Idaho45guy
08-17-2020, 06:05 AM
I moved into my home 6 years ago and made friends with the next door neighbor. Great guy who works as an aviation mechanic and been through three wives in 40 years and now lives alone and is about to retire.
A few years ago, we were chatting about our hobbies and he mentioned that he had an old car in the tiny garage under his house that he was fixing up and was bored with it.
We went around back and opened the garage door to reveal a complete 1968 Mercury Cougar XR-7. He said he rebuilt the motor, repainted it, and just needed to finish putting some interior and trim pieces back on and asked if I wanted to buy it.
How much? $4500. I immediately said yes. No matter that I didn't have the money. It was an incredible deal and I would find the money. I went back home to call the bank, my dad, and any loan shark I could think of. I then paused and decided to see what it was actually worth. It was at least double.
I went back next door and told him what it was actually worth and that I couldn't afford it, didn't have a place to store it, and that I couldn't do it. He thanked me for my honesty and when I talked to him a month later, said he would need about ten grand for it.
Over the next few years, I would occasionally hear it start up and he would drive it around the block, then hide it away again.
I came home from work the other day to find it loaded on a flatbed trailer hooked up to a pickup with out of state plates.
I went over to take a picture of it and met his daughter, a 20-something gal that lived in Boise. Her dad had given her the Cougar to do with as she pleased. She said she was going to drive it on the weekends and fix it up.
I was sad to see it go, knowing that it could have been mine, but happy that he kept it in the family.
Upon closer inspection out in the daylight, it still need another few grand worth of work. But still, a cool old car.
266331
A few years ago, we were chatting about our hobbies and he mentioned that he had an old car in the tiny garage under his house that he was fixing up and was bored with it.
We went around back and opened the garage door to reveal a complete 1968 Mercury Cougar XR-7. He said he rebuilt the motor, repainted it, and just needed to finish putting some interior and trim pieces back on and asked if I wanted to buy it.
How much? $4500. I immediately said yes. No matter that I didn't have the money. It was an incredible deal and I would find the money. I went back home to call the bank, my dad, and any loan shark I could think of. I then paused and decided to see what it was actually worth. It was at least double.
I went back next door and told him what it was actually worth and that I couldn't afford it, didn't have a place to store it, and that I couldn't do it. He thanked me for my honesty and when I talked to him a month later, said he would need about ten grand for it.
Over the next few years, I would occasionally hear it start up and he would drive it around the block, then hide it away again.
I came home from work the other day to find it loaded on a flatbed trailer hooked up to a pickup with out of state plates.
I went over to take a picture of it and met his daughter, a 20-something gal that lived in Boise. Her dad had given her the Cougar to do with as she pleased. She said she was going to drive it on the weekends and fix it up.
I was sad to see it go, knowing that it could have been mine, but happy that he kept it in the family.
Upon closer inspection out in the daylight, it still need another few grand worth of work. But still, a cool old car.
266331