RE: [DMCForum] Parts cars: do they exist, and can I get one? story at eleven.

["Dave Stragand" <dave.stragand@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Are you looking for a project car so you can get a D at a lower price?
If so, that's false logic.  It just doesn't work that way.  In fact,
it's exactly the opposite.  I'll explain:
 
An important bit of wisdom was imparted to me early on in auto
restoration: "The difference between a $15,000 car and a $20,000 car is
around $10,000." It's strange but true. You can almost always get a
better deal (when all
told) by buying a car that is great to begin with, than by fixing up one
that needs work.  

Now I, on the other hand, bought -my- car for the -express purpose- of
fixing it up. The process itself is what I was interested in, more than
the end result. Will I have a $25,000 car if I spend $25,000 restoring
it? Most likely not. And to make financial matters worse, I will have
invested a couple-thousand- hours of work to boot.

I see a lot of posts asking for a cheap D, by someone who will finance.
Originally, that's how I approached the original owner. I did pay him
cash though when the deal was struck - I wanted to start with a clean
slate. I do  remember what it was like to be young, and dreaming of that
perfect car. You'll do nearly -anything- to get it. However, trust me on
this one: DO NOT BUY A COLLECTOR CAR UNLESS YOU HAVE THE MONEY TO MAKE
IT RUN AND KEEP IT RUNNING. 

Now, it doesn't have to be perfect at first, but at least drivable. If
you spend every cent buying a car that'll need tons more money before
it's streetable, you will stress yourself to death. You'll start to see
the car as an endless drain on your wallet, and it may be years before
you ever get to drive it. Besides, it's a race against time. The longer
it sits, the more it will need.  Eventually, you end up selling the car
for less than you layed out, and you'll be depressed as well as carless.
This is what my friends call the "Project Car Spiral". Avoid it.

I'm at a point in my life where I have most of the cash and time I need
to responsibly restore a car. If you don't have enough of both to begin
with, then you won't be happy when you get the car. It took me -12
years- to finally get my '58 Plymouth. It took -15 years- to get my D.
If it's worth doing, it's worth waiting, and that advice works on a lot
of levels.

-Dave Stragand
VIN #05927
http://www.ProjectVixen.com


> I've come to the conclusion, after many years of haunting these
> forums, that I need a delorean. i'd rather start with a parts car or
> project, if such things can be had. Getting rather tired of my other
> projects, and it seems a delorean is really what I'm after. 
> 
> What's the story on frames/chassis's (chassEs?) or bodies these days?
> 
> Stretch
> San Diego


 
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