Professor_Brap (Forum Supporter) said:
Mustang groups are the worst in general.
FTFY.
I am a serial Mustang owner. I have never bought a new one. The last 4 I bought, I was unfortunate to meet the PO of each car.
My 99 Cobra was the worst. I was hanging out with my car buddies at the weekly hang out spot when 2 young guys (late teens) walked up. One turned to the other and said "Isn't that your old car?!" The other kid confirmed that he used to own it. I found all kinds of sketchy stuff on that car after I bought it: non-stock rear bumper cover, gross Altezza tail light housings, non-factory exhaust tips, wires running into the ECU that were ziptied behind the glovebox, weird holes in the carpet behind the seats, etc.
It turns out that both kids were from well off families and their fathers had bought them the car (one sold it to the other) before I owned it. That's a polite way to say these kids were spoiled brats. Both kids wrecked it and the each father had it repaired under the table using used parts. All the blood drained from my face when they started telling their wreck stories. They had absolutely beat that car to death and the dealer I bought it from had covered it up.
Bought my 1995 GT from a buddy at work. That guy should of had his tools taken away from him and his fingers broken. Lots of botched mods and horrible craftsmanship (it pains me to use that word to describe his "work"). I spent way too much money fixing what he screwed up. It was nicely modded when I was done.
I bought my 1993 GT hatch from my old neighbor. He was a Mustang fan but not very mechanically inclined. He had his mechanic do all the work so the car was decent mechanically but he had a fetish for stick on badges. I did lots of work to it including swapping a T5 in (it was an AOD car), suspension, brakes and cooling upgrades. He would always talk about how much he missed the car so I promised him that if I ever sold it, he would get first shot at it. I ended up selling the car back for the exact price I bought it from him for. It sat at my house for 8 months until he saved up enough money to have it shipped to him (his wife was military and they moved to another duty station across the country). I never saw the car again or heard from him again once the car was loaded up on the truck.
To me, cars I have sold are like my exes; I don't want to see them again and I don't want to know that they are getting wrecked .
The last car I sold was my wife's DD Sienna. Sold to her best friend's son. He's doing the routine: live with parents, on and off working, on and off school. Not a real confident driver, and hardly goes anywhere. Wife sees the car almost daily, I do less frequently but regularly.
It'll probably be around forever.
I sold my XJ cherokee country when the exhaust hanger broke, and I realized that the Chicago winters by the original owner were going to be an issue eventually. It was beautiful if you didn't look too closely underneath. Sold it for a couple thousand more than the published values to someone that wanted it so bad (for her boyfriend), that she paid for it with a cash advance when the bank said the price was too high.
Saw him in it about a year later, ragged out and being driven like he stole it (and since he wasn't the one paying for it, probably that's an accurate guess).
Ex girlfriends? I'm about to turn 65. I'd rather remember them the way they looked when they were young.
stanger_mussle (Forum Supporter) said:
To me, cars I have sold are like my exes; I don't want to see them again and I don't want to know that they are getting wrecked .
That is exactly what I have told purchasers of my cars. Selling a car is like breaking up with a girlfriend; I don't want to hear from her, I don't want to know what she's up to.
I did hear back from the V8 Firefly purchasers, but after some interaction and (valid) question answering (they were good, there was nothing negative), I had to tell them that they car is theirs, I don't want it continuing to show up in my life.
Nope, but I don't follow much on social media other than a few surfing photogs, a few friends and E30s.
Whenver I see a black Saab 9-2x for sale I look to see if it was mine. There aren't many in FL so I actually expect to see it. I'd buy it back (cheap) in a heartbeat. I traded it in, so it could have wound up anywhere. I never removed the goo from the dealer's turnk badge. I also upgraded the rear sway bar and swapped the stereo for a 6-disc STI version w/an Aux in cord.
I did get a nice update from the guy I sold My EP3 to. The clutch was shot when i sold it but he was looking for a clean chasis to ship to Michigan for an engine swap. The guy completed the engine swap and sent me a picture of him and his son on some mountain curve. Cool stuff. This is before I sold it. I'm sure it's even 10x better now.
I heard from more than one subsequent buyer of my LS swapped '72 C10. Last I heard, it had the doors painted to match the rest of the truck, air bag suspension, and 20" wheels. Maybe not quite how I'd built it, but I was glad to see it hadn't been neglected.
About a year after my brother sold his V8 swapped Dakota convertible, the new owner sent him a picture of the truck now sporting a new (and much needed) paint job.
I like to know where my former cars end up, especially the ones that I particularly liked.
My first Miata went to a board member, then I think to another board member. I hope it was a good car for them, it was a cheap way for me to find out if I really wanted a Miata - I did, so I bought a nicer one.
My e30 also went to a board member, and last I heard it got turned into a Lemons car. Still waiting for pictures of that one!
I assume my FRS got totaled. Dude I sold it to was doing 90 in it in a residential area right after I dropped it off to him.
I had a Protege that was a total pile that I sold for $500 - like the brake lines blew out when I moved it into the driveway to wash it on the day the buyer was coming to get it (I fixed them for him). Pretty sure it ended up exported to somewhere in Africa, the guy that bought it was really excited about it.
I got an MGB GT parts car in trade for some work on a Midget a few years back. The body was good by Southwestern standards and concours-quality by Eastern standards. I took what I needed from the interior and a few other bits and sold the car to a LBC enthusiast. He sent me a picture a while later of it restored and driving.
That was a good day.