(submitted by Dead Swede)
For years this BMW 535i has been a mainstay on my dog-walking route. It has that “get-to-it-someday” vibe that radiates from so many of its derelict brethren.
Likely an E28 from 1984-85, it sits outside in all kinds of weather, gathering moss and mildew on the side facing north. All available evidence suggests it is not a daily driver. Or runner, for that matter. Current tabs keep it from being towed. Just opposite is a mid-90s Suzuki Carry Van, with tons of personality and RHD. Here in the Pacific Northwest, nothing is more hipster than a gray-market Kei van with 5-doors, 4-wheel drive, and a 3-cylinder engine. The funny little van gets driven most days while the BMW just sits and sits.
Which leads me back to my original question: when do you finally give up on your dream car?
Usually when reality comes crashing down and can no longer be ignored.
When you find another dream car 🙂 That or life stuff from the normies.
This is basically it! My experience is that I daydream about my dream car. I don’t have a good record of selling them when my mind moves on to the next vehicular obsession and so they languish a bit while I spend my time daydreaming about mods or tinkering with my latest mechanical crush. Right now I have 4 mechanical items that I would call ‘dream’ vehicles–two cars, a motorcycle and a boat.
First and longest owned one is my 1965 Galaxie. I have owned this going on 20 years, build the engine, driveline, suspension and brakes exactly to my liking after years of online research, scrounging of parts and endless tinkering to make it a very nice driving car with just the right personality. But I don’t dream about it anymore–which makes me feel guilty, lol.
Next is my boat, 2004 Key West center console with a Yamaha F150 four stroke outboard. This was my dream boat when we bought it in 2008 and I have made key updates and changes to it over the years. It is still a great boat and we enjoy fishing out of it and enjoying endless florida waterways. But I don’t dream about it anymore.
After that we have my 2001 Miata LS. I bought this going on 4 years ago and this was a complete obsession before and after purchase. It is a very clean car, never abused or molested and I have caught it up on all maintenance as well as upgrading the suspension with Koni’s and slightly lower springs. This should still be a dream car–but I don’t dream about it anymore.
Current obsession is a deviation in that this one has two wheels. A 2013 Yamaha WR250R dual sport (on/off road) motorcycle. Background on this is that I had never ridden motorcycles until a friend took me out in the woods and I rode his KTM dual sport on a multi-day ride with a large group. I am hooked. I am particularly hooked on the concept of adventure riding where you take multi-day trips off road and camp along the way. So I bought this bike about a year ago and have, of course, thoroughly researched it and made some key upgrades to it that take care of a few week areas in its original specifications. I have not take several multi-day trips and spend my idle time dreaming about new trips and continued refinements to the bike. This is my current dream vehicle.
So, for me at least, I have room in my head for pretty much one dream vehicle and I carry around a reasonable amount of guilt about the former dream vehicles that I still own, LOL. Now I still use the others and I am always reminded of their unique strengths as well as the feelings that I had for them before I perfected them. I kick around the idea of getting rid of one of the former dream vehicles now and then, but each one has a place in my heart and I maintain a connection with them that is well beyond what any normal person carries for vehicles–but something that pretty much all the readers here will understand. So every year, when my birthday comes round, I get reminded of my weakness when I have three times as many registrations to renew as the normal people that I know. Cheers to the other CC’ers who understand this quirk and who may for storage and upkeep of too many past dreams.
When you say, “each one has a place in my heart and I maintain a connection with them that is well beyond what any normal person carries for vehicles–but something that pretty much all the readers here will understand.” That is exactly what makes this forum so great. I still miss the 1965 Volkswagen Convertible I had in college, but I still dream of finding another one just like it.
Well I have yet to own a 1994-1996 Chevy Caprice sedan or 1970-1972 Dodge Dart coupe so I have yet to own a true dream car.
I gave up on my 2003 Dodge Caravan that helped me get established in Portland when the flywheel shattered. I gave up on the 1986 Camry I learned stick shift on when the head gasket went and got a more reliable car to practice stick on.
I can wholeheartedly recommend the 95 impala ss. I do wonder how many Caprices survived, I just don’t see them anymore.
They did vanish didn’t they? You just made me realize that I haven’t seen one on the street in ages. I see the first downsized generation post 1977 from time to time.
And how the hell does a FLYWHEEL shatter??
