Rogillio Posted July 20, 2015 Share Posted July 20, 2015 (edited) I lose money on every restoration but I make it up in volume! The big unknown is the condition of the motor. If I have to have it rebuilt…..well….uh….let’s not go there yet. At any rate, I’m not sure how many rounds of golf I could have paid for with but I’ve never been a fan of chasing a little white ball around the woods. 1926 Dodge Brothers Coupe Edited July 20, 2015 by Rogillio (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cahartley Posted July 20, 2015 Share Posted July 20, 2015 I think you're getting off easy....... LOLThen again you aren't done yet....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rogillio Posted July 20, 2015 Author Share Posted July 20, 2015 I think you're getting off easy....... LOLThen again you aren't done yet....... Shhh! Don't tell my wife! My big concern is the condition of the motor. It show 96k miles.....no idea if this is the original motor or not. The guy I bought it from said that the guy he bought it from that his grandfather drove the car till he got too old then he died. In other words, "It was running fine when we parked it" LOL Riiiight! I think have about $12k in my other Coupe....also worth about $8k....maybe....if I was lucky and found the right buyer. :-) I’m not complaining. It has never been about the money. I only keep rough tabs on what I’ve spent to keep my sanity in check. I enjoy the work and at the end of the day I will have a fun vehicle to putter around in….let the grandkids use it in the homecoming parade, use it for weddings….and just enjoy the heck out of driving it. It turns head and gets smiles everywhere I go. As I pass cars I see people pointing and can almost hear them saying “Oh cool, look at that old car!” I know becasue I’ve said that all my life when passing vintage cars. I was at the gas station a few weeks ago in my other DB Coupe and some guy comes up to me to thanks me and shakes my hand. Thank me? Huh? For what? He said he wanted to thank me for preserving a piece of history. He said there were not many of these old Fords left. Ford? Needless to say, he got a little education about Ford and the Dodge Brothers and we had a good chat. My thinking is, the cars should hold their value or increase in value as the years roll on. If I bought a new bass boat…..20 years from now will be worth about a fourth of what I paid for it new. And I enjoy working in my shop about as much as sitting on the lake..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2251DB Posted July 20, 2015 Share Posted July 20, 2015 If your restoration cost 20 k all up then the first year is 20 kafter 5 years the cost is 4 k per year , getting cheaperour 28 dodge has been with us for over 40 years owes nothing and is still a pleasure to driveTo keep all parties happy just keep extending the time frame until the cost is minimal Good luck 2251 db 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil 32DL6 Posted July 20, 2015 Share Posted July 20, 2015 Take up Disc Golf...it will cost you almost nothing and you'll have way more fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cahartley Posted July 20, 2015 Share Posted July 20, 2015 Shhh! Don't tell my wife! My big concern is the condition of the motor. It show 96k miles.....no idea if this is the original motor or not. The guy I bought it from said that the guy he bought it from that his grandfather drove the car till he got too old then he died. In other words, "It was running fine when we parked it" LOL Riiiight! I think have about $12k in my other Coupe....also worth about $8k....maybe....if I was lucky and found the right buyer. :-) I’m not complaining. It has never been about the money. I only keep rough tabs on what I’ve spent to keep my sanity in check. I used to keep tabs on how much money I was throwi........er.......investing in my cars.It was depressing so I threw out all the paper work.It's along the line I often hear "What kind of mileage does it get" and sometimes, before I even answer, they will say "You don't care do you?".......LOLEXACTLY........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken_Lincoln Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 I have never counted the dollar value of what I have done... My only hope if I die is .. she does not sell the stuff I have for what I told her it cost 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trimacar Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 It may apply in some cases to antique automobiles, but when the pilot of a small plane is asked "How much money does it take to buy and maintain an airplane", the standard reply is "All of it......." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rogillio Posted July 21, 2015 Author Share Posted July 21, 2015 (edited) "My only hope if I die is .. she does not sell the stuff I have for what I told her it cost."Had to read this twice till it sunk in. This is hilarious. Edited July 21, 2015 by Rogillio (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R.White Posted July 22, 2015 Share Posted July 22, 2015 (edited) I keep a journal of exactly what I do to the car and every penny spent. I even log my time at an hourly rate. I do this because my wife is an accountant and although she is fine with whatever I spend, she likes to know how much. I keep receipts for business reasons and also if I sell the car, I have a record of how much has been spent. I did this with my Triumph GT6 and secured a higher than normal price partly because the stack of bills accumulated over 38 years was evidence that the car was as good as it appeared. I won't say how much my hobby is costing me but if anyone thinks there is a lot of money to be made by restoring these old cars, they are surely