The Ones that got away, and you regret later you didn't buy............

Back in the early nineties I passed on a real, well documented '68 Mustang GT, fully loaded 302/4 spd. $3500, negotiable. The drivers side bucket was falling apart and it had a small rust hole in the front floorboard. I turned it down because it was a notch back, and I wanted a fastback. I wound up buying a '70 coupe instead, put way to much money into it, and regretted not buying the '68. At the time I had no idea how valuable the '68 could become, even a notch back small block.

I'm just going to keep telling myself that the '68 had bad torque boxes and a rotten cowl panel.

I rent shop space in a warehouse that is crammed full of hobbyist's cars. We moved from our old shop last year when someone bought it to set up a car repair business. They paid around $700k for it. We could have bought it 15 years ago for $180k and wouldn't have paid 15 years of rent (nearly $500k) plus all of the rent we are still paying in the new space. We just didn't have the money at the time. The only positive is that we didn't pay all of the taxes.

As for cars, I should have kept my 99 M Coupe. It's worth more now that when I sold it.

Gosh, too many to list. Lets see, there was that 55 Chevy 2-dr post for $40 in 73 when I was 15. Then a 67 Chevelle 2dr. 57 Chevy 2dr post for $150. 57 Ford 2dr. All back in the early 70's when I was 15-16. I walked away from a 71 Challenger in 1980 when I was about 200 short of what the dealer wanted and he wouldn't negotiate, told me to come back in 2 days when I got paid. Turned down a 79 IH Scout II because of high mileage and concern about getting parts in 82. There were a few when I was in Alaska but because I bring them with me when I left I passed. Really regretted not having the cash for a 70 Mustang Boss 302 w/shaker scoop in 97. $1500 Just retired from the army and was a full time college student working part time. A few others more recently I passed on because of lack of room and time. SWMBO won out and got new floors (hardwood in living areas, carpet in bedrooms and ceramic tile in bathrooms) over the low mileage Road King that belonged to a co-worker that had passed away.

I worked on a NASCAR North team and two of our cars were former Davey Allison Busch cars. I could have picked one up cheap but had no idea they'ed be worth anything as vintage cars. They were real nice with the Texaco Star logo rolled into the tin in the rear window area and they still had the Davey Allison Racing decal on the dashboard.

passed on a 1965 Corvette in 2000 for 10k. It was a 327 4speed that drove good but had a bad 70's body kit on it. I could have lived with the fender flares, but the rear had been reworked flat with '68 Camaro bumper and taillights.

my '88 V8 Fiero that almost made it to the 2012 Challange lost oil pressure and was sold cheap due to major frustration. Should have kept it and worked out the bugs.

First regret is a 1968 Buick Sport Wagon I could have had for $800 back in high school. It had a rebuilt Buick 350 and the 15" Road Wheels. It was so sweet, and like a stupid idiot, I passed on it because it was green on green. I would love to go back in time and slap myself around for that one.

Second regret was not buying a grandma fresh 1979 Cutlass coupe. I had just grenaded the AOD in my 1987 Cougar, and I went to the junkyard to look for another one. They had no transmissions, but they just rolled this super clean Cutlass off the flatbed. It had just 87k miles, and was Red on white. I passed on that because it had a bench seat and I wanted buckets. I had a bench in my 64 Skylark that I had before the Cougar, and I didn't get how cool bench seats were back them. That one was only $400. Man, I would love that thing now!

Oh, one more regret: I had a 1983 Z28 for a while way back. It was a 5 speed car with the LG4 305, T Tops, and the composite lightweight hood. They even gave me a 4 bolt main 350 with the car. It was a former parts car, but it was mostly complete and only $300. It had no title, and the 305 was the most broken sounding engine I have ever heard. When I bought my Trans Am I ended up selling it because I couldn't convince my parents to let me keep both.

A couple months after I sold the Camaro, they let me buy another T/A, which was in even worse shape. I wish I kept the Camaro, because it would have made a PERFECT Challenge car.

As a high school senior looking for my first car, beside a service station I found a white 1967 911S targa. Yes, that is the one-year-only soft-window targa S, only 718 made. $6,000. Dad said no way. Hagerty's lowest value today is $142,000. Oh, the pain!

No ones I regret not buying that I recall. But there are 2 that I regret letting get away. My Alfa that I bought when I graduated from college and my father's 65 Mustang notchback with 289.

Have a bunch, 2 that stand out were about 30 years ago, there was a running 356c coupe, running, for 500 and a AH 3000 3 carb for 500, not running.

My dad passed on both a $5k E30 M3 and an $8k (I think) 79 911 prior to buying his mid life crisis S2k in 2004. He then went on to sell the S2000 in 2008 for probably about the same money he could have gotten for it today. Oh, and the guy who had the 911 was a former neighbor who also had a Ferrari 328, lucky bastard.

Two years ago, I found a well sorted 2006 Subaru Baja base with a manual transmission and a cap. Tires were all okay, the seats were pretty good. I think the asking was $5800.

The salesman offered the opportunity to take it home for the weekend. I should have jumped at it. After I turned that down, it took something like two weeks to get an opening to return to the dealer - everything managed to be "more important."

I tried looking for another similar deal, and the closest I could find had another 50k miles, was three years older, and had zip ties holding the bumpers on, for $500 more.

1982-ish, I was in high school but didn't have my license yet. Small block AC Cobras were around $4k, big blocks were around $7k.

