Buy, restore, sell on. Is it viable ?

unfit2006

kev1.3s wrote: »

Too many people who accept driving around in rot boxes, most cars that turn up on done deal and the like are in a lot of cases mot failures that are flagged on over here or just general rubbish so as a result the market is naturally depressed here because a lot of people either don't care or don't know what they are driving as long as it doesn't have to be tested and has cheap tax. Then why would they pay top money for a lovingly cared for car when they see lots on done deal for €1500 or less! The sooner we get mandatory testing for cars the sooner we will get a stable classic car market.

Re Kev1.3s comment (above) which appeared on another thread here, I too have been watching some of the classics that are coming up on DD in or around the €1000 price range and have often wondered what eventually is going to happen to them if they dont sell within another year. I suppose they will eventually end up as "parts or repair" and then finally broken up for parts. I have wondered if someone was to take one on with a purchase price of €1,000 or maybe a bit less. and with a maximum home restoration budget of €1000 could it be economically viable ? Could it resell at say 3k, that is if there is anyone out there willing to pay 3K for a reasonably well sorted classic anymore ?
I have not costed or examined any of the specifics in such a venture and they probably dont stand up to scrutiny but I am just throwing it out there to generate a bit of discussion on the subject.

kyote00

Interesting question.

I personally think it would be very hard to run any sort of business based on buying cheap. Recently I went to see a Renault 4 (you know the one !) and two Fiat x/19 - both in the 1-2k range.

I think I would have needed to spend at least 1k on each just to get it through a NCT (e,g, brakes, lights, suspension joints). This is before doing any body or paint work. Even buying paint iis expensive - a litre of water based paint could set you back 75euro, high build primer, thinner and top coat and you easily getting to 200euro just on materials.

I guess the trick is to pick a car that is saleable once restored --- but Ireland is dominated by Ford, MG, VW etc for which panels etc are very expensive.

(Funny story, sat into one of the x/19 and suddenly felt my ass getting cold and damp. Seat was soaked and I mean soaked with water....thank god for heated seats on the way home)

WDB123

If they wont pay a €1k what makes you think they would pay €3k
€1k doesnt do much to a car except hide the problems as is to common on DD

(a campaign to stop bullsh on DD would be a great idea some chancers out there) if you view a car and its rotten & overpriced thread???

might save people a wasted trip good idea???

oceanman

if you factor in your time and everything else i doubt if it would be viable. people still find they can get better value abroad when it comes to buying classics.

unfit2006

I agree that €1,000 will not do a lot in car restoration terms. In fact on a number of occasions I have often been shocked when working underneath an old car whenI'm told by it's owner that it was subject to a €4k professional restoration. But thats another story.

I suppose for the purpose of this discussion I am looking at cars requiring light restoration (in the real sense, not in DoneDeal speak).

In relation to the "stop the bulls... thread" I think that is a good suggestion.
A few weeks ago, and ad appeared on DD dedscribing a MK1 escort that was on sale as a bucket of rust. A guy who went to see the car was so pi**ed off that he placed his own ad on DD describing the car "accurately". However his ad was taken down about one hour later.

w124man

Can we establish the difference between 'restoration' and 'tarted up' ??

Far too many people think that restoration means a bit of filler, a quick respray and silly out of character alloy wheels.

unfit2006

w124man wrote: »

Can we establish the difference between 'restoration' and 'tarted up' ??

Far too many people think that restoration means a bit of filler, a quick respray and silly out of character alloy wheels.

I agree totally, but that distinction can be difficult to establish across such a wide cross section of diy classic car hobbyists as well as professional restoration shops. Standards, and expectations seem to vary a lot. I would think that quite a number of the "everyday" classics out there are dooer-uppers and lads driving what are basically works-in-progress and a lot of lads are happy with that. They try to keep them as well as they are able and enjoy getting out in them. Quite a few will have a bit of filler in them. I am not including the tarted up with flash alloys in that group
A very small percentage of classics that you regularly see out on the roads are the 100% genuine article.

big dar

And nearly every car on dd pristine or rough is still on english plates so not worth the hassle of buying in the first place

w124man

big dar wrote: »

And nearly every car on dd pristine or rough is still on english plates so not worth the hassle of buying in the first place

I think DD should be more responsible and should have some kind of warning stating that it is illegal to sell non Irish cars in Ireland.

Capri

w124man wrote: »

Can we establish the difference between 'restoration' and 'tarted up' ??

Far too many people think that restoration means a bit of filler, a quick respray and silly out of character alloy wheels.

Vid on Youtube about restoring a 450 6.9 Merc - they use TWO donor cars in the resto because there was so much rot - and if you restored one here you'd never sell "Engine's too big/thirsty" attitude of Irish punters :mad::mad:

As for UK plated yokes / "How long's the MoT valid for?" is the first question, followed by "When are YOU VRT'ing it ?" :rolleyes::rolleyes:

WDB123

Cant understand the big campaign against english cars & zv regs,if youre in the trade you can sell a foreign car
didnt hear anyone moan about this at riac show 90% imported cars on display
In relation to uk mots I wouldnt put a lot of faith in them,
Does everyone not work out the vrt before you buy in the price

I still feel you get what you pay for,english cars get bad press because people go over pay small money and expect a top car and moan when they get what they paid for
An example
mercedes on ebay sells for £720 230e 1979
local man just spent £3900 to respray one not including other work carried out,
it just annoys me when people moan if you want to drve a car thats not the best but you enjoy it
if you want a concorse car its choice, no difference
ZV reg ,Irish reg
why do people have to knock either person ???????
enjoy what you have

hi5

I think the OPs suggestion is viable,
http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/vintagecars/4603990
This must be worth €1500-2000 with a fresh NCT. If your handy with a welder and not terrified of the NCT and know your values then I think there might be a few quid to be made.

oceanman

hi5 wrote: »

I think the OPs suggestion is viable,
http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/vintagecars/4603990
This must be worth €1500-2000 with a fresh NCT. If your handy with a welder and not terrified of the NCT and know your values then I think there might be a few quid to be made.

whats wrong with that car is the year, its too old to be worth much and not old enough to be valuable.

homingbird

Also i saw that saab for sale a few years ago in dublin. Now it is in mayo with same pictures so i would say it is well shook as he did not use his own pictures.

kev1.3s

In my opinion in most cases its not viable quality body work and labour in general is just too expensive. It's often been said here about programs like wheeler dealers where mike and edd add up all the sums and hey Presto they can make a nice little profit but lets not forget our man edd has a fully stocked workshop the odd extra pair of hands and a pay cheque from the production company to pay the bills.
I'm all for people buying a fixer upper and enjoying it on the road whilst they improve as they can afford if the car is roadworthy to begin with but unfortunately a lot of the cheaper ex-uk cars in my opinion are not. Truth be told most of us here will spend much more on our cars than they are actually worth and probably be a little pissed off if we were trying to sell but there is much worse §hit we could be spending money on.