The only car I really regret selling was my '91 318is. Perfect, tossable little street cruiser.
Other than that, life's too short to have the same car forever. I do plan on keeping the new BRZ for quite a while. At the current rate by the time it's paid off it will have less than 15k miles on it.
In reply to wspohn :
I do this with the Datsun; I'm on year 38 and the sentimental value is very high.
I keep thinking I could sell the Datsun, the camper van, the F500 and then roll that money into something like a Westfield 11 replica.
Then I drive the Datsun and enjoy it immensely.
A buddy has a thing for motorcycles–like, a garage full of them.
A while back, he was showing me his latest one.
“So, you’re going to sell one?” I naively asked.
“On, no,” he replied while waving his arm over the other bikes in the garage, “this is always a one-way trip.”
Everyone told me that I would regret selling the MGB GT that I had owned for over 40 years.
Freed me up to spend time and money on other experiences both automotive and other. Also shifted the social circle since I spent less time with the Brit crowd.
Turns out it was more like a good divorce.
I think it comes down to, do you love to drive the MR2? Regardless of how well it handles or how fast it is? I've experienced selling the "forever" car and seemingly have another one now.
Back when I only drove original body Z-Cars (S30? A dozen years of ONLY Z-Cars), I wanted to make them faster, thought making one a convertible would be cool, maybe fender flares and wider tires, etc, but I simply loved driving them from stock to slightly modified.
Life popped up, haven't had one in 25 years. Drove one about the time I got the Miata, still loved it, but I was ready to enjoy a new experience at that point. Miata was (and is) super fun.
The other old car I have is my OldGray320i (used to be my forum name, and I'll maybe go back to it at some point...).
I've had it for 20 years, probably 15 of them in various states of non-running. I threaten to sell it due to frustration, logic, partial financial recoupment, and a plethora of other reasons, and then I drive it. Whether on a stock suspension with body roll so pronounced you'd find flecks of asphalt embedded in the door handles, or with the coilovers on it that make it crisp and flat handling, and whether it was a stock 100hp (hahahahaha... if it had 80 I'd be stunned) and heavy as a pig or the 130ish with a mild cam/Weber/exhaust and 200lb lighter, I just LOVE driving it.
Don't overthink it, don't worry if you sell it, don't worry if you get the S550 (or whatever else) and then sell that too, just drive what your soul (and wallet) let you enjoy the most.
It's all good.
I've owned multiple AE86s, and for a long time I figured I'd take one to the grave. I sold my forever car ('85 Toyota AE86 GT-S hatchback handbuilt by me with heavy mods) and since then I've had many wonderful new adventures with different bikes and cars, and some new friends. It freed me up to have new experiences, and after twenty years of ownership, it felt like a weight was lifted from me.
Was it easy? No! Do I miss the AE86? Certainly. Are there times I wish I had it back? Yeah, every now and again. Do I have any regrets? Nope! It turns out that over the course of time, the goalposts are going move. No person is static, and no vehicle exists in a historical vacuum. Time marches on...the key is enjoyment. Follow what brings you joy.
yupididit said:In reply to kb58 :
Damn, it was someone from GRM, I assumed it was you lol.
It was me. :)
We sold it and bought an EV!
I bought my dream car in 2013. I swore up and down it would be my forever car. I daily drove it. I spent plenty of time and money on upkeep and preventative maintenance and repairs. I enjoyed that car so much. Then I bought a new car that I weirdly like even more. I've even considered selling the forever car. Then the forever car went off to a shop for a repair I couldn't do at home. I was without it for 53 weeks! I didn't miss it. Now I'm back and forth about keeping it or selling. Anyone wanna buy an M3Ti?
I bought my own dream car in 2019 and it's exploded in value since then and i'm always temped to sell it, but it's like Bitcoin almost where who knows wtf it will be worth in a couple years.
I live when threads die, get bumped by POS canoes, then we idiots pick back up right where we left off :-)
buzzboy said:I bought my dream car in 2013. I swore up and down it would be my forever car. I daily drove it. I spent plenty of time and money on upkeep and preventative maintenance and repairs. I enjoyed that car so much. Then I bought a new car that I weirdly like even more. I've even considered selling the forever car. Then the forever car went off to a shop for a repair I couldn't do at home. I was without it for 53 weeks! I didn't miss it. Now I'm back and forth about keeping it or selling. Anyone wanna buy an M3Ti?
Holy cow! What repair took a professional shop 1 year to complete?
Went in for leaking coolant which was first diagnosed as a leaking headgasket. Turned out to be a cracked head as well. Then sourcing a replacement took a while. Then they reassembled it with the new head and something was still wrong. Turns out that head was bad after a lot of diagnostics. Then it took 3 months to find a new head and anothe month at a machine shop getting it tested. Then I left town for 4 months so they mothballed my car knowing I wasn't in town to get it. Then while reassembling the tech quit the shop halfway through reassembly.
In reply to buzzboy :
Damn, that's quite the ordeal.
I still have my "forever" car and welp, it sits a lot. Actually, I haven't really driven it more than around the neighborhood in about two years right now. In fact, in 20 years of ownership, I've put 30k miles on it. It got stored when I was finishing college and getting my career going. Caring for it wasn't compatible with apartment life so storage endured. I got it out and autocrossed it again for a few years. Then most recently I have young kids and car seats and mustang back seats aren't the most compatible, and my wife talked me into getting my dream racecar, so it was off the hook for racing.
Right now I'm slowly fixing the little things and making it suitable for weekend driver I can take the kids in status.
