Saying Goodbye is Hard

[Dzimm]

 

I'm struggling with selling my first vehicle. The Jeep I grew up with and the one that got me into the Jeep world. I'd like to share my experience and hear from you guys about your experiences with this situation.

 

My grandfather bought this Jeep in the early 2000s. It's a 98 Jeep Cherokee SE, 2dr, white with a unique stripe package I have never been able to find elsewhere. He had it for a few years before selling it to my father when I was about 10 years old (2005ish).

 

I always remember as a kid, riding around in the back of it with my parents when we would take a drive through the country in the evenings and my dad letting me drive it occasionally on gravel roads before I got my license. It was even used as a battering ram to get through a giant snow drift on the morning I harvested my first whitetail. I learned nearly everything I know about vehicles from working on this Jeep with my father and driving it every day throughout high school, all the way up until I left for college in 2013. I had no vehicle for the first year in school and finally I convinced my dad to sell me the Jeep in early 2015. In the 3 years I've owned it I was able to repair and upgrade almost everything I've wanted to. Unfortunately last winter the transmission started having issues and it has been mostly just sitting since.

 

There is a lot more about this Jeep that made me love it throughout the years but as we know all too well, times change and priorities change. After the transmission breakdown I had to have a running vehicle and I wasn't about to work on it in the cold so I bought the black 4 door XJ I daily drive now. I had planned to fix the transmission issue this last summer but I never really got the time to do it as I was mostly focused on finishing my MJ project. Now that the MJ is drivable and the black XJ has proven to be reliable, I'm looking at where I am at in life and realizing that it is time to make a tough decision. Life is moving on and I simply don't have the time to care for my childhood XJ anymore and it needs to move on to someone who does.

 

I have had it posted for sale for some time now but was asking a high price because I couldn't bring myself to be realistic with the memories and past I've had with this Jeep. I have recently been trying really hard to let go of the sentimental attachment to the Jeep and have dropped it to a fair price and already have a few people lined up to look at it. Today I have completely cleaned it out in preparation for a sale and the memories and past have come back to me making this a really hard thing to process in my mind.

 

I know that as time goes on I will move on to much more important things in my life. I think it would just be good, not only for myself but for other members who are facing similar circumstances, to hear from some of you guys who have gone through this before and to just hear stories of the past vehicles that you've had that you enjoyed and will never forget.

 

 

Sent from my HTC U11 using Tapatalk

 

 

 

[Pete M]

I would build a small cover for it and park it for a while.  but I'm the sentimental type (for better or for worse).   

[sinkrun]

If you don't need the money or space keep it. My dad tried to give me his 89 ram 4x4 70,000 miles on it one owner that needed bed about 8 years ago I had just bought my Comanche said no and have been pissed at myself to this day.

[RAH66]

Saying goodbye can be tough, and I've never had a vehicle with the amount of history and sentimental attachment you have. I've had a fair amount of vehicles over the years.

 

First car: 1992 Firebird that I had for about a year and a half. That was easy to sell, cause it was old and slow haha.

Second car: 1999 Trans Am Firehawk that I had for about 10 years. That one was really tough to sell, and I held onto it for several years even though for the last few years I drove mostly my XJ instead.

Third vehicle: 2003 Kawasaki Z1000. That was fairly easy to sell. Lots of fun times, but I wasn't really riding much after a while.

Fourth vehicle: 1996 two-door XJ. My first off road vehicle, had many awesome 'froadin trips with buddies. I got it as an off road learning vehicle, and learn I did. A couple years into ownership, I paid off my student loans and decided to move on to something a bit more reliable and nicer to DD, which leads me to:

Fifth vehicle: 2010 Tacoma. My most expensive vehicle at the time, it was nice, fun, practical, comfortable. Basically the perfect vehicle. But of course it was so perfect and practical that it was boring , so I sold it and got a:

Sixth vehicle: 2008 Corvette. Man... what a car. I don't think I need to explain why I loved this one haha. I sold it a few months ago since we were going to try to get a house, and I was gonna use the money for a down payment. Well, the house plan didn't pan out, so now I'm houseless and 'Vetteless haha.

Seventh vehicle: 1992 Comanche. I always liked Comanches and had considered them a couple times over the years, but never found the right one. I'd still check the local craigslist periodically just to see what was out there, even though I had no plans to buy one. However, this Comanche showed up and I had to have it. Fortunately it all played out, and here I am.

 

 

So I've seen my fair share of cars come and go, and my life circumstances have changed many times over that vehicle history. I have mixed feelings about selling vehicles.

 

Of all those cars, I think I miss the Corvette the most, even though it was one of the easiest to let go of at the time (since I had such grand plans for that money....). But now I regret selling it quite a bit.

