Back in July, I announced that I’m selling off a handful of vehicles, starting off with the projects that I just knew that I wasn’t going to finish. I’ve let go of a lot of vehicles I thought I’d keep for a long time and I’m finding their departure less disturbing than I’d have originally assumed. Instead, reducing my 27-vehicle-strong fleet has been refreshing. Now, I’m going to let even more cars go, and one reason why is making me excited.
For years, I’ve been known in various spaces as a serial collector. It used to be that I collected Matchbox cars. Then I started collecting obscure smartphones and later, custom-built computers and old iPods. In more recent years, I’ve pivoted to vehicles, buying and selling all sorts of cars and motorcycles. I mean, I’m the lady who loves Smart so much that I own six Fortwos and plan on collecting more!
Sometimes I let my collecting get out of hand and I think I reached that point. By the spring of this year, I had a total of 27 vehicles, 17 of which were cars, 9 were motorcycles, and one bus (plus a camper). Recently, I wrote an article about the cool cars you can import in 2025 and one of them, the Audi A2, is a car I want to import as soon as I find one that’s old enough. My excitement dimmed at the thought of adding even more cars to my fleet. Then I thought about it. Why do I own some of the cars I have? Why not just have nothing but my dream fleet?
That made something in my head click. One of the blessings and curses of working for a car website is that I don’t have a real commute. I wake up, I get showered, I get dressed, and I get my blood flowing before I sit down at a computer in my apartment. I could go weeks before I need to drive a car for a practical reason. So, if nothing needs to be a daily driver, there’s nothing stopping me from just owning nothing but the cars I dream about.
This has brought me to one conclusion: Everything that isn’t a dream car needs to go right now.
Now, I want to be clear that what counts as a dream car to me isn’t what most picture when that term is uttered. I have six Smart Fortwos because those are the cars I love so dearly. They’re also dirt cheap to maintain when you know how to work on them yourself. I could keep a Smart alive with my eyes closed. So, those aren’t going anywhere. I’m also not getting rid of the Saturn Sky Red Line or my Volkswagen Touareg V10 TDI. Those are the cars I dreamed about owning when I was a kid and I finally have them. I’m so excited I get to say that! I also adore my Honda Beat and my Suzuki Every Kei cars.
Then I got to the rest of my list. I had two Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen TDIs, a very well-used Volkswagen Phaeton V8, a BMW 530xi wagon, a Volkswagen Passat TDI, a Buell Blast I wasn’t riding, a Genuine Stella scooter that doesn’t even run, and a Volkswagen Touareg VR6 that required far more in repairs than it was even worth.
I’ve been going through my head over and over with these vehicles, asking myself a few questions. Why did I buy these vehicles? What practical value do these vehicles add? How much does it cost to keep them around? And perhaps most important to me, someone who doesn’t actually need a daily driver: What do these cars do for my feelings?
The answer is that all of the cars on the above list don’t actually do much for me. I bought the 2012 Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen TDI because I was searching for the holy grail of Volkswagen diesel wagons. That was also the same reason I bought the 2010 Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen TDI and the 2005 Volkswagen Passat TDI wagon. Until recently, these cars lived side-by-side!
How did I buy three diesel wagons in the search for the grail? The 2012 white Jetta has a DSG, and that didn’t do it for me, so I bought the black 2010, which has a six-speed manual. That was better, but once the honeymoon wore off it sort of just became a car to me. It defaulted to being the closest I had to a daily driver. I then picked up the Passat TDI because it had a manual swap and I thought finally, that car would be the grail.
I’ve come to the confusing realization that either these cars are not the grails I’ve been searching for, or maybe I’ve just fallen out of love with Volkswagen diesel wagons. Either way, I lost the feelings I had for these cars and they aren’t dream cars, so it’s time to get rid of them. I sold the Passat TDI earlier this year and in typical Volkswagen fashion, it fell apart on the owner on the way home.
