The American Pickers Client Who Turned Down A $75,000 Offer
For over 13 years Mike Wolfe and the rest of the team from "American Pickers" have brought their unique style of antiquing to the forefront of reality television. The show takes the phrase "one man's trash is another man's treasure" to a whole new level in its cross-country search for unique and valuable items — usually uncovering those items in unlikely places like long-forgotten storage sheds, volatile scrapyards, or half-collapsed barns.
The series primarily focuses on the "pickers" and their efforts to find hidden gems in the collections of numerous antique enthusiasts across the United States, many of whom have built up these immense hoards over entire lifetimes. Although these items usually make their way into the antique shop owned by Mike Wolfe himself (where they are resold for profit), the hosts of the series share the collecting bug with their clientele — and will often keep specific items for their own private collections, regardless of how much money might be made from flipping them.
As such, it seems likely that Wolfe and company understood quite well why one particular collector turned down a fortune for his favorite car — despite not using it for nearly 30 years.
One collector couldn't say goodbye to his Shelby Mustang
In Season 23 of "American Pickers," Mike Wolfe and co-host Jon Szalay visit a couple in Alabama named Kevin and Tink, who own a classic 1967 Shelby GT500 Mustang which they've kept in their barn for around 30 years. Finding a car like this is the equivalent of striking gold for an auto enthusiast like Wolfe, especially due to the relatively intact exterior and body of the car.
After consulting with an expert, and knowing full well that he'll lose money on a car like this, Wolfe offers the couple $75,000 in spite of the extreme damage to the car's hood and roll bar. Shockingly, the couple decline the offer, referencing their love for the rare car and admitting that they had turned down that exact price point twice before from other buyers. Kevin even admits that he knows people will call him a "total idiot" for passing on this offer, but asserts that his love for the car is more important — something that motorcycle enthusiast Mike Wolfe ought to relate to quite a bit.
Although there are certainly plenty of people out there who no doubt felt disappointed in the outcome of this episode, it seems as though both Kevin and the "American Pickers" team came out on top in this deal. Kevin gets to keep his beloved car, and its presentation on "American Pickers" gave Mike Wolfe and all other auto enthusiasts a glimpse at one of the rarest collectibles in the industry.