What it really means is Grandpa blew a boatload of money on a one-off car that has limited, if any, value in the modern marketplace, despite him constantly telling everyone how expensive a car it was, rare/unique, etc., etc., etc. so he could rationalize having it.
I can’t count the times I’ve heard stories like this from heirs. It’s usually when they’re trying to liquidate all of Grandpa’s or Dad’s stuff after they passed, and the heirs have no interest in the stuff whatsoever. I used to see a lot of R107s on the market around here some years back, which is where I had some of these experiences, as well as seeing and participating in them online, too.: Heirs: "Dad always said the car was worth something like $50-$60k.” (Reality being maybe $30k on a good day, for a point of reference.) Me: “Yes, but we don’t know what Dad was basing that amount on. The current market (showing comps) is $25k.” Heirs: “But he said it was worth that much! I‘m pretty sure that’s what he had it insured for, too.” Me: “Got a copy of the policy?” Heirs: “Uh, no, but that’s what he always said!” Lather, rinse, repeat. They go down this road with so many different people, ultimately getting to the point where they give in and it goes for a reasonable price, or they just park it in a garage somewhere. Occasionally there will be a rational family member who does some due diligence, but that’s the exception rather than the norm, or so it seems. Occasionally they get ugly, like you’re trying to rip them off (which is a reasonable concern for someone who doesn’t know the cars or market) and all you can do is walk away. When I’m working a deal like this, I try to make a big deal about how I care for my cars, and that they’re like members of the family, yadda, yadda, yadda. There is some truth to that, but my point is that in a lot of these cases, there’s emotion involved. Find a way to channel that and you improve your chance of success exponentially. That, and learning the provenance of these cars can be kind of cool at times. I think about the 1962 300SE I bought in San Francisco. I tracked down the owner’s daughter and had a good hour-long phone conversation with her about her Dad and the car. It was pretty cool. -D > On Dec 16, 2023, at 3:33 PM, Buggered Benzmail via Mercedes > <mercedes@okiebenz.com> wrote: > > But it’s only 1of 12! Very rare! For good reason… > > If I drove it i would need to buy a leisure suit and white belt and white > shoes and a plaid hat with narrow brim. And a Members Only jacket and large > sunglasses > > --FT > Sent from iFōn > >> On Dec 16, 2023, at 10:48 AM, dan penoff.com via Mercedes >> <mercedes@okiebenz.com> wrote: >> >> Dad always talked about how much the car is worth - this would be a major >> “tell” that it had little or no value... > > _______________________________________ > http://www.okiebenz.com > > To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ > > To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: > http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com > _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
