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Project Cars--You Get to Vote on "Hold 'em or Fold 'em"

25654 messages,  Last post on May 23, 2013 at 2:52 AM

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Messages Page 2493 of 2567

#24913 of 25654 Re: Barge [tjc78] by au1994

Jan 09, 2013 (7:09 am)

Replying to: tjc78 (Jan 08, 2013 1:44 pm)
This is very common in my neoghborhood as well and I don't understand it. All are at least 4BR houses, some on a slab some w/basement but I'd bet 60% have not just one but both cars parked outside because the garage is packed.
 
I asked a neighbor once, who both he and the wife had less than 2 yr old cars with a total value of ~50k, why not clear the garage and park inside.
 
The answer I got was 'you don't have kids, you don't understand'.

#24914 of 25654 Re: Barge [au1994] by michaell

Jan 09, 2013 (7:51 am)

Replying to: au1994 (Jan 09, 2013 7:09 am)
I asked a neighbor once, who both he and the wife had less than 2 yr old cars with a total value of ~50k, why not clear the garage and park inside.
  
The answer I got was 'you don't have kids, you don't understand'.
 
Seems like most families are just a box or two away from appearing on an episode of "Hoarders".
 
When we moved into our house (1600sf, 3bd, 2.5ba, slab), the kids were 14 and 12. We made everything fit and were still able to park our cars (Expedition, New Beetle) in the garage.
 
Having a place to keep our cars out of the weather was one of the reasons we bought the house.
 
On our block, I know of only a couple of houses where the garage holds two cars - Jeep Grand Cherokee and a Miata in one, Nissan Xterra and Chevy S10 in the other.

#24915 of 25654 Re: Barge [au1994] by qbrozen

Jan 09, 2013 (7:58 am)

Replying to: au1994 (Jan 09, 2013 7:09 am)
I'd like to know what his kids drive that take up his garage.
 
I have 2 boys. The bikes/trikes/scooters hang from hooks on the walls out of the way, and the battery operated jeep sits out on the back patio under a cover. It helps tremendously that I have a very large shed out back, but that has nothing to do with the kids. That holds the lawn furniture, lawn tools, and tractor.

#24916 of 25654 Re: Barge [steine13] by fintail

Jan 09, 2013 (8:08 am)

Replying to: steine13 (Jan 09, 2013 4:22 am)
You mean cars aren't people too?
 
When I say neglect, I more mean destroy the effort put into the car by simply keeping it together and roadworthy. The right/wrong person could undo that pretty quickly. It's a shame to see something that survived for 50 years being ruined by an idiot.
 
The car might not have a soul, but it has a temper sometimes

#24917 of 25654 Re: Barge [andre1969] by fintail

Jan 09, 2013 (8:11 am)

Replying to: andre1969 (Jan 09, 2013 6:59 am)
An old friend of mine had 2 old cars, once. Then he got hitched - and has none. But he has 2 mortgages and 2 kids to make up for it. I think I prefer the car
 
Pleasure is often worth more than the price paid, especially if the price is relatively low.
 
About the full garages, many people overestimate the value of their flea market at best quality clutter.

#24918 of 25654 Re: Barge [qbrozen] by au1994

Jan 09, 2013 (8:31 am)

Replying to: qbrozen (Jan 09, 2013 7:58 am)
I think laziness comes into play. Looking into his garage I saw nothing that a weekend afternoon and $100 in shelves/hooks/hangers/crates from Home Depot wouldn't cure.

#24919 of 25654 Re: Barge [fintail] by andre1969

Jan 09, 2013 (8:55 am)

Replying to: fintail (Jan 09, 2013 8:11 am)
About the full garages, many people overestimate the value of their flea market at best quality clutter.
 
I know the value of some of the stuff in my garage is questionable...including my '79 5th Ave!
 
There's an old tv set out there from, I'd guess, the 1950's or maybe even the late 40's. My roommate's parents gave it to him, and I let him keep it out there. I have no idea if it works, but I guess it's probably worth something. There's also an old sewing machine, in the stand, that's God-only-knows how old. And an old typewriter that I think was my Grandmother's, back in the 40's. Couple of old vanity/dressing tables from, I'd guess, the 1930's or 40's.
 
I also have the original 2-bbl intake manifold from my '67 Catalina. It had already been rebuilt and converted to a 4-bbl before I bought it, but the intake, as well as other various parts, were in the trunk in a box. Couple of 4-bbl intake manifolds that would fit a Mopar smallblock. There's a chair out there that somebody gave me awhile back, that will probably never be used. I don't need it for the house, so I just threw it out in the garage, figuring one day it would "become useful".
 
