SNOOZE- YOU LOSE. This oft heard phrase is most often in reference to being slow off the starting line in a DRAG RACE. There are also those moments in life where one has ‘thought about it’ for too long. One of those times happened in the last few days.
A customer came out to the Chrome N Rust world headquarters last Saturday to have a ‘look around’ for parts. In particular, he was looking for red colored interior parts for a Chevy truck, as he was contemplating an interior color change for a project. I know that it sounds like a sales pressure tactic to remind someone that the parts they are looking at may not be there the next time they come back. Then again…
Monday rolls around; the phone rings. The fellow on the line is looking for dark red or maroon door panels for a GM truck. I told him about the red panels I had, but I would need to look to see if they had manual, crank-up handles. Long story short, the customer came out later that day and gladly shelled out my asking price for the panels.
The lesson here is like they often say on the ‘American Pickers’ tv show: “If you see it- buy it. Because you don’t know when the next time (if ever) you will get another opportunity.”
ONE THING I have been hearing lately is that places like mine don’t exist anymore. One of the biggest reasons is government regulation/ intervention caused mainly by the encroachment of ‘urban’ people in rural areas. Another factor here is the ‘greying’ of the auto enthusiast hobby. Simply put, some of us are getting old- too old to want to put in the effort and expense to maintain a ‘junk-yard’. Most young people are not into cars/ trucks, grease, or things mechanical. Therefore, there isn’t another generation to keep ‘places like mine’ going.
WHILE I am aware of the economic realities most of you face, I am also in the same boat. Maybe even worse, because what I hope to sell and make an income from is primarily a want rather than a need. I am hoping to complete the restoration of my 1 ton carrier truck so that I can start hauling scrap vehicles again. I will also begin thinning the inventory of boned-out donor vehicles.
Maybe then, I won’t have to call in a crusher.
YOU may not have to be as ‘OLD’ as me to find some of our modern day events to be much watered down, compared to the historical event that it is supposed to represent. Case in point: the ‘Cruise Night’. While the weekly cruise night held in RED DEER, Alberta is a great draw for… Read more »
MAYBE IT’S JUST ME: It seems that e-bay (kijiji) and Facebook keep stats if you have a page or are a registered seller. In particular there is the response rate or time stat. In my case, it is a couple of days- or never. You may wonder why. YOU may have noticed I can come… Read more »
HARD TO BELIEVE that someone like me could approach any subject with an open mind. If you caught my Facebook post, you saw that I called Rust Valley Restorations a “train wreck”. In this particular instance, any publicity is good publicity. SOME OF YOU may remember a posting shared on Face Book of a cache… Read more »
ONE OF THE GEMS that was lost when we updated the format of this website was my rant about this topic: “IF you hafta ask your wife… you ain’t gettin’ it.” One of the things that earned my wife ‘keeper’ status was when I ran my potential purchase of a retired race car/ pro-street Camaro. … Read more »
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