A few weeks or so ago I sold my 2010 Jetta SportWagen TDI to a diesel fan. I haven’t heard much from the buyer since, so I assume things are going pretty okay. I sure hope so. Now, it’s time to let go of the 2012 SportWagen and its impressive 355,000 miles. There was a time I thought I was going to take that car to a million miles, now I don’t care.
I also sold my beloved U-Haul CT13 earlier this year. I met up with the owner a few days ago and I’m happy to hear he’s made good progress on the restoration. He’s reconditioned the wheels and the frame, but sadly, the original 40-year-old curtains disintegrated into a sort of cotton powder when he tried cleaning them.
Once these cars are out of my life the only Volkswagen in my fleet will be the Volkswagen Touareg V10 TDI, and I’m okay with that! My Touareg VR6 was the subject of a different purge I did earlier this year and the Volkswagen Phaeton has already ended up in the hands of a dishonest flipper, who continues to have a hard time selling it.
So, what else am I getting rid of? I still want to rid myself of the 2005 Genuine Stella. I bought it as a fun project, got it running, let it sit, and then gave it to my wife to teach her how to wrench on a bike. It has served its purpose and I have no desire to keep it. I have so few feelings for that scooter that the picture above is five years old and it’s the best picture I have of the Stella.
I’m also saying goodbye to the 2007 BMW 530xi that I bought from the Bishop. This car is one of the nicest things I own. The Bishop took incredible care of this car and if it weren’t for the 180,000 miles on the odometer, you’d be able to fool me that it had maybe half of the miles.
But, at the same time, I don’t really have much attachment to this car outside of liking how it looks. I like looking at it and it is a comfortable drive, but it’s not a car that appears in my dreams at night or on my phone’s wallpaper. So, let’s get rid of that, too.
Once I’m done with this purge, my car list will contain the six Smarts, the Honda Beat, the Suzuki Every, the Saturn Sky Red Line, the Volkswagen Touareg V10 TDI, the Plymouth Special DeLuxe, and the holy grail BMW X5 with a manual transmission.
I should also get rid of my bus, but I would love to have that be a part of my personal vehicle museum one day. I’ve been wanting one of those buses ever since I was a kid and I fear if I get rid of it I’ll regret it. At the same time, my heavy diesel mechanic friend has warned me that I’m truly boned if I ever need a major repair like an engine overhaul. He’s warned me that a transit bus engine overhaul at his shop would cost at least $10,000 and really, they are not meant to be owned by singular weirdos like me. That’s like playing with fire.
The good news is that I don’t need to make that decision right now. But what I do want to do right now is get rid of those cars that aren’t my dream cars. This is already having a positive impact as the cars I have gotten rid of have given me the time and motivation to fix my old 2008 Smart Fortwo.
It’s now all cleaned up, wearing newer non-snapped front springs, and ready to be a daily driver again. I even have a plan to get rid of the decals of the business from which I bought the car. As it turns out, I don’t need to buy new panels! Which is good since those are darn hard to find nowadays, anyway.
What’s next? I plan to keep the fleet on a downward trend, but I also want to chase nothing but my dream cars. In 2025 I will import an Audi A2 and then tell you how to get your own car from Europe. I also want to import a Rover MGF, maybe not to keep it, but definitely to try it out. How bad could a British Miata be? I have no idea, but I want to find out. I also have other cars I want to try like a first-generation Honda Insight and a BMW Z3. Again, I may not keep these cars, but the glut of non-dream cars I have sitting around hinders me from following my heart.
Until then, I’m just happy to have lifted a weight off of my shoulders. I’m going to be under 20 total vehicles for the first time in far too long. Hopefully, these next cars going up for sale will go to people who will appreciate them rather than try to offload them onto someone else with a dishonest listing.
If you are looking to import an Audi A2, I have one that might interest you. Don’t want to sell it but my wife is pushing me to get rid of one of my two rare S-line editions. Let me know if you’d like some details.