 

I'm now in a position where I still want to get a house some day, so I'm investing that money instead of buying another corvette. (Well, most of it, some it I'm gonna use to buy my brother's ZX10R). In my current circumstance, my Firehawk would be perfect: a cheap vehicle with a V8. So in retrospect I wish I would've kept it, but without knowing the future it didn't make sense to have that AND a Corvette.

 

Money has been a somewhat limiting factor for me, but more than anything it's been space. I live in a 1 bedroom apartment in LA (and I'm lucky that I have a single car garage), and my dad's driveway can only hold so many of my vehicles haha. So while I would've loved to just keep collecting vehicles, space is one luxury I don't have.

 

One thing I have learned though: you'll make great memories no matter what vehicle you have. I have very fond memories of all my vehicles, but for every vehicle I've sold, I've replaced it with a new one that I've also had may great memories with.

 

 

Anyway, that long, rambling wall of text was all to say this: Unless you need that money to put food on the table next month, I really don't see why you should sell it. Based on the pics, it looks like you have no shortage of space to store it, and it doesn't really hurt anything to keep it. If I had the chance to buy back a few of my old vehicles I definitely would.

[Dzimm]

46 minutes ago, Pete M said:

I would build a small cover for it and park it for a while.  but I'm the sentimental type (for better or for worse).   

I tend to be the sentimental type as well

 

39 minutes ago, sinkrun said:

If you don't need the money or space keep it. My dad tried to give me his 89 ram 4x4 70,000 miles on it one owner that needed bed about 8 years ago I had just bought my Comanche said no and have been pissed at myself to this day.

Man I would also be kicking myself if I were you.

Its not that I NEED the money or have lack of space (we rent a second house on the property of my girlfriend's grandparents so it's not technically MY space).  The extra money would just be nice to have for paying off a few bills in preparation of buying our first house (will be at least a few acres outside of town somewhere ).   

[Dzimm]

37 minutes ago, RAH66 said:

Saying goodbye can be tough, and I've never had a vehicle with the amount of history and sentimental attachment you have. I've had a fair amount of vehicles over the years.

............................

Anyway, that long, rambling wall of text was all to say this: Unless you need that money to put food on the table next month, I really don't see why you should sell it. Based on the pics, it looks like you have no shortage of space to store it, and it doesn't really hurt anything to keep it. If I had the chance to buy back a few of my old vehicles I definitely would.

That is quite the variation in vehicles there, thanks for sharing!.  

I would love to keep it but it's just hard to justify the maintenance costs in not only money but in time.  The extra money would be nice and space isn't exactly limited but as I said above in my response to Pete and Sinkrun, we rent the property and I can't always guarantee that I will have the extra space, nor do I want to litter their property with vehicles (we already have 5).  I could always leave it sit without doing the maintenance so it doesn't cost me any money but then I run into the situation where I could make a couple grand now or watch it decay and have to sell it for nothing in the future if I never get the time to fix it before it becomes a rusted out shell or I am forced to sell it for whatever reason.  Unfortunately we just can't see what life has in store for us in the future.  Maybe if I buy a DeLorean and a flux capacitor...

 

I would love to keep it, and who knows maybe I won't sell it after all, but could you imagine having all of your old cars still around because you couldn't bring yourself to sell them?  That's a lot of space and money for maintenance, not to mention registration and insurance.    

[RAH66]

I totally see where you're coming from. Like I said, I have mixed feelings on the subject haha. Do I wish I still had some of my old vehicles now? Sure. But for me, like you're getting at, practicality slightly wins out over sentimentality. I'm gonna make awesome memories no matter what, and at the end of the day, a vehicle is just a tool to help me make those memories. Plus, as you can tell, I love hunting for and finding new vehicles  so there's no way I could keep them all.

 

I just take tons of pictures of all the fun things I do with my vehicles so that any time I want I can go back and reminisce.

[RAH66]

Funnily enough, I have seen my Firehawk and XJ for sale at different times after I sold them. But yeah, it just wasn't practical to buy them back at the time. My dad even did buy back my Z1000 4 or 5 years after I sold it and had it for a little bit. I wish I had kept that as well, since a motorcycle makes practical sense in my current circumstances. And we just re-sold that like 6 months ago too.

 

But oh well, life goes on. Circumstances always change and you can only really do what makes the most sense in the moment.

[Dzimm]

30 minutes ago, RAH66 said:

I'm gonna make awesome memories no matter what, and at the end of the day, a vehicle is just a tool to help me make those memories.

True and very well said.  

[Jeep Driver]

Wait until you've been through a couple of wives.

 

Cars are easier to get rid of. 

[schardein]

I don't think this is going to help, but...

 

I am 50 years old and still own the K5 Blazer I drove in college.  The axles and transmission are out of the 78 K20 I drove in high school.  So you might gather I am also a little sentimental.  My vehicles are like a part of the family.

