Sadness When Selling an Old Car

[2 Pulled Hammys]

I lurked around here for several months before buying my Ram. Watching and waiting for the right truck at the right price. Part of the plan for me to buy a new truck was to sell my old Jeep XJ and put that money towards my truck. When I bought the truck I activated the plan to sell my Jeep. It's a clean 1999 with extremely low miles and a 5 speed manual. A bit of a unicorn. I priced it pretty high figuring I'd get to fend off lowball offers for at least a few weeks, but literally the first person that looked at it offered to buy it for full asking price. I knew selling it wasn't going to be easy for me, but damn, I feel like I just had to put my dog down.

It certainly wasn't without it's flaws, and my Ram is a vastly superior vehicle in most ways, but I guess it's the 8 years of memories that have me feeling a little down. New memories will come with my truck and this will pass, but my XJ was a great vehicle for me and will be missed. When shopping for a Ram, a Flame Red, Night Edition was my first choice, and I'm glad that's what I ended up with, as it's a similar look and nice throwback/tribute to my old XJ. I had to get a few pictures of them together before parting ways.

Anyone else ever get bummed out selling a vehicle? If not, this was therapeutic for me anyway.

 

[TheMopars]

I know how you feel, I sold this one when I bought the Ram. I was worried I'd regret selling and getting the Ram but so far although I miss it a little no regrets, love my Laramie. Just had to learn to take off ramps slower and stop reaching for a shifter that isn't there lol.

 

[Richard320]

I understand how you feel. I sold a 1995 Cherokee to make room on the driveway for the Ram. 270,000 miles and a lot of trips, a lot of memories. I bought it new with 4 miles on it in October 1994, sold it in June 2019, so I owned it for close to 25 years. It wasn't like some cars that I was glad to be rid of. It was more like putting down the old dog. I used it as a daily driver but I just didn't have confidence in it for long trips anymore.

I lowballed it to move it fast and unloaded it in a day, because a clean cut heals faster.

 

[2 Pulled Hammys]

and stop reaching for a shifter that isn't there lol.

As someone who's daily driver has always been a manual transmission, the dial shifter for sure will take me some time to get used to. It's the sudden "oh bleep, I need to back up real quick" that usually gets me turning every other knob on the dash first. At least it's smart enough to put itself into park if I forget to do it.

 

[2 Pulled Hammys]

I understand how you feel. I sold a 1995 Cherokee to make room on the driveway for the Ram. 270,000 miles and a lot of trips, a lot of memories. I bought it new with 4 miles on it in October 1994, sold it in June 2019, so I owned it for close to 25 years. It wasn't like some cars that I was glad to be rid of. It was more like putting down the old dog. I used it as a daily driver but I just didn't have confidence in it for long trips anymore.

I lowballed it to move it fast and unloaded it in a day, because a clean cut heals faster.

25 years and 270K, I'd say you got your moneys worth out of it! Man those things will run forever if the body stays in good shape. Mine had just under 70K on the clock when I sold it. It was great for my hunting and fishing hobbies solo, but as my kids get older and want to tag along it just really lacked interior room for my family plus any gear.

 

[Billy James]

I had remorse when I sold my JKU after I got my RAM. It was a really nice Jeep, lifted, updated stereo, and in perfect condition. I got exactly what I has asking for it; so overall (with everything invested) it cost me less than $4000 for almost seven years of ownership (price from new plus extras to selling price). I really loved that Jeep and could have afforded to keep it; but I'm not one to keep extra cars around. The worst part is that I saw it a few months after I sold it and it looked like complete trash; I guess the new owner wasn't as proud of it as I was.

 

[RSConsulting]

Usually - by the time I'm ready to get rid of a car - I'm already "emotionally divorced" from it, either because it's become a "problem child" or I just talk myself out of being in love with it so I can part with it.

A couple hold a "special place" in my heart though.