There’s a fellow in North Carolina who imports MGF’s, maybe drop down and try one, or at least give him a call? Bill at Monte Carlo Motors
Collecting stuff provides a drug like rush when you’re on the hunt for the next. Going to get it..researching everything about it. Then do it again. Actually restoring things…not so much. I’ve done it with many things. Antique radios and the odd TV. Scooters..I’ve had Vespa, Lambretta, Moto Rumi, Heinkel, Zundap Bella and more. Antique Outboard motors. Fin Boats from the 50’s and 60’s. Suzuki Sidekicks and GEO Trackers. Thank God I binge and purge. If I kept everything I’d have drowned in it all by now.
I’ve had the same thoughts: my car- & parts-collecting approached the madness of the paragraph in Fear and Loathing in Los Vegas about a serious drug-buying run.
Same boat. And sell ALL the smart cars, and get a Honda Insight 😛
A fleet purge from time to time can certainly be a good thing. I’m hitting that point myself – I’ve got a parts car Jaguar that should go, the carcass of an ’84 Grand Marquis which is scrap, a van that can think of many good uses for yet hasn’t been on the road for almost three years, and Trailblazer that needs to be fixed for forgotten.
Of course, it would help if I hadn’t recently abandoned all garage work in favor of finally getting the house buttoned up. I’m on year-four of stucco-repair, scraping, sanding, fixing trim etc. on my 1921 Craftsman House. Things really started to come together after the new roof was put on about a year ago. Now, having an unseasonably warm fall has let me get to the home stretch and I’m hoping to having it all done including the minor detail work (that seems to take forever) work before the snow flies.
With a little luck, I can hopefully finish the house and open up a couple of vehicle-sized spots next to the shed out back within the next month. It would be good to make room as I think my daughter has her eye on a Miata to go with her Corvette and would greatly appreciate some space to start her own fleet.
I would hate to have to run all those cars through Virginia inspection. Good job on making life (hopefully easier.)
For years, ever since I was old enough to read through the car magazines, I’ve wanted a 911. First it became the goal if I won the lottery, then it sorta became achievable, and now getting closer to retirement it’s a possibility. But I’ve realized I don’t want to own a 911 and everything that goes along with that. (Porsche repair bills, insurance, etc.). My plan now is to buy several Saabs. Get another convertible, get a 900 turbo 2 door, maybe even a 99 or a Sonett. All pre-GM cars. Cars I’ve owned (900 convertible and 900 3 door) and regretted selling. Costs for purchase and maintenance much less than a 911.
Not quite a fleet of Smart cars, but similar, I guess. Also, somebody buy the Bishop’s old BMW so I’m not tempted.
This is really great. More isn’t more. Don’t let stuff own you.
I’m really fighting the urge to make you an offer on that Stella.
Hoover has the same problem, too. He had to sell many vehicles then bought more vehicles then sell them then buy more.
Let’s see how long it last before Mercedes starts buying the cars again…
You have some of the most interesting cars i have seen, I am looking for my first car after graduating school, and which can help me get to my job, that Bmw seems like it should be the perfect problem solver.
Bought my first bmw last year. My advice would be to first get something boring & reliable and only go German after you’ve settled in to the beginnings of your career. You don’t want to be that person with great prospects—but is often missing or late because a sensor is acting up.
I currently own 4 vehicles, a 2012 F-150, a 2022 Escape SE PHEV, a 1998 Explorer 5.0, and a 93 Explorer.
The F-150 is a crew cab with the standard bed (6.7ft) so it won’t fit in my townhouse garage so it gets to sit outside in the parking lot and be moved every three days to keep the green sticker at bay from the security officer. The Escape and the 98 Explorer live in the garage while I rent a boat storage shed to house the 93 Explorer. Registration is only kept up on the Escape and the F-150 as the other two are more off-road toys than daily’s (though both were for several years).