And a few hours later I have just seen a 95 caprice in glen NH. In the snow. Surrounded by Subaru’s.
Because DODGE.
I’ve owned two LT1 Caprice police package cars. They are not without their issues, but overall they have to be (along with the Impala SS) the quickest, best handling factory full size cars ever. Panther P71’s and the Mercury Marauder could challenge them in handling, but not power. Some vintage full-size muscle cars could challenge them in power, but not handling. I don’t see many 9C1’s around these days, but I still occasionally see regular Caprices here in Houston. But not like you used to. I had them shortly after being retired from their enforcement duties. Glad I had them then, and I miss them but still have a 96 Roadmaster wagon. Good ones are still out there if you want one and don’t mind paying for it.
If the picture attachment works, this is a Dart I photographed just the other day. It’s parked in front of a shop, but doesn’t say it’s for sale.
Picture attachment never works for me!
Jon, make sure your image is reduced to 1200 pixels width or less. A full raw image from a camera takes up too much server space.
if it’s 1200 or less, I’m sure it will work.
Well, the short answer to that would be when you finally obtain it. I wanted a ’57 Thunderbird since I was 10 years old, finally got it in the form of an ’03 T-Bird I bought new. Still have it, still love it. Dream satisfied!
Same story. As a child I was fascinated by the 1955-57 Thunderbirds. In 2012 I found a 2002 yellow (with the black/yellow interior) with 36,000 miles. I had grown up with V8 automatic transmission cars, but while I’ve owned a number of fast and sporty cars (two GTis, a turbo Mustang – link below – and now a Civic Si) they’ve al been four cylinder manuals, so in a way I was circling back to my past. I don’t know how else to explain it except to say I got what I needed from it after five years then moved on, though I still sometimes get a sense of longing when I see one.
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/cars-of-a-lifetime/coal-1979-mustang-turbo-the-old-all-new-mustang/
Easy, see link below:
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/cars-of-a-lifetime/coal-1962-triumph-tr4-know-when-to-hold-em/
19 years apparently..
I have my dream car a 1965 Lotus Elan. Yet everyday it’s becoming more difficult to get in and out of it. People make fun of me when they see me get in and out, that I take off my shoes so I can work the pedals. I drive it less and less. I figure I have a few more years then that’s it.
Love it. My dad traveled a lot for work and sometime in the ’70s a guy picked him up from the San Francisco airport in a Lotus Elan. Once in the passenger seat, Dad said it was like laying down inside a bucket of a cherry-picker. Not great for a guy with a trick back!
When you can no longer derive a justifiable level of benefit out of it, whether it be due to not having the time, money, need, or excitement for it anymore.
+1!
I am in that exact position with my Caprice wagon. Parked it in 2018, yet can’t bring myself to get rid of it.
My dream never holds still long enough for me to find out.
I do still love these, although if it is an automatic, I would love it a lot less. And this one reminds me of why I try to avoid silver paint.
When cars started improving. For many years into the 2010’s even, the Buick Grand National’s performance numbers were competitive with any contemporary “Muscle Car” and then the Cadillac V’s and Dodge Hellcats arrived and promptly disposed of the Grand National’s credibility. It is still a cool car and if the price was right, I still would be tempted, but as far as a “Dream Car” it just is not in that league for me anymore.
I came to love 60’s muscle cars growing up in the 80’s when they would trounce just about anything new. My mindset was old rules, new drools. The fastest, and even many of the average, new cars have far surpassed the 60’s muscle for speed but that mindset is permanently programmed in my brain. I still love the classics and dream of owning one.
When you’ve owned it, done everything you possibly wanted to do with it, had nothing but good experiences with it, and eventually realize that while you love looking at it and having it, there are other experiences to be had with other cars and it ends up not being driven as much so you let it go on a high note for someone else to fulfill their dream with while relishing your own (good) memories before it has a chance to disappoint. I can point you towards a total of four posts I wrote on my particular one… 🙂 Two COALs, one For Sale post, and one Sold post.
You nailed it Jim. I’m about at that point with my dream car Miata.
Depends on the definition of Dream Car. When I was young, it was Lamborghinis and Corvettes and such…. yeah, gave up on that idea a long time ago!
It seems everyone is answering as though the question is “When do finally give up on a car you love?”.
That happened to me in 1997, when I had to part ways with my beloved ’88 T-Bird. Much like my current Mustang, it was a car I always wanted, a V8 Thunderbird.
