The Thread of Lost Wagons

We've all got stories of trying to buy wagons and losing out in the end. I thought it would be fun to have a thread to share them, so post 'em up!

 

Dad and I have been trying to find a wagon for Mom, since she mentioned recently she wanted one.

I found a good project, not exactly what we had in mind, but it would work. It was a 56 Chevy 2-door 150. Prefer a 4-door, but it wasn't too far of a trip. Inline 6, 3spd, in need of full resto.

The guy was asking 1500 and I was hoping to score it for 1000-1200. Pa wanted it for 800. After some back and forth, I made an offer and the guy wouldn't budge. He tells me that the title and vin tag is worth 1500. I don't know what he's smoking. If it was a nomad, maybe, but not a 150.

I bought a 58 that ran and drove for 800. He didn't know if the motor was seized, how the frame was, the front seat was missing, the floors were gone, rockers were gone, it needed at lot of work. He insisted since this wasn't a panel wagon, that it was worth a lot more than he had it listed for. Not to this guy.

 

You started the thread and you just lost a 56 Chevy wagon. So start the stories. No pressure!

 

I was a step ahead of you! Lol!

 

Well I'm sure alot of the seniour members rember this one, and I got burned for $50 in the end...





And then there was this one, but loosing it was sadly my fault

http://www.stationwagonforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15667&page=5

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A estimator at work found it at a customers home, the owner fell very ill and the brother was taking care of things to sell the home and contents. I was told $200, contacted the fellow, looked, took a zillion pics, car was dirty outside from sitting but unreal shape over all. Did have some rust on the passenger floor, rust through.

I was going to snag it but I was going out of town for work but the brother had no problem holding it. When I came back I honestly can't remember the order of things but I fell ill and missed alot of work, My ol man Kirby dog got ill ($$$$) and later died of something unrelated, few other BS things also.

But before all the bad happened a gy who works for us offered me, my now 82 for $600 on payments. Well I took the 82 because not only is it a parts car for the rest of my 83's life but mainly because of the engine.

Time went on, seller didn't have a problem where the car was, I had not put any money down, and it was promised to me. Then I mised more work and all at the same time had to spend alot of $ on our septic.

I wasn't buying anthing peioud! House where the wagon was sold, wagon is gone.

The only thing that bugs me about this one is, I'd kept contact with the seller except for the month of December, he knows where I work (can reacch me there) and has my cell and home number......never heard anything.

 

Seems like we pine for missed wagons like (some) old girlfriends......


That Toyota Crown woulda been cool though..............

 

Oh, I remember the white one real well, Tedy. Well, just like my mom used to tell me when girlfriends would be lost. Sometimes, good things fall apart, so better things can fall into place. That's gotta mean better wagons for us, right?

 

I felt bad on both of those deals, Fat. I really liked that yota.

 

Can't say I really lost a wagon. Did lose a few cars in the past.
Closest wagon tales would be my own fault. I've written this before.

Shortly after moving here to the NW Florida boonies I spotted a 1955 Chevy 2-door wagon partially hidden in woods next road over in a yard. I could see front was wrecked. Was gonna stop someday but never did. Thought it woould at least be a parts car. Long after it was gone I met the guy who sold it to the neighbor. Found out it wasn't too bad. Also found out it went cheap when it was moved!!!

Next one was a very nice original 1957 2-door 210 Chevy six with three speed and overdrive. Son was around 10 maybe and he wanted me to buy it for him. Very nice and around $2500 in around 1996. Had too much junk already and figured kid was too young. We are both sorry I let that one go. :confused:

 

I was going to buy a 80s Country Squire this week, but the title couldn't be found. A price was agreed upon and I would buy it upon the owner getting a new title for it. Well after two days of trying to get ahold of the owner to see if he had gotten a new title, I finally get ahold of him to find out he sold it. Some guy bought it for $100 more and claimed he didn't need a title. The stupid part of it was the owner found some kind of humor in the situation and thought it was funny the guy bought it without a title. You would think he just had some laughing gas because he couldn't stop laughing. Maybe the car wasn't even actually in his name or he was just crazy.

 

Once there was this one parked behind a repair shop in a little 1-intersection village for many months on end. It was just like my white 6000 wagon but a non-factory burnt red repaint and in pretty good shape outside. The window had been stuck down for all this time and the interior was getting dirty. I finally was able to catch the owner of the shop and asked if he wanted to sell the wagon because I had one like it and was interested. The owner of the wagon was his brother or something and he called him up, and the guy said it wasn't for sale. It wasn't 6 months later and I saw it at a junkyard about 50 miles away, didn't seem to be any body damage either.

