PaulUptime

Thanks Dave. Hope you and your buddy are happy with what you left with. Congrats!

There were at least 3 or 4 cars I would have liked to have snapped up myself, if I could.

The $75K was reportedly spent on a rotisserie restoration of that '71 FBird while no doubt possible sure doesn't seem the most objective decision as it sold over $30K below that restoration cost, completely negating the value of the car they started with.

I see this a lot, including but to a lesser extent with older Corvettes - but even old Corvettes are not immune to getting very upside down, cost-wise. For example, there is a '65 Corvette Coupe that displayed a wallboard with $50K in restoration bills by Stingray but still needs $25K in new seats, interior and a full repaint. Bidding on it got only to $35K at this (hotter) spring auction and $39K at the last fall one which typically has cooler pricing. No sale at either auction but I can imagine it going over $40K as is, or maybe $60K if it got the required new seats and a decent repaint - but the owner would still be ahead just lifting the reserve and selling now as is ... and that would probably be good value for the buyer!

I understand the reward of doing a project yourself - watching the creation evolve from your own efforts and sacrifices ...but pay someone else to do it and project car costs can really get out of hand!
In this example:
$25K conservative estimate for that '65 Corvette Coupe at start of project
$50K for complete frame & mechanical restoration
$25K (easily) still required for new interior and paint
====
$100K Total invested and easily 3 years in progress with lots of your own time going back and forth to the shop.

...or
Show up at auction and drive something like it home today for under $60K. At least with Corvettes it would seem you might recoup 60 cents on a dollar. Other vehicles much less - like 20-25 cents.

Especially British cars, lovely as they may be:

This beautifully restored 1960 MGA Roadster Convertible with $25K (easily) in restoration sold No Reserve at $15,500.



or this '74 Jag XKE v12 convertible also beautifully restored that fetched on $34K.



Or some newer but still very desirable Jags like this 2003 Supercharged XJR - really nice sold NR $6,000.



and a '97 XK8 Convertible that sold at $5300
What a perfect summer car!

Zeeman28a

Dangerous for me to go to these auctions. I have loved these cars since they came out. At these prices, I would have definitely picked up one of them. I wonder how they were mechanically. Jags don't have a good reputation for long term ownership.

Thanks for posting Paul.

PaulUptime

They are reported to be running well, and you can go over them in fine detail while parked, plus follow alongside as they drive to the block, smell, listen and watch. Sometimes the service history is presented with the car and/or you can meet with the owner. Pretty much everything but start it yourself and go for a drive.

In the end, I figure you should always have a flexible attittude and maybe another $5-7K in reserve if it needs a new trans or electronics, etc. In the end, you'll have a really nice, fun and enjoyable ride for a total of $11-15K, plus you can always sell back for about what you paid originally. All cars need maintenance and most parts these days are easily sourced and bought, even over the internet.

Another thing to remember is these are fun/collector cars, not daily drivers so a reliable backup car is probably required for work and other necessary trips ... but then again that's what DD's are for. I'd hate to fuss all over a flashy car only to leave it subjected to the abuse of daily city driving/parking nonsense.