Ironically, it was black with a grey leather interior… as is my 2007 Mustang.
I love that car, and when I got my Civic, I could not bear to trade it in. However, that being said, I’ve often told my wife that it will be hard to keep when my cairn terrier Molly finally crosses the rainbow bridge. I sometimes think she loves that car more than I do, probably because she associates rides with her daddy in that car.
That’s actually the reason for my avatar here. It’s my dog in her favorite car.
Wow Rick, your little Molly is a ringer for my little Freddie! The one I walk past the BMW. We thought she had some Cairn terrier in her, but a Doggie-DNA test said she was Heinz 57 (mostly Chihuahua, Pomeranian, and mixed terrier). She rides in an enclosure on the back seat of our Volvo 850, sleeping most of the way…
My sister has a “Heinz 57” that is clearly built on a Terrier platform. ;o)
I think terrier genes must be dominant, as this dog, whatever its makeup, has almost all terrier traits. He’s even about the same size as Molly too, although terriers very in size widely. Molly is 18 to 20 pounds, while our founder Paul’s “Little Man” is quite a bit bigger.
We adopted Molly back in 2009 when she was a year and a half old. She has ridden in the Mustang ever since, and prefers it to the other cars in the fleet. Some dogs hate car rides because their owners only take them to the vet. I never have that problem when I say, “Wanna go for a ride?”. She’s got a rude awakening tomorrow morning however, as at 9:15am, she has an appointment for her annual physical.
Nice QOTD! ;o)
Thanks Rick, it was my first try. Hopefully there will be many more to come!
I never did give up and now I own a 1957 Thunderbird. It is everything I dreamed it would be.
Best T-Bird ever! Congrats
Q: when do you finally give up on your dream car?
A: when it turns into a nightmare.
That of course is where “your mileage may vary.”
I still like old cars. I am here, duh! But I do not long for owning any of my dream cars: BMW’s of the 80’s, NSU 1200TT. For me it makes more sense to look to the future. Should I keep my current ride until it is feasible to go electric?
One week ago I sold my dream car, a 1983 W123 Mercedes-Benz 230E with 240000 km on the clock. Owned it since 2006 and used it as our daily driver.
Two years ago I bought a Fiat Panda and found a new kind of driving pleasure.
The Mercedes just sat there and had to go to a new lucky owner.
But still love the look of the champagne colored classic.
My dream car was a Mustang, any Mustang as long as the options were the “correct” ones. I did finally own a 66 V8 coupe but sold it back to the guy that I bought it from when I realized that without a job or immediate prospects I couldn’t afford to embark on the restoration it needed to be a truly great example.
I am now looking at newer ones, and have come close to my ideal several times but can’t seem to take the plunge.
Only until another large batch of money makes itself available. If ever. Always keep that dream alive should circumstances ever prevail in your direction.
NEVER! If it really is your dream car you don’t ever give up.
When structural rust takes hold to a degree that you can’t afford to fix it.
When you discover it has Takata airbags.
😂
Agree with Seppi!
My dream car since adolescence was a C2 Corvette and I finally managed to buy my first one in the early ’90s – a ’66 427/425 roadster in Nassau blue.
Luckily it lived up to the dream and drove exceptionally well and utterly reliably once sorted. I went all over Europe with that one, including street racing and old car rallies.
In the early ’00s I found a black ’63 coupe with fuel injection and last year, when family commitments meant selling one old car, this became the keeper.
I will never forget that first Sting Ray, though….
To answer the question, another dream car that did end up selling was a 928. I just had to accept that I had bitten off more than I could chew and move on…..I had a TR6 that was so horrendously unreliable – something would break on every trip – that it was never a pleasure and got the order of the boot, too.
Last year I needed a cheap daily driver whilst working in the Chicago area. Buy something sensible, or fulfill another dream? So now an old air cooled VW gets me around and keeps me occupied at weekends when not at home with my family…..I have never had so many compliments for a car – young/old, male/female, everyone loves this weird little coupe, even if they don’t know what it is. I am enjoying driving and wrenching on this car even more than I thought I would. Who knew you could have so much fun with just 50hp?
So, go for your dream car, but if it starts do give you more pain than pleasure, find another dream…..
