In a message dated 31/10/02 9:28:23 AM Pacific Standard Time,
owner-mgs-digest@autox.team.net writes:
> Largo isn't but a few miles from me, so if anybody has any specific
> questions, or would like pictures of specific parts, I'd be willing to
> take a look/pictures of it.
>
>
Fortunately for me, the guy seems to have the idea that a car's value has
some directly proportional relationship to the amount of money he has put
into it, as the 'buy it now' price is 25K.
You guys must have heard this countless times when looking at a car you are
considering buying..."I've got $X into it, so that's why I want to get at
least $X out of it.
Sadly, a piece of shzt car is worth pretty much the same with a 5K paint job
on it as it was before the paint job. You take what you could sell the car
for in completely restored condition (not to concours, but to reasonably
original condition), and subtract the cost of restoration. Whatever number
spits out is what the guy's car is worth.
Example - if you can buy a completely restored MGA for $10,000, and it would
cost you $8,000 to have one restored, then any potential project better not
cost more than $2000, or you might as well go buy one that is already done!
This sort of calculation doesn't apply if the car is so rare that no restored
examples are available, of course, but for MGBs and such, there is for most
purposes an unlimited supply.
I have tried to explain this to various people over the years, but there is
an understandable reluctance to admit to one's self (or one's significant
other) that you've spent way more on something than it is worth, especially
if you have been using the argument during the time you've owned it, that it
will be worth a real bundle once it is finished.
In fact, many cars are worth more parted out than for restoration. I am sure
that only the reluctance I have noted above accounts for the fact that many
more cars haven't been wrecked for their parts value.
A friend of mine recently fell prey to his own nature when he bought an MGB
that looked quite decent from 10 feet away. He later found that it had a
fresh paint job, a Riley 1500cc engine and no inner sills to speak of. He
asked me what I thought he should do. I told him to sell it for parts and buy
a decent one. He went ahead and had it all fixed. It cost him (much) more
than if he had taken my advice!
Bill
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