I’ll say though that my interest in doing the repairs is waning as I am getting older and I need to downsize the fleet. The only one that is not going anywhere is the 93 Explorer, but it needs a lot of TLC to bring it back to a daily. The F-150 would be hard to part with but it isn’t a spring chicken with 256k on the original 5.0 and transmission and it’s starting show it’s age. The 98 Explorer I’ve owned the longest and dumped the most money into (full engine rebuild, transmission rebuild), but I’ve toyed with giving it up for years. I like it, but I don’t love it. The Escape I really like as my daily, but it has a car payment that I hate, but it gets amazing gas mileage, but the insurance payment is high, but it doesn’t require as much maintenance… You see where this goes.
Anyways, we all have work arounds to hold on to vehicles we like, but after a while it’s good to let some of them go if they don’t excite you anymore.
Pink Floyd, The Wall, “One Of My Turns”
Is rego in the States really cheap or something? We’re paying like AU$950 a year (about US$640) per car or bike just to keep them registered here. You can get “club” rego for cars over 25 years which is quite a bit cheaper, but it looks like a lot of the cars on this list wouldn’t be eligible for that.
$950!? Yikes. It varies by state here, but in Ohio I just registered a vehicle for a full year for about $60. So, yes, dramatically cheaper, it seems.
It varies by state. In Maine, registration is based on MSRP when new, so it’s not cheap. I bought an Outback for $200 and paid $247 to register it.
Cost of registration can be really crazy in other places. In Singapore, a Certificate of Entitlement (COE) is needed to own and operate a vehicle. The cost for a passenger car COE 1600cc’s or higher is currently US$80,000 per vehicle, and the certificate is good for 10 years. Add another US$600-$750 for annual road taxes. Gas is around US$8.00/gallon. In comparison, a motorcycle COE is ‘only’ US$7,200 per motorcycle. Their public transit system is super affordable, fast, and very clean, so vehicle ownership really isn’t necessary to daily needs.
Oregon is pretty cheap, $126 for two years for most stuff although newer cars may be $156 based on EPA combined gas mileage. There are extra fees for the Portland area and Medford for emissions testing so at worst $300 for two years. Motorcycles are cheap, maybe $50 for two years.
Other than that your off road stuff needs a $10 ATV permit and your ski rig needs a $25 Sno-Park pass
> How bad could a British Miata be?
Oh sweetie…
It’s bad.
But there’s a good chance a blown head gasket will prevent you enduring it.
Plus it’s more of a British mk3 MR2. But heavier and more headgaskety.
I can’t imagine anyone with a Honda Beat being anything but massively disappointed with an MGF.
Mercedes, I must I do greatly enjoy your writing. I think it’s because you’re out there doing the “courageous” buys that many of us think “that’d be interesting” and then experience the real world consequences of those buys…and you’re not afraid to call yourself on them. Please keep doing what you’re doing.
Bus engines are good for about a half million miles hauling passengers, so you’re probably safe there for a while. Something like an injector or turbo failure, which could happen spontaneously, would be quite costly though.
I can confirm that transit buses are cost prohibitive to own. HOWEVER, I happen to know a 20 year diesel mechanic with 8 years experience in transit buses that would be willing to trade labour for say, a BMW 530xi wagon.
Hypothetically speaking of course. Plus, you’d have to import
methem from Canada to do the work.We’re losing kooks faster than we can replace them! It sounds like The Autopian should be interviewing for a brand new nutcase to own too many cars soon.
I guarantee that if I didn’t live in a restricted parking suburb, I’d be a prime candidate for that position!
I only have five vehicles so far, and it’s already a daily scramble to keep the neighbors and enforcement at bay. But I am shopping to rent a garage bay…
A garage bay is nice, and you don’t have to deal with the residential neighborhood crap. I rented a 2 car garage with room for 4 more cars inside a gated lot. The landlord was cool AF! When I rented I asked: “can I make noise here?” He replied: “Make as much noise as you want, nobody’s going to bother you here.” It was a 4 unit complex. A garage on one side that had meth guys storing crap that the landlord was desperately trying to evict. A hair solon that hated me probably because I like cigars and the smoke wafted over. And another garage with a guy that liked old Chevys but he was super nosey; but it didn’t matter because that 10 ft gate was sweet.
