[Russell Dawkins]

Most of us have had some opportunity in their past when a car or motorcycle was available to buy, but you decided not to—and have regretted it ever since, whenever you think of it.

I had two such occasions.

In 1965 I could have bought a Mercedes 300SEL (not SL) for $4000. I was talked out of it by the local Mercedes salesman who knew the car (he said) and told me it needed 'a new rear end' (differential) and that would cost upwards of $1000. These days that car is worth around $1.5 million.

6 years later, I had just sold my Rover 200TC which I'd bought new in 1967 and which was costing me way too much every month just to keep it on the road. I had made a solemn promise to myself never to buy another 'exotic' car again, but to limit myself to purely functional-if-boring cars, like slant six Valiants, so I could channel my energies to something more constructive. I had sold the Rover for $2000 cash, which I had in my wallet in my back pocket and was walking down a street I had never walked on, when I saw an intriguing nose poking out of a basement door.

It was an AC Bristol, and the nose looked a little like a Ferrari. The owner saw me looking and invited me down for a close look. The car was utterly immaculate. The guy had just finished doing a frame-up restoration, even visiting the factory in England to find out the original tread pattern for the tires. It had the Bristol engine with the three side draft SU carbs each feeding into a twin intake manifold to feed the six cylinders. It had double overhead cams with wing nuts holding the cam covers on. The six long and independent header pipes swept down and to the right, not meeting to collect into two pipes until the firewall, if you can picture that. The instrumentation was more complete that I was used to; it had all the usual, plus a fuel pressure gauge and an oil temperature (very important). The leather seat cushions had air bladders which could be filled with however much air gave you the firmness you wanted. I was mesmerized! He did this as a hobby and sold the cars when he had finished them. He was about to sell this one but had not advertised it yet.

He was asking $2000!

I knew at the time this was worth an easy $6000, perhaps more. At that point I wondered if, in fact, there was a god, and this was a test of my recent (the day before) promise to myself. I decided to pass on it since it was so precisely what I had just promised myself not to get involved in, thanked him and walked away. This was one of the most difficult decisions I have ever made and one I often regret—especially since I later learned it was bought by some idiot who raced it and wrecked it soon after. These are now very rare indeed and sell for up to $400,000. The AC Bristol (and AC Ace, which looks the same but has an AC engine) has been called the quintessential post second world war sports car. It looked just like this (it was red):



Here is an example in blue with lots of underneath and other shots:
http://www.fantasyjunction.com/cars/178-AC%20Bristol-Roadster-Inline%206%20Cyl.%20(Stage%20II)

and more information:
http://www.conceptcarz.com/z21799/AC-Ace.aspx

So, what got away from you??

[Rocket_Ronny]

$20.00 Apple Stock. That's not a car but would have bought something amazing.

Rocket Ronny

[James Romeyn]

That AC Ace is beyond perfect.  The lines are stunning. 

Year was the last Porsche 911 non-turbo w/factory flares and whale fin, estimate mid-80s, an extremely rare car, basically a turbo minus the blower itself.  A M.D. in Larkspur, CA was selling every single thing in his house, moving to a foreign country to do charity medical work.  The 911 condition was 9 of 10.  He was pro Porsche mechanic prior to getting his medical license.  Color was that gorgeous light champagne metallic, looking simply MAHvelus.

He walked madly around his huge house, on the weekend, wearing a cash vest, selling everything in the house (advertised moving sale).   

I can't remember the 911 price, but it was about 30% less than market value.  Whatever was the price, the value of that car increased about 15x since that time. 

I was there to buy an almost mint red '91 Honda VFR750 V-four (full fairing), the era's premier GT/sport bike, a lovely ride, priced about $1400 below value.  I rode it for a day, but decided to sell it after learning that CA emissions mandated softer cams and tuning, making about 13hp less than 49 State versions.

You won't believe this.  The seller agreed to forward my name and phone to potential buyers who continually called.  I resold the bike to one of the callers, pocketing $1k in profit.  Multiple persons wanted to buy it at that price. 

[mcgsxr]

This is not a story about missing out on a great deal, just missing out on a really nice piece.

I was 21 and shopping for my first motorcycle. I had a budget in mind and was pouring over the classifieds daily (some things never change!) and saw 2 bikes I should go look at.

One was a Honda NT650 Hawk. The twin cylinder 650cc sport bike.  I was new to bikes and was scared off by the need for a new chain and rear tire.

