People always asking to buy my car.

If you count my labor hours, I am "underwater" with my 70 Road Runner. I built it exactly how I want it, so it wouldn't make sense for me to sell it unless the sale price was enough to pay a high end restored 70 Hemi Road Runner, PLUS have money left over to modify it to my liking. Not happening, so the easy answer is "not for sale"...

Question:" How much do you want for your car ? " Answer: " How much of a mortgage can you get approved for ? "

I don’t play with old steel for the investment purpose, I love the look, feel, and roar of that V8 ! The wind thru the 2 door hardtop windows and the fact I have to drive it and make it work not like my SRT that will do most of it for you ...

I went into mine thinking I was never going to get my money out of it. This is the only toy I've ever had that I didn't build or restore. At this point in my life it's about fun, not money. Time waits for no one and it doesn't matter what money I have or don't have in a few more years. It's a race to the end and I'm going to win, because I'll be the guy with the smile on my face when I take my last breath. An old friend sent me this many years ago and now that I'm getting older, I see more clearly what he meant
“Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming "Wow! What a Ride!”

Hey O that needs to be a banner somewhere on here ! That’s the truth!!!!!

Tell them it’s been hard to get the dead body smell out of but now you are getting use to it

I tell the truth "my daughter would kill me" and she would! I'm very blunt and don't even humor the conversation.. politely, that's usually all it takes. The majority of the time it's people that don't even have a clue what the car is worth in terrible condition let alone restored.

I've had a few memorable ones, one was a young man driving a beater Honda, he was yelling at me through his window at 70mph holding up what looked like an 1 1/2" thick wad of cash... Let's just say how he got the cash was suspicious. The other was a guy that spotted it at my home, after being told multiple times it wasn't for sale he started knit picking at little things like paint chips as if he was negotiating a price! He returned once again while I wasn't home, that time he met my dad, dad wasn't nearly as nice and kicked him off of the property.

Never had this problem, no one ever asked if it was for sale!

Haven't run into it before on a regular basis, probably because for the most part all my cars are goofy and nobody wants them. The exception so far, has been my clean 2001 Ram 2500 Cummins 6 speed - it draws a lot of attention, but usually I say "I'm not selling it". If they persist, I throw out a high number like $70k. People tell me I'm crazy, and I respond with "I have this truck the way I want it and you'd have to pay me enough to find another one, and put IT the way I want it - which is why I said it isn't for sale".

I'm sure I'll run into it more now that I own the Charger, but it's OK. I worked in Sales for nearly 2 decades, I know how to shut down a BS tire-kicker...

I politely just always tell them it's not for sale. I have had people offer me over 4 times what I have invested into my Charger, but I am not in this hobby for the money. I enjoy them too much, the bench racing they create, the friends you meet with them. Passing it to my kids and now my grand kids (2nd one on the way).

Not sure why that bothers some people.
I was asked several times if my project car was for sale over the years. It wasn’t.

plymouthman72 said:

I just started driving my 72 Road Runner and I get at least 1-3 people asking me if it's for sale every time I take it out. I want to be nice to people and I am flattered that they like it so much but it's getting to the point of making me uncomfortable when people approach me now. Most keep pushing after I say it's not for sale and when I give an unrealistic number, they will scoff and say really!?

How do you all deal with that and what are some of your responses to those people? Both nice and mean are welcome. I just need to get some automated responses to put people off minus the go old eff off one. haha

Click to expand...

I do exactly what you do.

Person: Nice car! Is it for sale/How much?

Me: Thanks, but, it’s not for sale.

Person: Enter some idiot response here .......

Me: Ok, ummm you right, everyone has there price, mine is, ummmm, let’s see, 50K.

Person: Enter typical scoff....

Me: Ok, your right, 65K

And the price just keeps going up and up....

I had more inquiries when my car looked like this:



Than when it looked like this:

The answer is, the emotional value to me is priceless.

QuickBpBp said:

Many years back. My friend had a 10 second 65 Malibu street car and we were racing it down in Philly... A guy came up and said he would like to buy it and saw it at the track a few times.. My friend gave him a crazy number and the guy said ok sounds good... Guy left, we didn't think nothing of it. About 45 minutes later the guy comes back with dirty bags of cash and says it's all there... When do you want to do the paperwork.. My friend was like well I just threw a number out I don't really want to sell it and didn't think you were serious etc... Guy got a little angry and was bitching about wasting his time and he don't like people who don't honor thier word etc... So he apologized multiple times and the guy left... Later on we found out some of the other cars he had running the streets in Phila. and he was a drug dealer hence the bags of literally dirty money.. So in this case it was best NOT to throw a number out cause you never know and unless your serious you may wished you simply said not for sale..

Click to expand...

Where were you racing at in Philly?

tenfive0 said:

Where were you racing at in Philly?

Click to expand...

All over down there where ever the crowds went and where ever the cops did not open the fire hydrants.. By the junk yards on Passyunk Ave and right in front of the Auto mall and remember a place that had a strip club with a big parking lot. My friend knew the area I rode along or I drove and he told me where to go.... I got lost down there a few times and not in some good neighborhoods scary at night in those areas..

hemi*guy said:

Never had this problem, no one ever asked if it was for sale!

Click to expand...

Hey, how much for your car, Looks sweet under the hood!!

Charger Dana said:

One way to get around this is to drive 4 doors and 67 Chargers

It’s nuts how much time, effort, money goes into a restoration, and I don’t blame “normal” people who truly have no idea. Just say “No.”

