# Do "NEW OLD STOCK /" Cars Ever Turn Up? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 11, 2008, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-new-old-stock-cars-ever-turn-up/476655 "2008-12-11T01:51:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2008, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-new-old-stock-cars-ever-turn-up/476655/1 "2008-12-11T01:51:25Z")
You frequently find old watches, clock, clothing, etc., sold as “new old stock”-basically stuff that did not sell when new, and sat around for years unused. Do cars like this ever turn up? Supose you had an original 1967 Mustang-what would it be worth in new, undriven condtion? ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2008, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-new-old-stock-cars-ever-turn-up/476655/2 "2008-12-11T02:04:48Z")
I have only heard of such a thing on a much smaller scale. My FIL bought a “new” 7-series BMW about two and a half years out of date for a good price once. However, cars require maintenance even if they are just sitting around and they take up lots of space. I can’t imagine anyone having the resources to sack away cars for decades simply on the hopes of selling them for a great profit years or decades later. It probably happened somewhere but the return on investment model is so terrible that it has to be exceptionally rare. ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2008, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-new-old-stock-cars-ever-turn-up/476655/3 "2008-12-11T02:16:26Z")
This company > **[DeLorean](https://delorean.com/)** > > DeLorean is a legacy mobility company focused on redefining human connections through creative technologies. bought up all the unused parts…and will assemble a brand-new 25-year-old vehicle for you. BTW, they can customize your De with a kit to replace the Peugeot/Renault/Volvo v6 with a Cadillac Northstar V8 ---
**Author:** ![caveman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/caveman/32/7242_2.png) [@caveman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caveman)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2008, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-new-old-stock-cars-ever-turn-up/476655/4 "2008-12-11T02:26:37Z")
This [Jaguar](http://www.classicandperformancecar.com/features/octane_features/232332/new-age-e-type.html) was just assembled from new old stock parts that were almost 40 years old. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2008, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-new-old-stock-cars-ever-turn-up/476655/5 "2008-12-11T02:40:43Z")
So what happened to all the old, unsold K-cars (for example)? Recycled as scrap? ---
**Author:** ![DanBlather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@DanBlather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DanBlather)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2008, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-new-old-stock-cars-ever-turn-up/476655/6 "2008-12-11T03:29:31Z")
Couple of stories: I was looking at motorcycle ads the other day and ran across a motorcycle for sale that was three+ years old and had only less than 15 miles on it. It was stolen from a dealership after a customer had paid for it. Later on it turned up in a garage of a trucking company that had stolen it. The police tracked down the VIN and returned it to the dealership. It was no longer under warranty because the title had been transferred to the person who bought it. Many years ago I bought a Subaru 360 that was 4 years old and had 40 miles on it. A dealer had a special where if you bought a new Cadillac they threw in the Subari for free “for the wife”. A woman drove it home and had a slight fender bender. The car was so small she was scared to drive it again. I bought it used for $600. ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2008, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-new-old-stock-cars-ever-turn-up/476655/7 "2008-12-11T04:28:16Z")
A few years ago, I was on a board devoted ot Model A Fords (1928-1931). One was found (ebay, IIRC) - the car had been bought and driven home just in time for the husband to die. This was when there were those who practiced STRICT separation of roles: cars were man things - women were simply passengers. It sat where the old boy had parked it out back for several years until “one of the kids” drove it into the barn. The car had something like 20 miles on it. Luckily, the high bidder was a restorer, not a hot rodder, so it remains pristine. So yes, such things do occur. (now we know how the capacitor hole was covered on the distributor. ---
**Author:** ![DJ\_Motorbike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90ced4/32.png) [@DJ\_Motorbike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DJ_Motorbike)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2008, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-new-old-stock-cars-ever-turn-up/476655/8 "2008-12-11T05:59:48Z")
> [@usedtobe](#): > > (now we know how the capacitor hole was covered on the distributor. Please explain. Did this wholly original vehicle solve some sort of mystery that defied modern gear-heads? ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2008, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-new-old-stock-cars-ever-turn-up/476655/9 "2008-12-11T06:06:11Z")
