be driving that ALFA to this day and it would be an immaculate car by now.

girl, go with your heart on this and listen only to that, not the rest of us.

 

i ran into a similar problem with my g/f now wife! only her dad didnt want her to buy a car because he liked being able to say she was in his car and she wasn't allowed to make the drive to see me about 40miles. I gave her a car and she still saw me. My question here is does your dad hate just the car. or does he want a little more control over his little girl? all said and done i say buick!

 

I like buicks better than dodges .Keep the buick

 

You love what you love....I have a four door 1962 Belair and have been poked for it since I got it from friends and some of my club brothers. I know most are just having fun, but I love the old girl. I know it's your dad, but you love the Dodge.......

 

Let's be realistic, if you are really not doing much of the work besides simple aesthetic things, I don't think it's right to make your dad/boyfriend work on something they don't like for you. If you want to be a car person, either pay someone to do it or roll your sleeves up.

 

do what you want and don't worry about it. as you get older you will realize it's not what others want or think. you only answer to yourself at the end of the day.

 

I agree with you completely. That's why I've tried doing as much as I can. I've been trying to learn.. I'm just not very mechanically inclined by nature.. And I really don't think it's fair to make my boyfriend do any of the work, which is why I haven't really asked him for anything since we got my floors done.. But it's hit a bit of a stand still since then.. My dad has helped me a bit since I've been having started issues, but I was out there for hours trying my damndest to make the thing work.
I would love to be able to just keep the Buick as my project car and get the Dodge, and I have a friend that would even hold on to it for me for a while until I move out and have my own garage to keep it in and work on and whatever, but my dad is 100% against me having 2 old cars and he won't consider the Dodge unless I get rid of the Buick for good. I don't quite know why he's so opposed to this since it wouldn't affect him...
I don't know what to do.. I'm gonna go look at the car and see what I think.

I appreciate all the input. Everyone has effectively covered every thought process I've had. haha.
I know I would regret getting rid of my car. It's too perfect for me. But logic dictates that with my lack of skills, it would be better for me to have a car that doesn't need the work.. but then I loose the experience.. it's been a long day..

 

if you love the buick and dad is willing to spend "X" amount of money on a "better" vehicle. then ask him to give you the "X" amount of money to make the buick right (chassis and powertrain fixed, plus body tools for you to learn to make her pretty on your own dime).

That way you both win- get with a more experience car builder that can guide you into fixing the mechanicals for safety and reliability (dad is now happy) then start on the cosmetics yourself....

 

I'd love it if it worked that way. Alas, my dad has given me 2 very firm options. Sell the Buick and get the Dodge, or Keep the Buick and buy my own car (new car) so he can sell his truck. He really hasn't wanted anything to do with my Buick from the get go. I think it doesn't help that he's a mopar guy.
I'd love it if he wanted to help me fix my car, but I just feel bad every step of the way cause it just seems like an annoyance to him whenever I need help, and he's been passively trying to get me to get rid of it since I got it.

 

Find a place to store the Buick. It's like money in the bank. You can come back to it many years down the line and be money ahead.

 

Your dad thinks like a dad, and he sees the fact that you were left out of the cool, when life hit a fork in the road for everyone. He also sees that you will probably spend way too much time, MONEY, and worries on some old Buick that you might never get to enjoy. A '51 ANYTHING with 50,000 miles on it, are you F'n fiddin me? Get the Dodge and run it. Start livin, sell the Buick and trick the Dodge out. Rock on with your bad self...


and maybe he don't like the boyfriend so much either?...

 

You answered your own question. I've said it before and I'll say it again. People will search high and low and spend hoards of money to get back their first rod. It don't matter how big a POS it was if there was a connection there.

My grandpa bought a '50 Super brand new and my brother ended up with it. There's nothing else like an old straight eight Buick.

The dodge may be gorgeous but if it doesn't tickle your special spot, I'd say forget it. Might as well get a cheap late model beater and save up to fix your Buick.

 

I get it.. But I'm only about $1500 into it so far, including what I paid for it, and it was my daily driver for 3 months before my starter went out about a month ago. I finally got that worked out, now I have wiring problems, but my step dad is an electrician and knows a thing or two about what to do and gave me about $100 worth of wires and connectors and shit, and my boyfriend knows my car better than anyone, so between the 3 of us, we'll get that fixed, then I'll be a step ahead of where I was before my starter went out.. So it's not like I haven't been able to enjoy my car. I've enjoyed the hell out of it. I drove it to Billetproof and back (about 140 miles). Granted we barely made it back cause one of my spark plugs stopped working and my points were fried beyond belief, but by some miracle that car carried me home 50 miles, limping like a dog with 3 legs. Yeah, it's been a little spooky at times, and there's a lot wrong with it, but I can't fault it.. I love it's flaws, it's never broken down on me more than a mile from home and it hasn't let me down. Hell, we don't even know why that car runs, according to my boyfriend, it just decided it wanted to run and have all the lights work one day, and it's been going ever since. Why? I don't know, I swear that car has a mind of it's own sometimes, and after the thing with Billetproof, I feel a kind of loyalty to it.. Like it gave everything it had to protect me, so I should protect it. Maybe I"m just the crazy lady that talks to her cat... except it's a car..