It was the best place to get away from life, listen to music and tool on whatever I felt like. A bonus was the two times I had engines freighted in and there was no residential fee as I was across the street from the grocery store dock.
It was very sad to move out of that place, but mortgaging and upgrading a house is killing my fun time and my wallet. 7 cars a year ago and now its down to 4. That Datsun was real tough to see go. Got plans to get another car in the future but it’s got to be nice. Something like Mercedes’ bus would be deluxe! Thinking of a 2000’s Orion but something like that would be ridiculous to maintain .
Steven Walter Gossin and his beater rescue operation are holding the line
SWG actually seems to fix and sell his projects though, which is awesome.
Who will write the frustrating hand-wringing articles?
“I can’t decide between the newer i3 with awesome paint (and twice the range), or the older one- because it has a slightly more solid engine cover”
“Why hasn’t this failing diesel Passat with a manual swap made all my wildest motoring fantasies come true?”
Unsuccessful so far in trying to convince the family to buy back our old station wagon. You had best act fast before I change my mind. I invested so much over the years that I feel like I need to get more out of it.
I can assure you it’s worth whatever she’s going to ask; you won’t find an E61 with a cleaner interior.
I wish I could afford to take it on myself. That’s a damn fine wagon and I’d adore it for a daily driver. If someone hasn’t snapped it up by the time I’m back to work I might well come kick the tires, which you can actually do, this being one of the last generations of motor vehicle to have a wheel and tire combination that allows for sidewall.
Mercedes, I’m curious what your insurance bill looks like. Are you even able to insure the whole fleet with the same company?
I’m more curious about the license plate situation. Fellow Illinoisan here, and at $150/year just for annual stickers, that’s gotta be a big cost too.
I wonder if a collector would be able to somehow register themselves as a dealer and have one set of plates bouncing from car to car.
That list of vehicles looks great on paper but I am pretty sure that actually owning them would stress me out tremendously.
> That list of vehicles looks great on paper
… I don’t think that’s true.
Good for you, Mercedes!
I only have two cars—and put maybe 3-4k miles on them combined each year. Actually talked again to a guy who had mentioned he might want the Subaru last week. Then I pulled the tender off and am driving it. Nope: not ready to let it go.
I barely got to double digits of vehicles years back, but it was rather a relief when code enforcement forced me to downsize. As long as I have a way to get to work, I don’t need a parts car just in case I blow an engine. Lesson learned
Ferdinand Piech disliked this. From beyond the grave. Spooky!
For me, it’s not just maintenance, but also actually using them and I feel a bit guilty about not using stuff like that. I had 9 bicycles and I find I really only ride 3 or 4 of them (well, one was unrideable). I donated the unrideable, incomplete 1890s mystery bike to a museum as I realized I was never going to get around to restoring it and I’m trying to find someone who’d want the Cyclops custom. It’s a ’64 Columbia Firebolt step-through that I converted to a 6-speed freewheel and replaced the now missing coaster brake with one of those bolt on disc kits. Works surprisingly well and feels solid, but there’s no way to add a front brake without changing out the fork I can’t be bothered to do, so I’d mainly keep it to bike trails just to be safe. I need to give it to a small person who would keep an eye on the mechanicals and know how to deal with it and nobody who fits that profile wants a wobbly old cruiser “girl’s bike”. I also should get rid of the Miyata 1000 as my knees hate it for whatever annoying reason, so I don’t ride it. I missed selling it during the pandemic when I might have been able to get some decent money for it. Unfortunately for my motivation, bikes are easy and free to store.
“I also should get rid of the Miyata 1000 as my knees hate it for whatever annoying reason, so I don’t ride it. I missed selling it during the pandemic when I might have been able to get some decent money for it.”
Thanks to Sheldon Brown that’s the Grail bike for a lot of folks so you will probably get more for that Miyata than for a similar non-Sheldon blessed bike.
