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making money on a classic car


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is there anyway to actually net a profit after restoring a car? all i ever see is some guy who just put $11000 into his car and can only sell it for $7-8K.

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Admittedly out of a small sample of less than 10 cars, I've only recorded a profit on one. I bought a 1969 Coronet 500 hardtop in 1987 and stupidly sold it at the height of the inflationary period for cars in 1990. The money I made on that car probably worked out to about 10-15 cents per hour. I'd give back every penny to have kept that car, the TR6 I sold it for hasn't turned out to be the dream project I'd anticipated.<P>If you <I> like </I> your car, and you <I> enjoy </I> truly <B> restoring </B> it, you'll never really make money. <P>Restoration is an art done to a price. Even the most commercially viable restorations (57 Chevy, 65 Mustang, etc.), where parts and information are plentiful and cheap, will require serious compromises in quality to be profitable. Either that or serious lapses in the judgement of the buyer of the car. <P>If you're in this game for money, get out. You can make money much more easily raising angelfish. If you love angelfish, that's great. You can do that and make money, too. But making money on a car is <I> really </I> tough. If you've done it, chances are that the car wasn't one you really cared about or did you best work on. <P>Professinal restoration shops, who work to a price set by the client and work accordingly, are a different animal. They will make money, because they're just really contract labor (and of a highly specialized and deservedly expensive kind). Their clients will almost certainly have more money in their cars then they could ever get out of them, however.<P>But, money isn't what this is about. I've said this many times, and posted it here before: <I> <B> I've never made money on a car, but I've profited from all of them! </I> </B> If that sentence doesn't make sense to you (like it doesn't make sense to my wife! rolleyes.gif ), then you won't last long in this hobby.<BR><p>[This message has been edited by Dave@Moon (edited 03-24-2001).]

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btw,<P>don't get me wrong - i have no intention (personally) of making money on the car i'm working on. if i did, as come of you have said, i wouldn't fix the things i'm fixing in the way i've been fixing them. i'm restoring this car 1) to learn, 2) to have fun, and 3) to beat that process called entropy smile.gif. in fact, if i wanted to make money, i would have done nothing and turned around and sold this car in this condition to the right person. it's easily worth 1.5 to 2 times what i bought it for. but if i did that, i couldn't hear that engine purr.<P>i was just wondering if people ever made money doing this.

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I do know a lot of enthusiasts who have made a lot of money. I don't seem to have that luck.<BR>Until the last couple of weeks, my recommendation to the profiteers was to leave the cool cars for the enthusiasts who love them and play the stock market if they want to make a buck.<BR>Chances are, you'll lose money in the long run. But, look at it like this: You need transportation. You buy a new SUV for upwards of 30 grand, and it's worth only 3/4 of that after you drive it off the lot. Two years later, if you sell if for 2/3 what you paid, you're happy. But was it fun to drive during that time? Did anyone stop you at the gas station and say "Hey, great ride!" At best, a classic car will hold it's value, or at least depreciate at a much lesser rate than a new car.<BR>As for figuring in your time in the value? That's never been a valid argument. If you weren't wrenching on your car, you'd probably be sitting in the Lazy Boy sipping a beverage, eating chips and watching X-Files reruns. And what's that worth an hour?<BR>It's a hobby, and as such, probably a money loser (what'd your tools cost?). It's just a lot more expensive than most hobbies.<BR>Fortunately, I've got an understanding wife!<BR>-Brad

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I guess I should qualify my statement. I have made money buying and selling old cars, but only by doing minimal work on them. if you buy an antique auto reasonably ,because it wont run or has been stored for a long time , and clean it up and make it run, you caN DO QUITE WELL. If you restore one from the frame up , even if you do most of the work yourself , you will make ,maybe, fifty cents an hour. The question you have to answer when doing an old car is "am I doing it because I want it or to make a buck" . That should decide your course of action.

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Yes, you can make money restoring old cars. However, the vast majority of those who get into the "hobby" never recover the money <BR>(Note:time=$) invested. <BR>You need to consider: <BR>What is your time worth? <BR>Cost of your shop/garage?<BR>Cost of electric for lights,compressor,etc.?<BR>Cost of tools & equipment(Replace broken)?<BR>Cost of initial investment (project car)? <BR>Parts, paint and machine work?<BR>Time spent in the junk yards...gas to get there; and wear & tear on your vehicle to get there. Don't forget time spent on the WWW looking for parts. And don't forget the cost of stitches & Band-aids! wink.gif Then, after spending the money for all the above, how long is it going to take to finish the car and sell it? (*At this point $10,000 should look better in a "CD" than sitting on the floor in your shed.) The basic lesson here is called "Opportunity Cost". It may be cheaper to pay someone else for thier time (i.e. loss) than to do it yourself. So that said, it is way cheaper to to buy a completed project at someone else's loss. Of course you will have to lie about how much enjoyment you got out of rebuilding the car.<BR>Good luck!

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Along the lines of this discussion, I have always maintained that the best way to obtain an antique car at a reasonable price was to buy one that a true hobbiest has restored, used for a few years and then tired of. He has more money in it than he can sell it for and it will cost you less than buying an unrestored car and restoring it. <P>This only applies of course, if you want the car for immediate pleasure and not for the restoration project. As we age, this approach becomes more attractive.<P>Been there and done that. Just be sure this beautiful vehicle doesn't have some hidden, serious problem that is the reason for the sale. Been there and bought that too. Then all savings go out the window.<P>

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