Mine is also a sentimental build and I came to the conclusion it won’t leave my living hands, most people respect that. It is partially a sign of respect in many cases too, so take it as a compliment.

I have to admit I don’t like it when a guy who doesn’t know a Charger from a Challenger throws out what he (always a he) thinks is a lot and acts like he’s doing YOU a favour. Mental middle fingers fly! But then they usually saunter down the road and try to impress someone else. Those guys rarely like getting their hands dirty.

And even aside the cash out of pocket, and the sweat equity we all put in, what is a 4 year time saver worth? Should be a crapload more than the receipts if you’re buying your way into the club.

On the other hand, how many stories do we read about one of us pursuing a car in a back alley/garage/field for decades and working over the owner until they’re so old they give in?

I like my brother’s response best, once when a guy in a then new Challenger ($50,000 ish in Canada) offered to swap him straight up for his Mopar:

“Don’t they still make make those?”

Click to expand...

I always tired to be respectful in 'pursuing' a car and never worked anyone over but was somewhat persistent. Generally, I ended up being friends with the owner of the car no matter if I got the car or not.

Kern Dog said:

I had more inquiries when my car looked like this:

View attachment 1071170

Than when it looked like this:

View attachment 1071171

Click to expand...

My 66 Belvedere got lots of thumbs up even back in the late 80's but no one really tried very hard to buy it since it kinda looked like a rat rod before rat rods became popular lol and I was good with that after being beat to death with my E body cars for so long.....and at least no one called it a Camaro!! Usually people asked what it was or what the make it was since I had pulled off all the lettering and I mean all of it. Funny thing is the majority never heard the name Belvedere

I don't buy or build for resale, I build for me & what I like
I don't really care what other like or have to say...
albeit;
I do keep up with values & watch a lot of car stuff
& auctions too

the locals here all like my car,
even the LEO's give me the thumbs up, all the kids dig it
we have a lot of them/both, live here where I do

Lately
I don't have too many 'is it for sale ?' inquiries
more 'how much does it cost to build a car ?'
or 'cost to restore a car like that ?'

mine are rarely OE type restorations anymore
I'm far more of a day 2 type guy, racecar or street/strip
pretty much always have been

I'm usually polite, especially with the younger or older crowds
younger guys (like teens) just really are curious usually
seems like there is less & less of them interested in older cars
old guys seems like they are reliving their youth, want to talk etc.
some have some great stories, some don't

In my experience around here anyway,
the people in their 30's are usually the type
that get all pushed out of shape when they find out it's not cheap
or inexpensive to buy or build these cars
they think it's just an old used car
I'm usually polite until I don't need to be polite anymore

my car has gone thru changes,
my build (68 RR) has changed a couple times,
I've put parts on & taken them off, as my taste changes
the color has changed too,
I drove it for 12 years with Ultra Flat Black (hot rod style black) paint
while I didn't want to spend the $$ to paint it, just yet

it was Buddies car & I was just the chauffer


I actually got far more inquiries about value when it was Ultra Flat Black
then after it was painted the LL1 Surf Turquoise Poly Metallic
albeit it's far from a show paint job, it's a 20ft-er garage paint job
I like having the Org. color on it again,
with my personal style & take on a 60's/70's, with modern stuff vibe



Now, I usually fill my fuel jugs up,
when I go down to fill the gernerator jugs
& I just fuel the car at home, in the driveway/garage
I mostly just drive it locally, not many big trips of late
(since my dad had his heart episodes etc., I stay pretty close to home)
I haven't been in a gas station for a couple of years with the car
that's usually where 'most the inquiry' about the car was
Or the local Safeway grocery store parking lot, was another place
I'd usually park out away from everyone in-front of another store
that wasn't that busy/crowded & walk to the store, I need to shop at...

I'm surprised how many people like my ol' beater
I think it's a 5 on the scale of 1-10, in appearance
it looks like a hotrod, sounds like a hotrod
& runs like a scalded ape, it's no showpiece at all, by any stretch
a driver, drag-car in search of a corner
but I like it
I'm not sure I could get my $$$ back out of it
done so many things twice now, it's a labor of love
or hate sometimes now
(hell I sold the stroker short block out of it twice, I have the OE block
in it now with all my bolt-ons, heads, roller cam, rockers & 6bbl etc.)

I don't attend shows usually, I'm really not into sitting & BS-ing
I like races & events where you do something with the car
not just sit
When at the track (not many open here right now)
some people actually come up & start a conversation
some give a compliment, some critique' it too

as long as they aren't being an NE/NYer-style asshole,
That nagging persisting with a line of questions or critiques
I don't care for...

I'm ok with answering questions even about value, costs etc.
Once in a blue moon I go to a local car & coffee
a town over Jamestown @ some burger joint
where a bunch of nice cars/owners hang out & bench race
every so often someone at one of them, will ask about price or cost
I think it's more of a conversation starter more than wanting to buy...

not much car stuff going on for about a year now...

to summ it up, I don't like being bugged,
by the obvious ******** or the fender tag/vin Knowitalls types
but don't mind some conversation either...

it's good to have people be interested
must have done something right

sorry for the short book

Fran Blacker said:

Been awhile since anyone asked to buy my car. Guy in 1988 offered $25k. Even RC ask if my car was for sale, never talked money cause not for sale. Time is getting close though.

Click to expand...

Say what??