My mother gave me her old circa 1969 dining room table and chairs when I bought my condo in 1994. But she kept the china cabinet, saying I could have it "one day". Well, when I had to move out of the condo after the divorce, the table and chairs went into storage at my grandmother's, and was left there when I was able to move back to the condo. I now have the table in my kitchen, although it's a bit too big for it. The chairs are balanced up in the rafters (well trusses, actually) of the garage, as they're kind of bulky, so I just use some smaller kitchen table chairs.
 
I think I get a lot of packrat mentality from my grandparents, who remember the Depression vividly enough that they rarely throw things away that "could" become useful one day.
 
Only thing is, often that "one day" never comes. Last year, I had this beat-up early 70's Lazy Boy recliner in my bedroom that was pretty beat-up. But it was comfortable. Well, it had a habit of gathering clothes, and the cats had been using it as a scratching post. Finally decided to throw it out last spring. I almost felt bad at first, throwing away something that had been in the family and survived nearly 40 years. But, once it was gone, I felt good. And my bedroom seemed a bit bigger. And I don't miss it one bit. Even typing about it now, and bringing the memory of it back up, I can still say I'm glad I got rid of it!
 
One reason I've held off on adding onto the house, garage, storage shed, etc is that it seems like no matter how much storage space I have, build more and it will somehow get filled up!
 
My old condo was 1254 square feet, plus a ~200 square foot garage. I went from that to a ~1500 square foot house, with a 12x16 workshop, and then had a 24x40 garage built, and yet managed to get it all filled up!

#24920 of 25654 Re: Barge [andre1969] by fintail

Jan 09, 2013 (9:10 am)

Replying to: andre1969 (Jan 09, 2013 8:55 am)
So you might have a few hundred dollars worth of stuff stored away. Better than those who have similar stuff and spend $200/month on a storage unit, anyway. At least it takes many years of garage rent to approach the value of my old car - spare parts for it are kept in the trunk.
 
A little over 7 ago, I moved from a ~1200 sq ft condo (got out just before the market peaked, not the worst move) to an apartment half that size, and got rid of 80% of my stuff before the move. It was a liberating feeling. My collector/packrat mother has piles of furniture and clutter acquired over the decades - I have made it known I don't want much of any of it when the time comes. One good thing about living in a small place, it limits the accumulation.

#24921 of 25654 Re: Barge [fintail] by andre1969

Jan 09, 2013 (9:33 am)

Replying to: fintail (Jan 09, 2013 9:10 am)
One good thing about living in a small place, it limits the accumulation.
 
Yeah, that's definitely true. I have a friend who lives in a condo in Washington DC, and every time he buys something new, he always tries to get rid of something old...even if it's still in good shape.
 
We're about the same size, so when he decides to get rid of his old dress shirts, he'll let me go through them and pick out anything I want, before donating the rest of him. Now me, I'll usually wear a shirt until it gets a rip in it, which is usually at the elbows. And even then, I'll often just cut the sleeves off and use it like a vest...obviously I'm no longer wearing it to work by then! But, the stuff he gets rid of, usually looks brand-new! But, it's just that he has limited space, so if he buys a new shirt, he almost HAS to get rid of the old one.
 
I'm sure eventually I'll downsize, but I'm not looking forward to it!
 
Oh, and how's this for bad: A few years back, a friend of mine was thinking about selling his '78 Mark V Diamond Jubilee, as he had bought a nicer one and didn't need the "old" one anymore. I had actually considered buying it, just so I'd have something to take to the Ford show in Carlisle! Fortunately I didn't, as it ultimately threw a rod. And, while it was pretty nice when he bought it, it seemed to deteriorate FAST sitting outside.
 
And now, for the Ford show, Lemko puts his Grand Marquis in, so we have that covered!

#24922 of 25654 Re: Barge [andre1969] by michaell

Jan 09, 2013 (10:57 am)

Replying to: andre1969 (Jan 09, 2013 9:33 am)
My wife is the anti pack rat. We did some home improvement over the holidays - painting, new kitchen backsplash - and so we 'redecorated' the family room.
 
Bought a new (smaller) TV - the old one went to a friend of our daughters. Moved some furniture around, and ended up with an extra chair and ottoman - again, daughters friend took the old stuff. A Target sourced storage unit went to the curb. Books were packed away.
 
Every new purchase of furniture results in the old stuff being given away. Our kids - and their friends - are happy to take it off our hands.

Messages Page 2493 of 2567

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