Ever have so many cars that you start to lose them? Read on... - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Carrameow · #1 07-19-2007, 10:46 AM

I now own so many cars (Six!) that I have to stash them in so many places that I have actually lost some of them recently…only to find them by accident.
It started with two major issues.
First the only house I could afford out here in the Northwest was in one of those really tightly packed Neighborhoods with a HOMEOWNER ASSOCIATION that governs everything from your Pets to what kind of bushes you can have to how many cars you can park outside (two) and on the street (one).
Next, I discovered Craig’s List and the optimum way to buy great use Mercedes and Corollas and other cars. Always look for the posts at 2 AM in the morning when you wake up first thing and you will find the great deals that impulsive owner’s trash. So in about one week I snatched up a Mercedes 240D with a Bad clutch for $500 and a 94 Corolla with bad CV Joints and a Clutch for $500 and a Civic with a smashed door for $400.
The only problem was I had three cars already. I forgot also that I don’t live on a farm yet.
So with the HOA Rules I had to shuffle the six cars between work, the nearby mall and my sister’s house.
You add to that my absent mindedness and my teenage daughter’s absent mindedness and soon they are spread all over Seattle.
The first car , my new 240D, was lost when my daughter went out one night with one car and then parked it at work for me at a big complex of buildings that all look the same and she couldn’t find it. Her friend gave her a ride home in tears. I was on business travel and couldn’t get right out there and help her.
The second car , the 95 Corolla, was lost when I parked it at the mall and forgot where I parked it and lost it in a sea of identical cars.
Then I had my horrible stomach sickness which left me incapacitated for two weeks. When you have cramps the size of the Tsunami, the last thing you worry about is some $500 car you bought.

Well to set the record straight, we found both by accident the last few days. I found the one my daughter parked at work when I went out jogging at lunchtime. I found the one I lost at the mall by driving around the huge complex at 3 in the morning when all the cars were gone. Amazingly there were still about a 100 cars there.
Now I have to find a Place for the Truck I am buying.

vstech · #2 07-19-2007, 10:53 AM

to many cars? lost? call 1800-find-a-wreck...
I have not lost any yet, but of the 35 or so I have, it is difficult moving them around... and you should see the keychains I carry!

Mustang_man298 · #3 07-19-2007, 10:59 AM

I don't miss that one bit. Though at the time I limited my collection to something I could just rotate around at home and in the garage (they really didnt like it when I had the smashed up enduro track car chained to the rear bumper of my pickup where I left it to hold it from rolling out of the front sideyard after pulling it off the street,lol). I only had 4 or 5 vehicles then. With the housing explosion in the bay area, I already had property here up north, sold the house there at the peak of the market balloon, and built my 40 acre ranch here with shop, and still owe less than I did down there.

Since then, all this room....I kinda went crazy.....collectively I think I'm at 21 or 22 vehicles now.....

vstech · #4 07-19-2007, 11:06 AM

MMMMM 40 acres... I only have 1.5... wow, with 40, I could have.... thousands....

TheDon · #5 07-19-2007, 11:20 AM

you could stow them at one of those places where people rent mini warehouses... w/e they are

vstech · #6 07-19-2007, 12:57 PM

why would you wanna PAY to store a parts car? H.A.'s suck! farmland is the bomb!

JimFreeh · #7 07-19-2007, 01:50 PM

Having some land is a boon to inverterate collector.

When the Navy transferred me from NoCal to the east coast, I was amazed at what my housing dollars could buy.

Ended up with a 5 acre place, enough cash to build a shop, and plenty of storage space for a personal MB junkyard.

Ten running vehicles, ten parts cars, two trailers and two tractors later, I cannot imagine how I would have fared with a HOA.....

Only problem is that I have too many projects, not enough time, and I've still got the radar tweaked for a sad MB that's going cheap......

Benzaholics Anonymous? Not yet, still got one more diesel to put together.

And then there is the $1600 78 450SL that runs, and it's calling me......

Jim

Jim B. · #8 07-19-2007, 02:11 PM

Great story Carrameow. I know JUST how you feel. When I was living in San Francisco, for a while I was trying to juggle three, the Mercedes, a 1991 Volvo 740 and a new 2001 Volvo C70 HPT turbo coupe, with ONE assigned parking space.

Street parking is non existent in many SF neighborhoods, so man, it was a challenge. Pressure finally abated with the Lemon Law buyback of the new Volvo. Foolishly, I then went and purchased an '86 Chevy Cavalier at the SFPD abandoned/towed cars auto auction, though...just didn't learn my lesson; 3 cars again.

Cars are despised generally in San Francisco. Some guy moved into the neighborhood from New Braunfels, Texas with a huge brown Chevy Suburban with steerhorn decals on it, boy did that guy get a quick, ugly and brutal lesson about finding SF street parking.....I felt kind of bad for him.....not TOO bad, of course.....

Great story Carrameow, but your apartment oil change disaster at midnight was an absolute classic.....

KAdams4458 · #9 07-20-2007, 12:24 AM

I'm right there with you. As of now, my wife and I are living in in a corporate apartment in Seattle, and probably will continue to until the end of the year. We don't know yet whether we're going to rent a house on our own, or just buy a home.

As of now, we have three cars. My wife's Kia, my old Saturn, and of course, the 300D. We have two spaces in the parking garage. Thankfully, I have a friend that lets me keep both of my cars at his place, since neither are ready for the road. Also, I'm thankful that we don't pay the $340 a month for the parking space that we aren't currently using, because neither of my cars are drivable at the moment.

