Every now and again, I feel a bit foolish for chasing some of the cars I lust after and then buy, typically in basketcase form. But as I've relayed before, I help a gentleman in Tennesee sell cars and trucks off of his property as a side hustle, and one of the fringe benefits besides the commission checks is that I get to see how desperate other enthusiasts are.
Well, maybe desperate is the wrong word. Perhaps it's the justification angle - when I see what other enthusiasts spend money on, it makes me feel better about my own purchases. Take, for instance, this most recent sale: it's a 1992 Toyota 4Runner. It has no engine and has been off the road for the better part of five years. A guy from New York bought it sight unseen and paid $2,000 for the truck, plus likely somewhere in the range of $600 - $800 for transport.
He wanted it to either rob body panels off of or to swap an engine over from his deceased dad's truck that held a lot of sentimental value but also a fair amount of rust. When he found out we had the title, there was no question he was grabbing it. When I look at the 1990 Audi Coupe Quattro I'm most likely picking up for $3,000 (+ $300 for the OEM Speedlines that he had promised to someone else), it seems like a genius purchase considering it runs and drives (somewhat) and is obviously far more desirable over the long-term than a mass-produced 4Runner.
But I would never gotten that perspective without putting that sale together and seeing that - like me - almost all enthusiasts let passion be their guide when making vehicle acquisitions.