But back on topic, I'm going to look at the dodge tomorrow.. just to see what happens..

 

Like I said, he won't let me have it PERIOD if I get the Dodge. I already figured this out cause I have a friend that would hold on to it and take care of it for me until which time I have the means to take it back(ex: my own garage), however long that may be. But that idea has already been shot down.

 

Only you know what you like and if you dont like the dodge dont do it, you will never truly be happy with it, I sold a 49 ford cause my ex did not like it and I regret it every time I see a clean shoe box ford, then again its only a car and you can find another buick the same style, like I said only you know what you want!

 

I do like the dodge a lot. It has the kind of bubbly body style that made me fall in love with the Buick in the first place.
And I know there will be more Buicks.. And I love Buicks in general.. But I love MY Buick. It has it's own personality that I couldn't just replace with another Buick.

In my heart I'm wholly attatched to my car, but logically I know this is what I should do.. And I think why my dad is so firm on it is because it's a mopar and he knows about Mopars, but he doesn't know about Buicks.. And he wants me to be safe, but he can't make me be safe in that car, and it lacks a lot in the safety dept. to begin with (starting with my lack of fire extinguisher which I, thankfully, haven't had a need for yet).
And he does like my boyfriend, but I know he's been annoyed at the fact that he knows more about my car than himself, and that he has the knowledge and skill to make the car safe, but not much has been done beyond the floors. But, like I said, I don't feel it's fair, the car should be my own burden, and I've tried to keep it that way.. key word, tried. =/

 

So you depended on this sled for your Daily driver, and it let you down. And on the other times it let you down, you defend it by saying it never left you walking further than a mile from home. As a dad, I would have scrapped any car that left my daughter walking. Your safety means more to me than your emotional attachment to something that has let you down.( onmore than one occaision) It's cut and dried really. Perhaps your boyfriend is a reflection of the Buick in many ways, why would he sell you something he has no faith in himself, and be content to see you deal with the problems he has shed on you? Perhaps, this thread is more about you, than your dad, or your boyfriend, or some clapped out Buick?...

no offense...

 

Warning, this is advice from a dude that hates to get rid of cars and has a daughter and learned everything he knows from his dad who gave him VERY similar advice.

Your dad is obviously super cool and willing to support you. I would graciously accept his offer, which will likely come with lots of follow on help, support and possibly some financial assistance.

I see your choices as

1) Fight your way through a rough Buick which will (no offense) likely end up being a major money pit that will likely never be finished because you do not yet have the skills to complete it.

2) Get into a somewhat less desirable ride that not only needs less work, but one that your dad will be willing to work on with you.

Option 2 will allow you to learn the skills you will need to build any car (on your own). It will allow you to spend some time with your dad and likely make him the happiest dad in the world. 30 years from now when you turn a wrench your gonna remember that your dad taught you all kinds of stuff when he was helping you build a Dodge. Thats WAY more valuable than A Buick.

 

I defend it because it's running on a miracle to begin with, it's only really broken down twice, but once was my fault cause I left the ignition on and fried my coil, but it was in the parking lot of my boyfriends work, so we just ran up to schucks and got a new one, and I was off to Billetproof the next morning. One time my fuel line fell off because I went over some train tracks too fast, but I was only a few miles from my boyfriends house and he came and brought me some gas and on I went. One time I forgot that my rear tire needed air and blew out my side wall at 45mph and destroyed my rim about a mile from my house. Had AAA drag it home. Then this time it was just sitting in my driveway and wouldn't start one morning. And the one time something went wrong with it when I was far away from home, it kept pushin' till we got home. And the last push home was half mile up a steep hill. I've had a car that I can drive just in case this whole time. It only made me walk home the once when I blew out the tire.
But I get where you're coming from. Again, that's in my logical mind... my logical mind and my heart are two way different things though

 

I know it would make my dad happy. He wouldn't tell me that cause he knows I love my car and he doesn't want to guilt me into it. But for that reason I feel like the decision is somewhat made.. I want to be able to make my dad happy, but I know he hates my car.. It's just that I've put so much of myself into that car.. My best friend told me that if my soul could take a physical form it would look like that car. I'm a very outwardly expressive person, and my car is just... a part of me.. I've made it completely my own. And I had these big dreams of having my very first car (oh yeah, it's my first car, ever) into my olg age, just like my grandpa, and over the years i would make it a nice car, and then i would pass it on down the family...
=/

 

Dude, unass Betty Buick, get the Dodge, and let your dad and your boyfriend cherry it out for ya. It's a win win, and in retrospect, maybe someone with the time, money, and patience, will get the Buick and do the same. It's kinda like stray cats, you just can't save 'em all, pick the one that will stand by you in the end. As I see it, the Buick is what separates your dad and your boyfriend from you. The Dodge will bring everything together, and you make new memories every day. That's why life is worth living...

 

hey hey hey , get the dad buy , take some stuff from the buick , sell rest to hambers on the cheapo and you have a sweet ride . 4 door or 2 door is the question . jake from boston