Dr L-88

I am considering selling one of my cars I have owned for 12 years but the sentimental attachment is clouding my common sense. I have a fair offer on the car. It is the last car my wife and I purchased together (she went with me to look at it) before she became terminally ill. I recently purchased another car that we had previously owned for 16 years and IT was the FIRST car she went with me to buy. So I am fortunate to have the first and last cars we bought together..........................and even more fortunate to still have her, even though she no longer knows me. She has always loved the cars as much as I do, but as many of you know she was diagnosed 8 years ago with Alzheimer's disease and she no longer knows me or the cars.

Am I being too sentimental over an old car, or just too passionate?

Patrick03

That's a tough call that I don't think anyone but you can answer. Is it time to move on? Or is it time to keep hanging on? Maybe try visualizing how you would feel once the car is gone? You still have the memories made with your wife. Probably don't need the car to keep the memories alive. Good luck with your decision, not an easy one.

Patrick

jim lockwood

Try this Rex:

Imagine you've sold the car, turned over the keys, and you are walking away from it.

Do you feel the urge to turn and look back at it one last time?

If not, then selling it could be the right decision. If you do, then probably you shouldn't sell it yet.

My $0.02.

Jim

elwood13

That is a tough one and I am sorry to hear about your wife. When I was going through my brother's tons of stuff, I was overwhelmed by all the memories. I began sorting what to keep and what to sell and found the keep pile getting to large. I decided that I would always have the memories and drastically narrowed down the keep pile to just a very few items as one, I didn't know where I would keep all the stuff and two, what would I really do with it? I know cars are different than stuff and I am fortunate to have his. I guess you have to ask yourself if you still truly enjoy having both cars? Did your wife have a favorite of the two? Do you have favorite memories (both alone with car or together) in one car over the other? If having both cars is not a big deal, I would keep them both. If you have been thinking about selling this one for awhile now, then maybe now is the time. Good luck in making a tough call.

Gold Dragon

We are all passionate about these cars. That's why we are here in the forums. Sorry to hear about your situation. Sounds like there are some good memories tied to those cars, Why sell.? Do you need the cash? Of course not. If she was in her right mind, What would she tell you.??

leif.anderson93

Rex,
Probably a bit of both. If room is not an issue and they are not a financial burden...I would keep both until you can make a more logical decision. Emotions, I'm sure, are the rule of the day in your life right now. My heart goes out to you for what you and your wife are living through. God bless!!

2tired

If it were me in your shoes, I think I would have to consider the following.
If it is inevitable that you sell car A or B, your wife will not be affected emotionally. Consider yourself in this and ask if parting with a car is easier on you (emotionally) now while you still have your wife, or will it be more difficult if she has passed on first.

In my case I feel I would cling to those things harder if she was gone.


And I am sorry that your wife is battling that terrible illness. I wish both of you the best.

vettebuyer6369

Rex

The whole reason we play with these cars is the passion they create, not better judgement. That you have even stronger feelings for the cars because of their attachment to your wife is human and understandable.

I think you should not put any arbitrary pressure on yourself regarding these decisions. I believe as long as you derive any pleasure, peace or fond memories by owning the cars, you don’t need to explain why you might decide to continue owning them.

There will be a time when the totality of the circumstances will tell you when it’s probably time to let them go. You’ll know when that is, whether it’s sooner or later. Let that time arrive without urgency and know people care about you during these times of your life. Best wishes,

Steve G

PAmotorman

my wife of 56 years passed away 3 years ago and I just traded in her 2004 impala on a new 2018 silverado. I put her impala vanity plate on the truck so she will be riding with me all the time. we left on our honeymoon in a new 1959 corvette and owned 11 new ones during our marriage and we had a 2015 on order when she passed away. I did not get the 2015 as I never left the house in the corvette without her by my side.

ejboyd5

This is not the time to make any major decisions such as a sale. If you have no immediate need for the money, do nothing.

tuxnharley

If they still make you happy and you can afford to keep them both do not sell now, as you may come to regret it later.

You can always decide to sell in the future!

ptjsk

Hey Rex,

As always, I'm sending my best to you and your wife.

In the case of selling this specific Corvette....If you're asking for assistance, I think you really know the answer.

You're probably not ready to sell it just yet.

Now of course, if you need the funds to assist with care of your wife, then by all means, sell the car.

Otherwise, the money's just going to sit in a bank account and you may be thinking to yourself why you sold it.

