Trading 2 wheels for 4.. I NEED YOUR HELP

Need some advice my brothers.
I like bikes.
I love my wife.
My wife doesn't like bikes.
I have 5 (ish) bikes and 1 wife.

This left us with a conversation about possibly trading off my daily rider for something that we can both enjoy. First choice was an old vw beetle, but that has lead to no where. Searching the old interwebs classifieds I came across a fellow wanting to trade a 1958 Oldsmobile 88 for a motorcycle. I went and looked at it today, and while it's far from show quality, I can dig it.

Supposedly the car ran and drove last summer, but on his last trip he popped a brake line and limped it home. He hasn't driven it since.

I guess my thought are (and this is where you guys could let me know if I'm right or wrong)

Pros
1. Happy wife, happy life
2. I want 3k for my bike, he wants 3k for the car.... should be a straight trade.
3. In theory, if kept in the same shapeor better, the cars value should continue to go up. The bikes value, at least for the for see able future, will most likely decrease.
4. Happy wife, happy life.

Cons.
1. Losing my only street worthy bike (at the moment)
2. Trading a road ready nice bike for a car that needs at least a little cash for brake lines. It goes without saying that it will need more than that as the world isn't always on my side.
3. Trading a 55mpg bike for a 10mpg car.
4. I can't haul a whole bike in the trunk

Here is the bike I have to trade. A solid, clean for its age 1999 Honda Shadow A.C.E. 750 with 30,xxx on the clock.


Here is the car. A close to drivable 1958 Oldsmobile 88 with 68,xxx miles. Little rust and bondo here and there, but the doors all shut well abs all the curved glass is good abs the chrome is 95% all there.





I know you guys are kinda biased towards 2 wheels, but help me out here =)
Thanks ya'll

Man that's a boat of a car but I love the older steel myself. I'd do it but that's only my $.02

Keep that bike over that 4 door....its a cool 4 door .....but its a 4 door, when you go to get rid of it no one will want it because of that keep that in mind.....it would make a kick ass LS swap chopped up to be an elcamino type of deal....but that would take some resources time money space etc etc.....trade them project bikes for a "project car" keep your good bike so you can run to the store and get parts....trades are out there lots of them i trade all the time

I think you guys are probably right. I think 3k is towards the high end of what it's worth as it sits, but not way outta the park. I may try to hold off. I am pretty handy with cars and trucks ( Cory, I haven't even told you about my other other project, my 49 ford pickup). In the end I guess I want something closer to being able to jump in and drive... I have enough projects.

1: Fix 49 Ford.
2: Tell wife that is what she is driving
3:....
4: Enjoy.

What else would you be able to trade the Shadow for that the wife would be pleased with ? if it's a 4 wheel mach. then make sure it comes w/ either a p-up bed or a trailer hitch so you can pick up another bike with it later ;D

That Olds would make a nice money pit/Resto.. No, Nice car 8)

You can trade that shadow straight up for a VW running driving etc ....check craigslist daily if you have a smart phone set up the app to send you notifications when beetles / VWs are posted ....dont settle.... You can get exactly what you want if your patient

How's this for an idea! Keep the bikes.. buy the Olds... get rid of the wife!

Hibby Jr said:

How's this for an idea! Keep the bikes.. buy the Olds... get rid of the wife!

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haha its because I like my wife, quite a bit actually =) I'd rather keep her aound.... otherwise that would be a solid plan =)

Hibby Jr said:

How's this for an idea! Keep the bikes.. buy the Olds... get rid of the wife!

Click to expand...

The dude is a newlywed, guys. Hopefully he won't feel that way for a long, long time; best if he never feels that way!

....My Secret To Trading.... Send Emails! The more you send and ask to trade the better your chances are plus you can weed out the stuff you Dont want....
Ive had Great Success!.....even with absolute junk!....i traded a guitar to a snowblower to a kz750 to my 1999 subaru forester!
I honestly think you could trade some projects for that VW....I traded 3 bikes ( all not running) and a bunch of parts i paid $275 for the lot and sold the good parts for over $500 then traded the remainder of the bikes for a $3,000 toolbox guy even delivered and picked up.....

Well, IF you going for a trade on something you can jump in and drive, that Olds is not for you. It needs significant work to be really enjoyable.... as mentioned above.... at least some interior work.

However, your point about value is a good one. It is fairly obvious to anyone involved in buying and selling old cars that the market for older cars, especially now that the Baby Boomers are almost all retired and enjoying hobbies etc now more than ever, is skyrocketing. There is no risk at all buying that car for 3K if you sink a modest amount into it. At some point, you could list it on Kijiji or Craig's List and some old guy, with nostalgia in his eyes, or with an eye on restoration values, will hit you up to buy it.

Wouldn't take that much cash to make that Olds look pretty good. You haven't said much about the drivetrain but I assume it runs well and doesn't burn oil.

That said, I have a VW Beetle. Love it.

I like to have one good car we don't have to worry about that she can drive everyday. When we need to go further than usual we have a reliable car for the most part and I can spend more time with my bikes. I'm making payments on a 2012 Focus that gets over 35 mph. oops 35 mpg lol it actually goes over 130 mph downhill

pterodactyl said:

I like to have one good car we don't have to worry about that she can drive everyday. When we need to go further than usual we have a reliable car for the most part and I can spend more time with my bikes. I'm making payments on a 2012 Focus that gets over 35 mph. oops 35 mpg lol it actually goes over 130 mph downhill

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Haha yeah I understand. We both have reliable daily drivers. What we kinda want is a toy vehicle that we can both enjoy. I
had been putting an average of 7,500 miles a year on my bike (don't hate on me all you "true" bikers... I know some of you
put on much more). The thing is she has only ridden with me ONCE for about a 10 mile loop around the block. She didn't like
it at all, and I don't think she is going to. That is why we are trying to trade off the newer bike for something fun that we both can enjoy ex. vw beetle, some kind of cool old car. I have a few of the old bikes, actually one in particular that should be back on the road in a short amount of time. I would be happy riding the old vintage mule around to get my two wheeled fix, though it may not add up to as many miles as before. I think ill try to stick it out for an ol slug bug if I can.

Right now someones thinkin i would really love to flick this bug off like a booger ....even if it was for 2 broken motorcycles.....

I didn't end up trading. Thanks for all the advice. I don't need to take on ANOTHER project haha. Still working on getting an old air bug if I can

That 88 is bad ass

If i can figure out logistics i may be trading my ninja for this loaded toolbox

Did you make the trade?