Deals you REALLLLLLY missed out on...

Dueller · 03:06 PM

I'm not talking about hindsight and wishing you invested in Apple 25 years ago or you shoulda bought a 72 911S new. I'm talking about real deals that were actually offered to you and you said "meh...nahhhh."

My misssed opportunity? Around 1986 a friend of mine invited my then wife and I, along with 10-15 other couples, to a party. He was seeking 12 investors at $10K eqach so he could build a prototype product he wanted to develop.

I didn't have $10K to risk and coupled with the fact this friend had run more than one of his pipe dream companies into the ground financially, I politely declined. Nice guy but he wasn't generally regarded as a primo business man.

But some of our social group took a leap of faith and ponied up. A few even invested $20K.

Three years later when the company was bought out by a larger investment group, the return on the original $10K was nearly $1 million.

The friend? Freddy Carl. The Company? Viking Range.

Rick V · 04-10-2009, 03:33 PM

I was heading home one night and saw a for sale sign in the window of a 1970 Dodge Charger RT/LE. I stopped to ask about the car, I have always wanted one and I still do. Well the drunk fellow who answered the door told me the judge was making him sell it, and it had to go that day, it was the last day of the grace period he was given. The price, $400. Well being a 17 year old kid, I didn't have the money but I called dad who said sure he would spot me. I told the fellow to sit tight and that I would be back within the hour. I raced home (literally, the 440 in my 67 newport was thumping the ground) and grabbed Dad and his checkbook. When I arrived at the fellows house, the car was gone. Seems that somebody had stopped by just after I left to get Dad, and dropped $4,000 on the hood......................SOLD.
Wasn't ment to be but I feel it was a missed opportunity.

scottmandue · 04-10-2009, 04:14 PM

About twelve years ago before I got my state job I was unemployed.

I tried to get my dad to back me in opening a coffee shop. (rent a vintage storefront, buy some funky furniture at a thrift store, play jazz music CD's, sell pastries made out of house)

His reply "Scott, it is just a coffee shop!"

afterburn 549 · 04-10-2009, 04:20 PM

Gull wing SL 1957 ? I think, 6500 hundred bucks . This was in 1973 sitting @ Aurora Jeep and Ford Lot. (seattle)
I knew it was going to be a collectors dream, but that was way more $$ then I had @ the time.

slakjaw · 04-10-2009, 04:23 PM

Deals you REALLLLLLY missed out on...

Their names were angie and lisa

gassy · 04-10-2009, 04:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dueller

I'm not talking about hindsight and wishing you invested in Apple 25 years ago or you shoulda bought a 72 911S new. I'm talking about real deals that were actually offered to you and you said "meh...nahhhh."

My misssed opportunity? Around 1986 a friend of mine invited my then wife and I, along with 10-15 other couples, to a party. He was seeking 12 investors at $10K eqach so he could build a prototype product he wanted to develop.

I didn't have $10K to risk and coupled with the fact this friend had run more than one of his pipe dream companies into the ground financially, I politely declined. Nice guy but he wasn't generally regarded as a primo business man.

But some of our social group took a leap of faith and ponied up. A few even invested $20K.

Three years later when the company was bought out by a larger investment group, the return on the original $10K was nearly $1 million.

The friend? Freddy Carl. The Company? Viking Range.

My wife screamed when I read this to her.

bell · bell's Garage

I saw an ad years ago for a 57? Chevy nomad wagon that was a little beat but totally rust free.......he wanted 1500 for it....I gave him 600 and headed to the bank to get the rest of the cash, while I was gone only an hour his neighbor came and handed him 3k cash and took it. I was VERY pissed and a fight almost happened when the neighbor got in my face, we scuffled a bit and the old man who sold the car felt bad and tried to make the neighbor give the car back (or so it seemed...they could've been in cohoots)....I left with my deposit and an attitude......

Hugh R · 04-10-2009, 04:38 PM

Bought the DB4 instead of a 67 Cobra 289. The only salvation is that if I'd bought the Cobra, I'd have been dead within a month. I was 17 in the USMC, that was 38 years ago.

Robert Adams · Robert Adams's Garage

I'll confine my 'shoulda done' to cars for now.

I went to see a Lamborghini 400GT back in the mid 70s in the Philadelphia subs. They wanted $3500 and I could have probably gotten it for $3000. Oh that still stings! The reason I didn't buy it was it needed a valve job, but otherwise was in showroom condition.