Some years ago I saw for sale an '88 Fiero that had sat unsold, on display in a car dealership. It was one of the last Fiero’s built, and the dealer kept it, rather than sell it for some reason. Tucker 1051 was purchased as parts at the auction of the Tucker Corporation assets and sat unassembled until the late 1980s. ---
**Author:** ![Danalan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/76d3ee/32.png) [@Danalan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Danalan)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2008, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-new-old-stock-cars-ever-turn-up/476655/10 "2008-12-11T06:27:39Z")
Here’s a story about a [used one](http://www.californiaclassix.com/archive/40_Barn-Dodge_c154.html) in pristine condition, from [grow-a-brain](http://growabrain.typepad.com/growabrain/) this week. I know there’s some NOS cars out there in collections, and given the sheer numbers of cars produced, one would expect there to be a few around, relatively unknown. There is also a substantial market for NOS parts – making some NOS complete cars probably worth lots more if broken up for parts. ---
**Author:** ![Deereman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Deereman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deereman)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2008, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-new-old-stock-cars-ever-turn-up/476655/11 "2008-12-11T08:39:59Z")
I don’t know about cars…but… There have been one or two “NOS” farm tractors found by John Deere collectors. There was a 1954-56 model 60 gas tractor, if I remember right.With that one, the tractor was bought, but there was an issue between the dealer and purchaser. It was parked, and never returned to the dealer/they never came back to get it. Didn’t see it myself, but saw some VERY interesting pictures. Shipping tags, manufacturer stickers on the tires, etc. If I can find the pictures again, I’ll post them. There are also a few VERY good original condition tractors out there. So, it does happen. Just VERY rarely. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2008, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-new-old-stock-cars-ever-turn-up/476655/12 "2008-12-11T14:44:50Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > So what happened to all the old, unsold K-cars (for example)? Recycled as scrap? The K-Platform cars are the cars that saved Chrysler. I don’t know that they had thousands unsold. In essence, though, there’s no such thing as an unsold car. They’re all sold eventually. Then you have cases like ships full of Mazdas having to be scrapped. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2008, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-new-old-stock-cars-ever-turn-up/476655/13 "2008-12-11T14:57:14Z")
There is a dealer with a BMW M1 in their showroom. It had been in the showroom since new and sat there like a new car for something like 20 years (because they knew it was a keeper). They eventually fired it up and now drive it around the neighborhood. Looks something like this: [http://media.motortopia.com/files/6422/vehicle/46497330bec2a/oldcars\_029.jpg](http://media.motortopia.com/files/6422/vehicle/46497330bec2a/oldcars_029.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![King\_Solomon\_Hill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/59ef9b/32.png) [@King\_Solomon\_Hill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/King_Solomon_Hill)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2008, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-new-old-stock-cars-ever-turn-up/476655/14 "2008-12-11T15:35:15Z")
A load of ‘new old stock’ Austin Maestro turned up in the late 90’s here in the UK after the car had been oficially discontiuned in 1994. The cars were assembled in kit form for export to Bulgaria, but the buyer pulled out and they sat unused untill a British company bought them and built them for sale. There’s some info in this wikipedia article [here](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austin_Maestro#Later_developments). ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2008, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-new-old-stock-cars-ever-turn-up/476655/15 "2008-12-11T17:57:34Z")
I remember seeing a contest in 1988 based around the 35th anniversary of the Chevrolet Corvette line. The grand prize was thirty five new Corvettes - one from each production year. So obviously there must have been dealers who had been holding unsold Corvettes for decades in the expectation that they would increase in value enough to justify the investment. ---