I ended up buying a sweet little Suzuki GS500 (500cc twin) that I owned for 2 years.

To this day I cannot see a pic of a Hawk and not feel regret.  In the years that I rode I came to be very comfortable working on bikes.  Swapped motors, front ends, wheels and all kinds of FAR more complex tasks than a chain and rear tire.

It got away indeed!

[HsvHeelFan]

In 1981,  I had an opportunity to buy a white hemi powered Plymouth Superbird.  It was an automatic.  It had around 80,000 miles and the guy wanted $2800 for it.  It had a ton of door dings and paint chips.  I passed on it.

HsvHeelFan

[James Romeyn]

My dad was a Plymouth guy.  Bought a couple new cars from B&H Motors on Columbus St. in San Francisco, E. end of N. Beach.  Visited B&H in my teens/early 20s, and there's a brand new Super Bird (red or orange IIRC) on the showroom floor.  Insane.  Imagine if you bought one and professionally stored it on jacks.  What was SRP, a whopping $5k? 

Honda NT650 Hawk is one of those enigmatic vehicles with a strange history.  For the few years Honda produced it, no body really cared.  Everyone lusted for the CBR600 four Super Sport.  NTs sat on show room floors collecting dust, NOS for sale a couple years after production ceased.  Then, like a light switch, because they were gone, everyone and their mother discovered its goodness and wanted one, with a good cult following.  Used street values equaled the NOS prices, sometimes higher, even beaters selling quickly.   

Suzuki's SV650 arrived latter, made the NT look like it dropped anchor on the track, and slightly damped NT interest.  But looks wise, no SV, after seventeen years of production, holds a candle to the NT.  Plus the single sided swing arm gives the NT panache no SV can touch. 

The NT still looks awesome.  An NT in good OEM condition could be a future classic, and maintains superb resale value.

The internet killed the joy of perusing newspaper classifieds for bargains at 7am.

You can get awesome track ready SVs (70+hp) for well under $5k.           

[thunderbrick]

The internet killed the joy of perusing newspaper classifieds for bargains at 7am.
       

Slacker!  In the 70s we used to get the early version of the Baltimore Sunday Sun on Saturday evenings and have all of Sunday planned out the night before.  Not a car, but I found a Zeiss wristwatch camera (can't recall the model) for $25 and raced to get it.  The guy had gotten calls that it was worth much more (it was) and changed the price to $50.  Like a dumbass  I said I wouldn't deal with a bait and switch and walked away.   Damn, that was a stupid move as it would still be the crown of my camera collection to this day.   

[glynnw]

In the early 70's i was offered a 53 Buick Skylark for $600.  I didn't have the money.

[Russell Dawkins]

I almost forgot two others:
22 years ago, a 1954 Buick Skylark convertible with genuine wire wheels in yellow for $3000
30 years ago John Lennon's psychedelic, paisley painted Rolls Royce was offered for $35,000 asking by a local business magnate before it was donated to the local museum. At the time I decided I couldn't muster the cash. Hmmmm.

[Folsom]

Slacker!  In the 70s we used to get the early version of the Baltimore Sunday Sun on Saturday evenings and have all of Sunday planned out the night before.  Not a car, but I found a Zeiss wristwatch camera (can't recall the model) for $25 and raced to get it.  The guy had gotten calls that it was worth much more (it was) and changed the price to $50.  Like a dumbass  I said I wouldn't deal with a bait and switch and walked away.   Damn, that was a stupid move as it would still be the crown of my camera collection to this day.   

That's an annoying problem. There's been some Leica's and stuff that have slipped through my hands for the same basic reason. What drives me nuts about it is if someone is going through classifieds to buy stuff then they probably aren't loaded with $. So even if you wanted to resell it later, it would be good for you whom could probably use the money. That's an issue now with say, Goodwill, whom gets very nice things from time to time but instead of passing on the savings to someone that could never buy it, or could make a little money, they auction it online for top dollar. A person whom shops and finds a bargain in Goodwill that can resell it, probably needs the money more than Goodwill.

Do-gooders... more like assholes ruining the day for people that otherwise may have no opportunity.

I once passed up a R2R machine and over 300 albums. He didn't want that much, I just didn't put in the effort to scramble the $ at the time.

[Dieterle Tool]

Russell, that AC. OMG.