That said a couple of years ago I passed on a beautiful late 80s example (with the internally splined tubing) offered by a local bike charity shop because it was just too similar to my $50 Shogun Alpine GT and $100 Nishiki Seral. The ask on the Miyata was $400. It was advertised for a long time too.
It does appear to me though in my nearly daily perusal of CL and now Facebook marketplace that such vintage bikes are showing up less often. Whether that translates to higher selling prices I dunno.
Regarding your knees someone suggested to me that going with shorter crank arms can be easier on the knees. Have you tried that?
“Unfortunately for my motivation, bikes are easy and free to store.”
Tell me about it! I have 13 bikes, mostly fully lugged 80’s steel and I have to constantly fight the urge to pick up more. Most of that is fueled by the fact I’m a cheap bastard who loves value and IMO there is no better value in personal transport than vintage bikes. People literally throw them away!
I’ve never spent more than $120 on a bike and that was for a grail bike (an ’86 Raleigh Kodiak in beautiful condition and geometry similar to a Trek 720) of my own. Most of my bikes cost me between $0 and $50, not including servicing and upgrades.
Sheldon Brown is why I bought it! I was going to do a century ride for my 40th (to see which would give out first: my attention span or my fitness). Mine is an ’89 with the “quad butted” splined tubing. Also had the radial tires and Biopace rings, so it’s a collection of brief, vintage ideas (though the bar end shifters were broken and I converted to brifters before knowing about my knees or I would have just sourced originals). I took the tires off to preserve them (they didn’t ride any better than modern bias ply, but they were also pretty old, so I don’t know if that’s a proper assessment of them). Changed out the Biopace to normal rings (even though SB said they should be better for knees), and screwed with the position of the seat every which way to no avail. I didn’t try shorter crank arms, but they’re the same length as the ones I have on other bikes that my knees have no problem with. My knees even like my single speed 1912 bike better and I can’t quite make full leg extension on it even with flipping the seat bracket upwards to mount the saddle over the 7 stem instead of it straddling the stem (yet, I can barely stand over the top tube with the smallest frame size of the time and I’m 5’11” with long limbs—those old frames were tall). I was t-boned by a car when I was 14 or so and that messed up my knees for a while, so it might just be a peculiarity relating to that. Quality really does have a special feel, so I really wish my knees liked the Miyata as it has that, as well as the 1912 Iver (internally lugged frame, tubes of bored billet steel rolled down to wall thickness—I love the thing).
I used to tell people all the time to get a vintage bike from a yard sale instead of getting a bike-like temporary transportation device from the box stores. Pre-pandemic, they were dirt cheap or free needing minimal, normal work, like new tires and pads. Mostly, they bought new bikes instead, but at least they bought real bicycles (I think it helps that they sell vintage looking new bikes at fair prices rather than just mostly, “We have both kinds of bikes here: road and mountain.”). I stopped following the market for old bikes, but I imagine they’ve come back down. Still, I don’t see as many as I used to, like when hipsters were building fixed gear bikes and old English 3-speeds were common on college campuses. Lots of car-priced plastic junk, though.
I’ve only spent that little on bikes that were frames for custom builds. The Sears Spaceliner frame for my Mid Century build was $25, but the build was probably about $1k all told (fork, hand made fiberglass tank/top tube and Monark Super Frame replica 2-position handlebars, 12V head and tail lights, all new components, wheels, and accounting for re-engineering things, like the rotary shifter set into the tank so that they actually worked). The rocket bike was a lot cheaper to build and I inherited the bike I built it from, but it could have cost the most and still been the best value due to the universal joy it brings and just generally being a surprisingly comfortable bike to ride. The truss frame Iver Johnson Special Racer was the most I spent, but it’s all original and in excellent condition and I still only spent about entry level decent bike money on it including having a new set of wood wheels built.
I stopped following the market for old bikes, but I imagine they’ve come back down.
They have. I bought almost all my bikes post pandemic.