Seriously, writing it out makes almost no sense. I'm kinda hopeless. But; I don't know if I can stomach selling it and last time I went to my wife talked me out of it.
It really depends on you. Turning a street car into a race car. Don't do it to a nice car. Race cars are shells. interior stuff has to go away for fire and weight reasons.
The body will have big numbers on it and required stickers at a minimum.
Creature comforts like heater HVAC roll up windows? Good bye.
Wiring is typically completely replaced.
Finally rollcage and fire extinguisher plus Kill switch , removable steering wheel to allow you to crawl through the window and get into the racing seat.
Oh, if you track night or autocross you don't need all that stuff but you won't be as fast as those that do. Strip and prepare. .
I have owned 14 MR2s. It was the sports car that I always thought I would keep, if not the specific unit. I thought would always find another one, and obviously that strategy worked for me until it didn't.
Apexcarver said:I don't know if I can stomach selling it and last time I went to my wife talked me out of it.
My wife does the same with the Datsun. The F500 also makes me more forgiving of the 1200.............I don't care that it's not fast because I have the F500.
buzzboy said:I bought my dream car in 2013. I swore up and down it would be my forever car. I daily drove it. I spent plenty of time and money on upkeep and preventative maintenance and repairs. I enjoyed that car so much. Then I bought a new car that I weirdly like even more. I've even considered selling the forever car. Then the forever car went off to a shop for a repair I couldn't do at home. I was without it for 53 weeks! I didn't miss it. Now I'm back and forth about keeping it or selling. Anyone wanna buy an M3Ti?
That was sort of what happened to me with my Jetta TDI wagon. I bought the car new in 2003. The only new car I've bought. I put well over 300K miles on it in a little over 10 years of it being my primary daily driver. But age caught up with it and I took it off the road for some extensive maintenance. I bought a used minivan as a "temporary" replacement while I fixed it. Then it sat in the back of my garage for about 8 years. I wore out the first minivan and bought another one. It was then I realized the TDI no longer met my wants and needs in a car and passed it on to someone who wanted it (and I understand had it back together and driving within a few weeks).
Sure, I miss it sometimes and when I see one on the road I look on with great nostalgia. But I don't miss it enough to seek out another one since it would not get used any more than the others in my toy car collection. I certainly don't have time or space for it.
In reply to buzzboy :
DM me if you're serious and have a number in mind.
After 10 years of ownership, I'm selling my forever car ('04 Mazdaspeed Miata) for sure, now. I bought a'23 BRZ recently and it does everything I use the MSM for with less drama and more comfort. I loved the MSM, but I never put the top down anymore (skin cancer), and just ready to move on. Now I just have to decide how much of a return towards stock I should do before I put a for sale sign in it.
You ask a lot of questions in your post. Some thoughts:
Some cars you just want to keep for sentimental reasons. Doesn't mean it really fits a need. If you have the space and the money, might as well keep it to avoid regret down the road. Just make sure to drive it and maintain it; no point in keeping a car just to let it rot in a barn.
Modifying cars is a tricky thing. If you start modifying a "regular" car to get closer to the performance of a racier version of the same platform, you're almost always better off selling what you have and buying the better version. For example, 20 years ago I had an E30 318is that I was doing track stuff with. At the time, a used E30 M3 was about 2x the value of my car. I engine-swapped the car, did suspension work, upgraded brakes, and other stuff. Spent more than I would have if I had just sold my car and bought an M3 (they were $15k back then). I've heard the same story a million times with cars like the Integra Type R, Porsche GT3, and many others. Just buy the car you really want and be done with it.
You can modify a car to the point where it's no longer fun to actually use on the street. I finally did get an E30 M3, but the previous owner installed a Gruppe N suspension, pulled out the air-con system, and installed a full race exhaust system. It's great the one weekend a year I might put the car on track, but kind of annoying when I actually want to drive it to work or take my 8-year-old for ice cream. It's not modified enough to be a true track car (full interior; no cage, FIA seats, or harnesses/nets) but unnecessarily aggressive for street use. So what's the point really?
In reply to LanEvo :
Given the current value of stock E30 M3s, how much trouble would it be to return the car to original spec?
Ian F (Forum Supporter) said:In reply to LanEvo :
Given the current value of stock E30 M3s, how much trouble would it be to return the car to original spec?
The suspension can be brought back to stock pretty easily. Or I can swap in a street-oriented coilover suspension from K&W, which won't require cutting the strut towers. Same for the exhaust. The A/C delete is a much bigger headache.
In reply to LanEvo :
I know the feeling. The previous owner of my TR8 had strange delusions of it being a performance car and took the A/C components out. I'm still trying to determine what I need to do to get it all back in. I big reason I wanted a TR8 is because most had factory A/C, which should make the car more comfortable to drive during the Summer months here in the land of humidity.
Do race cars count? I was forced to sell my beloved Blackjack special due to economic problems.
As a 14 year old boy I came across that car a bike ride away from home. I stayed outside the door but watched like an Eagle for an opportunity to "help".
A dropped paper towel was quickly picked up and deposited in the trash can outside. Then packing the wheel bearings he reached behind himself to grab the tub of grease only to have hold it right in front of him. While the bearings were packed I was allowed limited access. While handing the grease , the other hand was picking up trash,
They lost! Once in, I stayed. After the car was done as race car I served in the Navy. Post Vietnam I came home as Vintage racing began. So from 1975-2011 I enjoyed racing it.
It's now sitting in the Packard museum
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