 

I sold an 89 XJ Wagoneer- regret it.  Sold a 2000 XJ- regret it. 

 

Sold an 80 Toyota Pickup after owning it for 6 years, and a month later the new owner sold it to a local junkyard.  I hated seeing it there, but it was still the right decision.

 

The fact you are asking the question means you are giving it careful thought, which many young people fail to do.  In the end you will have to make your own decision, for your own reasons, and live with it.  That's not a bad thing, that's life.

[shelbyluvv]

I regret letting my first car go all the time. If I had it to do all over again I would still have it. If you love it and it has sentimental value to you keep it.

I've been dragging my Shelby Charger across the country for 20+ years and will continue to do so. I love the car and it has a special place in my life. I'll never let her go, ever.

[Skorpyo]

I regret trading in my first XJ so much that I still spend each week checking online for it to see if it turns up for sale. I didn't think much of it at the time, but I was young, impetuous and didn't have the skills I do now to maintain a vehicle. Just my experience and take from it what you will. And I only had the XJ for 5 years...

[87MJTIM]

18 minutes ago, Skorpyo said:

I regret trading in my first XJ so much that I still spend each week checking online for it to see if it turns up for sale. I didn't think much of it at the time, but I was young, impetuous and didn't have the skills I do now to maintain a vehicle. Just my experience and take from it what you will. And I only had the XJ for 5 years...

 

Ditto. 1991 XJ Laredo 4.0 5 spd 😢

[INjake89mj]

Bought this 1995 in 2008 from a junk yard. Was wrecked, interior was partially gutted and transfer case had chain hanging out of the case. Bought for 500$ and spend the next year or so putting it back together with junk yard parts. Turned into a really nice jeep! Traded it straight up for my first Comanche. I still wait for it to pop up for sale again but so far no luck. Wish I would have just bought the Comanche outright! 

 

 

 

[RAH66]

I was actually thinking about this last night. I don't mean to assume anything about your financial situation, but in the grand scheme of life, $2k is barely anything. Personally, if I were in your shoes, I'd keep it. Sure, if circumstances change and you really get in a bind you can sell it later (or sell one of your other vehicles...), but man, that's a lot of history to give up for a relatively small amount of money.

 

 

I'm noticing a trend: Lots of fond memories with two-door XJs! Here's mine on the day I picked up my Tacoma:

[Pete M]

yeah, the 2drs are awesome    I'm still trying to find a clean obd2 2dr for my uncle's project.  every one near enough to check out in person is either too rusty, too much money, too much of a project or all of the above.    

[HOrnbrod]

3 hours ago, INjake89mj said:

Bought this 1995 in 2008 from a junk yard. Was wrecked, interior was partially gutted and transfer case had chain hanging out of the case. Bought for 500$ and spend the next year or so putting it back together with junk yard parts. Turned into a really nice jeep! Traded it straight up for my first Comanche. I still wait for it to pop up for sale again but so far no luck. Wish I would have just bought the Comanche outright!

 

Wow! And that was a Rubicon XJ too. Don't see many of those.......

[NHMJXJ]

My two bits ... keep it.  Fix it.  Enjoy it.  You'll be hard pressed to find one to replace it down the road, particularly if it has sentimental value.

 

Just remember, it's a "thing" and in the grand scheme it's not important.  The best things in life are not things. 

 

 

[INjake89mj]

17 hours ago, HOrnbrod said:

Wow! And that was a Rubicon XJ too. Don't see many of those.......

 

 Yea that was a long time ago and not one of my proudest moments. 

 

The front end parts had numbers written on them with oil based crayon by the salvage yard, it etched the paint pretty bad, so I used the stickers to hide it. 

[rylee144]

I was gifted my MJ from my grandpa. My brother and I learned to drive using this truck. We got newer trucks and my grandpa got the MJ back. Last year I got the MJ back and I don't plan on getting rid of it. Space is tight but it's been in the family too long to let it go. I am fixing it up now and plan on giving it to my kiddo when they get old enough. It's a hard decision so good luck.

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[Lthompson741]

I know the feeling.  I also get really attached to my vehicles.  I've got a 92 XJ that I bought my senior year of college in 2001.   I still have it but it's pretty much rusted out at this point.   I know I should sell it, but I just can't bring myself to do it.  Especially knowing that I will most likely find the shell in a junk yard as it has a desirable drivetrain.  (5 speed).  I put a lot of money into it, and has gotten me anywhere I wanted to go.     I am lucky as I rent a very big storage garage and I was able to fit it in the very back so it's out of the weather, and somewhat protected.     

 

The problem now is, that I keep finding XJs to bring home and I just bought a MJ.   That parking space would be nice.