As a point of comparison I have a 1986 Peugeot Orient Express with the chainstay mounted brake I bought in 2012 for $50. Another is a 1985 Peugeot Orient Express with a conventional rear brake I bought a few months ago. Price? $50. The ’85 needed quite a bit more work and its paint is in much poorer condition that the ’86 but its nothing a rattle can can’t fix.
This summer the amazing deals were harder to find but they still existed. I picked up a 1988 Panasonic PT-3500 for $45, the Orient express and found a much newer Fuji…something on a trash pile. Its not really something I’m interested in for more than parts but if I needed transport it could be made rideable for not a lot of cash. Plus it was free.
The Miyata is no doubt an amazing bike but if it doesn’t work for you it’s not much use to you. Keep looking and good luck.
I assume you tried moving the saddle forward? As someone 6’ 3”, but also with long limbs and a short torso, I never got on well with the slack seat post touring bikes and ATBs.
I do appreciate what the fixie fad did to proliferate quality ‘normal’ bikes among bike brand’s lineups, and replace the 45lb “full suspension” Bicycle Shaped Object. Before, regular folks who wanted to spend “a few hundred” on a bike ended up with some overweight excuse for a MTB from the department store. Now, they tend to order a steel single speed off a website, and while it isn’t the fanciest thing in the world, at least they end up with a competent, fast rolling bike than weighs about 25 pounds, with very little to break or go out of tune.
I tried forward, back, and different angles, though I prefer slack tubing, which makes the Miyata such a mystery. The geometry of the 1912 racer is about the same as a cruiser bike, though with the 7 stem, the seat is a little forward of the tube, so I think it ends up only a little slack compared to today’s road bikes, but I haven’t measured it. As for comfort, I don’t doubt the 7 stem has a little flex that also helps, plus the wood wheels. My favorite riding bikes are ’90s hybrids with the saddles all the way back, which my USAAF, rocket, and EV project area all based on. They’re all chromoly Giants, now that I think of it, which is my favorite tubing material in terms of bang for the buck. It’s fairly light, strong, and seems more corrosion resistant than lesser steels without the fatigue of aluminum and for fairly cheap money. My Specialized Allez is my least slack. My knees don’t hate it as much as the Miyata, but I never ride it, anyway, as I enjoy the other bikes more and find that people are much more aggressive to anyone on a road bike, even in street clothes. My neck also doesn’t appreciate the bar position since I got double whiplash from two car crashes, but the main thing is the cars.
If you’re gonna collect (hoard) vehicular transportation, bicycles are a much safer vice than anything with an engine!
Successfully overhauling a bike, (even stripping and repainting it nicely) tends to be well within the wheelhouse of your average human. (With mere mortal levels of motivation, time and mechanical know how.)
Growing up, my dad and my brother and I used to bring home all kinds of vintage bikes we would find on the curb. There always seemed to be some decent Japanese road or touring bike, with butted tubes and a decent groupset, out for spring garbage pickup in any given neighbourhood. (We skipped the 70s ‘bike boom’ Raleighs and Peugeots though.)
I laced my first set of wheels following instructions from Sheldon’s website.
I think you’re correct, while plenty of those bikes live on, the days of their original owners giving them away en masse for nothing are over. Lots of those bikes met their fate 10-15 years ago, stripped of parts and turned into fixies. A hard decade locked to lamp poles, and they’re about ready for scrap. The gravel bike trend has definitely driven up the price of 90s ATBs, now modified with chunky tires, 1x conversions and flared drops.
I have purchased a few bikes with real money over the years- A Reynolds 725 Norco Search, and an entry-level Torrent last year. They have been fun, and very functional, but to be honest they haven’t quite scratched the same itch as the chromoly Velosport I repainted with my dad and commuted to school with. Something about the flex of a quill stem and curved fork blades just feels right.
