This Is Carolina: Murrells Inlet woman buys back car she sold in 1974

MURRELLS INLET, S.C. (WMBF) - A Murrells Inlet woman still owns the first car she bought back in the 1960s, but several people have owned the car between the first time she bought it and now.

Lola Chanonich’s husband, Barry, used to see the 1969 Triumph Spitfire in magazines when he was in Vietnam. As a result, he really wanted to buy one.

So he and Lola did - but then they got rid of the car just five years later in 1974.

“We didn’t drive it that much, and we thought it was time to let it go,” Chanonich said.

The decision to sell never sat well with Chanonich.

“It nagged at me for 20 some years,” she said. “And I couldn’t let it go. So I tracked it down.”

Chanonich spent decades doing research and making calls to find out where the car was and who owned it.

Then finally, in 2003, she bought the car back. She didn’t tell her husband at first, though. Instead surprised him with a party celebrating the car’s return.

“He drove it like crazy,” she said. “He loved it!”

Chanonich’s husband died in 2020, and riding in the car without him isn’t quite the same for her.

“The first few times were very difficult because of the memories,” she said.

Now, with the car sitting in the garage most of the time just taking up space, Lola is ready to sell the car again. This time for good.

“I would like to find someone who will take good care of her,” she said. “She needs some work as all older things do. I don’t want her to sit here and fall apart.”

If you’re interested in buying the car from Chanonich, you can give her a call at 814-242-3467.

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