Myself, I would be thinking I would want to keep it as having something tangible to look at, and remind me of the many good times I had with that special person.

When the time is right, you will know it.

Take car Bud,

Pat

corvetteed

I get the sense from the "tone" of your message that you're really not ready to sell yet, so, why sell? When the time is right, you'll know it. Seems to me you're going to be sad when you sell that car, so, you should keep it, for now anyway.

So sorry to read about your wife. You both have a long road to navigate, best of luck to you both

Railroadman

Unless there are other reasons why you have to sell, you should not need to justify keeping it. "I want to keep it" is all the reason you need, and you should not be ashamed or reluctant to do, or not do, something for that reason alone. Receiving a fair offer from a prospective buyer means nothing if you would like to have it around.

any4xx

First; I’m so sorry about the situation with your wife. I’m not sure I could imagine anything worse than seeing my wife and knowing she can’t connect with me.

Corvettes are emotional. None of us NEEDS one. We can get places in a Ford Focus. But we choose Corvettes for how they make us feel. Yours has more emotion attached to it than most. Don’t let it go without a lot of soul searching.

Kerrmudgeon

The guy that bought my 66 asked me if my car was for sale and I said no, it was part of the family. He then said IF I was going to sell it how much would you take for it?.....so I threw a really high price at him for a laugh...much higher than market value. guess what....he called my bluff and said he'd take it! I took him out for a test drive and banged the crap out of it hoping he'd think it was abused and back off. I never even let him drive it. He still wanted it. ....then I told him the hard top didn't go with it hoping he'd walk.....he didn't.

Since I had put my foot in my mouth and I'm a man of my word I sold it to him. Very sad to see it go, and he knew nothing about performance cars like that and proceeded to break it over and over, went to the worst pirates for service, and on and on. He even had it painted blue so people wouldn't ask if it was my old car!
When he got it out of the paint shop the first guy came along and asked if it belonged to me before! then he painted it back to white after birds crapped all over it under a tree and wrecked the paint. I'm sure he got over the old vette sickness after that.











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Aerovette

The good old days are never recognized until they are gone. We can't have them back so we hang on to the remnants of them. I am as guilty as anyone.

If you have to ask the question, it isn't time. When it's time, you won't ask.

I refused to sell my first Corvette ever...and then I did. I think about it now and then, but I was ready.




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128racecar

Rex:

Here's another angle- who is buying it?

Last year, I sold the 57 that I had owned from since the late 80s. It was purchased used by my dad in the early 60s. Since it was my dad's first Vette (of many), and was a key representative of the Corvette accessory mail order business he started, there was a lot of sentimentality associated it.

After a year of being for sale, and hearing from all sorts of brokers, flippers, etc, I sold it to a forum member on the East Coast. He has posted here a number of times since, and is obvious the car is in good hands. It looks 10x cleaner than when I ever owned it, and has received some repairs I never had the time or skill to do. I think my late father would be glad to see it was in the hands of someone who was enjoying it.

It has been said here often that we are just temporary stewards of our cars. If you think the next owner would cherish it as much, and create their own special memories, it may be the right time.

Sorry to hear about the Mrs. As a physician, I am reminded daily of how frail life is.

Best wishes,
Marc in Indy

SW Vette

Rex,

If there was no sentimental attachment to this car due to it's being the last one you purchased with your wife, would you sell it now?

You must be going through a very difficult grieving process, having your beloved wife still physically present but mentally and emotionally fading away.

Maybe selling this car now, if the offer on the table is acceptable to you, will be a small step in the direction of getting on with your life in her absence. After all, you'll still have the others....

Hang in there,

Michael

Westlotorn

I am sorry to hear of your wife and the Alzheimer's disease, it is a cruel way to go.

There are many reasons to keep and many reasons to sell. The decision is certainly yours alone. If the cash would help in some way I would sell with zero regrets. You have another toy to enjoy so all would be well.

Alzheimer's disease can be very odd at times. My good buddy's Mother was diagnosed in her early 60's and within 5 years was living in a home and did not know her husband or children. One day her husband tripped in a parking lot and fell hitting his head. Severe concussion took his life. My buddy sat down with his mother that night and told her what had happened, he was a very regular visitor, she was cared for. She had not known them for a couple years at this point. She started crying, was very upset, quit eating and passed in a just a few days.
Sometimes they know far more than the experts tell you even though they can't communicate it to us any longer.
There is no wrong answer here, if you think it is the right decision, it is the right decision.