The big issue at this time is that my friend will likely be moving in to an apartment in a few months, and I will have an extra car that needs to go somewhere, as well as enough tools and equipment to fill a single car garage. We need to buy or rent a house with at least a two car garage, and ample off road parking if I'm to keep both of my cars, or ever work on any of them. It's turning in to a logistical nightmare!

lietuviai · #10 07-20-2007, 12:52 AM

When I lived in So Cal, I tried keeping a few cars on some land my father owns about 1 hr from where lived. It was an undeveloped 30+ acre parcel next to a trailer park. Before I knew it, 2 of the three cars were vandalised beyond salvagability. The third one, a 63 Ford pickup, was saved from further vandalism by squeezing it into one of a couple of sea-containers that my dad keep there for storing items he didn't regularly use. It looked like a semi trailer box without wheels that was barely wide enough to fit the truck. I spent several weekends repairing the broken windows, smashed gauges and replacing stripped parts. I was lucky enough to get it drivable and brought it home just in time to sell it before we moved to where we are now.
We currently live on 5 acres and I don't think we have never had more than five cars here at any one time. My wife tries very hard to keep me from buying more cars and turning our land into what she would call a junk yard if I got my way.

Dieseldoofus · #11 07-20-2007, 12:54 AM

My dad had a '72 Midget that we managed to lose under piles of crap in the back of a 2 car garage. In the same garage, I had an '89 Vanagon that sat with a bad motor for 2 years while I pulled parts from it and eventually turned it into a storage unit.

Carrameow · #12 07-20-2007, 01:06 AM

Its amazing what turns up on Craig's List. late model cars with or blown transmissions or whammed fenders or blown head gaskets for $900 that you can buy if you are smart for $ 600 or $700. Its amazing the quality of cars today, You start them to check the engine and all the other systems and the AC is ice cold and the body is in great condition and they turnover on a dime. This is my wish list for what I have and would like to have:

I have:
A Mercedes 300D fully restored
A Merceds 240D with a bad clutch and that needs some front end work
A Saab 9000 95, with some tricks under the hood my only "upscale" car
a Volvo 940 Turbo 91 that guzzles gas but runs like a Panzer tank that got me X country two times w/o losing a drop of oil
A 93 Honda Civic that needs a door , I've already done the CV joints--$600
a 93 Corolla needs a clutch--$500

My Plan:
One Toyota pick up or Ford Ranger pick up--everyone needs a small pick up
One micro car like a Ford Fiesta
A Rabbit Diesel
a Subaru 4 wheel drive for be booping around the mountains in the winter

vstech · #13 07-20-2007, 09:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lietuviai

When I lived in So Cal, I tried keeping a few cars on some land my father owns about 1 hr from where lived. It was an undeveloped 30+ acre parcel next to a trailer park. Before I knew it, 2 of the three cars were vandalised beyond salvagability. The third one, a 63 Ford pickup, was saved from further vandalism by squeezing it into one of a couple of sea-containers that my dad keep there for storing items he didn't regularly use. It looked like a semi trailer box without wheels that was barely wide enough to fit the truck. I spent several weekends repairing the broken windows, smashed gauges and replacing stripped parts. I was lucky enough to get it drivable and brought it home just in time to sell it before we moved to where we are now.
We currently live on 5 acres and I don't think we have never had more than five cars here at any one time. My wife tries very hard to keep me from buying more cars and turning our land into what she would call a junk yard if I got my way.

need we say more?

Mustang_man298 · #14 07-20-2007, 04:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimFreeh

Having some land is a boon to inverterate collector.
Ten running vehicles, ten parts cars, two trailers and two tractors later, I cannot imagine how I would have fared with a HOA.....
Only problem is that I have too many projects, not enough time, and I've still got the radar tweaked

Amen to that! I absolutely know what you are talknig about there...Which is why I'm trying to downsize, yet, I still find myself snatching the local auto paper every week looking for good deals.......

I lied the other day, I'm up to 24 now,lol

The collection:
39 Chevy 2 ton flatbed dumptruck,not running, needs serious work
47 Chevy 2 ton Loadmaster,not running, could be fixed easily
53 Chevy 5 window 3100,not running, future hot rod
63 Ford T-bird, runs, not roadable
64 Mercedes 190D, not running (for sale)
66 Toyota corona sedan (cute little thing), not running
68 Mustang coupe,runs, not roadable
69 Ford F700 Van Pelt fire pumper truck, very nice condition
73 Chevy 2500 camper specials (2), running drivers, his & hers
77 GMC camper special, killed by a DUI driver, parts rig
77 Chevy 1500 ,running driver, may be for sale soon
77 Olds Cutlass,bomber enduro racer,unfinished
7? JD400 John Deere loader
80 Mercedes 240D, my commuter, future parts car due to rust
82 Mercedes 240D under resto construction, future replacement for the 80
84 Honda Goldwing Interstate,parts donor
85 Honda Goldwing aspencade, not running, builder for the lil miss
86 Honda Goldwing aspencade, my ride
86 Honda Rebel, her trainer
96 Ford Bronco, killed by a tree last week, parting out now
96 Chevy 2500 4x4, ranch yard dog
98 Saturn, runabout cummuter for the lil miss
03 Ford F350, my baby

DieselAddict · #15 07-20-2007, 07:23 PM

I thought I was nuts to have 3 cars (at least I was made to believe that), but you guys are the true nuts! It's true that ideally I'd like to have just 2 cars and be satisfied, but it's tough when there are so many nice options out there. My 240D is on Ebay right now so that I can have just 2 cars, but I'm already scanning the classifieds and auctions for a nice 300SD. This is truly a disease. But I still don't understand why someone would want to have 10 or more cars. Even if space and money aren't issues, isn't it tiring to maintain such a large fleet?