This a question for my fellow Car Crazy's. It seems every car I do, I always get into a thought process that is, I went this far and fixed this, that, and now " Might as well" do this too... I do not build from scratch, but always get involved improving my purchased cars to make them as safe as possible, reliable cruisers as I drive my rides, that's my enjoyment of having them. I only buy good looking cars to my taste, modify them a little appearance wise and concentrate on mechanicals as that's my area of skills, not really a body shop shop guy, but do what I can. The problem with this thinking is when I'm done and own car/cars for awhile and then on to the next one, usually too much $$$ has been invested and my system of "Buy High, Sell Low, To Keep Volume Up" bites me every time. Fortunately I've never taken a huge hit, but never make any $$$ either. That being said, Cars are my "Hobby" not a business. This "Might As Well" has been with me all of my life and adventures, Family, Business, Housing, Racing Hobby, Motorcycles, Etc. NOT COMPLAINING ! Life is Good ! Just curious how many on here have the same condition ? I Do not believe there is a cure for me, Somehow it's hardwired in, DNA or Something. LOL
As one who has usually done the same thing and managed to "invest" enough in every car I buy, to be able to lose money when I do sell it, I can appreciate your post ! I figure the same as you - it's fun and a hobby and I love it. A hundred years from now, nobody will know the difference or care.
One thought on the subject, If you bought a new car off the showroom floor and drove it for the same period of time and sold it would you loose more or less money than you did having fun with that old cruiser? The guy down the street with the year old luxury car that sneers a bit at your "old clunker" has probably lost more in that year on his car than the total of what you have in your cruiser. The difference between you put in it and what you get out of it is your "use $$" and the cost of the use of it for that time frame is probably a hell of a lot less than buying a new one off the showroom floor and getting rid of it in the same time frame. To add to that I stopped in front of the Lincoln dealer yesterday to look at a 2017 Continental that had a nifty burgandy color to it. sticker price was 70 K. When that one is two years old the resale price difference will probably be enough for me to finish my 48 and for you to buy and redo another ride with beer money left over.
I agree with you on car/truck depreciation on new vehicles today, it's crazy to say the least, always was and always will be relative to the time frame. Our daily transportation costs through our lifetime without a doubt is the worst $$$ investment made, But we all need vehicles to drive, it's part of the price of living, homes (great investments for our generation) family, kids, Etc. The car Hobby price per mile/smiles is very reasonable in my book and you and think alike, when it's all said and done, pushing up flowers or in my case the ashes are cold, nothing matters, you had better enjoyed your life, "Live, Laugh, Love"
I'll never understand the "Why bother, nobody will see it mindset." whatever the subject of the topic is, is the item most people see at first glance, at least I do. That is why all my projects take so long, and most are never finished. Bob
You are so right on the' might as well do it thing', I'm balls deep spending my retirement money on the new to me 41 willys, safety and driveability is not an option, but while it's apart might as do this whatever it is, the only thing that slows me down is the desire to drive it and of course the almighty cash,,,,same with our house, so need new floor in kitchen might as well put new counter top with new stove and frig,,,its an investment of sorts but it never ends until your pushin daisys.
Bought a project that was about 60% completed. Plan was to change only a couple of things and finish it within a year. The "might as well" virus struck me down and two years later, I have a project that is only 20% complete. But it will be done right and done my way.
This is a problem I run into frequently on the car, the house, most projects I take on. Only problem is the cash flow and trying to maintain a budget!
There are some guys that make money on every car they touch, mostly they made that money at the buy. They don't own them too long (3 months or less) and maybe they don't get to enjoy them much either but they are up a few bucks and that's after every and all expense. Then there's some guys who loose on every single thing they touch, and just the same they lost on the buy or sold it decades too early. The guys who make money buying aren't buying because it's their dream car, they buy because it's a good deal on someone else's dream car. And if a car needs restored, if you could get the car for free you'll likely be upside down on a restoration for the majority of them. There are some exceptions but the numbers get bigger. Like a $65k restoration on a 80k car you bought for $10k. That's aLot of scratch to tie up for that length of time for 5k
I am very careful not to make money on anything I do as a hobby! (At least that is the reason I comfort myself with) I do not buy to sell or build to sell, I buy junk and make something out of it, with total disregard for resale value, this makes me happy and happiness is valuable to me. If I worried about resale value and what the next owner will want the car to be, I would have walked away long ago. Buy high, sell low! LOL
I have the other problem... I never sell anything ,so I have to be careful what I buy. The problem with that is, once I get something running, that's about as far as it gets. I never seem to get it completely finished. There's always something else that I should a, could a, would have done, but for some reason I never did. I guess that's the perfectionist in me.
Oh yea. That's how your simple engine swap snowballs into your car looking like this. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
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