"Scimitar7" (Scimitar7)
05/29/2016 at 22:58 • Filed to: None
0
25|
"Scimitar7" (Scimitar7)
05/29/2016 at 22:58 • Filed to: None | 0
| 25 |
The “Bad News” part: My Nova (pictured below) which I’ve owned since my grandpa handed me the keys for my 15th birthday, is up for sale. Why I’m selling is a long story, but the short version is that it’s costing me too much money to sit in a garage an hour away from home; especially when I’m trying to buy a house. I’m also going to sell my ‘98 Legacy soon, but I don’t care about that car nearly as much as I do the Nova.
The “Good News” part: With both the Nova & Legacy gone, I’ll have somewhere in the neighborhood of seven to ten grand available to start on something new. *EDIT* To clarify - the 7-10k is what I’ll have left over after putting the rest of the money in “more need than want” type of things.
The “Help Me Decide!” part: If you ever visit the front page, you’ll know there was an eBay challenge about cars you loved as a kid for less than $15,000. !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! was the C5 Corvette, as it fit the criteria as (A) being a car I lusted for since I was 10, and (B) examples can be found for under 15 large. Just yesterday evening, I came across a couple who were selling their immaculate silver ‘97 (with 6-speed!!) for $11,000 (actual car not pictured).
On Craigslist, there are two C5's under ten grand (one has torn up seats and hideous rims, while the other is an automatic). Being fairly reliable as far as sports cars go, and having wanted one of these since I was a young’un, I’m sorely tempted to consider picking one up. There’s only one problem...
There’s this thing called “General Aviation”. Thanks to my grandpa who was a Navy A6 pilot (not the one who gave me the Nova), I grew up around airplanes; like, going to Smithsonian Air & Space museum every summer, hanging around talking with GA pilots as well as old Navy pilots, etc. Therefore, I’ve had a life-long fascination with things that fly. Surprisingly enough, there was a time in my life when I had zero interest in cars, and all I wanted to do was fly airplanes. Granted, I was like 6 at the time, but you get my point. An acquaintance of mine recently bought a !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! kit plane, and talking with him about the project has somewhat reawakened the part of me that always wanted to be a pilot. I’ve since been lurking around various GA forums and Google-searching the subject; then I set a goal to have my private pilot certificate in 5 years, and own a plane before I’m 40. I know it sounds like a lofty goal (sorry, bad pun), but I’m confident I can do it... Especially if I say “forget the Corvette”.
So the question becomes, do I pick up a used Corvette and fly down the highways? Or do I ditch my grounded aspirations and reach for the sky?
E92M3
> Scimitar7
05/29/2016 at 23:02 |
|
Well if you want make your house payments you’ll need to attend work. Unless your work has a runway, then this is pretty simple.
|
Scimitar7
> E92M3
05/29/2016 at 23:08 |
|
I like your logic! While I somewhat enjoy the career I’m currently in, now you’ve got me thinking “wouldn’t it be cool if my work had a runway?”
*Goes to Indeed.com*
|
E92M3
> Scimitar7
05/29/2016 at 23:17 |
|
I think I may have a solution to your problem...
TheRealBicycleBuck
> Scimitar7
05/29/2016 at 23:17 |
|
A car you can drive every day. Flying is usually a weekend activity unless you are getting paid to do it.
That being said, my son started ground school today. I have no idea how I'm going to pay for flight school. I'm thinking he will have to mow more lawns to pay for it himself.
Birddog
> Scimitar7
05/29/2016 at 23:25 |
|
When you hit 40 you’re going to regret selling the Nova. Find a work around. Once it’s gone it’s gone and you will need Papa John’s money to get it back. You will want it back.
GenuineAlexReid - The Reidus
> Scimitar7
05/29/2016 at 23:30 |
|
The Nova is a beautiful car, and a family heirloom, you would be crazy to sell it, but if you must, I’d love a link to the auction!
petebmwm
> Scimitar7
05/30/2016 at 07:35 |
|
7 to 10k for 2 cars sold? Keep the Nova.
wagon guy now drives a boostang
> Scimitar7
05/30/2016 at 07:56 |
|
I have another vote for “keep the Nova”.
I know from experience that you’ll regret selling that car later on, and you’ll likely never find it again.
|
Scimitar7
> Birddog
05/30/2016 at 07:56 |
|
I’ve heard a lot of people tell me that. While you and everyone else that’s said that may very well be right, I’m not so sure. The reason I say that is because I’m not in any way being forced to sell the car - I actually want to sell it. There’s a thousand reasons I have for that, but one of the biggest is that I don’t get the enjoyment from it that I used to. Will I regret every single one of those reasons someday? Possibly. I don’t know, my crystal ball hasn’t worked in years.
|
Scimitar7
> GenuineAlexReid - The Reidus
05/30/2016 at 08:07 |
|
The family heirloom aspect is one of the reasons I’ve held onto it for so long. Ironically, my grandpa (who’s still alive, btw, I didn’t clarify that above) is the one that planted the idea of selling the car in the first place. Most of my closest friends said I was insane when I told them about it, but after explaining my reasons, they all said “yeah, that makes sense. Shame I don’t have the money for it!”