Another time I saw an 88 Sunbird wagon behind a dealer for a couple months. Silver, alloy wheels, excellent shape except it had been smacked in the drivers rear corner. Could have been fixed. I was never able to find anybody there to talk to about it.

 

About titles. Non-wagon related. I bought a 1946 Mercury coupe project. I mean body off frame, etc project. Parts on three different properties miles apart.
Anyway it belonged to a hotrod dealership. I'd been looking at a 42 Merc coupe piece of crap when I found about this one. No title but owner said he knew where it was and would get it from Tennessee. We are in Florida.
He got title and it matched. I ended up paying over hundred dollars to him for the title. Like a fool I bought it. Since this was a used car lot and I had bill of sale I believe he owed me the title. But like I said, like a fool!:banghead3:
Years later I met the coupe owner right in our town who actually owned the car and brought it from Tennesse years before. Said he had the title all the time. :banghead3:

 

Yeah I'm sure the owner is responsible for either keeping the title where it can be found, or getting a replacement if he can't find it. Either that or not sell the car.

The 89 6000 wagon that I drive now I bought from a coworker for $30. It had been sitting behind his house in a field with a blown head gasket for 6 years. He said if I could get it out, I could have it for whatever the junkyard would give him, and the nearest junkyard which is a tightwad would only give him $30. I said I'd be willing to give him $100 for it, but he said nope, fair is fair.

It was in the winter when I went and looked at it and decided that while it needed some work, it was all there. He only lived 8 miles from work so I went there many nights after work, first with a new battery and some gas. It surprisingly started right up. Then I patched up a heater hose, replaced a brake line, put on 2 spare tires, and waited for the swamp to dry up so I could get it out, which was finally July. I still had to put boards over ruts so I wouldn't drop in and bury it, and moving a couple feet at a time, I carefully got it out.

Then he couldn't find the title. He's a good guy and said just take it, but I didn't wanna be caught driving it with no title to prove I bought it. So 2-3 weeks later I got the title and drove it home. With several jugs of water in the back, because every 5 minutes it would heat up and steam would blow out the external head gasket leak like a tea kettle. The 32 miles home was a long trip but I did it.

Got a low mileage Jasper rebuilt engine off ebay for $50 and picked it up myself, and have been driving it since 2005.

 

Well, had found a nice deal on a Roadie wagon in town here. 96,000 miles, good shape. A really nice car and not too far away. I called the guy this morning (he had 4 or so postings for this car on Craigslist) He just said "It's sold" and hung up. I found that to be a bit more irritating than the fact that I lost out on the car.

 

In 1970 a pair of brothers were at the regular Saturday morning coffee greasy spoon and mentioned they'd seen a '55 BelAir Hdtp while out cruising the weekend before. It was a long way out down farm roads but for the right car what the heck. So a couple of us headed out and after sorting out that they'd given us incorrect turns we eventually did find the car. A clapped out '55 4 dr sedan in brutal condition. The following Saturday they admitted that they'd not actually gotten out of their truck to look, they'd just seen the back of the car sticking out of the shed and "assumed".

We'd made up a little story for them to have some fun and mentioned that we'd found some other cars near a town an hour away called Vulcan (yeah, Spock fans, there is a town in Alberta called Vulcan and they do have fun with the trekkies). These guys were really in to 57's any make.

Off they go. The following weekend they were not at coffee but the weekend after they were, glowing with their FINDS.

They looked all over and around Vulcan and found nothing, then thought they may have misunderstood and we meant Vauxhall - about an hour east on back roads, so off they went. Stopping at farms and in town they ended acquiring a '57 Canadian Pontiac sedan delivery - a driver no less, and a '57 copper and cream '57 Nomad disassembled but complete.

We were beyond stunned:banghead3: to say the least. I still hate myself sometimes for missing either of those two vehicles. The sedan delivery (a Canadian only model apparently) went to a collector somewhere and the Nomad they dicked with, did an awful job, then sold it taking a '55 BelAir convertible project on trade that I ended up buying from them. I should have bought the delivery and the wagon when they found them, they were cheap enough, I was just too surprised and depressed to even think things through at the time.