Re: Fixing up a D: Is it worth it?

["cruznmd" <racuti1@xxxx>]

In my opinion, Dave is the definitive authority on restoring cars, 
let alone a DeLorean. 'Nuff said on that.

The part I most agree with, is the part about the "project car 
spiral". I was in the Persian Gulf, barricaded in my hotel room on 
Sept. 11th last year when I decided I would do this. I purposefully 
bought a DeLorean that needed work because I was tired of geeking out 
on my computer in the basement and wanted a serious project. I love 
cars.

Now that I have it, I find myself fighting the spiral once in a while 
when the money dries up. It's a race, between your wallet and the 
clock, and your patience. If I made a single dollar less per hour 
than I do now, I'd might regret it. (of course, raining for 30 
straight days doesn't help)

I must be pretty serious about it though..I'm so intense that my wife 
looked me square in the eye last week and said "I want one too".

Rich A.
#5335 -MD

--- In dmcnews@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, "Dave Stragand" <dave.stragand@xxxx> 
wrote:
> Hi All,
> 
> I've seen my name come up a few times in the last week about 
restoring a
> D. Here's my standard advice: 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. I'm at around $22,500 into 
the
> Vixen project, and I'm not done yet. The "Rule of 20" has been 
just
> about right in my case. The "Rule of 20", if you are unfamiliar 
with it,
> is Cost of DeLorean + Cost of parts and service = $20,000. That's 
about
> $5,000 more than a D in nice shape to begin with...
> 
> Now I, on the other hand, bought -my- car for the express purpose of
> fixing it up. The process itself is what I'm 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.
> 
> Sometimes though, the journey is better than the destination. My '58
> Plymouth has around $30,000 invested in it, but is still only a 
$17,000
> car. Where did the $10k go? It bought one heck of a lot of fun. A 
LOT of
> fun. And it's worth it, IF you can afford it.
> 
> 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 & broke, 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.
> 
> Trust me. I've been there, and done that.
> 
> -Dave Stragand
> VIN #05927
> <http://www.projectvixen.com/> http://www.ProjectVixen.com
> 
> 
> 
> 
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]