My 1980 VW Poptop Camper for example. 150K miles of Grateful Dead tours all through the 80's. Saved me thousands on hotels. Fond memories of the parking lot camping scene at shows (roughly 240 +/-) all over the country. Lots of great "hippygirl sex", lots of "undercover miles" (no dead stickers on it - to keep the cops away: side story - NJ supreme court found that Grateful Dead stickers on a vehicle constituted "probable cause" for a stop and search, so having stickers on tour was a no-no. VA troopers did the same thing).

Yes - I did cry a little when I traded it in.

89 BMW 735i - got this around '92. Yeah - I know - VW to BMW (still german - actually, there was a Mitsubishi pickup between them). Another road warrior. Put close to 200K on that one. Became a "problem child" maintenance-wise. But did a lot of GD touring in style.

2007 Gulfstream Tourmaster Class A RV/Bus - bought when I started a business to take bands out on tour. 2008 was the WRONG TIME TO DO IT. 150K miles all over the US and Canada. Lots of great shows (I was the sound-guy too). Work dried up due to the housing/recession crisis - didn't make sense to keep it with no work for it. Wish I did - I'd probably be living in it full time now. MAINTENANCE NIGHTMARE - something always breaks in these things.

2009 Honda Element. Don't laugh - one of my FAVORITE CARS OF ALL TIMES. Practical as hell, spent big $$ on the audio system. Put 120K on it, was going to do a crate motor/trans to freshen it up. Would still have it today (even as a 2nd vehicle) if some granny didn't blow a stop sign in 2012 and totalled it. Honda (foolishly) stopped making them - and I stopped buying used cars, so. Loved this little crapbox - I did shed a tear when it had to be totalled - replaced with a '12 Honda Pilot (first of 2), that I unceremoniously traded for a '16 Pilot, that I unceremoniously traded for my 19 Ram Limited.

2012 Subaru BRZ - 2nd car - project toy - supercharger, headers, etc. - big fun, but it got to the point I was getting pulled over EVERY TIME I DROVE IT. It couldn't be driven slow - even if you tried. Ended up parking it for a year - and finally talked myself into getting rid of it. Sold it to Eric Mahle (of Mahle GMBH - german parts company) who took trophies in autocross with it. Not a "problem child", but one I had to "emotionally divorce myself from, in order to part with.

2019 Ram 1500 Limited. Really LOVE this truck. Haven't done any mods to speak of (tempted by NO NO NO). Luxurious ride for a pick-em-up truck. Practical for the dog. I don't use it as a "work truck" (like, nothing goes in the bed). Probably keep it for awhile (or longer than my usual 4 years & trade pattern), unless RAM comes out with a full-size SUV based on the 1500 chassis. Yeah - I know - Grand Wagoneer soon - but I can't see a Jeep (no offense to Jeep fans) being nearly as "luxurious" as this Limited.

Yeah - long winded. I'm in Facebook Jail for a week - no place to do my usual venting...

Rick

 

[WXman]

I lurked around here for several months before buying my Ram. Watching and waiting for the right truck at the right price. Part of the plan for me to buy a new truck was to sell my old Jeep XJ and put that money towards my truck. When I bought the truck I activated the plan to sell my Jeep. It's a clean 1999 with extremely low miles and a 5 speed manual. A bit of a unicorn. I priced it pretty high figuring I'd get to fend off lowball offers for at least a few weeks, but literally the first person that looked at it offered to buy it for full asking price. I knew selling it wasn't going to be easy for me, but damn, I feel like I just had to put my dog down.

It certainly wasn't without it's flaws, and my Ram is a vastly superior vehicle in most ways, but I guess it's the 8 years of memories that have me feeling a little down. New memories will come with my truck and this will pass, but my XJ was a great vehicle for me and will be missed. When shopping for a Ram, a Flame Red, Night Edition was my first choice, and I'm glad that's what I ended up with, as it's a similar look and nice throwback/tribute to my old XJ. I had to get a few pictures of them together before parting ways.

