Devils advocate. At the higher end of the car world, is a whole other world most aren't aware of. If a buyer has a significant capital gains tax incoming due to selling a company/stock/etc they will often buy up high priced collectibles and then donate them into a foundation they've already setup. Most people with wealth have a foundation for tax purposes. The high priced item will get donated into that foundation at a value determined by a 3rd party appraiser. If the potential buyer knew this car would appraise at 1.5-2m dollars, the car effectively cost them 0. The car gets donated into their foundation at the appraised price and as long as the foundation doesn't sell it within 3 years, they get the full appraised tax break. After 3 years the foundation can sell the car and use the proceeds however it wants. All while paying for all of the expenses associated with the car.

Ever notice big car collections that sell ever 3-5 years? Person builds up a big collection and flips it out and does it again and again. It goes deeper than this, as many high end collectors have non profits that get thrown into the mix. This is why I laugh when people think it's "drunk" buyers paying prices that don't make sense to them. "These rich people are stupid and money doesn't buy brains". Money doesn't buy brains, but it can buy good tax/accounting strategist.

Make more popcorn, the plot thickens.
Tony is not looking good, I talked to Dean yesterday for a good while

From the web
The Detroit side of the Ghoost

Dean Herron heard the stories. He was 10 years old at the time, and he would listen with rapt attention to the tales his older brother and friends would tell of their blacktop exploits against the mystery car. When he could, he’d sneak out at night with friends on their Schwinns and they’d watch for themselves. “Everybody called it the Black Ghost,” he recalls, “because it would appear, make a few passes, then we wouldn’t see it for a month or two. It was a legend.” Then, as quickly as it had appeared, the Black Ghost was gone. Years passed without a sighting.

Fast-forward to 1980. Herron was flipping cars and selling parts, mainly Mopar stuff. It was the Saturday afternoon of the July Fourth weekend and he was at a barbecue at his friend Steve Petrovic’s. One of Petrovic’s friends, “GQ,” had come over to see if Petrovic could help get his car running. “Steve knew I could fix cars,” says Herron. “He was from Yugoslavia, so his English wasn’t so great. Steve introduced me to GQ this way: ‘This dude he race on the street Hemi. He know Hemi good.’ I said, ‘Yeah, I’ll take a look at what you got.’”
Marketplace

Herron followed this guy—everybody called him GQ rather than his real name, Godfrey Qualls—to his home on the northeast side of Detroit. “We went to the garage door, which had two or three good locks,” says Herron. “GQ opens the door and the first thing I seen was a brand-new Shaker hood in the corner. The car was covered except for the hood, but I could see it was a black car. There was also a Harley and another motorcycle inside.”

Herron didn’t pay attention to the bikes; he was immediately fixated on the Shaker hood and on trying to buy it. But GQ had no interest. “When GQ told me no, I said OK, let’s see what you got. When he took off the blankets and I seen the Gator Grain top and that it was a Challenger R/T with the SE package, I about had a heart attack!”
black ghost challenger front three-quarter action
Proud of his heritage: The first thing GQ did after buying the Challenger was to put an Africa sticker on the fender.

Herron asked where GQ got the car. “I ordered it. This is my baby,” answered GQ. “I used to go up on Woodward, I’d run a few guys, then I’d come home.” At that moment, Herron realized he was looking at a bona fide Detroit legend. He was in the presence of the Black Ghost. “I’ve known about this car since I was 10,” says Herron, “and here I am, looking at it!”

"These rich people are stupid and money doesn't buy brains"....We see every day how the wisdom of the wealthy is helping the "average" guy and advancing society. NOT.

“The only thing I remember as a kid is when he put me in the passenger seat and then taped a hundred-dollar bill on the dash in front of me. He told me if I could grab it, it was mine. I was thinking, ‘Jeez, easy money.’ Just as I reached for it, he hit the gas. It threw me in the back of the seat and it scared me!”

“He said to me, ‘I want you to have the car.’ He signed the title and gave it to me. It almost put me in tears, because I never wanted the car that way.” As father handed son the title to the beloved Challenger, he said, “Don’t sell my f—– car!”

I'm not sure which line is more BS.






So what does he do? He sells the car.....