**Author:** ![Santos\_L\_Halper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/santos_l_halper/32/1_2.png) [@Santos\_L\_Halper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santos_L_Halper)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2008, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-new-old-stock-cars-ever-turn-up/476655/16 "2008-12-11T20:06:26Z")
> [@Philster](#): > > There is a dealer with a BMW M1 in their showroom. It had been in the showroom since new and sat there like a new car for something like 20 years (because they knew it was a keeper). They eventually fired it up and now drive it around the neighborhood. Is that in the Philadelphia area? Because the BMW dealer in Bala Cynwyd had an M1 in the window years after it was produced. I think they still have it, but I haven’t been by there to take a look in quite a few years. > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I remember seeing a contest in 1988 based around the 35th anniversary of the Chevrolet Corvette line. The grand prize was thirty five new Corvettes - one from each production year. So obviously there must have been dealers who had been holding unsold Corvettes for decades in the expectation that they would increase in value enough to justify the investment. They weren’t new Corvettes, they were used. The contest was on VH1 and the winner Dennis Amodeo eventually sold the entire group to sixties artist Peter Max. Max had a dream of painting all the cars in psychedelic colors. He soon lost interest in the project however and all 36 cars have been gathering dust in an underground garage in New York for the last two decades. [Here’s an article about them](http://nymag.com/nymetro/news/people/columns/intelligencer/11902/). A couple of years ago a Corvette fan located them and [has a bunch of photos](http://www.digitalcorvettes.com/corvette-photos/showgallery.php/cat/699/password//page/) of the cars in their deteriorating state. It’s a very sad sight… ---
**Author:** ![jasonh300](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/46a35a/32.png) [@jasonh300](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasonh300)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2008, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-new-old-stock-cars-ever-turn-up/476655/17 "2008-12-13T05:41:52Z")
A local Chrysler dealer put an untitled 1982 Imperial into storage and then sold it as new in 2002. Since it had never been titled, they had to provide a warranty, which must have been hell with that crappy lean burn system they used back in the early 80s. I also saw a picture of a car from the mid 70s in a museum somewhere that still had the protective paper wrapping on the dashboard and steering wheel and upholstery. ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2008, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-new-old-stock-cars-ever-turn-up/476655/18 "2008-12-13T06:00:50Z")
> [@DJ\_Motorbike](#): > > Please explain. Did this wholly original vehicle solve some sort of mystery that defied modern gear-heads? The hole (through which the capacitor was inserted - once it capacitor was in place, it had no function - it just let dust and other crud get into the housing) was originally filled with some powder (I do not recall which) mixed with wax. As soon as the capacitor was replaced (through the hole), the cover was destroyed - no record existed of what it was that the mechanic either destroyed or discarded. Only because that (as far as I know) ONE car survived without ever having a tune-up, the original factory plug was intact. Nothing special about the plug, other than nobody was certain what the hell it was. ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2008, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-new-old-stock-cars-ever-turn-up/476655/19 "2008-12-13T06:07:20Z")
How about 1974 (iirc) Caddy convertibles? The new safety regs were being interpreted to mean “no ragtops - they don’t do so well in roll-overs” (duh!), and many believed that the 74 caddy was to be the last convertible whch would ever be sold oin the US by anyone. I suspect there are still a few perfectly preserved ones sitting in storage. The rest having been quietly sold by rather sheepish folks whose crystal balls didn’t work any better than a 74 Caddy. ---
**Author:** ![Deereman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Deereman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deereman)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2008, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-new-old-stock-cars-ever-turn-up/476655/20 "2008-12-13T16:05:12Z")
Finally found pictures of the New Old Stock John Deere farm tractor from 1954! It appears that my memory was pretty much correct… > **[New 1954 60](https://public.fotki.com/deanvp/tractors/jd/series/60/new_1954_60/)** > > As I recall the story, the tractor was delivered in 1954 and a dispute arose over the batteries with which it was equipped. The purchaser refused to pay and put it away in a shed pending solution of the matter. For his part, the dealer made no... [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-new-old-stock-cars-ever-turn-up/476655.md?page=2)