I ran across the article below earlier, and have to totally agree with the conversation. If someone asked me if I were going to sell my own ’67, I would probably answer the same way.
“Nice car! Is it for sale?”
Well, sure it is for sale, everything has it’s price.
“How much are you asking?”
Well, it’ll cost you $15,312 in cash, plus you’ll need to give me 8 years of your spare time, roughly 6 hours per week, I’d say. After that there is another 2 hours per week of time in front of the computer, surfing vendor sites and asking questions on newsgroups. Then I’ll need another $233.17 for long distance phone charges to parts suppliers and private sellers, gas to and from VW shows, parts I broke and wrong parts that I ordered (but you can have those, I saved them). You will also need to fix the broken window in the garage and assorted other damage from flying tools. You will have to get the acetone burns off the kitchen table and those grease stains off the new family room carpet (near the fireplace).
Then you will need to somehow get my kids to unlearn six or seven swear words that they are starting to repeat when they think I’m not around, and then you will need to pay my wife. You will owe her about 77 nights renting a movie and sitting on the couch (watching but not listening to the movie, gossiping about friends instead), 14 ‘quiet’ dinners after the kids are in bed and some kind of compensation to her for the time we drove halfway across Maryland on the way back from my parents after Christmas to find that guy selling the set of barely-worn, wide whitewall Firestone 5.60x15s (the time the kids were screaming after being in the car for 12 hours and I refused to go straight home; ask her, she’ll remember). You will need to paint the house and take my kids to the McDonalds Playplace about 23 times. You need to shoot hoops with my son for about 7 hours total and go look at least 44 drawings that my daughter made.
You will also have to call at least a dozen friends of ours and re-arrange the dinners and cookouts we missed (I think one event was actually a wedding, you may need a suit). And you will have to go to my in-laws on 38 Sunday afternoons for dinner (food is actually pretty good though). You probably should also apologize to my neighbors for the times I was running the compressor well past midnight.
You will have to replace roughly 8 square inches of skin and sub-dermal tissue on my body, mostly from my hands, but one big chunk right above my eye. At least one skin graft for a severe post-welding burn will be needed. You need to re-pay 3 of my friends somehow for favors involving sweating and swearing, and loan them at least 6 of your tools, 2 of them you may never see again. I’ll need 19 T-shirts, 2 pairs of jeans, 5 pairs of shorts and one nice collared polo shirt (shouldn’t have been working in that one anyway).
You’ll need to come by and disassemble the ‘cold storage’ bay that I made for the car across the back of the garage, and take down the rack above the garage door that is used to store the ‘show’ wheels off season. You’ll have to explain to my kids that they can now ride their bikes in the garage again and the garage doors can be opened when daddy’s car is out of the storage space and their friend’s are over.
Still interested? Let me know. If you are, I’ll stop on the way home and buy the paint for the house.
What would you say?
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Great response. Anyone who has ever built their own VW dream can relate to this. I had one stolen after spending a whole summer in the garage building it instead of at the beach like most of my friends. If I would have found who stole that car and my summer from me, I may have ended up in prison!
Humor aside, missed discounts for the pleasure of seeing your masterpiece ready !!
I pay less than the initial price.
Baby (Jay’s 67 Beetle) was called ‘the mistress’ for a time. Now, in all her radiant glory, she has a special place in both our hearts.
Oh my…
“mistress” that is awesome! “metal mistress” Funny.
Yes…Neva, my wife, is correct–she called the car “Jay’s Mistress). I told Neva that if I didn’t get the project completed, I might never live to drive her. So, I worked every spare minute fitting, pushing, pulling, talking to mechanics, friends and anyone else who could help. I experienced that great feeling once more–I have done this several times over the years–as I stood back and viewed my handiwork! If someone wanted to buy the car–I would say as I always do: “NO!” This is my last build. It isn’t going anywhere. I love the article, Eric! What if someone DID give me money for the car–then what would I do? It would be a vacuum. You see, I am secretly wedded to this little “beastie”! jay
Iron mistress ?
Hey now that’s catchy. And I think all my toys have bin given that handle a few times. And some I can’t repeat ….!!!! But over my shoulder my wife is laughing hard. She knows. But it sure beats T.V, and video games.
Great article indeed. One ill have to save.
Thanks
My neigbor, who has a cherry ’64 comet, asked me what I’d take for my ’67 beetle a couple months ago (I’ve put $3500 and about 40 hours into it so far). I said “six grand cash and she’s yours.” He has yet to show up with the money…
Is it for sale? Yeah, I guess so. Marry one of my daughters and slip me 30K in cash.
HA! Old school. Better deal than getting a daughter and a goat.
I knew Mike would chime in, sooner or later.
Wow. Great post. I have just retired and found a 67 barn find not running but intact. I had a 67 in 1980 and sold it for $500 in good condition and always wish I still had it. My wife is reluctant but i promise I will keep it out of sight. As an idiot, perhaps the parts may be worth the $1,000 asking price. Just waiting for my friends trailer to go look at it. God help me
Keep us posted!
Hello, Verne…Retired–so you have the time, it would appear. Do you have the space? Do you have the money? Those are the two missing (in your comment) parts to the 3-part equation for doing a rebuild of one of these cars.
If you obtain the car and if you make it look at least decent and if it is a good running vehicle–your wife is going to ask to ride in it–not ask you to hide it! So…on with the quest to obtain the car! Join the ’67 Community–we ride together! jay
The check’s in the mail, as for the rest I’ll need a little time.