I’d have to say never. I have owned 12 cars that were purchased by me. I still have 10 of them. The two I don’t have is the 80 Civic wagon which wiped a camshaft lobe after 5 years of careful care. Got rid of it and have never touched Honda since then. Next my 86 Mazda 626 which had several things against it. Mileage at 375,000 doesn’t count as I could rectify that with a rebuild. However, living in apartments for the last 25 years, out of it’s 30 year life span, did hamper mechanical work. Then the fact that I got sideswiped on the highway by a tractor trailer in the left rear quarter, in it’s 27th year didn’t help. Obviously no insurance coverage for damage on such an older car and still apartment living forced me to give that up.
You give up on the dream car when you pick the next dream car. Or the monthly bank statement comes in and you actually read.
As at now, a 1980 Daimler Double Six.
Please check again tomorrow.
One should never give up a dream car. I bought a new 2015 Chevrolet SS (triple black, 6MT) and planned to keep it forever but had to sell because of… life, ya know. 🤷♂️ I’d still buy it back in a second.
I also entertain dreams of Grand National, multiple Rivieras, Coupe de Ville, Lincoln Mark VII LSC, BMW 635csi, and NSU Ro80… but I’ll probably never have the cash for all that.
For (relatively) cheap money, give me a turbocharged Monza Corvair. They said it was the poor man’s Porsche after all. 😜
That’s a damn shame you had to give up the SS! It will be a serious cult classic in 10 years, unless of course President Bernie outlaws ICE’s and we’re all in flying electric cars.
When there are no longer any ‘68 Chevy II 4doors, ‘78-‘82 Opel Rekord E2.0 , first generation, ‘78-81 BMW 5 series, or Mercedes 123 sedan (gas) or any Volvo 144/244. Which is about now
I was driving by an old-school small-town Buick/Cadillac dealer and spotted a bright red ’94 Subaru SVX on the used car lot, 2 years old with 15k miles, perfect condition. They had taken it in trade and it sat on their lot for months. They were thrilled when someone finally inquired about it and were determined to sell it to me then and there. I paid just $5500 for my Dream Car — which had stickered for over $30k.
The SVX was so rare that the local Subie dealer said they only serviced mine and one other. Aside from the power window switches and the steering wheel, it didn’t seem to share parts with any other contemporary Subaru. The only SVX part they kept in stock was the oil filter. So every service visit that went beyond an oil change took at least a week by the time parts were shipped up from NJ.
That simply wasn’t practical for my daily driver. After enjoying it for 5 years, I sold it for EXACTLY what I paid for it.
Nicely done!
You give up when, suddenly, every other bastard wants the damn thing, and the price disappears upwards as if rocket powered.
Worse, 90% of these other bastards are silicon hipster-capitalists who spend their free time either getting their beards sculpted, or counting the monthly increase in the value of their curated patinated investment – and zero time enjoying it.
I love old cars, but I don’t have the skill or patience to deal with the real life care and feeding of one. My only “fun” car is a 2000 Mustang GT. It of course has fuel injection air conditioning and most modern conveniences. I am fair at wrenching, but I know my limitations and as I get older my ambition is decreasing. I admire people who keep these old cars on the road, but I don’t think I would ever buy anything so far I gone that I would have to give up on it. I think that 57 DeSoto will remain a dream.
Does your Mustang have bias ply tires, at least:)?
Nope. Summer car. Winter tires. They were free:)
Never give up! Never surrender!
Someday I will own a 912 (or modify a Karmann Ghia to handle and drive like one)
That Suzuki does scream Hipster, doesn’t it?
The import laws are more lax in Canada, so we see our fair share of JDM oddities here in Bellingham. At the brewpub down the street, bearded hipsters are forever pulling up in their Mitsubishi Delicas or a Toyota HiAce Campers. Makes me wish I was young again. So far I’ve tried the beard, but not the JDM hipster-mobile.
In 1973 I bought a 1967 Healey 3000 less then a block from my house. The first time i saw the garage door open I asked if I could buy it ,Yes !. I sold it in 1998.
A full block in the other direction was a mid 1950’s Porsche 356 in a dilapidated garage.I tracked down the absentee property owner. She said her son was going to restore it. Too late, the garage collapsed. I gave up on that one right then. I had a 1954 356 until I was drafted and had no place or money for storage.