mistaken. Ray. Edited July 22, 2015 by R.White (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rogillio Posted July 22, 2015 Author Share Posted July 22, 2015 Ray, you make a good point keeping receipts.....if I were to sell my car that I bought for $6k for $15k I'd have to report that as income and pay taxes on the gains! OTOH, if I can show I put $10k of parts and labor into it, I can decuct this this as a gambling loss. :-) I mostly just keep a mental record. The spreadsheet I posted above all came out of my 'best recollection'. Last night on the way home I bought gasket material, somre screws, nuts and bolts nad a sringe for injecting some gas into the carb and some radiator flush.....spent about $25. There are lots of 'expensese' like these that I don't count....sand paper, new tools, cleaning solvents, Mystery Oil, WD-40, Penetrating oil, beer......etc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest DodgeKCL Posted July 23, 2015 Share Posted July 23, 2015 (edited) Your wife is an accountant!! Help help me Rhonda!! But seriously my wife knows how much I've ,I should say "we", have put into our Dodge van. I have bills amounting to $14000 but I think it's low because I've never put in travel expenses to flea markets etc. I think it's going to be more like $20000 before it's on the road. I hope to finish my paint booth with in the next few days and start painting and there's another cost not added to the list. I also had to outfit a complete wood shop to handle all the hard wood construction. A box of 100 screws can cost $20 and $30! I now have a wood shop that has a 12" planer,14" bandsaw,plunge router,table router,table saw,joiner,drill press and God know what else,all idle now. But bought for the restoration of the van. I guess the question is "Do we care?". No. We like the hobby and we will have a unique vehicle when it's finished. I'm not a hot rodder I'm a history buff. So it will be a piece of history when it's done. It's the only survivor of 10 custom built vans and well worth the time and effort and money. Edited July 23, 2015 by DodgeKCL (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R.White Posted July 23, 2015 Share Posted July 23, 2015 Yes, my wife is an accountant and no she is not boring! Ray. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
countrytravler Posted July 23, 2015 Share Posted July 23, 2015 (edited) Good example:150.000 plus to buy the car and restore and with major mods.Sold on Ebay for 36.500 Edited July 23, 2015 by countrytravler (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rogillio Posted July 23, 2015 Author Share Posted July 23, 2015 Good example:150.000 plus to buy the car and restore and with major mods.Sold on Ebay for 36.500 Wow!! I lose money on every car but I make it up in volume! ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Gregory Posted July 23, 2015 Share Posted July 23, 2015 I look at restoring my car like a piece of history I am preserving . I have a 1931 Reo Royale Victoria 8 - 31 . There is about 6 of these cars the Club knows about . The investment is small if you average out the years it will be in my family . With or without me . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keiser31 Posted July 23, 2015 Share Posted July 23, 2015 I never really look at what my old car hobby costs me. If I need the part, I buy it if I have the cash. I never expect to sell either of my two 1931 Dodges, so I never really look at them in a "profit/loss" sort of way. As long as we have food in our bellies and a roof over our heads, all is well with the spending for the parts I need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian_Greenlaw Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 Ok....as long as no one hangs it on me........I am an accountant......I keep every receipt for my car and a detailed record of what, where, when and how much. I do look at the total sometimes but over a 15 year period, it evens out to be a reasonable hobby I guess. I do try and do a lot of the work myself and I'd hate to think of how much it would have cost if I just paid someone to do it all but I enjoy chasing the bits and pieces and meeting people along the way. I'd like nothing more than to sit down with a lot of people on this forum and just talk about cars and our experiences. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest DodgeKCL Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 I've had several hobbies over the years and this one is the 'cheapest' in the long run. I threw thousands of dollars on motorcyles and radio controlled model airplanes and finally my private pilot's licence. I have nothing of those 3 hobbies left except my PPL. But I have been in antique cars and trucks for 35 years or more and have much of it still here. Once a vehicle is restored the cost of upkeep is neglegible. Insurance is $106/year. It is a very laid back hobby with people who basically do not drink or do drugs. Not that any of my previous hobbies had those anyways. But generally speaking the antique car/truck hobby is populated by people with means and many are church goers. (We were invited to a church social last weekend "and bring the old car!"). So it is a great hobby for contact with others who share the common thread of restoring and then taking it to a quiet get-together and BBQ (usually). The accountant remark was meant to be funny as I can't imagine having an accountant looking over my shoulder,especially my wife, on such an open ended hobby. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R.White Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cahartley Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 Lord I miss Monty Python....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now