I know it’s not a pleasant rumination but it’s worth considering: What if the kid(s) don’t want your collector car(s)?

It’s a tale as old as time: Parents want to pass along to their child or children something they learned (like a career) or loved (such as possessions) in their lifetime. Equally as true is the rebellious nature of said children, wanting to swing the pendulum of taste/culture/preference back the other way.

That’s one reason we can reasonably quantify people into generations; not only for similar life experiences — as in we were all X years old when 9/11 happened, or the moon landing, or when one of the world wars started, etc. — but for the general swing in attitudes away from one’s parents’ sensibilities. It’s not entirely true throughout but true enough to paint with a broad brush.

So, what does that have to do with your car?

Maybe you’ve said all the right words and convinced them that this is one of mankind’s greatest mechanical creations and they’ll happily care for it when it’s passed down to them. Problem solved — well until that estate tax comes due — but you can plan for that ahead of time or let the heir(s) deal with it afterwards. Lord knows there are plenty of folks out there without a will.

Or maybe they (or he or she) don’t want it. What happens then? 

Nothing, perhaps, as they can deal with it after you’re dead and gone. Plenty of collections go to auction after the primary collector has moved on. It happens all of the time.

You could be more proactive about it, although selling it triggers one of America’s favorite boogeymen: taxes. Maybe you can deal with that as a rational adult, or your CPA can, and it’s not a huge deal. It happens all the time, it’s what we call the collector car market, just commerce as usual.

What about a different approach? 

There are throngs of people wanting to get into collecting cars, but barriers keep them out. Often those are financial. What if you went looking for one of them to sell your car to, even rather cheaply? There are Facebook groups and car clubs and online forums among the places to find a worthy next caretaker. 

You could determine their worthiness, after all no one is making you do a damn thing right now about it. Does this person have enough storage space? Are they a fan of the badge on the hood? Do they have any history with the make or model? Are they a dumbass who will likely total it the first time they try a burnout?

Now, this will take much more time, effort and purpose than posting a classified or listing on an auction site and moving it along to the highest payer.

Call it altruistic if you must, but I think there are folks out there who believe in an idea like this.

I’m not saying anyone should sell an Enzo-era V12 Ferrari for $5k — if you are, call me first. But imagine how fun all of this might be without having to worry about price guides and return-on-investment (ROI) as a significant part of the equation.

It’ll take some courage to consider one’s death and what to do with possessions afterwards, plus talk with the family about it. How else would you know if the kids wanted the car or not? But these conversations and subsequent revelations can be very enlightening.

This works for folks without children too. It might even work out better for them.

Maybe someone somewhere can come up with a reality TV show where wannabe owners somehow prove their worthiness for being car’s the next owner or something along those lines. Maybe Netflix can work that into the next season of Squid Games. I don’t know, I’m not in television, but I’ve seen far worse ideas on car-themed channels.

There are a thousand and one ways to handle a situation like this, and not many of them are wrong. It’s just a matter of choosing what you’d like to do with your prized possession(s) while you still have a say.