In 1979, I glimpsed a 1959 Austin Healy Sprite in a dark garage near my high school. I tracked down the owner in Arizona, arranged to buy the car for $200, and was off to the races. My friend and I topped off all the levels, transferred the battery from my Malibu, and compression started the A-H on the second try. Up to that point, it was the best day of my life! Soon I became obsessed with VWs and sold the Austin to a guy who wanted to put a Buick engine in it for track racing. A pox on me for sending my car to the butcher, but I still miss that “thrill of the chase.”
My dream of a clean unmodified 356 slipped away with the rise in price. I could afford one now at the price as of when I first understood the car, but that is not todays price.
So my dream cars are future cars. I will give up dreaming this way as I buy them, or when I can’t drive anymore.
I worked Miata off the dream list, while XK8 and second gen 300zx remain on the list, alongside a 1972 Karmann Ghia.
My Audi A4 with 6mt prevents me from approaching most cars for the practical side of driving, as I don’t see better.
If I wanted huge power, then I would switch, but for my primary car, I drive in the real world.
As a kid, my dream car was a 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air sport coupe with a fuel injected 283, either in red or black. While that dream hasn’t died, as I got older and the prices on those all ’57 Chevs skyrocketed, it sure fizzled out the possibility of owning one anytime soon. Today, I don’t have the same love for that car I did is a kid, but I’d still love to own one one day. Who knows, maybe as the demographic that likes these fifties cars age out, maybe I will own one one day. Although, I doubt I will ever able to afford a fuelie.
As an adult, I don’t really have any “dream cars” anymore, but there are almost too many 50s to 70s cars I’d still like to own one day, However, I’d definitely like to have ’77-90 B-Body again and a dent side Ford truck, mostly to re-hash my past.
I donated my 97 Cherokee XJ to charity last Christmas.
Still drivable, but many little issues that made it unsafe. Sorry to let it go.
You give up when: a) too many issues keep happening with it every week, b) it gets wrecked one time too many, c) you can no longer get ANY OEM parts for it without searching the junkyard or going on eBay or Amazon, or d) ALL OF THE ABOVE.
Case in point: I owned a 1996 Ford Aerostar XLT for 5 1/2 years from August 2012 to March 2018, and by that time Ford no longer made the air filters or bumpers (front & rear)–possibly several other parts too–for that van. Factory-size tires are hard to find as well–ALL Aerostars had 14″ wheels. Even 15″ is getting scarce these days! Add to this a failing transmission, damaged rear bumper, 2 deer hits & a busted water pump and I got a potentially expensive nightmare on my hands.
Eventually my “dream car” was essentially split into 2 that are MUCH easier to get parts for, the former especially: a 2011 Ford Ranger XL for daily driving and a 2005 Chevrolet Astro (equipped with most options) for weekend/holiday duty. Aside from still needing a few trips to Cromley’s or Herlong for repairs I couldn’t be happier. 🙂
I understood the question as asking, when do you give up on the “dream car” car that you’ve acquired and have sitting around waiting to get fixed up?
I had wanted a classic hot rod since I was a young kid. About 15 years ago,I finally found the beginnings of a lakes roadster project, that I could afford. The lakes roadster is the predecessor to the later “T bucket.” It was the front half of a ’22 Dodge touring car set on a homemade rectangular tubing frame set up with early Ford suspension and rear end. There was an adaptor for the Chevy small block to mate with the old Ford Transmission.
Well it went into the garage as I figured out how and where to source all the needed parts to finish it up. I got a little discouraged after dealing with vendors at swap meets who wanted top dollar for their old stuff. I could have bought all new reproduction parts but that would make the project too expensive. The project ground to a stop and it came to rest in my sideyard. I eventually lost all interest and sold it as I realized that this car wouldn’t be something that I could get much use out of.
Lot’s of other projects have come and gone but I got every one of them up and running before I sold them. Who was it that said, “To travel hopefully is better than to arrive?”
Hi Jose, you understood the question exactly! My first car was a 1950 Buick Super that ended up in our driveway when my Grandma Babe died. My parents used it as a second car for a while in mid-70s, but I took ownership once I was getting close to earning my driver’s license. With some help from my dad, we got the old girl running again. Since it had no insurance, I was only able to sneak in a few drives around our neighborhood. I ended up selling it to a guy for $100 the same week I graduated from high school. Good memories though! “To travel hopefully is better than to arrive.” Indeed.