Anyone else ever get bummed out selling a vehicle? If not, this was therapeutic for me anyway.

1) Flame Red is an amazing color and you don't see it very often which is odd.

2) The XJ is going to be collectible one day, and the stick shift models like you said are RARE now and highly sought after. My son is 13 and is already talking about wanting to find one to build up. I'm sure it was hard for you to part with yours. It's an awesome Jeep.

3) The one that hit me hard was when I sold my 2003 Mustang Mach 1 last year. I had wanted THAT car in THAT color (Azure Blue) for years...finally got one and loved it. But then times got hard and I sold it. I still to this day wish I still had it.

 

[SpeedyV]

I lurked around here for several months before buying my Ram. Watching and waiting for the right truck at the right price. Part of the plan for me to buy a new truck was to sell my old Jeep XJ and put that money towards my truck. When I bought the truck I activated the plan to sell my Jeep. It's a clean 1999 with extremely low miles and a 5 speed manual. A bit of a unicorn. I priced it pretty high figuring I'd get to fend off lowball offers for at least a few weeks, but literally the first person that looked at it offered to buy it for full asking price. I knew selling it wasn't going to be easy for me, but damn, I feel like I just had to put my dog down.

It certainly wasn't without it's flaws, and my Ram is a vastly superior vehicle in most ways, but I guess it's the 8 years of memories that have me feeling a little down. New memories will come with my truck and this will pass, but my XJ was a great vehicle for me and will be missed. When shopping for a Ram, a Flame Red, Night Edition was my first choice, and I'm glad that's what I ended up with, as it's a similar look and nice throwback/tribute to my old XJ. I had to get a few pictures of them together before parting ways.

Anyone else ever get bummed out selling a vehicle? If not, this was therapeutic for me anyway.

I was a little sad when I sold my '87 Z28, but I was blinded by the '91 Vette I had picked up.

My wife and I had a really hard time letting go of my '05 MINI Cooper S. This was appeased by the new family's absolute adoration of the car. I checked in with them a couple of years later, and they had no plans to ever sell it!

Thinking back on it now, I should never have traded in my '01 Silverado 2500HD (with 8.1L/Allison combo). At the time, gas was $4/gallon and it didn't make sense, but it was such a good truck. I remember running back to the dealership that weekend to take a few final pictures of it in the back lot. There's a strong possibility that the truck was destroyed in the "Cash for Clunkers" program; I hate to even think about that.

My '03 Sierra 1500HD SLT Quadrasteer was probably my best vehicle ever. Quadrasteer was/is simply awesome. The 6.0L (tuned by Black Bear) with 4.10 gears and a custom-bent Magnaflow exhaust was...a lot of fun. I learned after purchase that it was one of the top 3 optioned trucks of that year. I held onto it longer than any other vehicle, and I'd probably still be driving it if it weren't for the new Ram. At that point, after 160K+ miles, the GMC was showing a few signs of age (e.g. leaks and a few creaks). It would have been easily repairable, but I was torn about potentially dropping $5-10K into it to "make it new again". I sold it in 2018 to a person who had owned one previously and appreciated the truck for what it was; he flew in from another state to get it, and I picked him up in the truck at the airport.

I don't believe I've built up that much attachment yet to my 2019 Longhorn. It's been a great truck thus far—easily one of the best vehicles we've ever owned—but it takes time to develop the deep "trust" that I've had with a couple of previous vehicles. God knows how far this one will get us down the road!

 

[Billy James]

Usually - by the time I'm ready to get rid of a car - I'm already "emotionally divorced" from it, either because it's become a "problem child" or I just talk myself out of being in love with it so I can part with it.

A couple hold a "special place" in my heart though.

My 1980 VW Poptop Camper for example. 150K miles of Grateful Dead tours all through the 80's. Saved me thousands on hotels. Fond memories of the parking lot camping scene at shows (roughly 240 +/-) all over the country. Lots of great "hippygirl sex", lots of "undercover miles" (no dead stickers on it - to keep the cops away: side story - NJ supreme court found that Grateful Dead stickers on a vehicle constituted "probable cause" for a stop and search, so having stickers on tour was a no-no. VA troopers did the same thing).

