Just watch out if you hear somebody say “please don’t throw me in that briar patch.”
—John Dartnon, from the book Neanderthal
Aside from the Duesenberg, I was told about another time where my father clearly did not overpay for an antique car. He had his eye on one, and Phil Soyring was invited to go with him to drive it back if he could work out a deal. The price on the car was more than Pops was willing to pay, but they took the two-hour drive to see what he could negotiate, anyway.
When they got there, the owner of the automobile stuck to his price, and Pops said it was beyond his reach. After some haggling my father invited him for lunch. During this time, Pops offered a figure $3,000 below the asking price and was still turned down.
Toward the end of the meal, my father said he’d done his research on the fair value of the car, and he just didn’t have enough available cash to pay what the owner was asking. He restated his offer, saying that he felt what he was offering was still too much and it was going to be a stretch to pay it.
After a second refusal, my father said, “I’ll tell you what, let’s split the difference. I will understand if you don’t take the offer, and I’ll walk away without the car. I’ll almost be glad if you turn me down.” Finally the owner, softened up by the lunch, agreed to go along with it.
Pops then named the new price at $1,000 more than his first
offer, wrote the check, shook hands with the former owner, and the two men
left. When they arrived at my father’s home, Soyring said he noticed when he
named the price, the $3,000 difference hadn’t been split evenly, and that Pops
had paid only $1,000 more. He pointed out that the owner had been shorted by
$500 and my father said, “Well, he didn’t catch it, did he?” 