Now Is the Time to Do the Right Thing with Your Cars

Terry was in the real estate business in New England, and as a result had access to multiple buildings where he could store his car collection—sometimes one car per garage. He never had space to congregate the entire collection in one place, so he decided to build a garage from scratch to house his otherwise scattered cars all under one roof. It would be a man cave of the highest order.

Earlier this year Terry, feeling unwell, went to the emergency room, where he was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. He was given two months to live, but he died five days later. He was 69.

This installment of Tom Cotter’s Barn Find Hunter is a bit of a departure from the norm; it’s more instructional than adventurous. But it’s a very important topic.

Normally, it would have fallen to Terry’s widow and daughter to deal with his cars, but he obviously, and correctly, decided that, not being car people, they’d be overwhelmed by the responsibility. Unknown to his close friend Ray Ayer, another dedicated car guy, Terry’s last will and testament named Ayer executor of the car portion of his estate.

As Cotter says in the episode, this installment of Barn Find Hunter has more to do with education than entertainment. Because Terry thought ahead, Ayer is in charge of finding new homes for the eclectic collection of vehicles, all of which run, ranging from a low-mileage 1980 Mercedes-Benz 380SL to a mint 1960 MGA to a 1956 Messerschmitt convertible, and possibly a Harley-Davidson and some vintage gas pumps which have not yet been located among the far-flung storage spaces that were available to Terry.

His were not vehicles that would do well on Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist—disbanding Terry’s collection required another car guy. Cars like a 1967 Morris Minor Traveller woody wagon or a 1958 BMW Isetta 600 Limousine appeal to a very narrow but enthusiastic band of buyers, and you have to know where to find them.

Ayer spent the last month bringing all the cars together in the building that would have been their permanent home, a dream garage that, when finished, would have had everything from a wash bay to a gourmet kitchen. Now, it’s just a concrete slab with walls and a roof. “It’ll never be finished,” Ayer tells Cotter. “I know, it’s a shame.”

“Car guys never think they’re going to die,” Cotter says. “They just pick up more projects… and then they leave.” The message is that now is the time to think about what should be done with your cars or motorcycles or various unfinished projects. Terry only had five days to consider it, but none of us is even guaranteed that much time.

“This is the way to do it right,” Cotter says. “Plan ahead, and make it easy on your family.”