Also, if you’re actually interested, shoot me your email address and I’ll give you the details. I haven’t put it online (other than some trusted forums I’m posting to tonight), as (A) I don’t want to deal with Craigslist morons (I’m not that desperate to sell) (B) I haven’t trusted eBay & their policies for awhile now, and (C) I don’t think anyone still uses sites like Autotrader, do they? Although, now that I think about it, I forgot about Bringatrailer...
|
Scimitar7
> petebmwm
05/30/2016 at 08:12 |
|
7-10k is what I should have left over after I put the rest of the money to use in other “more need than want” things. After I did the 5-speed conversion, I had it appraised; the guy said it was worth right at $20,ooo. Selling the car for that much will be a different story, but we’ll see how things turn out. But yeah, if I was only expecting 7-10 total for both cars, I wouldn’t even consider it.
|
petebmwm
> Scimitar7
05/30/2016 at 08:21 |
|
Ohhhhh, ok!
|
Scimitar7
> petebmwm
05/30/2016 at 08:38 |
|
Yeah, it was getting late when I typed the post. There were a few things I didn’t clarify
crowmolly
> Scimitar7
05/30/2016 at 09:49 |
|
What do you think you can sell the Nova for? The 5 speed conversion is a TKO, not a T5, correct?
|
Scimitar7
> crowmolly
05/30/2016 at 10:14 |
|
Oh, I wish it were a TKO! It’s a Camaro 5-speed, so is probably a T-5. It’s valued at $20,000, so I put it up for $17,000.
Sam
> Scimitar7
05/30/2016 at 10:14 |
|
Keep in mind that upkeep on a plane is probably 10x the upkeep of a Corvette. And that is if you only fly it a couple of weekends a month.
|
GenuineAlexReid - The Reidus
> Scimitar7
05/30/2016 at 12:39 |
|
Ah well if you have your good reasons and your grandpa is fine with it, then do what you want, but I think the Nova is a way cooler car than the Corvette, I read your previous post, and if you’re just going to trade up to another Chevy with a manual tranny, or a boring Miata, it seems kinda like a pointless endeavor when you have a beautiful classic, but I only drive old junk so maybe I’m crazy. I probably couldn’t afford it either my friend! I’m more of a “Roadkill” price range kinda guy.
cletus44 aka Clayton Seams
> Scimitar7
05/30/2016 at 12:51 |
|
You want to sell a Nova that your dear grandpa gave to you when you were a teen!!???? That is a 10/10 stupid-ass idea. And replacing it with a lame-o C5?? Stop sniffing glue and keep the Nova. Find a way to make it work.
|
Scimitar7
> GenuineAlexReid - The Reidus
05/30/2016 at 12:53 |
|
!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!
LOL! Have you seen my truck? That’s another reason for the sale - it was given to me in pristine condition, and over the past 14 years I’ve learned that I don’t have the skill or patience to maintain such a pretty car’s appearance. There’s also the fear of “what if I screw it up?” that I loathe. I have a tendency to have more fun in cars I care nothing about than in ones I’m worried I’m going to damage. This is why a“boring Miata” or a Corvette that’s seen better days appeals to me - they aren’t really unique, and few tears would be shed if I mess one up.
|
cletus44 aka Clayton Seams
> Scimitar7
05/30/2016 at 12:58 |
|
Or, learn to maintain a car. Ask grandpa to show you the ropes.
|
GenuineAlexReid - The Reidus
> Scimitar7
05/30/2016 at 13:04 |
|
The thing about an old car is, it has a personality, and a soul. It’s pretty hard to screw up a car that is dead simple to work on, instead of a car like a Corvette or a Miata that is just going to give you loads of computer problems, and end up costing more money than it’s worth. The Nova will always be worth something, especially to you, emotionally. Cars like that never die, if you damage it, you fix it. If the fix is bad, you learn better for the next time it gets damaged. Selling a car you care about, to buy a care you don’t care about because you might “mess it up”, is definitely crazy to me.
rockingthe2
> Scimitar7
05/30/2016 at 13:12 |
|
Oh god, where to start? Enjoying the Nova? Sure, let’s start there. Maybe, MAYBE you would enjoy it if you drove it more than a handful of times in ALMOST 4 YEARS! Or you could go the modernizing route and LS swap it for daily drivability, easy A/C, decent power... etc.
Financials, yeah those... Ok so maybe it’s the more “Adult” descision to sing “Let it go” and sell all the things to buy a house. But you’re asking the internet for advice, so I’m throwing that out the window. Keep the stinkin Nova. Sell the legacy, buy a beat work van with a 6.0, swap that into the Nova with a fun 5spd and bigger tires.
Screw vettes, and screw owning the superSTOL, just get some rental time in something fun for a start. A cheaper way in for sure. You could probably sell the guns, legacy, and other stuff you dont use often to get close to that number you need.
|
Scimitar7
> cletus44 aka Clayton Seams
05/30/2016 at 13:42 |
|
I might have been inclined to give you some background to help you understand why I made the decision, but something about your post... Something that I can’t quite put my finger on tells me that I’d be wasting my time trying to explain anything to you.
|
cletus44 aka Clayton Seams
> Scimitar7
05/30/2016 at 13:48 |
|
I agree, I was coarse in my response but I honestly feel like this is the first step to being one of those guys who regrets selling a car. Hell, maybe you’ll give it to your kids later. Also your Chevy work truck is rad.
theuserformerlyknownasaluminumfoil
> cletus44 aka Clayton Seams
05/30/2016 at 14:07 |
|
I did this very thing - sold a car to move into a place (basically cause I didn’t have parking). I have deeply regretted it since.