1965 Buick Rivera GS. I was driving around in central NJ and a farmer had a sign out front. Buick for sale. So I stopped and asked about it. Turns out the sign was for a 84 Buick that was in nice shape. He wanted 3k for it. Next to it was the 65. Sitting in the barn for years. A rust free driver. I asked about it and he said that $500 would by that pile of junk. Girlfriend at the time was not for it and getting it back to mass would have been a problem. That car haunted me. A year or so later after "trading in my girlfriend" for a new model. I hopped in my car and drove back down to NJ and spent a day re tracing my path and finally found the farm. The place was abandoned and completely empty. I asked around a little and no one was willing to talk. Everyone was nice enough but played dump or changed the subject when I asked about the farmer. I went home empty handed. Still bothers me to this day.

Edit: Looked like this.

Walking around a car show and swap meet in 1999, I came across a 1966 Rambler American convertible with the numbers-matching 290 V8 and 4 speed transmission. Needed some quarter panel work and paint, but had 67K miles, a decent interior, the doors didn't sag and it ran and drove. The asking price was $2,250, which was rich for my blood at the time. I would find out later that there were only 3 '66 convertibles with that combination. Even worse, I was on the phone with my dad a few days after the show; he said, "Why didn't you call me? I would have loaned you the money." (Personally, I think he just wanted another project to tinker with.) Piling it on, my dad passed away in 2002; the Rambler could have been a great father-son project. Still kicking myself for that one...

Two come to mind:

1) An E-type Coupe, mostly in pieces but very well boxed and organized. No rust but lots of dust. Neighbor's husband bought it as a project and took it apart but was mostly interested in banging his secretary then running off with her. His ex would have let it go for three figures and it was literally right across the street from our house. That was maybe 1986.

2) 1987-ish. Local used car lot has TWO running, driving, B+ condition Lotus Europas. One is a twin-cam and one is not. They're willing to trade me straight up for my 1984 Trans Am. This is when Trans Ams were cool and no one at a local used car lot had any clue how they would EVER sell one Lotus Europa, let alone two. I passed. I'm stupid.

AngryCorvair wrote: 1982-ish, I was in high school but didn't have my license yet. Small block AC Cobras were around $4k, big blocks were around $7k.

That's what I'm talkin' about, although I graduated HS sometime earlier. A 289 Cobra sat in the local dealer's showroom for months. I drove it. List around $6500, as I recall.

Early/mid 70s, walking around New Hope, PA (Bucks County) auto show. Up on the hill near the school was the auto parts/used car sales area. 427 Cobra SCCA race car (road hard, put up wet) and a small block street Cobra. Owned by the same guy who wanted to sell both. I forget the actual asking price, it was either 3500/4500 for both or 2000/2500 each. Working at Reedman Corporation in Langhorne, PA as a mechanic, 2 young children and wife attending nursing school. Oh well, since that experience, I have purchased/sampled over 100 cars.

1966 911 for $300. Dealer said all it needed was a clutch. I didn't have nor could get the $300...

Back when I was in high school, I had saved my pennies for a few years and was looking to buy my first car. At about that time, my buddy's uncle, who owned a bunch of oil field property, was cleaning out a barn and found "one of his old Ferraris" he had lost over the years. It was a 308 of some trim (I was not a car guy at the time). I got to drive it, he said I could have it for $13k, I had 10. He said I could make payments on the 3k. It was in perfect condition.

My parents laughed at me and told me I would never be able to afford just an oil change let alone anything else, nor the insurance. They are probably right. I pleaded a f said I'd be happy even if I had to bike to school and work 90% of the time because I couldn't afford something on it.

They outright said no. Just like my buddy's parents, which is why I got the offer. I wish my parents were better enablers at that time.

For a couple of years there was a car auction at the BRIC of Road America. In the parking lot sits a hugger orange Pantera that looks great in and out with a sign on it that reads, bought a car; this won't fit in my trailer; meet here at noon; $9000.

I was second in line, it sure sounded nice driving away.

Other than that, a 60's malibu ss convertible with a 6 cylinder, owner died his widow told me it had a cracked head otherwise perfect. Just never pursued it. Oh yeah and the guy who offered me his Lotus Esprit that I declined a month before he sold it at an auction for $3000 more than I would have payed.

Around when I was graduating from high school ('04, so not that long ago) a friend's grandfather was thinking he was ready to sell his '72 240Z with 24k miles on it. He wanted 6k. He had raced Sprites, then later Z cars in his younger days, then had a body shop on the farm. The story went he had bought it from Florida from some guy who's wife had found out about his GF and beat the crap out of the car, hauled it up to NY and did a full restoration. It was MINT.

I had the money, but no place to put it. He kept the car until he passed away a few years ago, think it ended up going to his grandson (not my friend) that probably sold it for drugs.

I should ask about it...

It wasn't TOO long ago a friend offered me his disassembled and partially restored E Type Jag-u-r for around $6000. The body had been stripped and some of the sheet metal replaced. If I had had the space, it would have become mine.

In the mid 70s (while a poor college student, I passed on a $400 Tiger, a one-family owned $2,200 XK-150S and a restored Xk-140 for 1895 sitting on an Oldsmobile dealers lot. Fellow grad student offered me his 65 E Type Jag for $3500. I was able to talk the wife into a $1,250 TR3 right before I finished grad school in 1977.

Nothing cool or exciting, but about 2-3 years ago a friend was trading in his 97 Outback with 200k miles that needed a headgasket. Dealer only would give him $700, he offered it to me for that much. I didn't have the money at the time because I had just bought a guitar. Still kinda am bummed about that one; the guitar is long gone (although I made money on that deal).

A little more than a decade ago I almost bought an original M3 for $8K, but I was afraid of the maintenance while I was in college. Yeah, that was a smart move.