I picked up a showroom condition 1980 Univega Sportour last year from the husband of the original owner. She had recently died and he was letting go of her stuff. He sold it to me for $25. I probably could have talked him into giving it to me but at his ask I didn’t think it was worth it. Earlier this year a neighbor put out a 1993 Specialized Rockhopper with a big “FREE!” sign on it. A a couple of years ago I got a husband and wife pair of Diamondback ATBs from someone cleaning out a storage locker for free too. So while not “en masse” such deals are still around.
I’ve found it really helps to put out the word you are into vintage bikes. A lot of folks are only too happy to see their unridden bike go to someone who will take care of it rather than go to the dump.
“I laced my first set of wheels following instructions from Sheldon’s website.”
I just used the other wheel as a guide. Since then I’ve gotten into replacing all my ancient, ugly plain steel spokes with double butted stainless ones.
You’re right, they are still out there. Those are some solid wins.
This might also be a regional thing- If I recall, you are on the west coast?
Up here in Ontario, the housing crisis is real- Indoor storage is at a premium, and bikes tend to get used up pretty quick once they’ve been demoted to outdoor life. A lot of the old bike exchange places have gone under, or the owners have died.
I do see lots vintage bikes listed, but post Covid, people still seem to want real money- even the people unloading 70s bikes. I’m not tuned in enough to know if they’re actually selling though. I also moved out of the city which probably doesn’t help.
I’m in suburban SFBA so as far as housing crises so we have our own long term problems (Thanks a lot NIMBYS!) Maybe worse than yours.
The bright side is bikes here often have an easier life. Our winters are a lot warmer and dryer than yours. People throw them in the garage and bury them under lots of other crap so they’re in pretty good shape the day that garage finally gets cleared out.
I do find that one of the bigger dangers to steel bikes here isn’t climate but people who use them indoors and never wipe off the sweat.
“I do see lots vintage bikes listed, but post Covid, people still seem to want real money- even the people unloading 70s bikes. I’m not tuned in enough to know if they’re actually selling though.”
I see those bikes too. They tend to stay advertised for a LOOONG time.
Oh yeah, you’ve probably got our housing problems beat, but that tracks about the climate.
Not that dry, indoor storage doesn’t exist in Ontario, but the sort of leaky, midcentury block-work garages, carports and basements (where an older person might forget about a bike for 20 years) tend to be a recipe for condensation and surface rust.
We have some wood working machinery stored in an unheated storage locker, and the steel surfaces already needed oil and steel wool after a year…
It’s pretty rare to have an old bike turn up in near-showroom condition, unless someone cared enough to keep it in their house. In which case, they actually rode it, or were a collector type and want money. Even those plentiful bikes I remember picking up 15 years ago were either starting to rust from neglect, or well-used.
I used to work in a bike shop, the sweat is real. Absolute hell on aluminum seat posts and inserts in carbon frames, or those laminated Shimano cranksets.
I think if I lived in an area like you describe I’d treat my bikes like I treat my wool clothes; I store them in vacuum sealed plastic bags whenever I’m not using them. Keeps the dust off too.
Fucking moths, am I right??
Yes, yes you are.
I have read a light dusting of borax worked into the fabric is a good deterrent though. You might find a tiny nibble but not a hole. Borax is also is harmless to the fabric.
How much for the Stella :)?
Congratulations! I was up to 13 at one point… 7 of them Mercedes-Benz 108/109s. A falling tree smashed 4 of them, then a random passerby offered me cash for a never quite finished restoration project. Suddenly I felt incredibly free, and realized just how much the zombie projects had been weighing on me for years!
Currently I am down to 5 largely working vehicles, and have had the time to start the ground up car build I have always dreamed of doing.
Good luck with your new plans & I’m glad you are keeping the Beat and Every! 🙂
You had SEVEN 108s?!
Five 108s and two 109s. It was a magnificent but painful sink hole.
I started out with a very rare 3.5L 4 speed manual 109 that was running but needed significant work. Then I bought a 108 to drive while working on the 109… then another 108… then a 109 parts car… eventually 108/109s filled my whole side yard and I had parts hiding everywhere!
I envy, fear, and sympathize with you.