Yes - I did cry a little when I traded it in.

89 BMW 735i - got this around '92. Yeah - I know - VW to BMW (still german - actually, there was a Mitsubishi pickup between them). Another road warrior. Put close to 200K on that one. Became a "problem child" maintenance-wise. But did a lot of GD touring in style.

2007 Gulfstream Tourmaster Class A RV/Bus - bought when I started a business to take bands out on tour. 2008 was the WRONG TIME TO DO IT. 150K miles all over the US and Canada. Lots of great shows (I was the sound-guy too). Work dried up due to the housing/recession crisis - didn't make sense to keep it with no work for it. Wish I did - I'd probably be living in it full time now. MAINTENANCE NIGHTMARE - something always breaks in these things.

2009 Honda Element. Don't laugh - one of my FAVORITE CARS OF ALL TIMES. Practical as hell, spent big $$ on the audio system. Put 120K on it, was going to do a crate motor/trans to freshen it up. Would still have it today (even as a 2nd vehicle) if some granny didn't blow a stop sign in 2012 and totalled it. Honda (foolishly) stopped making them - and I stopped buying used cars, so. Loved this little crapbox - I did shed a tear when it had to be totalled - replaced with a '12 Honda Pilot (first of 2), that I unceremoniously traded for a '16 Pilot, that I unceremoniously traded for my 19 Ram Limited.

2012 Subaru BRZ - 2nd car - project toy - supercharger, headers, etc. - big fun, but it got to the point I was getting pulled over EVERY TIME I DROVE IT. It couldn't be driven slow - even if you tried. Ended up parking it for a year - and finally talked myself into getting rid of it. Sold it to Eric Mahle (of Mahle GMBH - german parts company) who took trophies in autocross with it. Not a "problem child", but one I had to "emotionally divorce myself from, in order to part with.

2019 Ram 1500 Limited. Really LOVE this truck. Haven't done any mods to speak of (tempted by NO NO NO). Luxurious ride for a pick-em-up truck. Practical for the dog. I don't use it as a "work truck" (like, nothing goes in the bed). Probably keep it for awhile (or longer than my usual 4 years & trade pattern), unless RAM comes out with a full-size SUV based on the 1500 chassis. Yeah - I know - Grand Wagoneer soon - but I can't see a Jeep (no offense to Jeep fans) being nearly as "luxurious" as this Limited.

Yeah - long winded. I'm in Facebook Jail for a week - no place to do my usual venting...

Rick

Those Honda Elements were pretty cool cars. By the time I realized how utilitarian they were and that I should get one, Honda stopped making them.

 

[doolin64]

I turn over vehicles way too often to become attached. There's certain things from all of them that I miss.

For example, my 2020 Jeep Gladiator...purchased in January and will be traded when my '21 Ram come in.

Longest vehicle I ever owned was my 2015 Ford F150 for 4 years and 11 months. But during that ownership, I bought a 2017 VW GTI which was then traded for an 2018 Audi A4. Currently still have that one.

As you can see I have attachment issues. I've been driving now for 26 years and I've had 20 vehicles. So I average a "different" vehicle every 1.3yrs.

 

[ClancyO]

I needed a ‘beater’ car for commuting to work when I took a job that had a 60 mile round trip commute. I looked for a ‘reasonable’ compact car, my primary requirement being that it had a clutch pedal! 100k mile Subaru’s and Focus’s we’re going for 12-14k at the time (6 years ago). I found a 05 BMW 330ci convertible with 97k for $9700. Convinced my wife it was a good deal. And it was. The E46 platform was the last of the good bmw’s imho. I learned to LOVE the sound of that big ole straight 6 winding out. Obviously not the same as a American v8, or an exotic v12, but better than most others. And it handled like nothing else. Rear drive, 6 spd, top down, it just talked to you about everything. And everything worked! - nav, heated seats, power everything...

