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I'm not talking about cars from the early 1900's to 1970's. I'm talking about 1990's to early 2000's. Is it viable or should one just buy a newer used car, use it for awhile, and sell it to break even or make a slight profit?
I'm not talking about cars from the early 1900's to 1970's. I'm talking about 1990's to early 2000's. Is it viable or should one just buy a newer used car, use it for awhile, and sell it to break even or make a slight profit?
unless you can buy the cars you are thinking of for a very cheap price, and can restore them for a very cheap price, there is no money in restoring cars from the era you are planning.
unless you can buy the cars you are thinking of for a very cheap price, and can restore them for a very cheap price, there is no money in restoring cars from the era you are planning.
There is also a difference between "restoring" a vehicle and simply "fixing it up". Restoration means big $$ and generally it's a waste of time restoring ANYTHING post late 1970's.
If you simply want to fix a few minor issues, touch it up a bit, etc...then it's slightly possible you can buy a vehicle from the 90's to drive for a while, fix it up a bit, and break even when you sell it.
Off the top of my head, I can only think of maybe something exotic like the Plymouth Prowler or Toyota Supra to ever have any type of collector value. Simply too many electronics and too much plastic in modern vehicles.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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The cars of the 1990's to early 2000's were pretty bland, much the same and not the least bit memorable. People starting to drive in those years didn't have the same attachment to their cars as
in the 50s-70s. I think you could probably save money by doing this rather than buying a new car, but
would be shocked if you actually made money.
There is also a difference between "restoring" a vehicle and simply "fixing it up". Restoration means big $$ and generally it's a waste of time restoring ANYTHING post late 1970's.
If you simply want to fix a few minor issues, touch it up a bit, etc...then it's slightly possible you can buy a vehicle from the 90's to drive for a while, fix it up a bit, and break even when you sell it.
Off the top of my head, I can only think of maybe something exotic like the Plymouth Prowler or Toyota Supra to ever have any type of collector value. Simply too many electronics and too much plastic in modern vehicles.
This. As Mustang82 said, (I remember the post where he described what he did to the Camaro) he did a tune, maybe a small repair or two, and worked on the paint. That is not restoration.
Consider that anything that might be worth restoring from that era, such as a Prowler or Supra, probably doesn't need actual restoring at this relatively early age.
You'd almost have to have somebody give you one of those cars and many thousands of dollars to make a restoration a paying proposition. There's simply not much retail value in these cars, and even one that is showroom perfect would be a poor value ... except for a fanatical collector ... in terms of drivability and other features which have more recently been improved across the board in the vehicle marketplace.
I have an '87 Trans Am GTA that I paid $1600 for, and I probably have at least $6 more invested in it. I could probably get $4k for it now. I don't expect it to be worth much for at least 20 more years, when people my age (30's) will be in their 50's. I'm fine with the fact that I've "lost" money on it, because it's what I wanted.
Restoring one to use as a daily driver is probably not a good idea though. You can replace every part on one, but an old car is still an old car, and it'll never be as reliable as a new one.
The cars of the 1990's to early 2000's were pretty bland, much the same and not the least bit memorable. People starting to drive in those years didn't have the same attachment to their cars as
in the 50s-70s. I think you could probably save money by doing this rather than buying a new car, but
would be shocked if you actually made money.
I think they have same attachment, they're just not old enough yet to be nostalgic about their youth.
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