Any Advice/Tips on Project vs Finished Car?

[Anonymous]

how does the cost of buying a running car compare to buying a project and restoring it?
Nice cars that are for sale are thin on the ground here, and one alternative is to ship one in from the the States. The other way is to buy a 'project' like the Cuda on ebay and restore it. Problem is although it's fairly easy to work out how much to buy/ship/tax/vat/mot an imported car, I have no idea how much it costs to rebuild a non-runner.
I understand that the figures would vary wildy depending on what you do yourself, but I have no facility to paint or weld, so would farm the bodywork out. Same with the motor, I'm happy to tinker but not confident enough to build an engine from the bottom up so again, domestic engine rebuild vs. crate motor?
Anyone got any ballpark figures/horror stories either way?

[Cannonball]

how does the cost of buying a running car compare to buying a project and restoring it?
Nice cars that are for sale are thin on the ground here, and one alternative is to ship one in from the the States. The other way is to buy a 'project' like the Cuda on ebay and restore it. Problem is although it's fairly easy to work out how much to buy/ship/tax/vat/mot an imported car, I have no idea how much it costs to rebuild a non-runner.
I understand that the figures would vary wildy depending on what you do yourself, but I have no facility to paint or weld, so would farm the bodywork out. Same with the motor, I'm happy to tinker but not confident enough to build an engine from the bottom up so again, domestic engine rebuild vs. crate motor?
Anyone got any ballpark figures/horror stories either way?

4-8k engine build,
1-1.5k trans build
4-15k body work
another 1-5k interior and xtra,s
if you can,t do much yourself,

[Carl]

Ive been thinking the same thing for a while. Obviously as you know the sky's the limit to how much you want to put into a car, and does it ever stop? But at the same time is rewarding to know you have restored your beloved motor, but at what price?
Most restorations sell at a loss from what i can gather, so buying an already restored car could be worthwhile, downside. Its not your hard work and you dont know the quality of the resto but you can drive it straight away instead of having it in bits for months or years and itching to drive it but cant. I would want to drive it, dont want a show car, so as long as it looked tidy and straight i'll be happy, maybe a re paint. so im torn between build it yourself or buy a finished car. If cheap enough
Think i will opt for finished car, as they are never really finished because you will want to add your own identity to it.

Look at the prices from the US for cuda's plus shipping etc, now im not so sure if its a good idea to buy finished

http://motors.shop.ebay.com/Cars-Trucks ... uda&_fpos=&

and quote for shipping

http://www.shipmycar.co.uk/

[Dave-R]

The correct option is not listed.

Buy the best car you can. Then, because it's a Mopar, spend the rest of your life spending money and working on it.

At least with a good car you have a head start and usually they sell for less than what has been spent on them already.

[Carl]

Yes I agree with Dave, is what i was trying to say but he has said it much better and in far less words than my dribble.

[Dave-R]

"Blunt" and "To the point" are my middle names.

[Carl]

What do you want out of a car? A car to drive or a show car?
I want a car i can drive. Hence im buying the Bee its not pretty as needs a re paint, but its not rotten which is the main thing, as long as its bodily sound im happy. I wouldnt want to get involved with replacing floor/boot pans, rotten chassis etc. Time and money for me as im impatient. I just want a car to drive, not eat my dinner off the underside. It dosent have to be 100% mechanically sound, i can deal with that. If your like me and want a car to drive then look for a part restored car. That Cuda might be worth a look though at that price.

Are you talking about this Cuda?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1970-PLYMOUTH ... 4d04a29873

[MilesnMiles]

What Dave said! Given you've noted that you cant take on the more expensive aspects of a project, get the best car you can afford. Try and get somebody experienced along for the viewing of any car you fancy.
Some years ago I bought a Dart Sport in fairly stock condition with the 'usual' rust areas. i spent 11K in total including the purchase of the car over 8 years.
Really enjoyed building a fun, and quite fast muscle car. it was deliberate project so i could learn.I sold it for 5K and I'm sure i could have bought the 'done' car for somewhere between 5-11K.
Depends how you perceive a 'project'.

[Steve]

This is such a good discussion point and always crops up...... Im with the 'buy the best you can' ethos. If you are like me.....i would sooner drive whenever I fancy it, do a bit of tinkering/ learning etc as I go along..... Im no good at bodywork, not confident or skilled enough to build an engine or gearbox, and I just dont have the funds to source and ship Cuda interiors, Shaker hoods etc etc to get my dream car. To these ends, maybe one day I will own a really nice plum crazy 440 6 pak Cuda, but my car gives me a buzz for a fraction of the cost, needs nothing and I can enjoy now instead of in 10 or 15 years time when my budget has finally got me the cuda.

To me, most classic mopars are dream material so its a bit like driving round in a nice 911 but dreaming of owning a top line ferrari.... You can still live the dream and have a dream if you know what I mean. Sooner have a great, solid original and sound 68 289 fastback than a ropey boss 302 that needs thousands spent on it and cant be used for years.

Very personnal choice but Ive seen cars for restoration turn into money pits and others buying nice cars, using them, enjoying them and driving the ass off them.! I havent got a bottomless pit of cash sothe choice was easy for me!

Cheers Steve

[Blue]

A good finished car is always cheaper than starting off with a project, possibly by as much as half. If you can't do the work yourself it's even worse, and then there's all those hours spent searching and waiting for parts.

[andyrob]

The correct option is not listed.

Buy the best car you can. Then, because it's a Mopar, spend the rest of your life spending money and working on it.

At least with a good car you have a head start and usually they sell for less than what has been spent on them already.

well put

[Anonymous]

The correct option is not listed.

Buy the best car you can. Then, because it's a Mopar, spend the rest of your life spending money and working on it.

Thats the whole point Dave. I agree with you 100% but the market is so small here?

I have a reasonably healthy budget for a car but there's nothing available.
I bought the Challenger after years of waiting for a Cuda to come up. I loved that car but it wasn't what I wanted so I held back putting money into it.

Maybe I'm impatient, but I ain't getting any younger! (Never should have said no to Alan Tansley).

[Les Szabo]

Buy a finished car...you'll probably get it for less than what spent on it...get out there and enjoy it NOW before the beaurocrats change the law on even stock 30yr old cars.

This is also true of Race Cars to a larger extent.....I could not sell my "turn key" 69 'cuda which was at a very sensible price, money back really, and this was when people were all into getting into Racing and people still had money!!
Was a well sorted car, ran consistent times every time, with or without N20 with NO probs, NO headaches, just go out there and run 10's or 9's whichever you wanted, all it needed was a new paint job to make it your own car with your own name on it.

Unless your very capable....thats where the clever money is...buy something thats sorted and ENJOY IT!!

Les

[Carl]

is this the car your looking at?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1970-PLYMOUTH ... 4d04a29873

worth a look

[Blue]

Have you thought about looking in Europe? There's a ton of stuff out there especially Scandinavia. Local enough to look at and you can drive the bugger home...