They say as you get older you are supposed to get wiser and I believe in a lot of ways this is true. More than once I have said the only positive attribute I have discovered about getting older is that now I know that I don’t know very much, which is trait of acquiring wisdom. The fact that you realize there is so much knowledge in the world and how little we have accumulated becomes apparent to you as you grow older.
Since I am touching on the subject of wisdom I thought I would share with you a story about not applying the wisdom I have supposedly acquired over the years and instead allowing my desire to want something over take my good judgement.
I come from a family that was crazy about cars. As long as I can remember growing up my Mom and Dad loved cars. Now my Mom and Dad never had a lot of money, but that never stopped them from being crazy about cars and therefore we always a nice family car. My Mom loved to talk about cars and we would drive around town when we had nothing to do and look at cars. So, it was only natural that I would end up being crazy about cars too. And once I turned 16 and got my driver’s license I wanted to carry on the family tradition of loving cars. (Back when I turned 16 and you got your driver’s license it was a ritual, because it meant you had wheels, which translated to freedom and girls!) Mom and Dad helped my get my first car then after that I was off to the races. Over the next 3 years I think owned about 17 different cars and trucks. I would buy a car and drive it for a while and then sell it and buy another car. (Can you tell I had A.D.D. even at an early age 🙂
Once I got married I slowed down buying cars, because it was time to raise a family and I had a job and couldn’t afford to be buying and selling cars all the time, but I still loved looking at cars and driving them.
Shortly after I got married my wife and I bought an Opel GT. Now for those of you who don’t know what an Opel GT is think of what a miniature Corvette would look like. However, instead of being made of fiberglass it had a metal body and was smaller than a Corvette and didn’t go as fast as a Corvette, because of the smaller engine. An Opel GT is a blast to drive, but not a very practical car, which my wife and I discovered after we had our first child and we had her in a pumpkin seat placed behind the driver’s seat in the back of the car (this was before the safety Nazi’s came out of the wood work and made everyone have car seats) and when we went around a corner and she rolled over in the pumpkin seat in the back of the car. Not good. So even though we loved the Opel GT it had to go.
So, fast forward to 2016 and I am getting the urge to relive my past and I am thinking about all the cars I had owned over the years, which included several Corvettes, Pontiac GTO’s, 1967 Camaro Convertible, a 1965 Mustang Convertible, a Pontiac Fiero and bunch of vans and trucks. But being the tightwad that I am I didn’t want to spend a lot of money for one of the old muscle cars so I set my sights on an Opel GT. I thought well an Opel GT can’t cost that much and it would be a fun car to drive so I began my search for an Opel GT.
Here is where the dumb part comes in. Of course, on the internet you can find anything and I found several Opel GT’s for sale and oh yes, they needed work, because any car that is 43 years old is going to need some work, but low and behold I found the one I wanted. It was in Cincinnati, Ohio and owned by a guy who had owned it for over 30 plus years and just had hip surgery and he couldn’t get in and out of the car anymore. (After buying the car I realize why he sold it, because it is harder than heck to get in and out of without being a contortionist). And get this. The car was the same color as the car I used to own. A butterscotch yellow with tan interior. I was hooked. I wanted this car, but it was on EBay and there was an auction going on for this car. I didn’t care about if there was an auction I took another drink of my beer and I made a bid for the car. And then a little later I noticed someone had topped my bid for the car. So, I drank another beer and raised my offer for the car. I don’t remember if it 3 bids or 3 beers, but I won the bid and the car was mine. Yay, I had won my dream car or so I thought.
I share this story with you to warn you as I do my clients when I am coaching them on how to work through the process of selling their business, because having owned over 40 different businesses I have made a lot of mistakes, which earned me the title of “Mr. Expensive Experience” when it comes to what NOT to do and allows me to save my clients money and grief so they don’t have to go through what I have went through over the years.
Fortunately, the Opel GT story is a fun story, because even though I probably paid too much for the car and I spent too much on fixing it up I at least have something to show for my money. (This is called self-justification) Below is a photo of what the car looked like when I bought it and a photo of what it looks like today. And either I must have been smaller when I first owned the car or the car got smaller over the years, because I don’t remember the car being this small. 🙂
So, if you feel the urge to relive your past and are thinking about buying an old car maybe you should call me first so Mr. Expensive Experience can share with you what NOT to do before you write a check.
All the best to you and your family hoping you have a great summer.
Terry