Win Lose - Revcounter 459
Great buys and bad decisions
You may have been through it, finally getting your scone-grabbers on the car of your dreams, enjoying it for a while, and then selling it on. Years later, you struggle to understand what in the blazes possessed you to get rid of it. There is a raft old old cliches that cover situations like these, and one of them is about how familiarity breeds contempt.
The thinking goes that no matter how lovely, ideal or even dream-like a situation is, the longer you experience it, the less enamoured you’re likely to become. The same goes for cars.
Just to prove none of us are immune to this syndrome, I had a chat with our resident wheeler-dealer, Uncle Phil, the other day. He’s the fresh-faced bloke in the picture, happily posing with his then-new VK. This is one of two cars he deeply regrets selling.
The story goes he was getting about in a very nice VC HDT Commodore, when he decided to upgrade. Through reasons that are too involved to go into here, the Blue Meanie ended getting some special attention from Brock and his outfit, with some significant engine upgrades.
"To me it was the car I never should have sold. I bought it because I loved it, because I wanted one badly," explains Phil.
It was a VK Group A Group 3, with the five-speed manual and 16-inch wheels. It was bought from Preston Motors and, back in 1986, it would have cost more than double a ‘normal’ high-end Commodore.
"It’s still the most desirable Commodore," adds Phil, "And to me the best-ever."
So what happened? He and his wife were in traffic near home, when a stranger wandered over and asked if they wanted to sell. Meet George P, the current owner. They eventually agreed on a price and it’s been happily enconsed in George’s shed ever since.
But why? Blame the Shelby. This was the other great automotive heartthrob of Phil’s life, the Shelby Mustang GT350 Hertz in its eye-watering red and white livery. It was a truly spectacular car and the VK was sold to help fund it.
Now we were all convinced that Phil would literally be buried in the Shelby, such was his attachment to the thing. But you know trouble is brewing when he gets that look in his eye, like a cat that’s found barbed wire in its basket. It’s that restless glint that says things are about to change around here. And so it was. The Shelby went and we’ve seen a parade of cars since.
From the comfort of a safe distance, it’s pretty easy to argue that here are two great decisions to buy and two regrettable ones to sell. That’s true.
But I think there’s another cliché that covers this situation: Tis far better to have loved and lost than not to have loved at all. Amen to that.
From Unique Cars 459, Nov 2021
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