Terry Klassen Posted October 11, 2020 Share Posted October 11, 2020 I have an opportunity to purchase a 41 Buick and would like to know build details and what it may be worth after restoring. This is picture of the vin . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerryB Posted October 11, 2020 Share Posted October 11, 2020 Typical return on investment is somewhere between 40% - 70% of the amount invested in the restoration for most vehicles. Restoration is very a time and money consuming endeavor. Like most hobbies the reward is not financial but in the enjoyment in the tasks involved and seeing it to some level of completion. If finding, restoring and then selling at a profit was the common outcome it would be almost impossible to find cars needing restoring. All the best to you as you make your decision. 5 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Luddy Posted October 11, 2020 Share Posted October 11, 2020 Seeing that it's a Canadian built car, how rusty is it? How complete is it? How much time and cash do you have allocated? Hard to tell from a body/vin tag picture. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kgreen Posted October 11, 2020 Share Posted October 11, 2020 Check this thread for car identification: Value? Priceless if you enjoy it, worthless if you buy with the intention of flipping. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted October 15, 2020 Share Posted October 15, 2020 There are 300 $100 jobs on the easy ones if you are thorough. I have been meaning to list them but I have 1200 jobs on the burner right now. 1201, meh. Bernie 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Schramm Posted October 15, 2020 Share Posted October 15, 2020 (edited) My standard joke to those uninitiated to the car hobby is, "Do you know how to turn $100,000 into $25,000 or $30,000?" Just restore a car. Some vehicles you will do better and others you will do not so good. One of the most important items to consider is who is going to do the work. If you are capable and plan to most of the work yourself, you can save quite a bit of money. If you need to pay someone to do all of the work, then the bill just goes up, and up, and up. If you are capable and do much of the work yourself, that is great news. As mentioned earlier a lot of the enjoyment it an old vehicle is searching for parts for your vehicle and the friends that you will make in that quest. My best advice along with others is if you are interested in a particular vehicle and actually buy it, search out owners of like vehicles. They will be invaluable in helping you restore and ENJOY your vehicle. PS: the older the vehicle, the larger the number of "000's" after the $sign and first number. Edited October 15, 2020 by Larry Schramm (see edit history) 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted October 16, 2020 Share Posted October 16, 2020 22 hours ago, Larry Schramm said: "Do you know how to turn $100,000 into $25,000 or $30,000?" For $100,000 you can buy 100 rough project cars, make them a little shiny, and probably get $2,000 to $2,500 each. Then you have some money to go out and buy a really nice finished ones. The secret is the more the car costs the more the buyer thinks. Sell so cheap they are a no brainer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buicknutty Posted October 17, 2020 Share Posted October 17, 2020 Interesting, as it is a McLaughlin Buick Super Coupe, and I have a '41 McLaughlin Buick Roadmaster Coupe. Love to chat about the car sometime if you wouldn't mind. Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Schramm Posted October 17, 2020 Share Posted October 17, 2020 I am not saying not to buy the car, but just remember that any car more than 3- 5 years old does not have a warranty and is a "used car". As with all used cars regardless of the age, they will require maintenance and repairs. Some more expensive than others. Generally the older the car the more expensive it is. When I tell my wife that I am going to have some work done for our brass era cars, she only asks what is/or are the numbers to the left of the three zero's.....$ 000.00's. With these very old cars, it is invaluable to have a machinist able to make many of the unobtainium parts which equals more $$$. Personal ability to fix or least understand these old vehicles will help to understand the issues and money required. You buy a car because you like the car and want to own and drive it. The driving, ownership, and pleasure is the value you receive for the cost of the car and repairs, etc.. It is no different than going to a movie or an amusement part. You pay for the pleasure and experience. Just take off some value of the total vehicle cost in your mind, ie/ $$$ every that time that you go out driving and enjoying the day and the vehicle. If you never plan on selling the vehicle as long as you own it, then just let your heirs worry about the value. Enjoy the ride and share it with others that might not be as fortunate as you to be able afford an old vehicle. If you are buying a car to flip it and make money, that is a dicey objective. Sometimes you win, and sometimes you lose. More information and experience you have the better you may become in determining vehicle value but nothing is certain. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Harwood Posted October 17, 2020 Share Posted October 17, 2020 If you like the process of restoration and the work and skills involved, then go for it. If you just want an old car and this one is cheap and you figure that some sweat equity will make it better (and maybe you could make some money later) then hard pass. If you don't enjoy the restoration process, it is always cheaper to buy a finished car and enjoy it immediately. There are plenty of '41 Super coupes around for very reasonable prices, even with the exchange rate being what it is. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edinmass Posted October 17, 2020 Share Posted October 17, 2020 (edited) “Like the restoration process.......” truly an act of sadism. Regardless of ones wealth, no one likes the restoration process. Even with unlimited funds.........it’s long and difficult. There is NOTHING easy about restoration. I do it for a living.........which just proves I am crazy. Edited October 17, 2020 by edinmass (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neil morse Posted October 17, 2020 Share Posted October 17, 2020 6 minutes ago, edinmass said: “Like the restoration process.......” truly an act of sadism. Regardless of ones wealth, no one likes the restoration process. Even with unlimited funds.........it’s long and difficult. There is NOTHING easy about restoration. I do it for a living.........which just proves I am crazy. No, I think the fact that you do it for a living just means that you can't understand how some of us can enjoy the process! 😄 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty Roth Posted October 17, 2020 Share Posted October 17, 2020 (edited) On 10/15/2020 at 3:37 PM, Larry Schramm said: My standard joke to those uninitiated to the car hobby is, "Do you know how to turn $100,000 into $25,000 or $30,000?" Just restore a car. Some vehicles you will do better and others you will do not so good. My way of explaining the same concept: The way to get out of a car(OR THE HOBBY) with A SMALL FORTUNE, is to start with a large fortune. Edited October 17, 2020 by Marty Roth (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Bruce aka First Born Posted October 18, 2020 Share Posted October 18, 2020 2 hours ago, neil morse said: No, I think the fact that you do it for a living just means that you can't understand how some of us can enjoy the process! 😄 Thank you. Neil Ben 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Schramm Posted October 18, 2020 Share Posted October 18, 2020 The whole car hobby can be addictive, but fun and you can meet some of the nicest people. 🙂🙂 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Bruce aka First Born Posted October 19, 2020 Share Posted October 19, 2020 12 hours ago, Larry Schramm said: The whole car hobby can be addictive, but fun and you can meet some of the nicest people. 🙂🙂 You for one! Then SOME that need an umbrella to keep rain out of the nose. Fortunately few and far between.😁 Ben Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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