March through June 2024 - "Green Bean," the 1973 Volvo 145
After a turbulent auction, the car "sold" for $250, making it the lowest-selling car in Bring-A-Trailer history. BaT seemed shocked the car only sold for $250, and I think they expected me to react poorly, because they gave me a $50 "thanks for being a good sport" gift card to their merch site.
The buyer was an enthusiastic guy over in Virginia, who sent me $300 since he felt bad the car only sold for $250; I didn't mind the sales price, but he insisted. That was nice of him! However, the weeks rolled by, and it was one disaster after another with the buyer trying to coordinate the shipment of the car from Idaho to Virginia. Multiple semi trucks tried to come get the car, but repeatedly didn't catch the memo about the car not running. One semi showed up at 2AM, blocked the roadway, and caused a big disruption at my relatives' house. After three months (yes, THREE MONTHS lol), the buyer backed out and left me with the 145. On the bright side, he let me keep the money, which I passed along to my relatives for the inconvenience.
Understandably, my relatives were fed up with the car, and my property management company said no to having it at our apartment. Cheapest car storage was still $140 per month, so I still needed to find the car a new home. Once again, I listed the car for free in our local Volvo groups, Craigslist, and Facebook Marketplace. This time, I had seven no-shows over the course of a week.
At the end of the week, just for the heck of it, I called our local pick-n-pull to see what they'd pay for the car. They said if I could find and include a random catalytic converter and toss in a battery, they'd give $50, if I could deliver it the 70 miles to their junkyard. Knowing I'd pay more than $50 in diesel and trailer expenses, I had to pass. However, the very next day, the junkyard's sister location called me and really wanted the car. They offered $350, and I could remove whatever I wanted except for the body panels, engine, and transmission. The best part? They'd come fetch it for no additional cost. I felt bad letting the car go to the junkyard, but I did completely strip the interior (three car loads in my X3) and useful parts for future projects. Once at the junkyard, someone bought multiple doors, someone yanked the B20, and most of the suspension was purchased, which made me feel better to have helped other 140 owners.