So now we’re moving cross country, haven’t needed a commuter since COVID, didn’t even start it for 5-6 weeks and when I did I had a problem with the speed sensors somewhere (traction, abs & tpms lights lit). It had 176k on the clock, still mechanical sound, but the lights on the dash were gonna be a problem, or so I thought.

Posted it on e46fanatics.com for $3500 Friday afternoon around 5:00 pm and by Saturday 11:00 am a guys shows up with cash.. I let him have it at $3100. I wasn’t ready to let it go, but alas it was gone.

I’ve had several cars that really stuck with me and I was quite sad to let them go (every single one of my regrets had a clutch pedal!!!).

Several years ago my wife got jealous of my toys and wanted a classic toy. Started looking a Carmen Gaia’s, the Alfa graduate’s, and ultimately settled on a 96 NA Miata (39k miles - cherry!). All the itches the 330 scratched (except for blasting long trips!) the Miata does better. It’s not fast, but the handling and feel. OMG. We did not sell the Miata - it’s already been shipped out west. And I think I want another one, but just a solid chassis because the second one will get an LS transplant.

 

[Finn5033]

This is little different because they weren’t daily drivers but, I had a 1970 Viking Blue Cutlass Supreme convertible that I still regret selling. After that I bought a 2000 Trans am WS6 6-speed that I still regret selling as well.

 

[SpeedyV]

This is little different because they weren’t daily drivers but, I had a 1970 Viking Blue Cutlass Supreme convertible that I still regret selling. After that I bought a 2000 Trans am WS6 6-speed that I still regret selling as well.

My wife had an '01 SS with the SLP package. That thing was way underrated on power...I remember breaking the tires loose at 70 mph on the highway.

 

[thetalonguy]

I sold my beloved 07 Mazdaspeed 6 earlier this year, as the original owner. I drove that car all over the place and enjoyed every minute through hot summer days to wretched winter snow storms.

It never let me down or stranded me anywhere. All it took was normal maintenance wear, which I always repaired myself.

I sold it to make room for a Challenger (Scat or Hellcat), but haven’t made a move due to this $hit situation and work from home now. I miss it to death, especially since I’m a manual type drive, but honestly, my ‘20 1500 BH 5.7 ( over my previous 17 3.6 1500) has actually filled some of the void. I guess since I’m not driving as much now, I’m not as upset. Though, I’m blessed to have a Viper as my weekend car.

Not sure what I’m doing in the future, but will likely always have the Viper and a Ram.

 

[iLikeTurtles]

Got rid if my 17 Golf R stage 1 DSG. Had adaptive cruise, lane keep, heated seats, the works. Truly an amazing daily driver getting 26-28mpg. 0-60 in high 3s.

Growing family required a bigger vehicle. Would have loved to keep it as resale on them is amazing but just not the right time for it.

Miss the 86 notchback built NA 302ci.
Miss the built turbo 86 GT 306ci.
Miss the 02 Audi S6 4.2l v8 avant (1 of 1100 in the US over 02 and 03) with custom magnaflow exhaust and stalled converter.
Miss the 93 z71 5spd 350ci short box stepside sierra.
Miss the 6" lift 89 wrangler.

Had a lot of toys i miss...
However, I will give anything for my kid. And the second on the way.

 

[AmericanRebelution]

I definitely know where you are coming from! I sold a 2000 XJ - they are really tough to find in good shape. Mine had some issues, but it would be very difficult to replace if I every wanted to find another one. I miss my 1997 TJ as well. Had a lot of fun in that vehicle - in many ways! And then there's my first vehicle which was a 1993 Chevy S-10 Blazer with the 4.3 Vortec- ya never forget your first one. I've bought and sold lots of other vehicles but these are the ones that stick out in my mind. All had issues when I sold them, but I do still miss them all!