could use some advice...

[quantumleap]

so today i got an offer of $7500 for my 67 shortbed.

its a really good offer and i could use the money elsewhere but at the same time its my first classic and its been my baby for 5 years..

whats a guy to do?

[Ranchero50]

Only you know how much you value your truck...

I've really been wanting to buy a new 2013 mustang and have been looking at getting rid of a lot of projects / extra stuff to make a decent down payment and also pay off some other debt.

[quantumleap]

yea i guess.. but this is where im trying to discern from actual value and sentimental value you know. i dont know this truck has just grown on me

[tmcalavy]

Sleep on it and then decide. The truck that taught me how to drive was a 69 F100 SWB...nothing special, just a truck that Dad sold me when I started driving. Drove it everywhere and traded it away about 10 years later...always regretted that. I've had four other ford pickups since then, including 2 other 69's...one of which I'm driving right now. If it's really your baby you're not ready to let it go yet. If you have to let it go so you can use the $$$ on something really pressing...like family needs, etc....then let it go 'cause another one like it will find it's way to you sooner or later. That's what happened to me with both of the later 69's I have owned. Something else is these trucks fit like a glove, even after years away from them...you never forget the maintenance/repair stuff they teach you and when you get another one years later it all comes back to you. Trouble is they are getting rarer and rarer every year. I know this doesn't make your decision any easier...just my 2 cents.

[quantumleap]

i hear that. i would have to get a replacement car in the meantime and wouldnt mind stayin true to older fords. i can pick up a 64 falcon pretty cheap and would kinda keep my spirits up while getting over the loss.

[1971ford]

$7,500 is a lot of money for a bump. If you ever plan on selling it then the time would be now. But if you really like the truck and don't plan on selling it then pass on the offer.

That's an interesting situation to think about though. If someone offered me $15,000 for my Cummins highboy i've sworn I'll never sell, i would have to think real hard!

[quantumleap]

he said make an unreasonable number so i threw that out and he took it. i told him i had to think about it....i know i could buy 3 more for that price but its not about that. i dont wanna feel like this

[Ripsnorter]

Fairly simple, just let the math work.

If the truck isn't worth $7500 but you have the offer, that's +1

If (and I stress IF) you can buy another truck (easy enough) and build it into the exact same truck that you love or better for well under $7500, while still paying yourself for your time, (your time has to be worth something right?) that's +1

If the sentimental value is worth more than those 2, then keep it. If it's not, then sell it.

Personally, if it were my first truck and had some familial sentimental value like my father giving it to me, I'd keep it. If it were just a truck I liked a lot, but could build a better one for less, I'd sell it.

The big thing to remember here is the value of your time. Sure you could buy another truck for $1500 to $3000. But how long would it take you to find one? I mean to go and look at them, spend the gas money driving to each one and sorting out the duds. Now that you have it home, how much time and money is it going to cost you to get it the way you want it? If your job pays you $20 an hour, then you have to figure the 50 hours or whatever at $1,000 or whatever it comes out to be. You could easily turn that $3,000 truck into a 4 to 5K truck just in time and gas.

Gas and time aren't free.

[averagef250]

$7500 doesn't buy much these days.

[quantumleap]

i was thinkin it might get me into an older f100 ..mid 50's daily driver at least. i dont know but i got a few days to pan some issues out. thanks guys for the input

[Ranchero50]

The real curse / blessing is you are in California where decent trucks are pretty common. Here, they are hard to find in decent enough shape to be worth fixing up.

For that money if I didn't have a lot of 'me' tied up in it I'd be rid of it and find another. The bad thing is I put a lot of 'me' into everything I work on. That's the biggest reason I could get rid of my '64 fairlane. I've had it for three years now and haven't done anything except move it around some.

[sargentrs]

It's pretty much a given that you never get back what you put into a build. That is, of course, unless you're one of those people who can put $60K into a car and sell it for $250K. But I don't think that's people like us. I'll have around $7000 in my truck, spaced out over about 5 years, but HUNDREDS of hours and scads of blood, sweat and tears. Best case, in my area, I'd get $8000 for it and that's being optimistic. For me, it's about the experience of the project. I doubt I'd sell my truck, mostly because I need a truck all the time and the past year has shown me how badly I miss it. I bought a small Toyota to drive while I'm working on the bump and it's been a hardship not having the bump. However, when she's done, I intend to start another project. If it's a truck, when done, I'd sell one or the other to fund another project. I'm hooked on this hobby and love the journey. I met a man at the local cruise in last weekend that is an inspiration to me. He was showing a '51 F1 that he had built. And I mean HE had built. He was in his early 70's and you could tell he loved building it. He said it was the 17th project he had built since he retired. He had 3 cars/trucks completed at home now and since he'd recently finished the F1, he was going to sell one and start another. He's an inspiration to me and I can see doing that myself.

[XABN82]

It's pretty much a given that you never get back what you put into a build. That is, of course, unless you're one of those people who can put $60K into a car and sell it for $250K. But I don't think that's people like us. I'll have around $7000 in my truck, spaced out over about 5 years, but HUNDREDS of hours and scads of blood, sweat and tears. Best case, in my area, I'd get $8000 for it and that's being optimistic. For me, it's about the experience of the project. I doubt I'd sell my truck, mostly because I need a truck all the time and the past year has shown me how badly I miss it. I bought a small Toyota to drive while I'm working on the bump and it's been a hardship not having the bump. However, when she's done, I intend to start another project. If it's a truck, when done, I'd sell one or the other to fund another project. I'm hooked on this hobby and love the journey. I met a man at the local cruise in last weekend that is an inspiration to me. He was showing a '51 F1 that he had built. And I mean HE had built. He was in his early 70's and you could tell he loved building it. He said it was the 17th project he had built since he retired. He had 3 cars/trucks completed at home now and since he'd recently finished the F1, he was going to sell one and start another. He's an inspiration to me and I can see doing that myself.

So true. I just sold a Factory Five Cobra replica. I was very lucky as I made a few thousand off it. Needed the money to finish up my house. I have my old 1971 bump that I can't wait to get stared on, will never seel it, but will look for something to build and sell after I finish my bump.

[rltvader]

Ill give you my opinion on my truck. Use it on your own if neccessary.
I love my truck, i have put alot, ALOT of money and time into it. We have a great relationship with each other, she looks good, and girls like the truck . Also it is the oldest vehicle in my family, and turns heads and i get compliments. I am extremely proud of it. Im 18 with a 40 year old truck. That being said I intend to keep it until the day I die. If someone came across me with 100K for it I would turn it down, i know i would regret it. Now, at the same time, many members on this forum, along with this thread have multiple bumps, so my opinion on a single truck might be a litle different.
And in reality, 7500 is a pretty good offer.

[Kurt Combs]

You just have to decide how important the truck is to you. I recently had my truck in the shop for over a week and I went through withdrawals. I love driving my truck and enjoy the feeling of satisfaction every upgrade or repair gives me. A newer vehicle, or a more economical one, is within my budget, but I love my bump. Think long and hard before you sell it, you don't want to regret seeing those taillights the last timing when it is driving away.