Sorry I sold my 65 356SC conv too!

futuresoptions · 04-10-2009, 06:04 PM

Missed a clean euro import Silver / Black 912 back in 1986 for $800.

Missed a clean DB-5 back in 1988 for $3500.

Wife told me to buy sugar, I bought Cocoa, should of listened to wife...

pwd72s · 04-10-2009, 06:06 PM

Gee, I missed out on buying into Madoff's hedge fund...

Tidybuoy · 04-10-2009, 06:25 PM

I had a friend who was a stock broker and was involved in the IPO of Yahoo. He told me about it and told me I could invest if I was interested.

I thought to myself - who in the hell would call a company yahoo. I declined.

fastfredracing · 04-10-2009, 07:01 PM

Walked away from a super clean 1970 z 28 with 33,000 miles for $3500.00 Back in 1992. The car was completely original ,and real clean with the exception of needing a real good clean from storage. I had too many cars at the time, and was starting my buisness so I passed. I probably would have made 20 grand had I sat on it for 10 years.

gprsh924 · 04-10-2009, 07:06 PM

My dad and my uncle tried to get the owners of Whitey's Ice cream (quad cities ice cream shop) to let them franchise the store in the chicagoland area. This was long before Coldstone and all the other gourmet ice cream places. The owners wouldn't do it. Its really too bad, because they would have made an absolute killing, and I might be on this board talking about the 997 I drive rather than the 924

Monza_dh · Monza_dh's Garage

My buddies and I were out of work 15 years ago and were trying to buy a bar in town. Well it fell through about 3 different times and I finally got a job so I told them I was out. A few months later they bought the business and realestete for $80K in a bank auction. The place now does $500K a year in business and the building alone is worth over a million. They ended up buying two more places and make a mint. I have the same but different miserable high tech job....

My old man had it worse. His first car when he got a job out of college was a '55 Speedster that he sold for a TR3 then sold that for a VW Beetle when he finally had kids. Along the way two of his ski buddies bought houses in Aspen for $3K each. He thought it was too much $$ at the time.........

grudk · 04-10-2009, 07:30 PM

I remember my Dad looking at a 250LM in the early 70s for about 5K.

cgarr · cgarr's Garage

Years back we got our first computers at the insurance company, they were IBM 8086's with no hard drive, (whats a hard drive) boot it up with IBM DOS floppy's then a company came out with and sent us free DOS disks called MS-DOS I said to the Controller, "who the hell is going to stay in business giving away DOS disks? what a bunch of fools"

pa911 · 04-10-2009, 07:53 PM

About ten years ago my brother offered to sell me his Shelby KR500 for 14K..I passed some other guy bought it for 20K.This might be the same car.http://www.allfordmustangs.com/photopost/showphoto.php/photo/59748

KarlCarrera · 08:41 PM

Here's a different one. My dad "found" me a 65' Mustang coupe, 55,000 miles, 289 hi-po (271hp) Pony interior, light yellow, 'trombone' (factory) dual exhaust, 'GT' strips, badging, fog lights, the real deal! (K code) This cost me $1050 in 1973, sold it to my brother 2 yrs later for $600, who sold his 68 Camero (307 V8 I think) for $500. My replacement..........1973 VEGA 'GT'. Sold to me buy a very nice looking 22 Yr old. TTHHEE most expensive piece of a** I ever had!! Although she and I "visited" repeatedly, and when you are 18 what else matters(?). I would have been better off with a 1600cc Pinto.

Worse(?) 1972 240Z, 51,000miles, perfect. Got rid of it to buy a house for my first wife.

Believe me, dreams (nightmares) still leave me shaking my head today

Karl
88 Targa

Kraftwerk · 09:04 PM

A pal called me ( this was in the early 90's) said I could buy an apartment in the building he lived in, 1/2 a block from Central Park West NYC. for $14,000. I had the money but didn't want to give up my loft in Brooklyn! Sheet that was stupid! The catch was the city was selling it and you had to LIVE there so I said F. it.

Also a few years later big Mike wanted to give me his '71 Buick Grand something or other really nice lines belonged to his Grand Pa in Florida... only had reverse.. couldn't take it, new a tranny was beyond my budget.

Then there was this girl I had dated.....