Car Sale Moral Dilemma (opinions needed)

[Tim Chavez]

Hey Gents,
i am having a bit of a moral dilemma. as some may have seen. i have recently been given a 1977 Corvette from my soon to be father in law. it is in immaculate shape and a true survivor. in an attempt to gain more information about the car, i contacted the selling dealer for more information, they unfortunately had nothing since they only keep records for 7 years. however, the sales manager was a personal friend to the original owner whom passed away in march. he got me in contact with the original owners sons. whom have now contacted me interested in obtaining the car once again. here is my dilemma. the car is a survivor and sits at 17,471 miles. i have been contacted by two collectors so far who are willing to pay full asking price for the car. (18,000) where the original owners sons are not able to spend that much.. what would you guys do in this situation? i have no true attachment to the car. my father in law has given us his blessing to sell the car(he didnt really enjoy owning it, was always too worried about it getting messed up) so no worries there. i would love to get the car reunited with the original owners but would also greatly appreciate the money from the full price sale.
thanks for your opinions.

 

[67440chrg]

That is a hard decision. I guess they cant get a loan for it. I think I would have to sell it to a collector. You never know the family may flip it in a year or two for financial reasons.

 

[69 GTX]

It would depend on how close they were to the 18K. I think if it were me, I'd sell it to the sons if they could come close to the selling price. Maybe make a contract stating if they sell it, it goes back to you for the same price. That may be a indicator if they really want it to keep, or are looking to flip it. I know if I came across one of my old cars, or one of Dads, I'd like to think I would get first chance at it. Also it was given to you right, so it's not like you're losing money on it. Just my 2 cents.

 

[steve from staten island]

Your future father in law is a very generous man. A suggestion is you do the right thing by his daughter
As far as selling the car, another suggestion is you sell the car for market value and offer your father in law the money. Thats the right thing
Or better yet use the money for the wedding

 

[GetX'd]

How much can the family come up with? If it’s within 10-15% of the other offers I’d sell it to them. If it’s less than that I’d probably sell it to the collectors. There’s a lot at play here. How well off is the family - you really don’t know but must have a bit of an idea. They may just be trying to lowball you on sentiment. Maybe they’re genuinely not in a position to pay that much. You’re going to have to go with your gut on this one..

 

[moparedtn]

Did the FIL give it to you with the intent to sell from the get-go or was he under the impression that you, as a "car guy", would love to have it and keep it?
Big huge part of the decision right there, least to me.

 

[Tim Chavez]

The gift was intended for a quick sale( though I have always expressed interest in the car ) it is his way of helping pay for our upcoming wedding and he wants any money made on it to help us out. I’ve spoken with him many times to make sure this wouldn’t be something he regrets later.. he has had the car stored in his garage Since November on 2000 when he lost interest and picked up motorcycling.

 

[Aarons Air]

It can't have much sentimental value to the family, or they would have kept it.

 

[PurpleBeeper]

Geez....tough. If the original owner's son can get "close".....maybe $15k, sell it to him, otherwise, the collectors (sorry). I like the idea of paying for the wedding with the money.

 

[SteveSS]

$18,000 Is a very big price for a '77 Corvette. That is just about when they hit their nadir. I gave my daughter a crappy Camaro with the idea if they needed the money they could sell it.

If it was me I'd say sell it and put the money in a mutual fund and save it for a rainy day. Not just to have a party with.

 

[Tim Chavez]

It can't have much sentimental value to the family, or they would have kept it.

The dad sold it in 88. His son was in the army at the time. The father recently passed away in March. The car was a custom order as a gift for the guys wife and has their name on a factory engraved plaque on my the center consol

 

[FlagCraig]

The dad sold it in 88. His son was in the army at the time. The father recently passed away in March. The car was a custom order as a gift for the guys wife and has their name on a factory engraved plaque on my the center consol

View attachment 635108

I think that's a game changer right there.

 

[moparcrazy]

How much can the guy pay, maybe he can make payments for the balance ? hold the car until he pays you, also state that if he sells the car within 5 years after paying for it (unless hardship) you guys split profits ?

 

[steve from staten island]

You dont know these people who are the original owners from Adam
You dont know there intentions. Frankly id say they have a lot of balls if they want you to sell them the car for less then what its worth, if in fact thats the case.
How much are they willing to give you for the car is the big question considering you've been offered 18 grand?

 

[tlt23]

I have a very similar situation. I am at the point it is a material object that doesn't have meaning to you, if the sons have the sentimental value, sell it to them. Money you can always get back. If it is classified as a collection piece you can write that loss on taxes too, but there are rules that you would have to look up on that. People do it all the time with cars, they are considered to be similar to art collectors.

 

[Tim Chavez]

You dont know these people who are the original owners from Adam
You dont know there intentions. Frankly id say they have a lot of balls if they want you to sell them the car for less then what its worth, if in fact thats the case.
How much are they willing to give you for the car is the big question considering you've been offered 18 grand?

That’s what I’m waiting to hear. I spoke with him on the phone earlier today and when I said $18k I got the “whoa, damnit, chuckle,” from the other end of the phone line. He never gave an amount but asked for detailed pics and videos of it driving. I can tell he is going to try to get me to drop the price just from his reactions. I may be wrong and he may be able to come up with 18k. Nada says the thing should be worth around 20 based on options and extremely low mileage. So I priced at 18 just to get it moved

 

[MarPar]

 

[Tim Chavez]

That’s what NADA says

 

[Aarons Air]

The dad sold it in 88. His son was in the army at the time. The father recently passed away in March. The car was a custom order as a gift for the guys wife and has their name on a factory engraved plaque on my the center consol

View attachment 635108

The car was a gift from his wife, & he sold it ? I say- you have no moral obligation to anyone.

 

[Sahara]

If he’s genuinely into it for sentimental value he wouldn’t be asking for pix and video; it could be scrap and he’d still want it, even if it needs fixing and restoring. The fact that he’s concerned about condition indicates that he would intend to sell it at some point without losing money. Sentimentality isn’t about protecting your investment.